Serum triglycerides, but not cholesterol or leptin, are decreased in suicide attempters with mood disorders

BackgroundMany peripheral biomarkers, including low cholesterol and its fractions, have been examined to identify suicidal behavior. Herein, we assessed serum lipid profile and some proteins putatively associated with suicidal behavior in subjects with mood disorder (bipolar disorder or major depressive disorder) with a recent suicide attempt and with no lifetime history of suicide attempts.MethodsFifty subjects had presented an episode of attempted suicide during the last 15 days, and 36 subjects had no history of any suicide attempt. We measured total cholesterol, HDL, LDL and triglycerides as well as serum leptin, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), S100B and C-reactive protein (CRP).ResultsIndividuals that had attempted suicide presented decreased body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference. After adjusting for these confounders, we found that triglycerides were decreased in attempted suicide subjects. We found no differences among total cholesterol, LDL, and HDL or leptin, S100B, CRP and BDNF.LimitationsThis is a cross-sectional study, and we cannot therefore assess whether a decrease in triglycerides caused a mood episode with suicidal ideation that led to a suicide attempt or if the presence of a mood episode originated a loss of appetite and consequent loss of weight, therefore decreasing triglyceride levels.ConclusionsThese results do not support the hypothesis that lower levels of cholesterol are associated with suicidal behavior in a mood disorder sample. However, our data support the idea that adiposity is differentiated in these patients (reduced BMI, waist circumference and serum triglycerides), which could lead to an altered communication between the adipose tissue and brain

Extracellular Matrix Proteome Remodeling in Human Glioblastoma and Medulloblastoma

Medulloblastomas (MBs) and glioblastomas (GBMs) are high-incidence central nervous system tumors. Different origin sites and changes in the tissue microenvironment have been associated with the onset and progression. Here, we describe differences between the extracellular matrix (ECM) signatures of these tumors. We compared the proteomic profiles of MB and GBM decellularized tumor samples between each other and their normal decellularized brain site counterparts. Our analysis revealed that 19, 28, and 11 ECM proteins were differentially expressed in MBs, GBMs, and in both MBs and GBMs, respectively. Next, we validated key findings by using a protein tissue array with 53 MB and 55 GBM cases and evaluated the clinical relevance of the identified differentially expressed proteins through their analysis on publicly available datasets, 763 MB samples from the GSE50161 and GSE85217 studies, and 115 GBM samples from RNAseq-TCGA. We report a shift toward a denser fibrillary ECM as well as a clear alteration in the glycoprotein signature, which influences the tumor pathophysiology. MS data have been submitted to the PRIDE repository, project accession: PXD023350

New Materials to Solve Energy Issues through Photochemical and Photophysical Processes: The Kinetics Involved

Kinetic rates of energy production are extremely controlled by the competing processes that occur in systems capable of energy transfer. Besides organic and inorganic compounds already known as electronically actives, supramolecular systems can be thought to form energy transfer complexes to efficiently convert, for instance, light into electricity and the mechanisms for that can be of any kind. Photophysical and photochemical processes can simultaneously occur in such systems to provide energy conversion, by competing mechanisms or collaborative ones. Thus, to investigate the kinetic rates of each process and to understand the dynamics of the electronic excited states population and depopulation in strategically structured materials, can offer important tools to efficiently make use of this not always so evident power of supramolecular materials. In this chapter, we present the state-of-the-art of the use of photophysical processes and photochemical changes, presented by new materials and devices to provide a control of energy transfer processes and enable distinct applications, since energy conversion to sensing and imaging techniques to material characterization

Convex central configurations of the 4-body problem with two pairs of equal masses

Agraïments: The first and third authors are partially supported by FAPEMIG grant APQ-001082/14. The third author is partially supported by CNPq grant 472321/2013-7 and by FAPEMIG grant PPM-00516-15. The second and third autors are supported by CAPES CSF-PVE grant 88881.030454/2013-01.MacMillan and Bartky in 1932 proved that there is a unique isosceles trapezoid central configuration of the 4--body problem when two pairs of equal masses are located at adjacent vertices. After this result the following conjecture was well known between people working on central configurations: The isosceles trapezoid is the unique convex central configuration of the planar 4--body problem when two pairs of equal masses are located at adjacent vertices. We prove this conjecture

Pleiotropic effects of ezetimibe/simvastatin vs. high dose simvastatin

Background: In the setting of stable coronary artery disease (CAD), it is not known if the pleiotropic effects of cholesterol reduction differ between combined ezetimibe/simvastatin and high-dose simvastatin alone. Objective: We sought to compare the anti-inflammatory and antiplatelet effects of ezetimibe 10 mg/simvastatin 20 mg (E10/S20) with simvastatin 80 mg (S80). Methods and results: CAD patients (n = 83, 63 +/- 9 years, 57% men) receiving S20, were randomly allocated to receive E10/S20 or S80, for 6 weeks. Lipids, inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, soluble CD40 ligand and oxidized LDL), and platelet aggregation (platelet function analyzer [PFA]-100) changes were determined. Baseline lipids, inflammatory markers and PFA-100 were similar between groups. After treatment, E10/S20 and S80 patients presented, respectively: (1) similar reduction in LDL-C (29 +/- 13% vs. 28 +/- 30%, p = 0.46), apo-B (18 +/- 17% vs. 22 +/- 15%, p = 0.22) and oxidized LDL (15 +/- 33% vs. 18 +/- 47%, p = 0.30); (2) no changes in inflammatory markers; and, (3) a higher increase of the PFA-100 with E10/S20 than with S80 (27 +/- 43% vs. 8 +/- 33%, p = 0.02). Conclusions: These data suggest that among stable CAD patients treated with S20, (1) both E10/S20 and S80 were equally effective in further reducing LDL-C; (2) neither treatment had any further significant anti-inflammatory effects; and (3) E10/S20 was more effective than S80 in inhibiting platelet aggregation. Thus, despite similar lipid lowering and doses 4x less of simvastatin, E10/S20 induced a greater platelet inhibitory effect than S80. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.Astra ZenecaAstraZenecaMerck/Schering PloughMerck/Schering PloughPfizerPfizerSao Paulo Research FoundationSao Paulo Research Foundation [FAPESP/05/57710-3