Medicine posts
- June 17, 2016
- 05:49 AM
- 214 views
FLCN activates mTORC1 by maintaining lysosomal leucine level
by Joana Guedes in BHD Research Blog
The intracellular amino acid pool within the lysosome has been shown to activate the mTORC1 signaling pathway (Zoncu et al., 2011; Jewell et al., 2013). However, how the sequester of the signaling molecules within the lysosome occurs remains poorly understood. New research from Wu et al. (2016) shows that the suppression of FLCN, a tumour suppressor gene associated with the Birt-Hogg-Dubé (BHD) syndrome, controls mTORC1 activity by modulating the lysosomal leucine levels. FLCN exerts this new f........ Read more »
Wu X, Zhao L, Chen Z, Ji X, Qiao X, Jin Y, & Liu W. (2016) FLCN Maintains the Leucine Level in Lysosome to Stimulate mTORC1. PloS one, 11(6). PMID: 27280402
- June 17, 2016
- 03:06 AM
- 178 views
Epilepsy begets autism?
by Paul Whiteley in Questioning Answers
"Individuals with epilepsy are at increased risk of ASD [autism spectrum disorder], especially if epilepsy appears in childhood. Further, ASD is more common in the siblings and offspring of individuals with epilepsy, suggesting shared etiology."That was the research bottom-line from Heléne Sundelin and colleagues [1] reporting results based on examination of the "Swedish Patient Register" with regards to the "risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in individuals with epilepsy and in t........ Read more »
Sundelin, H., Larsson, H., Lichtenstein, P., Almqvist, C., Hultman, C., Tomson, T., & Ludvigsson, J. (2016) Autism and epilepsy. Neurology, 10. DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000002836
- June 16, 2016
- 03:52 PM
- 242 views
Postpartum depression least severe form of depression in mothers
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Postpartum depression--a household term since actress Brooke Shields went public in 2005 about her struggle with it--is indeed serious. But depression that begins before or during pregnancy is often more severe because it lasts longer and usually goes undetected until the doctor screens for it after the birth of the baby.
... Read more »
Fisher, S., Wisner, K., Clark, C., Sit, D., Luther, J., & Wisniewski, S. (2016) Factors associated with onset timing, symptoms, and severity of depression identified in the postpartum period. Journal of Affective Disorders, 111-120. DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2016.05.063
- June 16, 2016
- 03:01 AM
- 170 views
Prevalence of learning disability and autism in Western Australia
by Paul Whiteley in Questioning Answers
"The prevalence of ID [intellectual disability] in WA [Western Australia] has increased over the past 10 years compared with previous estimates... This increase is associated in a large part with an increased prevalence of ASDs [autism spectrum disorder] for whom 70% had comorbid ID or an unknown level of ID."Those were some of the findings reported by Jenny Bourke and colleagues [1] (open-access available here). Drawing on data derived from the Intellectual Di........ Read more »
Bourke J, de Klerk N, Smith T, & Leonard H. (2016) Population-Based Prevalence of Intellectual Disability and Autism Spectrum Disorders in Western Australia: A Comparison With Previous Estimates. Medicine, 95(21). PMID: 27227936
- June 15, 2016
- 10:18 AM
- 217 views
Weird stuff found in recreational drugs: Meth edition
by Rosin Cerate in Rosin Cerate
As Breaking Bad has taught us, the clandestine manufacture of methamphetamine is a very dangerous undertaking. It involves the use of many harmful substances, which depending on the synthesis method include highly corrosive acids and bases, cancer-causing benzene, brain-damaging mercury and lead, jaw-wrecking phosphorus, and blood-breaking sodium cyanide. Blending these various substances together can produce noxious fumes, making gas masks and chemical suits a necessity if you want to avoid get........ Read more »
Cole C, Jones L, McVeigh J, Kicman A, Syed Q, & Bellis M. (2011) Adulterants in illicit drugs: A review of empirical evidence. Drug Testing and Analysis, 3(2), 89-96. PMID: 21322119
- June 15, 2016
- 08:05 AM
- 219 views
Tricky Little Buggers
by Mark Lasbury in As Many Exceptions As Rules
Evolution brings wisdom with age – and bacteria are ancient. Bacteria have evolved defenses ranging from evasion or inhibition of immune systems to protecting crucial functions from environmental injury. New studies have identified spring-loaded spikes that can be assembled and disassembled for puncturing other bacteria and delivering toxins, while other work is focused on using those same toxins to kill antibiotic resistant organisms, with E. coli have been engineered to produce toxins ag........ Read more »
Basler, M., Pilhofer, M., Henderson, G., Jensen, G., & Mekalanos, J. (2012) Type VI secretion requires a dynamic contractile phage tail-like structure. Nature, 483(7388), 182-186. DOI: 10.1038/nature10846
Saeidi, N., Wong, C., Lo, T., Nguyen, H., Ling, H., Leong, S., Poh, C., & Chang, M. (2011) Engineering microbes to sense and eradicate Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a human pathogen. Molecular Systems Biology. DOI: 10.1038/msb.2011.55
- June 15, 2016
- 04:30 AM
- 174 views
Return to Sport and BMI are Associated with Quality of Life After an ACL Reconstruction
by Kyle Harris in Sports Medicine Research (SMR): In the Lab & In the Field
Lower overall quality of life after an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction was associated with higher body mass index (BMI) and not returning to sport.... Read more »
Filbay, S., Ackerman, I., Russell, T., & Crossley, K. (2016) Return to sport matters-longer-term quality of life after ACL reconstruction in people with knee difficulties. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine . DOI: 10.1111/sms.12698
- June 15, 2016
- 03:10 AM
- 148 views
The stability of an Asperger syndrome diagnosis continued
by Paul Whiteley in Questioning Answers
"The subsample that no longer fulfilled an autism spectrum disorder had full-time jobs or studies (10/11), independent living (100%), and reported having two or more friends (100%)."So said the paper by Adam Helles and colleagues [1] continuing a research theme from this authorship group on what happens to autism, or rather Asperger syndrome, in the longer-term (see here). Indeed, if you have the time, the thesis from Helles covering this area of study is well worth a read (see here).This time a........ Read more »
Helles A, Gillberg IC, Gillberg C, & Billstedt E. (2016) Asperger syndrome in males over two decades: Quality of life in relation to diagnostic stability and psychiatric comorbidity. Autism : the international journal of research and practice. PMID: 27233289
- June 14, 2016
- 03:16 PM
- 247 views
Even when help is just a click away, stigma is still a roadblock
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Stigma is a major barrier preventing people with mental health issues from getting the help they need. Even in a private and anonymous setting online, someone with greater self-stigma is less likely to take that first step to get information about mental health concerns and counseling.
... Read more »
Lannin, D., Vogel, D., Brenner, R., Abraham, W., & Heath, P. (2016) Does self-stigma reduce the probability of seeking mental health information?. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 63(3), 351-358. DOI: 10.1037/cou0000108
- June 14, 2016
- 12:18 PM
- 211 views
Nurturing the Gifted
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
My photo of Mozart No one denies the importance of public education. Raising graduation rates and academic ability in the general population are highly accepted education system goals. Additionally, identification of learning disorders and the barriers to academic progress are the focus of many.However, the study of the gifted is perhaps no less important but this topic receives less attention and research.Matthew Makel and colleagues at Duke University and Vanderbi........ Read more »
Makel MC, Kell HJ, Lubinski D, Putallaz M, & Benbow CP. (2016) When Lightning Strikes Twice: Profoundly Gifted, Profoundly Accomplished. Psychological science. PMID: 27225220
Kell HJ, Lubinski D, Benbow CP, & Steiger JH. (2013) Creativity and technical innovation: spatial ability's unique role. Psychological science, 24(9), 1831-6. PMID: 23846718
- June 14, 2016
- 08:47 AM
- 194 views
MaMaLoc: How To Change Cancer Surgeries With Magnets
by Rita dos Santos Silva in United Academics
A small magnetic device might transform breast cancer surgeries... Read more »
Rahusen, F., Bremers, A., Fabry, H., Taets van Amerongen, A., Boom, R., & Meijer, S. (2002) Ultrasound-guided lumpectomy of nonpalpable breast cancer versus wire-guided resection: A randomized clinical trial. Annals of Surgical Oncology, 9(10), 994-998. DOI: 10.1007/BF02574518
Anderson, R., Kimmick, G., McCoy, T., Hopkins, J., Levine, E., Miller, G., Ribisl, P., & Mihalko, S. (2011) A randomized trial of exercise on well-being and function following breast cancer surgery: the RESTORE trial. Journal of Cancer Survivorship, 6(2), 172-181. DOI: 10.1007/s11764-011-0208-4
Medina-Franco, H., Abarca-Pérez, L., García-Alvarez, M., Ulloa-Gómez, J., Romero-Trejo, C., & Sepúlveda-Méndez, J. (2008) Radioguided occult lesion localization (ROLL) versus wire-guided lumpectomy for non-palpable breast lesions: A randomized prospective evaluation. Journal of Surgical Oncology, 97(2), 108-111. DOI: 10.1002/jso.20880
Lovrics, P., Cornacchi, S., Vora, R., Goldsmith, C., & Kahnamoui, K. (2011) Systematic review of radioguided surgery for non-palpable breast cancer. European Journal of Surgical Oncology (EJSO), 37(5), 388-397. DOI: 10.1016/j.ejso.2011.01.018
Postma, E., Koffijberg, H., Verkooijen, H., Witkamp, A., van den Bosch, M., & van Hillegersberg, R. (2013) Cost-Effectiveness of Radioguided Occult Lesion Localization (ROLL) Versus Wire-Guided Localization (WGL) in Breast Conserving Surgery for Nonpalpable Breast Cancer: Results from a Randomized Controlled Multicenter Trial. Annals of Surgical Oncology, 20(7), 2219-2226. DOI: 10.1245/s10434-013-2888-7
Ahmed, M., & Douek, M. (2013) A systematic review and meta-analysis of intra-operative ultrasound versus wire-guided localization in the surgical management of non-palpable breast cancers. European Journal of Surgical Oncology (EJSO), 39(11). DOI: 10.1016/j.ejso.2013.07.212
- June 14, 2016
- 02:42 AM
- 175 views
On fatty acid metabolism and autism and ADHD (again)
by Paul Whiteley in Questioning Answers
"Children with ADHD [attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder] and ASD [autism spectrum disorder] had low levels of EPA [eicosapentaenoic acid], DHA [docosahexaenoic acid] and AA [arachidonic acid] and high ratio of n-6/n-3 PUFAs [polyunsaturated fatty acid] and these correlated significantly with symptoms. Future research should further investigate abnormal fatty acid metabolism in these disorders."So said the research publication by Natalie Par........ Read more »
Parletta N, Niyonsenga T, & Duff J. (2016) Omega-3 and Omega-6 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Levels and Correlations with Symptoms in Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Autistic Spectrum Disorder and Typically Developing Controls. PloS one, 11(5). PMID: 27232999
- June 13, 2016
- 08:30 PM
- 218 views
This Month in Blastocystis Research (MAY 2016)
by Christen Rune Stensvold in Blastocystis Parasite Blog
The May entry of "This Month in Blastocystis Research" focusses especially on the increasing interest in Blastocystis in a gut microbiota context. ... Read more »
Audebert C, Even G, Cian A, Blastocystis Investigation Group, Loywick A, Merlin S, Viscogliosi E, & Chabé M. (2016) Colonization with the enteric protozoa Blastocystis is associated with increased diversity of human gut bacterial microbiota. Scientific reports, 25255. PMID: 27147260
Andersen LO, Bonde I, Nielsen HB, & Stensvold CR. (2015) A retrospective metagenomics approach to studying Blastocystis. FEMS microbiology ecology, 91(7). PMID: 26130823
Stensvold CR, & Clark CG. (2016) Current status of Blastocystis: A personal view. Parasitology international. PMID: 27247124
O'Brien Andersen L, Karim AB, Roager HM, Vigsnæs LK, Krogfelt KA, Licht TR, & Stensvold CR. (2016) Associations between common intestinal parasites and bacteria in humans as revealed by qPCR. European journal of clinical microbiology . PMID: 27230509
Ramírez JD, Sánchez A, Hernández C, Flórez C, Bernal MC, Giraldo JC, Reyes P, López MC, García L, Cooper PJ.... (2016) Geographic distribution of human Blastocystis subtypes in South America. Infection, genetics and evolution : journal of molecular epidemiology and evolutionary genetics in infectious diseases, 32-5. PMID: 27034056
- June 13, 2016
- 01:43 PM
- 237 views
Experimental antibiotic treats deadly MRSA infection
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
The antibiotic arms race is on, while we are rushing to find new antibiotics, bacteria are working on finding ways around them. With that in mind, a new experimental antibiotic developed by a team of scientists successfully treats the deadly MRSA infection and restores the efficacy of a commonly prescribed antibiotic that has become ineffective against MRSA.
... Read more »
Kaul M, Mark L, Zhang Y, Parhi AK, Lyu YL, Pawlak J, Saravolatz S, Saravolatz LD, Weinstein MP, LaVoie EJ.... (2015) TXA709, an FtsZ-Targeting Benzamide Prodrug with Improved Pharmacokinetics and Enhanced In Vivo Efficacy against Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy, 59(8), 4845-55. PMID: 26033735
- June 13, 2016
- 02:34 AM
- 182 views
A gluten-free diet, gastrointestinal issues and autism
by Paul Whiteley in Questioning Answers
Given my own research interest in the use of specific dietary modifications as possible intervention tools for some aspects of some autism (see here) I was more than interested to read the results published by Faezeh Ghalichi and colleagues [1] following their randomised-controlled trial of a gluten-free diet (GFD) including some 80 children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD).As part of an area of much discussion, debate and also heated argument down the years, the author........ Read more »
Ghalichi F, Ghaemmaghami J, Malek A, & Ostadrahimi A. (2016) Effect of gluten free diet on gastrointestinal and behavioral indices for children with autism spectrum disorders: a randomized clinical trial. World journal of pediatrics : WJP. PMID: 27286693
- June 12, 2016
- 10:35 PM
- 264 views
Seeing Through the Skin
by Aurametrix team in Olfactics and Diagnostics
Human skin emits light (albeit the glow is extremely weak) and a wide variety of small molecules that may be sometimes "sniffed" by dogs or even other humans. These chemicals tell a story about our health and wellness, things we eat and drink, touch and breathe. Mosquitoes use such emissions to assess our "attractiveness" from indicators such as Indoles (unpleasantly smelling but healthy "inner soil" biomarker) or carbon dioxide (amount of which correlates with the size of the person........ Read more »
Andreoni G, Standoli CE, & Perego P. (2016) Defining Requirements and Related Methods for Designing Sensorized Garments. Sensors (Basel, Switzerland), 16(6). PMID: 27240361
Gao W, Emaminejad S, Nyein HY, Challa S, Chen K, Peck A, Fahad HM, Ota H, Shiraki H, Kiriya D.... (2016) Fully integrated wearable sensor arrays for multiplexed in situ perspiration analysis. Nature, 529(7587), 509-14. PMID: 26819044
Imani S, Bandodkar AJ, Mohan AM, Kumar R, Yu S, Wang J, & Mercier PP. (2016) A wearable chemical-electrophysiological hybrid biosensing system for real-time health and fitness monitoring. Nature communications, 11650. PMID: 27212140
Lee H, Choi TK, Lee YB, Cho HR, Ghaffari R, Wang L, Choi HJ, Chung TD, Lu N, Hyeon T.... (2016) A graphene-based electrochemical device with thermoresponsive microneedles for diabetes monitoring and therapy. Nature nanotechnology, 11(6), 566-72. PMID: 26999482
Panneer Selvam A, Muthukumar S, Kamakoti V, & Prasad S. (2016) A wearable biochemical sensor for monitoring alcohol consumption lifestyle through Ethyl glucuronide (EtG) detection in human sweat. Scientific reports, 23111. PMID: 26996103
Yokota T, Zalar P, Kaltenbrunner M, Jinno H, Matsuhisa N, Kitanosako H, Tachibana Y, Yukita W, Koizumi M, & Someya T. (2016) Ultraflexible organic photonic skin. Science advances, 2(4). PMID: 27152354
- June 12, 2016
- 02:23 PM
- 229 views
Researchers show copper is essential for burning fat
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Is copper deficiency contributing to the obesity epidemic? Though small amounts of copper are essential to health - oysters, liver, beans and nuts are good sources - copper's role in metabolism has been unclear: Some studies found that it boosted fat burning, others that it depressed it.
... Read more »
Krishnamoorthy, L., Cotruvo, J., Chan, J., Kaluarachchi, H., Muchenditsi, A., Pendyala, V., Jia, S., Aron, A., Ackerman, C., Wal, M.... (2016) Copper regulates cyclic-AMP-dependent lipolysis. Nature Chemical Biology. DOI: 10.1038/nchembio.2098
- June 11, 2016
- 03:51 AM
- 187 views
On biological markers and "subphenotypes" of autism
by Paul Whiteley in Questioning Answers
I don't want to keep you today. Just long enough to draw your attention to the paper by Jones and colleagues [1] regarding "ongoing efforts toward identification of early biological markers specific to subphenotypes of ASD [autism spectrum disorder]."The potential biomarkers in question this time around were the cytokines/chemokines - those various signalling molecules that seem to have more than a few connections to important processes like inflammation - and how their profile ("mid-gestat........ Read more »
Jones KL, Croen LA, Yoshida CK, Heuer L, Hansen R, Zerbo O, DeLorenze GN, Kharrazi M, Yolken R, Ashwood P.... (2016) Autism with intellectual disability is associated with increased levels of maternal cytokines and chemokines during gestation. Molecular psychiatry. PMID: 27217154
- June 10, 2016
- 02:40 PM
- 194 views
New tool brings personalized medicine closer
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Scientists have developed a powerful tool for exploring and determining the inherent biological differences between individuals, which overcomes a major hurdle for personalized medicine.
... Read more »
Williams, E., Wu, Y., Jha, P., Dubuis, S., Blattmann, P., Argmann, C., Houten, S., Amariuta, T., Wolski, W., Zamboni, N.... (2016) Systems proteomics of liver mitochondria function. Science, 352(6291). DOI: 10.1126/science.aad0189
- June 10, 2016
- 06:14 AM
- 250 views
BHD syndrome and thyroid conditions
by Joana Guedes in BHD Research Blog
Dong et al., (2016) have recently reported two BHD syndrome patients also affected with papillary thyroid cancer. Lesions were bilateral and multifocal and small lymph node metastases occurred. Due to the small number of patients in the study the authors are unsure whether thyroid cancer in BHD patients is susceptible to exhibiting bilaterally and lymph node metastasis. However, they suggest considering thyroidectomy and prophylactic lymph node dissection for thyroid cancer patients with BHD. Th........ Read more »
Dong L, Gao M, Hao WJ, Zheng XQ, Li YG, Li XL, & Yu Y. (2016) Case Report of Birt-Hogg-Dubé Syndrome: Germline Mutations of FLCN Detected in Patients With Renal Cancer and Thyroid Cancer. Medicine, 95(22). PMID: 27258496
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