Tick-borne encephalitis virus in dogs - is this an issue?

The last review on Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) in dogs was published almost ten years ago. Since then, this zoonotic tick-borne arbovirus has been geographically spreading and emerging in many regions in Eurasia and continues to do so. Dogs become readily infected with TBE virus but they are accidental hosts not capable to further spread the virus. They seroconvert upon infection but they seem to be much more resistant to the clinical disease than humans. Apart from their use as sentinels in endemic areas, however, an increasing number of case reports appeared during the last decade thus mirroring the rising public health concerns. Owing to the increased mobility of people travelling to endemic areas with their companion dogs, this consequently leads to problems in recognizing and diagnosing this severe infection in a yet non-endemic area, simply because the veterinarians are not considering TBE. This situation warrants an update on the epidemiology, clinical presentation and possible preventions of TBE in the dog

Diminishing benefits of urban living for children and adolescents’ growth and development

AbstractOptimal growth and development in childhood and adolescence is crucial for lifelong health and well-being1–6. Here we used data from 2,325 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight from 71 million participants, to report the height and body-mass index (BMI) of children and adolescents aged 5–19 years on the basis of rural and urban place of residence in 200 countries and territories from 1990 to 2020. In 1990, children and adolescents residing in cities were taller than their rural counterparts in all but a few high-income countries. By 2020, the urban height advantage became smaller in most countries, and in many high-income western countries it reversed into a small urban-based disadvantage. The exception was for boys in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa and in some countries in Oceania, south Asia and the region of central Asia, Middle East and north Africa. In these countries, successive cohorts of boys from rural places either did not gain height or possibly became shorter, and hence fell further behind their urban peers. The difference between the age-standardized mean BMI of children in urban and rural areas was &lt;1.1 kg m–2 in the vast majority of countries. Within this small range, BMI increased slightly more in cities than in rural areas, except in south Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and some countries in central and eastern Europe. Our results show that in much of the world, the growth and developmental advantages of living in cities have diminished in the twenty-first century, whereas in much of sub-Saharan Africa they have amplified.</jats:p

Worldwide trends in underweight and obesity from 1990 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 3663 population-representative studies with 222 million children, adolescents, and adults

Background Underweight and obesity are associated with adverse health outcomes throughout the life course. We estimated the individual and combined prevalence of underweight or thinness and obesity, and their changes, from 1990 to 2022 for adults and school-aged children and adolescents in 200 countries and territories. Methods We used data from 3663 population-based studies with 222 million participants that measured height and weight in representative samples of the general population. We used a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends in the prevalence of different BMI categories, separately for adults (age ≥20 years) and school-aged children and adolescents (age 5–19 years), from 1990 to 2022 for 200 countries and territories. For adults, we report the individual and combined prevalence of underweight (BMI 2 SD above the median). Findings From 1990 to 2022, the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity in adults decreased in 11 countries (6%) for women and 17 (9%) for men with a posterior probability of at least 0·80 that the observed changes were true decreases. The combined prevalence increased in 162 countries (81%) for women and 140 countries (70%) for men with a posterior probability of at least 0·80. In 2022, the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity was highest in island nations in the Caribbean and Polynesia and Micronesia, and countries in the Middle East and north Africa. Obesity prevalence was higher than underweight with posterior probability of at least 0·80 in 177 countries (89%) for women and 145 (73%) for men in 2022, whereas the converse was true in 16 countries (8%) for women, and 39 (20%) for men. From 1990 to 2022, the combined prevalence of thinness and obesity decreased among girls in five countries (3%) and among boys in 15 countries (8%) with a posterior probability of at least 0·80, and increased among girls in 140 countries (70%) and boys in 137 countries (69%) with a posterior probability of at least 0·80. The countries with highest combined prevalence of thinness and obesity in school-aged children and adolescents in 2022 were in Polynesia and Micronesia and the Caribbean for both sexes, and Chile and Qatar for boys. Combined prevalence was also high in some countries in south Asia, such as India and Pakistan, where thinness remained prevalent despite having declined. In 2022, obesity in school-aged children and adolescents was more prevalent than thinness with a posterior probability of at least 0·80 among girls in 133 countries (67%) and boys in 125 countries (63%), whereas the converse was true in 35 countries (18%) and 42 countries (21%), respectively. In almost all countries for both adults and school-aged children and adolescents, the increases in double burden were driven by increases in obesity, and decreases in double burden by declining https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/images/research_banner_face_lab_290.jpgunderweight or thinness. Interpretation The combined burden of underweight and obesity has increased in most countries, driven by an increase in obesity, while underweight and thinness remain prevalent in south Asia and parts of Africa. A healthy nutrition transition that enhances access to nutritious foods is needed to address the remaining burden of underweight while curbing and reversing the increase in obesity

Prevalence of <it>Borrelia burgdorferi </it>sensu lato and <it>Anaplasma phagocytophilum </it>in questing <it>Ixodes ricinus </it>ticks in relation to the density of wild cervids

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Borrelia burgdorferi </it>sensu lato and <it>Anaplasma phagocytophilum </it>have been considered as pathogens in animals and humans. The role of wild cervids in the epidemiology is not clear. We analyzed questing <it>Ixodes ricinus </it>ticks collected in spring for these pathogens from sites with high (Fjelløyvær and Strøm) and low density (Tjore, Hinnebu and Jomfruland) of wild cervids to study the spread of the pathogens in questing ticks.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>For detection of <it>Anaplasma phagocytophilum </it>a 77-bp fragment in the <it>msp</it>2 gene was used. Detection of <it>Borrelia burgdorferi </it>sensu lato was performed using the FL6 and FL7 primers according to sequences of conserved regions of the <it>fla </it>gene. The <it>Osp</it>A gene located on the linear 49-kb plasmid was used as target in multiplex PCR for genotyping. Genospecies-specific primers were used in the PCR for <it>Borrelia burgdorferi </it>sensu stricto, <it>B. afzelii </it>and <it>B. garinii</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Infection rates with <it>Borrelia </it>spp. were significantly lower at Fjelløyvær and Strøm compared to Tjore and Hinnebu; Fjelløyvær vs. Tjore (χ²= 20.27, p < 0.0001); Fjelløyvær vs. Hinnebu (χ²= 24.04, p < 0.0001); Strøm vs. Tjore (χ²= 11.47, p = 0.0007) and Strøm vs. Hinnebu (χ²= 16.63, p < 0.0001). The <it>Borrelia </it>genospecies were dominated by. <it>B. afzelii </it>(82%) followed by <it>B. garinii </it>(9.7%) and <it>B. burgdorferi </it>sensu stricto (6.9%). <it>B. burgdorferi </it>s.s. was only found on the island of Jomfruland. The infection rate of <it>Anaplasma phagocytophilum </it>showed the following figures; Fjelløyvær vs Hinnebu (χ²= 16.27, p = 0.0001); Strøm vs. Tjore (χ²= 13.16, p = 0.0003); Strøm vs. Hinnebu (χ²= 34.71, p < 0.0001); Fjelløyvær vs. Tjore (χ²= 3.19, p = 0.0742) and Fjelløyvær vs. Støm (χ²= 5.06, p = 0.0245). Wild cervids may serve as a reservoir for <it>A. phagocytophilum</it>. Jomfruland, with no wild cervids but high levels of migrating birds and rodents, harboured both B. <it>burgdorferi </it>s.l. and <it>A. phagocytophilum </it>in questing <it>I. ricinus </it>ticks. Birds and rodents may play an important role in maintaining the pathogens on Jomfruland.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The high abundance of roe deer and red deer on the Norwegian islands of Fjelløyvær and Strøm may reduce the infection rate of <it>Borrelia burgdorferi </it>sensu lato in host seeking <it>Ixodes ricinus</it>, in contrast to mainland sites at Hinnebu and Tjore with moderate abundance of wild cervids. The infection rate of <it>Anaplasma phagocytophilum </it>showed the opposite result with a high prevalence in questing ticks in localities with a high density of wild cervids compared to localities with lower density.</p

Vascular endothelial growth factor signals through platelet-derived growth factor receptor beta in meningiomas in vitro

BACKGROUND: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-mediated angiogenesis mediates tumour growth and metastasis. Meningiomas are primarily benign, slow-growing, highly vascularised tumours. Aside from VEGF, there is little data on the function of major angiogenic proteins in meningiomas. METHODS: The VEGFA, platelet-derived growth factor B (PDGFB), and their respective receptors – VEGF receptor 2 (KDR) and PDGF receptor β (PDGFRβ) – were quantified using real-time PCR and a TaqMan Protein Assay in meningiomas in vivo and in vitro. The effect of VEGFA and PDGFB on cell proliferation and the tyrosine phosphorylation of PDGFRβ were examined. RESULTS: Most meningiomas displayed no KDR protein expression but elevated PDGFRβ levels. Exogenous VEGFA stimulation significantly increased cell proliferation. The PDGFRβ inhibition before stimulation with VEGFA abolished the proliferative stimuli. The VEGFA induced concentration-dependent PDGFRβ tyrosine phosphorylation comparable to PDGFB-induced PDGFRβ tyrosine phosphorylation. The PDGFRβ inhibitors gambogic acid, sunitinib, and tandutinib equally impaired the migration of meningioma cells. In addition, gambogic acid suppressed the VEGFA-induced PDGFRβ tyrosine phosphorylation. CONCLUSION: Collectively, our data suggest that VEGFA primarily regulates VEGF-mediated migration through PDGFRβ in meningiomas. The inhibitory effect of gambogic acid and tandutinib against meningioma growth in vitro suggests that selective PDGFRβ inhibitors, in combination with VEGF inhibitors, should be evaluated further as potential therapies for recurrent and malignant meningiomas