Health posts
- June 2, 2016
- 04:14 AM
- 222 views
Neonatal pain 'causing' autism? I'm not so sure...
by Paul Whiteley in Questioning Answers
I wasn't actually going to talk about the paper by Jin Hwan Lee and colleagues [1] on this blog and the suggestion that: "severe inflammatory pain in neonates and persistent inflammatory reactions may predispose premature infants to development delays and psychiatric disorders including ASD [autism spectrum disorder]." I changed my mind however when a piece appeared on-line titled: 'New Autism Dispute: Is Circumcision a Factor?' with mention of 'ritual circumcision and autism' being ma........ Read more »
Lee JH, Espinera AR, Chen D, Choi KE, Caslin AY, Won S, Pecoraro V, Xu GY, Wei L, & Yu SP. (2016) Neonatal inflammatory pain and systemic inflammatory responses as possible environmental factors in the development of autism spectrum disorder of juvenile rats. Journal of neuroinflammation, 13(1), 109. PMID: 27184741
- June 1, 2016
- 03:30 PM
- 298 views
New muscular dystrophy drug target identified
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Scientists have discovered that muscle cells affected by muscular dystrophy contain high levels of an enzyme that impairs muscle repair. This finding provides a new target for potential drug treatments for the disease, which currently has no cure. Muscular dystrophy (MD) is an inherited genetic condition that gradually causes a weakening of muscles.
... Read more »
Arecco, N., Clarke, C., Jones, F., Simpson, D., Mason, D., Beynon, R., & Pisconti, A. (2016) Elastase levels and activity are increased in dystrophic muscle and impair myoblast cell survival, proliferation and differentiation. Scientific Reports, 24708. DOI: 10.1038/srep24708
- June 1, 2016
- 12:35 PM
- 284 views
Pain Prevalence in Dementia
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
The development of speech and language impairment in dementia presents barriers in many clinical domains.One important clinical domain is assessment and management of pain. Dementia may preclude spontaneous or interview-elicited pain reporting.A report today in MedicalXpress noted reduced reporting of pain in patients with diabetes and cognitive impairment.I was able to locate one free full-text manuscript reviewing the prevalence of pain in various types of dementias. This literature review fou........ Read more »
van Kooten J, Binnekade TT, van der Wouden JC, Stek ML, Scherder EJ, Husebø BS, Smalbrugge M, & Hertogh CM. (2016) A Review of Pain Prevalence in Alzheimer's, Vascular, Frontotemporal and Lewy Body Dementias. Dementia and geriatric cognitive disorders, 41(3-4), 220-32. PMID: 27160163
- June 1, 2016
- 12:27 PM
- 281 views
Breast Cancer Marker Awarded Amsterdam’s Most Innovative Idea
by Rita dos Santos Silva in United Academics
Health devices and big data ruled the Amsterdam Science & Innovation Awards 2016.... Read more »
de Taeye, S., Moore, J., & Sanders, R. (2016) HIV-1 Envelope Trimer Design and Immunization Strategies To Induce Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies. Trends in Immunology, 37(3), 221-232. DOI: 10.1016/j.it.2016.01.007
Alchin, D. (2014) HIV vaccine development: an exploratory review of the trials and tribulations. Immunologic Research, 60(1), 35-37. DOI: 10.1007/s12026-014-8551-y
- June 1, 2016
- 02:42 AM
- 208 views
Language disorder and '2 children in every class'
by Paul Whiteley in Questioning Answers
I read with great interest the paper by Courtenay Frazier Norbury and colleagues [1] concluding that: "At school entry, approximately two children in every class of 30 pupils will experience language disorder severe enough to hinder academic progress."With the aim of characterising "the impact of varying NVIQ [nonverbal IQ] criteria on prevalence, clinical presentation and functional impact of language disorder in the first UK population study of language impairment at school entr........ Read more »
Norbury, C., Gooch, D., Wray, C., Baird, G., Charman, T., Simonoff, E., Vamvakas, G., & Pickles, A. (2016) The impact of nonverbal ability on prevalence and clinical presentation of language disorder: evidence from a population study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.12573
- May 31, 2016
- 04:18 AM
- 222 views
Cows milk protein intolerance and chronic fatigue syndrome
by Paul Whiteley in Questioning Answers
"Cow's milk protein intolerance is a common problem in young people with chronic fatigue syndrome, and is a treatable contributor to their symptoms."So said the paper by Peter Rowe and colleagues [1] who looked prospectively for signs of cow's milk protein intolerance (CMPI) in "55 adolescents and young adults with chronic fatigue syndrome" over the course of 2 years. Defining CMPI using 4 factors: "(1) no evidence of immediate or anaphylactic reactions to milk, (2) at least 2 of the following 3........ Read more »
Rowe, P., Marden, C., Jasion, S., Cranston, E., Flaherty, M., & Kelly, K. (2016) Cow's Milk Protein Intolerance in Adolescents and Young Adults with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Acta Paediatrica. DOI: 10.1111/apa.13476
- May 30, 2016
- 04:22 PM
- 284 views
Google searches for 'chickenpox' reveal big impact of vaccinations
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Countries that implement government-mandated vaccinations for chickenpox see a sharp drop in the number of Google searches for the common childhood disease afterward, demonstrating that immunization significantly reduces seasonal outbreaks. That's one of the findings from a new study that analyzed thousands of Google searches for "chickenpox."
... Read more »
Bakker, K. M.,, Martinez-Bakker, M., Helm, B., & Stevenson, T. J. (2016) Digital epidemiology reveals global childhood disease seasonality and the effects of immunization . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. info:/
- May 30, 2016
- 03:04 AM
- 227 views
Organic pollutants and behavioural severity in autism?
by Paul Whiteley in Questioning Answers
"This study supports the hypothesis that environmental exposure to organic pollutants may play a significant role in the behavioral presentation of autism."Accepting that correlation is not the same as causation, the results published by Andrew Boggess and colleagues [1] (open-access here) make for some blogging fodder today and the idea that serum levels of various compounds headed under the description of organic pollutants (persistent or otherwise) might show some important connecti........ Read more »
Boggess A, Faber S, Kern J, & Kingston HM. (2016) Mean serum-level of common organic pollutants is predictive of behavioral severity in children with autism spectrum disorders. Scientific reports, 26185. PMID: 27174041
- May 29, 2016
- 03:30 PM
- 295 views
Why everyone wants to help the sick -- but not the unemployed
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
New research explains why healthcare costs are running out of control, while costs to unemployment protection are kept in line. The answer is found deep in our psychology, where powerful intuitions lead us to view illness as the result of bad luck and worthy of help.
... Read more »
Jensen, C., & Petersen, M. (2016) The Deservingness Heuristic and the Politics of Health Care. American Journal of Political Science. DOI: 10.1111/ajps.12251
- May 28, 2016
- 03:45 PM
- 317 views
Schizophrenia: The brain has the ability to rescue itself
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
A team of scientists have shown that the brains of patients with schizophrenia have the capacity to reorganize and fight the illness. This is the first time that imaging data has been used to show that our brains may have the ability to reverse the effects of schizophrenia.
... Read more »
Guo, S., Palaniyappan, L., Liddle, P., & Feng, J. (2016) Dynamic cerebral reorganization in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia: a MRI-derived cortical thickness study. Psychological Medicine, 1-14. DOI: 10.1017/S0033291716000994
- May 28, 2016
- 04:29 AM
- 268 views
Urban neighbourhood, food and risk of psychosis?
by Paul Whiteley in Questioning Answers
It's another research mash-up today as I bring to your attention two papers talking about potential correlates associated with psychosis and/or psychotic symptoms.First up are the findings reported by Joanne Newbury and colleagues [1] (open-access here) who observed that urban residency and certain factors associated with urban residency might link into a higher risk of childhood psychotic symptoms. A second paper by Tomasz Pawełczyk and colleagues [2] provides some further food for thought and........ Read more »
Pawełczyk, T., Trafalska, E., Kotlicka-Antczak, M., & Pawełczyk, A. (2016) The association between polyunsaturated fatty acid consumption and the transition to psychosis in ultra-high risk individuals. Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids (PLEFA), 30-37. DOI: 10.1016/j.plefa.2016.03.010
Newbury J, Arseneault L, Caspi A, Moffitt TE, Odgers CL, & Fisher HL. (2016) Why are Children in Urban Neighborhoods at Increased Risk for Psychotic Symptoms? Findings From a UK Longitudinal Cohort Study. Schizophrenia bulletin. PMID: 27153864
- May 27, 2016
- 03:40 PM
- 340 views
How the brain makes -- and breaks -- a habit
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Not all habits are bad. Some are even necessary. It's a good thing, for example, that we can find our way home on "autopilot" or wash our hands without having to ponder every step. But inability to switch from acting habitually to acting in a deliberate way can underlie addiction and obsessive compulsive disorders.
... Read more »
Christina M. Gremel,, Jessica H. Chancey,, Brady K. Atwood,, Guoxiang Luo,, Rachael Neve,, Charu Ramakrishnan,, Karl Deisseroth,, David M. Lovinger, & Rui M. Costa. (2016) Endocannabinoid Modulation of Orbitostriatal Circuits Gates Habit Formation. Neuron. info:/10.1016/j.neuron.2016.04.043
- May 27, 2016
- 10:24 AM
- 347 views
Prenatal Smoking and Offspring Schizophrenia
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
The topic prevention of brain disorders is commonly neglected. This is despite increasing evidence for evidence-based support for prevention opportunities.This issue is highlighted in a recent study out of Finland that examined prenatal nicotine metabolite levels and offspring diagnosis of schizophrenia.In this study, Solja Niemela and the Finnish research team examined all live births in Finland between 1983 and 1998.What makes this study powerful is the measurement of maternal serum coti........ Read more »
Niemelä, S., Sourander, A., Surcel, H., Hinkka-Yli-Salomäki, S., McKeague, I., Cheslack-Postava, K., & Brown, A. (2016) Prenatal Nicotine Exposure and Risk of Schizophrenia Among Offspring in a National Birth Cohort. American Journal of Psychiatry. DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2016.15060800
Talati A, Bao Y, Kaufman J, Shen L, Schaefer CA, & Brown AS. (2013) Maternal smoking during pregnancy and bipolar disorder in offspring. The American journal of psychiatry, 170(10), 1178-85. PMID: 24084820
- May 27, 2016
- 03:07 AM
- 306 views
Wandering and autism continued... yet again
by Paul Whiteley in Questioning Answers
I know that I'm probably starting to sound like a broken record on the topic of wandering (elopement) and autism on this blog (see here and see here and see here) but I am yet again going to briefly talk about peer-reviewed research in this area simply because it's just too damned important not to.This time around the results from Catherine Rice and colleagues [1] are the source of my musings and the conclusion that: "wandering among children with ASD [autism spectrum disorder], regard........ Read more »
Rice, C., Zablotsky, B., Avila, R., Colpe, L., Schieve, L., Pringle, B., & Blumberg, S. (2016) Reported Wandering Behavior among Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and/or Intellectual Disability. The Journal of Pediatrics. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2016.03.047
- May 26, 2016
- 10:02 AM
- 297 views
Free Alcohol Use Reduction App
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
An investigational app and online program to reduce alcohol intake is now available free to the public.This tool is an application of cognitive bias modification. A link to a study supporting cognitive bias modification is noted in the citation below. Click on the PMID link to get to the abstract.The program uses a 15 minutes per day tool for four days.The program was developed at the London School of Economics by Professor Paul Dolan.Users who sign up to use the tool will be providing data to f........ Read more »
Gladwin TE, Rinck M, Eberl C, Becker ES, Lindenmeyer J, & Wiers RW. (2015) Mediation of cognitive bias modification for alcohol addiction via stimulus-specific alcohol avoidance association. Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research, 39(1), 101-7. PMID: 25623410
- May 26, 2016
- 02:55 AM
- 262 views
CRISPR-Cas9 and autism research
by Paul Whiteley in Questioning Answers
If you feel brave enough, today I will direct your reading attention to the paper by Michael Williams and colleagues [1] detailing the application of a particularly important genome editing technique called CRISPR-Cas9 [2] to autism-related science.Titled: "A Retroviral CRISPR-Cas9 System for Cellular Autism-Associated Phenotype Discovery in Developing Neurons" the Williams paper probably won't win any awards for plain English but don't be fooled about just how important this pape........ Read more »
Williams MR, Fricano-Kugler CJ, Getz SA, Skelton PD, Lee J, Rizzuto CP, Geller JS, Li M, & Luikart BW. (2016) A Retroviral CRISPR-Cas9 System for Cellular Autism-Associated Phenotype Discovery in Developing Neurons. Scientific reports, 25611. PMID: 27161796
- May 25, 2016
- 11:05 AM
- 270 views
A New Chromosome Y Risk for Alzheimers
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
There are many risk factors for Alzheimer's Disease (AD) including history of head trauma and family history of AD.The strongest risk factor is advanced age. Yearly risk for AD is about 1% per year in 70 year old populations jumping to around 7% in 90 year old groups.Now a recent study is shedding some light on a new risk for AD in men. This risk appears to be related to a chromosome Y phenomenon known to be associated with aging.Elderly men show a tendency to lose the Y chromosome from a small ........ Read more »
Dumanski JP et al. (2016) Mosiac loss of chromosome Y in blood is associated with Alzheimer's disease. American Journal of Human Genetics. info:/10.1016/j.ajhg.2016.05.014
- May 25, 2016
- 09:00 AM
- 408 views
Are our gut bacteria the key to immortality?
by gdw in FictionalFieldwork
The fight against aging Ever since the ancient Sumerians, men has sought eternal life. We still do. Anti-aging science has become quite an industry. As we dive deeper and deeper into our biological foundations, we’re learning more and more about how and why we age. A lot of mysteries remain, but there’s still talk about […]... Read more »
De Winter, G. (2014) Aging as Disease. Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy, 18(2), 237-243. DOI: 10.1007/s11019-014-9600-y
Biagi E, Franceschi C, Rampelli S, Severgnini M, Ostan R, Turroni S, Consolandi C, Quercia S, Scurti M, Monti D.... (2016) Gut Microbiota and Extreme Longevity. Current biology : CB. PMID: 27185560
- May 25, 2016
- 02:52 AM
- 215 views
The persistence of self-injury in relation to autism
by Paul Whiteley in Questioning Answers
Some behaviours associated with a diagnosis of autism don't make for great dinner table discussion. Self-injurious behaviours (SIBs), as exemplified by head banging, hair pulling and eye gouging must rank as some of the more distressing facets of [some] autism insofar as their potential effect on the person and also the people around them.These and other types of behaviour commonly headed under the category of so-called 'challenging behaviours' have tended not to be too evident when it come........ Read more »
Richards, C., Moss, J., Nelson, L., & Oliver, C. (2016) Persistence of self-injurious behaviour in autism spectrum disorder over 3 years: a prospective cohort study of risk markers. Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, 8(1). DOI: 10.1186/s11689-016-9153-x
- May 24, 2016
- 10:44 AM
- 279 views
Does Flu Vaccination Reduce Dementia Risk?
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
In my daily review of neuroscience news I ran across an article flu vaccination and dementia risk in heart failure.This study was reported at the 3rd World Congress on Acute Heart Failure by Dr. Ju-Chi Liu from Taipei Medical University.So how might influenza vaccination be related to dementia risk? We do know acute influenza infection reaches the brain causing headache and increasing brain inflammation, at least temporarily. We also know brain inflammation may be involved in the mechanism........ Read more »
Liu JC, Hsu YP, Kao PF, Hao WR, Liu SH, Lin CF, Sung LC, & Wu SY. (2016) Influenza Vaccination Reduces Dementia Risk in Chronic Kidney Disease Patients: A Population-Based Cohort Study. Medicine, 95(9). PMID: 26945371
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