Medicine posts
- June 3, 2016
- 04:56 AM
- 202 views
The effects of acute exercise on ME/CFS/SEID meta-analysed
by Paul Whiteley in Questioning Answers
Accepting that the science recipe that is a meta-analysis is only as good as the research ingredients that go into it, I was interested to see the results published by Bryan Loy and colleagues [1] who concluded that: "preliminary evidence indicates that acute exercise increases fatigue in people with ME/CFS/SEID more than in control groups, but effects were heterogeneous between studies."ME - myalgic encephalomyelitis - and CFS - chronic fatigue syndrome - are conditions that I'm interested........ Read more »
Loy BD, O'Connor PJ, & Dishman RK. (2016) Effect of Acute Exercise on Fatigue in People with ME/CFS/SEID: A Meta-analysis. Medicine and science in sports and exercise. PMID: 27187093
- June 2, 2016
- 12:11 PM
- 249 views
The Future of Neuroscience Education
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
I spent the majority of my career in medical education and saw significant changes over time.One encouraging sign was the emergence of neuroscience as a respected and beneficial academic discipline.Now, a new perspective on Neuroscience Training for the 21st Center has been written by Huda Akil and colleagues. This perspective is recently published in the journal Neuron with free access to the full-text manuscript.Here are my notes from reading this perspective. Readers can access the free full-........ Read more »
Akil, H., Balice-Gordon, R., Cardozo, D., Koroshetz, W., Posey Norris, S., Sherer, T., Sherman, S., & Thiels, E. (2016) Neuroscience Training for the 21st Century. Neuron, 90(5), 917-926. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2016.05.030
- June 2, 2016
- 04:14 AM
- 193 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
- 257 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
- 229 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
- 224 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
- 09:38 AM
- 212 views
Video Tip of the Week: Your DNA, Your Say. GA4GH wants to hear from you. And you.
The Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH) has come up a few times on our blog. The last time we highlighted them for a tip, it was about their Beacon tool. The idea of the Beacon is that it could interrogate a database but in a very subtle way, without needing access to the […]... Read more »
Lawler, M., Siu, L., Rehm, H., Chanock, S., Alterovitz, G., Burn, J., Calvo, F., Lacombe, D., Teh, B., North, K.... (2015) All the World's a Stage: Facilitating Discovery Science and Improved Cancer Care through the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health. Cancer Discovery, 5(11), 1133-1136. DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-15-0821
- June 1, 2016
- 08:10 AM
- 231 views
The Dirt On Staying Healthy
by Mark Lasbury in As Many Exceptions As Rules
Triclosan is the active ingredient in many anti-bacterial products, but does it make our environment too clean? The hygiene hypothesis states that early childhood exposure to certain antigens can help to balance and control the immune system, and therefore result in lower levels of food and seasonal allergies. One particularly important antigen seems to be arabinogalactan, a fiber/sugar molecule found on farms – maybe that’s why farmers’ kids have lower levels of food and other........ Read more »
Gennady Cherednichenkoa, Rui Zhanga, Roger A. Bannisterb,Valeriy Timofeyevc, Ning Lic, Erika B. Fritscha, Wei Fenga, Genaro C. Barrientosa, Nils H. Schebbd, Bruce D. Hammockd, Kurt G. Beame, Nipavan Chiamvimonvatc, and Isaac N. Pessaha. (2012) Triclosan impairs excitation–contraction coupling and Ca2 dynamics in striated muscle. PNAS. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1211314109
- June 1, 2016
- 04:30 AM
- 213 views
African-American/Minority Males are at High Risk of Sudden Death
by Kyle Harris in Sports Medicine Research (SMR): In the Lab & In the Field
Sudden cardiac death among athletes most often occurred in African-American/Minorities and male athletes. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy was the most common cause of sudden cardiac death.... Read more »
Maron BJ, Haas TS, Ahluwalia A, Murphy CJ, & Garberich RF. (2016) Demographics and Epidemiology of Sudden Deaths in Young Competitive Athletes: From the U.S. National Registry. The American Journal of Medicine. PMID: 27039955
- June 1, 2016
- 02:43 AM
- 170 views
Organ regeneration in the lab
by jens wilkinson in It Ain't Magic
Interview with Takashi Tsuji, team leader of the Laboratory for Organ Regeneration at the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology... Read more »
Takagi, R., Ishimaru, J., Sugawara, A., Toyoshima, K., Ishida, K., Ogawa, M., Sakakibara, K., Asakawa, K., Kashiwakura, A., Oshima, M.... (2016) Bioengineering a 3D integumentary organ system from iPS cells using an in vivo transplantation model. Science Advances, 2(4). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1500887
- June 1, 2016
- 02:42 AM
- 181 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
- 194 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
- 08:17 AM
- 220 views
Identifying infections by their stench?
by Rosin Cerate in Rosin Cerate
Bacteria tend to smell. A classic example is the geosmin-producing Streptomyces species responsible for the nice earthy scent of freshly dug up soil. In general, though, bacteria have unpleasant odours. Just think of cheese, armpits, and poop. Lots of bacteria in or on all of those things. Some of the stinkiest bacteria are ones capable of infecting us. The distinctiveness of their disgusting bouquets may provide a means of identifying them. Hippocrates apparently diagnosed tuberculosis (caused ........ Read more »
Rao K, Berland D, Young C, Walk ST, & Newton DW. (2013) The nose knows not: Poor predictive value of stool sample odor for detection of Clostridium difficile. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 56(4), 615-616. PMID: 23166192
- May 30, 2016
- 05:36 AM
- 233 views
Compulsive Foreign Language Syndrome: Man Becomes Obsessed With Speaking Fake French
by The Neurocritic in The Neurocritic
You may have seen headlines such as: Florida Man Woke Up In A Motel Room Speaking Only Swedish. Or: Englishman wakes up speaking Welsh after stroke (“Rare brain disorder left English-speaking Alun Morgan only able to communicate in Welsh”). The first case was likely due to a fugue state, a type of dissociative disorder involving loss of personal identity and aimless wandering (Stengel, 1941). The second seems like an unusual example of bilingual aphasia involving loss of the ability to spea........ Read more »
Beschin, N., de Bruin, A., & Della Sala, S. (2016) Compulsive foreign language syndrome: A clinical observation not a mystery. Cortex. DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2016.04.020
- May 30, 2016
- 03:04 AM
- 198 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
- 255 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
- 282 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
- 240 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
- 12:33 PM
- 258 views
Starvation-induced FLCN association with lysosomes via a Rab34–RILP complex
by Joana Guedes in BHD Research Blog
Dynamic positioning of lysosomes in the cytoplasm plays an important role in their function and is, in part, regulated by cellular nutrient status. The FLCN/FNIP complex is known to be active on the lysosome surface, where it interacts with Rag GTPases, supports the nutrient‐dependent recruitment and activation of mTORC1, and regulates the localisation of lysosome associated transcription factors (Petit et al., 2013; Tsun et al., 2013). New research from Starling et al. (2016) now shows that f........ Read more »
Starling GP, Yip YY, Sanger A, Morton PE, Eden ER, & Dodding MP. (2016) Folliculin directs the formation of a Rab34-RILP complex to control the nutrient-dependent dynamic distribution of lysosomes. EMBO reports. PMID: 27113757
- May 27, 2016
- 10:24 AM
- 281 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
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