Czy istnieje różnica w jakości życia i występowaniu objawów psychiatrycznych u chorych na akromegalię i inne choroby przewlekłe?

Introduction: The study aimed to evaluate the psychological profile of patients with acromegaly in comparison to other chronic diseases such as non-functioning pituitary adenomas, Cushing disease, and plaque psoriasis, and to a healthy control group. Material and methods: A total sample of 153 participants in clinical groups underwent a cross-sectional assessment including the quality of life (AcroQoL, WHOQoL-BREF), psychiatric morbidity (GHQ-28), and the acceptance of illness (AIS), as well as 65 participants in the healthy control group. Results: The whole study sample had a predominance of urban married females (61%) with medium level of education (41%). Patients with acromegaly were diagnosed significantly later than patients from other clinical groups, after the onset of the first symptoms. Acromegaly was related to the presence of more symptoms of anxiety and insomnia, and poorer social relationships compared with the general population but not more than in other chronic diseases. A better quality of life score in all domains of WHOQoL-BREF was associated with a better score on the acceptance of illness scale and lower scores on GHQ-28. Conclusions: Psychiatric morbidity, mainly anxiety and insomnia, occurs in 50% of patients with acromegaly. However, the psychological wellbeing and mood seem to be related to other factors such as the acceptance of the illness. Thus, concerning the diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of acromegaly an interdisciplinary approach, taking into account psychological and psychiatric consultation, is needed.Wstęp: Celem pracy była ocena profilu psychologicznego pacjentów z akromegalią w porównaniu z pacjentami z innymi chorobami przewlekłymi, takimi jak: nieczynne hormonalnie gruczolaki przysadki, choroba Cushinga, łuszczyca oraz zdrowych z grupy kontrolnej. Materiał i metody: Badaniem objęto 153 chorych w grupach klinicznych, którzy zostali poddani szerokiej ocenie obejmującej: jakość życia (AcroQoL, WHOQoL-BREF), występowanie zaburzeń psychiatrycznych (GHQ-28) i stopień akceptacji choroby (AIS) oraz 65 uczestników z grupy kontrolnej. Wyniki: W całej grupie badanej obserwowano przewagę zamężnych, miejskich kobiet (61%) z wykształceniem średnim (41%). Pacjenci z akromegalią byli diagnozowani znacznie później w stosunku do pozostałych grup chorych, po pojawieniu się pierwszych objawów. Akromegalia charakteryzowała się częstszym występowaniem bezsenności i lęku oraz gorszymi relacjami społecznymi w porównaniu z populacją ogólną, ale nie w stosunku do innych chorób przewlekłych. Lepsza jakość życia we wszystkich domenach formularza WHOQoL-BREF wiązała się z większą akceptacją choroby i niższym wynikiem w skali GHQ-28. Wnioski: Zaburzenia psychiatryczne, głównie lęk i bezsenność, występują u 50% pacjentów z akromegalią. Jednak stan psychiczny i nastrój wydają się związane z innym czynnikiem, jakim jest stopień akceptacji choroby. Podkreśla to potrzebę opieki interdyscyplinarnej, uwzględniającej opiekę psychiatryczną i psychologiczną, w diagnostyce, leczeniu i monitorowaniu pacjentów z akromegalią

Improvement of working memory in older adults with mild cognitive impairment after repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation – a randomized controlled pilot study

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a noninvasive technique that could improve cognitive function. It is being developed as a non-pharmacological intervention to alleviate symptoms of cognitive deterioration. We assessed the efficacy of rTMS in improving cognitive functioning among people with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) in a partially-blinded, sham-controlled randomized trial. Out of 91 subjects screened, 31 participants with MCI (mean age 70.73; SD = 4.47), were randomly assigned to one of three groups: (A) Active rTMS; (B) Active rTMS with Computerized Cognitive Training RehaCom; and (C) Sham control. The study evaluated cognitive function using the DemTect, FAS, and CANTAB tests before and after the stimulation. The following treatment protocol was applied: 2000 pulses at 10 Hz, 5-s train duration, and 25-s intervals at 110% of resting MT delivered over the left Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex (DLPFC) five times a week for 2 weeks. After 10 sessions of high-frequency rTMS, there was an improvement in overall cognitive function and memory, assessed by the DemTect evaluation, with no serious adverse effects. Analysis of differences in time (after 10 sessions) between studied groups showed statistically significant improvement in DemTect total score (time by group interaction p = 0.026) in favor of rTMS+RehaCom. The linear regression of CANTAB Paired Associates Learning revealed significant differences in favor of rTMS+RehaCom in three subtests. Our study shows that 10 sessions of rTMS over the left DLPFC (alone as well as combined with Computerized Cognitive Training) can have a positive impact on cognitive function in people with MCI. Further research should investigate the underlying mechanism and determine the optimal parameters for rTMS, which will be important for its efficacy in clinical settings

In-flight calibration and verification of the Planck-LFI instrument

In this paper we discuss the Planck-LFI in-flight calibration campaign. After a brief overview of the ground test campaigns, we describe in detail the calibration and performance verification (CPV) phase, carried out in space during and just after the cool-down of LFI. We discuss in detail the functionality verification, the tuning of the front-end and warm electronics, the preliminary performance assessment and the thermal susceptibility tests. The logic, sequence, goals and results of the in-flight tests are discussed. All the calibration activities were successfully carried out and the instrument response was comparable to the one observed on ground. For some channels the in-flight tuning activity allowed us to improve significantly the noise performance.Comment: Long technical paper on Planck LFI in flight calibration campaign: 109 pages in this (not final) version, 100 page in the final JINST versio

Jeśli nie definiuje mnie angielskość, zdefiniujmy ją ponownie” - różnica kulturowa i różnorodność w londyńskim krajobrazie miejskim

Dychotomia: Tożsamy/Inny niezmiennie określa pozycję wypowiadającego się podmiotu, stawiając go albo w centrum, albo na jego obrzeżach. Punktem wyjściowym dla przedstawionych w niniejszym artykule rozważań są teorie badacza postkolonialnego Homiego K. Bhabhy. Bhabha podkreśla udział kultury w wytwarzaniu narodu i proponuje kulturową konstrukcję pojęcia narodowości jako „formy afiliacji społecznej i tekstualnej”, jego zaś mieszkańców definiuje jako „historyczne ‘przedmioty’ pedagogiki nacjonalistycznej […] i ‘podmioty’ procesu nadawania znaczenia”, a więc nośniki przeszłości i teraźniejszości. Jak pokazują przywołane w analizie brytyjskie pisarki Monica Ali (w Brick Lane) i Zadie Smith (w Białych Zębach), kategoryzowanie jednostek i grup ze względu na ich przynależność etniczną, rasową czy kulturową nie ma już przełożenia na binarne opozycje i politykę różnicy ukazaną w Marionetkach V.S. Naipaula. Nałożenie się różnorodnych, niejednokrotnie przeciwstawnych indeksów sprawia, że trudno zastosować esencjonalizm do wysoce hybrydyzowanych jednostek. Kultura Innego została przeszczepiona na grunt centrum, które dotąd było uważane przez Tożsamego za homogeniczne

First High-Resolution Crystal Structures of DNA:2′-<i>O</i>-Methyl-RNA Heteroduplexes

Heteroduplexes composed of all-DNA and all-2′-OMe RNA strands do not occur in nature, but they have found application in the development of molecular beacons and could also be used as aptamers or elements of nucleic acid-based nanostructures that will contain such structural motifs. The crystallization experiments performed have shown that the introduction of overhangs at the ends of the duplex has a great influence on the success of crystallization, as well as on the DNA:2′-OMe-RNA heteroduplex crystal packing. The molecular and crystal structure of the DNA:2′-O-methyl-RNA heteroduplex in its overhanging and blunt-ended versions was determined at 100 K using synchrotron radiation with a resolution of 1.91 and 1.55 Å, respectively. The Zn-SAD method was used to resolve the original duplex structure when molecular replacement by many existing models of duplex structures failed. Both molecules analyzed adopted a conformation close to the A-RNA double helix. The presented structures provide the first insight into this type of heteroduplexes and allowed a comparative analysis with existing nucleic acid homo- and heteroduplex structures. The results of our research expand the knowledge of the structural properties of new heteroduplexes and may be useful for future applications, such as therapies using this class of compounds

Methotrexate Decreases the Level of PCSK9—A Novel Indicator of the Risk of Proatherogenic Lipid Profile in Psoriasis. The Preliminary Data

Background: Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) exerts an important role in inflammatory processes, lipids homeostasis, and cardiometabolic disorders that are closely associated with psoriasis. The aim of the study was to analyze the clinical and diagnostic value of serum PCSK9 concentrations and their connections with disease severity, inflammation, metabolic syndrome, and impact of systemic therapies in psoriatic patients. The study enrolled thirty-five patients with active plaque-type psoriasis and eighteen healthy volunteers served as controls. Blood samples were obtained before and after 12 weeks of treatment with methotrexate or acitretin. Serum PCSK9 concentrations were measured by the ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay) commercial kits. Morphological and biochemical parameters were assayed using routine laboratory techniques. Psoriatic patients showed significantly elevated levels of PCSK9 compared to controls (p &lt; 0.01), mostly in patients with a mild and moderate course of psoriasis. PCSK9 concentrations correlated positively with BMI and triglyceride levels (p &lt; 0.05). Interestingly, PCSK9 had a strong negative correlation with low-density lipoprotein levels and total cholesterol (p &lt; 0.05). Three months of monotherapy with methotrexate significantly reduced PCSK9 level (p &lt; 0.05), on the contrary, the acitretin group showed a further increase of PCSK9 levels (p &lt; 0.05). PCSK9 seems to be a novel marker of psoriasis and a putative explanation of lipid disturbances, which are common in patients with psoriasis and are vital for the further developing of metabolic syndrome. Methotrexate should be considered as a treatment of choice in patients with an elevated PCSK9 concentration

Potential Predictive Value of Serum Pentraxin 3 and Paraoxonase 1 for Cardiometabolic Disorders Development in Patients with Psoriasis—Preliminary Data

Psoriasis is a systemic disease that is linked to cardiometabolic complications. Paraoxonase 1 (PON1) exerts anti-atherogenic properties. Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) is related to heart failure and atherosclerosis. We aimed to evaluate the protein levels in psoriatic patients and explore possible relations with disease activity, metaflammation parameters and systemic treatment. Thirty-three patients with plaque-type psoriasis and eleven healthy controls were enrolled in the study. Blood samples were collected before and after three months of therapy with acitretin or methotrexate. Serum proteins levels were evaluated using Bio-Plex 200 System. The mean serum pentraxin 3 level was significantly higher in patients with psoriasis, compared to controls (p p p p > 0.05). In psoriatics of normal weight, PON1 correlated negatively with liver enzymes activity (p < 0.05). PTX3 might exert a protective role in terms of cardiometabolic disorders development, especially in overweight and obese or most severe psoriatics. PON1 could serve as an indicator of the liver disorders in psoriasis