New insights into the genetic etiology of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias

Characterization of the genetic landscape of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (ADD) provides a unique opportunity for a better understanding of the associated pathophysiological processes. We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study totaling 111,326 clinically diagnosed/'proxy' AD cases and 677,663 controls. We found 75 risk loci, of which 42 were new at the time of analysis. Pathway enrichment analyses confirmed the involvement of amyloid/tau pathways and highlighted microglia implication. Gene prioritization in the new loci identified 31 genes that were suggestive of new genetically associated processes, including the tumor necrosis factor alpha pathway through the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex. We also built a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future AD/dementia or progression from mild cognitive impairment to AD/dementia. The improvement in prediction led to a 1.6- to 1.9-fold increase in AD risk from the lowest to the highest decile, in addition to effects of age and the APOE ε4 allele

Higgs Boson Studies at the Tevatron

We combine searches by the CDF and D0 Collaborations for the standard model Higgs boson with mass in the range 90--200 GeV$/c^2$ produced in the gluon-gluon fusion, $WH$, $ZH$, $t{\bar{t}}H$, and vector boson fusion processes, and decaying in the $H\rightarrow b{\bar{b}}$, $H\rightarrow W^+W^-$, $H\rightarrow ZZ$, $H\rightarrow\tau^+\tau^-$, and $H\rightarrow \gamma\gamma$ modes. The data correspond to integrated luminosities of up to 10 fb$^{-1}$ and were collected at the Fermilab Tevatron in $p{\bar{p}}$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=1.96$ TeV. The searches are also interpreted in the context of fermiophobic and fourth generation models. We observe a significant excess of events in the mass range between 115 and 140 GeV/$c^2$. The local significance corresponds to 3.0 standard deviations at $m_H=125$ GeV/$c^2$, consistent with the mass of the Higgs boson observed at the LHC, and we expect a local significance of 1.9 standard deviations. We separately combine searches for $H \to b\bar{b}$, $H \to W^+W^-$, $H\rightarrow\tau^+\tau^-$, and $H\rightarrow\gamma\gamma$. The observed signal strengths in all channels are consistent with the presence of a standard model Higgs boson with a mass of 125 GeV/$c^2$

Pain and quality of life among older people with rheumatoid arthritis and/or osteoarthritis: a literature review.

The aim of this study was to review the research literature on pain and quality of life (QoL) and the relationship between these variables among people aged 75 years and above with rheumatoid arthritis and/or osteoarthritis. A Medline and CINAHL search was carried out using MeSH terms rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, QoL and pain in various combinations. Seventeen articles were identified that met the requirements for methodological quality and inclusion criteria. No study focused only on respondents aged 75 years or over. The studies had varying representation of this age group. Pain was common in both groups and was found to increase with age and disease duration among those with rheumatoid arthritis but not among those with osteoarthritis. Increased pain could lead to depression. Pain, functional limitation and increased age were found to decrease QoL among those with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis alike. Social support was found to buffer against negative effects on QoL among those with osteoarthritis while no moderating effects were found in rheumatoid arthritis. Increased age was found to relate to pain (rheumatoid arthritis) and decrease QoL (both rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis). It is, however, hard to draw any firm conclusions about older people's pain and QoL because of the lack of studies including respondents aged 75 years or over. Thus, research about pain and QoL, especially focusing on the old and the very elderly with rheumatoid arthritis/osteoarthritis, is needed. It also seems justified to say that nursing care should especially focus on older people and that these people should be assessed for their level of pain, functional limitations and QoL especially in the case of having rheumatoid arthritis and/or osteoarthritis