Migraine and psychiatric comorbidity: a review of clinical findings

Migraine is an extremely common disorder. The underlying mechanisms of this chronic illness interspersed with acute symptoms appear to be increasingly complex. An important aspect of migraine heterogeneity is comorbidity with other neurological diseases, cardiovascular disorders, and psychiatric illnesses. Depressive disorders are among the leading causes of disability worldwide according to WHO estimation. In this review, we have mainly considered the findings from general population studies and studies on clinical samples, in adults and children, focusing on the association between migraine and psychiatric disorders (axis I of the DSM), carried over after the first classification of IHS (1988). Though not easily comparable due to differences in methodology to reach diagnosis, general population studies generally indicate an increased risk of affective and anxiety disorders in patients with migraine, compared to non-migrainous subjects. There would also be a trend towards an association of migraine with bipolar disorder, but not with substance abuse/dependence. With respect to migraine subtypes, comorbidity mainly involves migraine with aura. Patients suffering from migraine, however, show a decreased risk of developing affective and anxiety disorders compared to patients with daily chronic headache. It would also appear that psychiatric disorders prevail in patients with chronic headache and substance use than in patients with simple migraine. The mechanisms underlying migraine psychiatric comorbidity are presently poorly understood, but this topic remains a priority for future research. Psychiatric comorbidity indeed affects migraine evolution, may lead to chronic substance use, and may change treatment strategies, eventually modifying the outcome of this important disorder

The ASH1 HOMOLOG 2 (ASHH2) Histone H3 Methyltransferase Is Required for Ovule and Anther Development in Arabidopsis

BACKGROUND:SET-domain proteins are histone lysine (K) methyltransferases (HMTase) implicated in defining transcriptionally permissive or repressive chromatin. The Arabidopsis ASH1 HOMOLOG 2 (ASHH2) protein (also called SDG8, EFS and CCR1) has been suggested to methylate H3K4 and/or H3K36 and is similar to Drosophila ASH1, a positive maintainer of gene expression, and yeast Set2, a H3K36 HMTase. Mutation of the ASHH2 gene has pleiotropic developmental effects. Here we focus on the role of ASHH2 in plant reproduction. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:A slightly reduced transmission of the ashh2 allele in reciprocal crosses implied involvement in gametogenesis or gamete function. However, the main requirement of ASHH2 is sporophytic. On the female side, close to 80% of mature ovules lack embryo sac. On the male side, anthers frequently develop without pollen sacs or with specific defects in the tapetum layer, resulting in reduction in the number of functional pollen per anther by up to approximately 90%. In consistence with the phenotypic findings, an ASHH2 promoter-reporter gene was expressed at the site of megaspore mother cell formation as well as tapetum layers and pollen. ashh2 mutations also result in homeotic changes in floral organ identity. Transcriptional profiling identified more than 300 up-regulated and 600 down-regulated genes in ashh2 mutant inflorescences, whereof the latter included genes involved in determination of floral organ identity, embryo sac and anther/pollen development. This was confirmed by real-time PCR. In the chromatin of such genes (AP1, AtDMC1 and MYB99) we observed a reduction of H3K36 trimethylation (me3), but not H3K4me3 or H3K36me2. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:The severe distortion of reproductive organ development in ashh2 mutants, argues that ASHH2 is required for the correct expression of genes essential to reproductive development. The reduction in the ashh2 mutant of H3K36me3 on down-regulated genes relevant to the observed defects, implicates ASHH2 in regulation of gene expression via H3K36 trimethylation in chromatin of Arabidopsis inflorescences

Formation of colloidal alloy semiconductor CdTeSe magic-size clusters at room temperature

Alloy magic-size clusters (MSCs) are difficult to synthesize, in part because so little is known about how they form. Here, the authors produce single-ensemble alloy CdTeSe MSCs at room temperature by mixing prenucleation-stage solutions of CdTe and CdSe, uncovering a formation pathway that may extend to the synthesis of other alloy MSCs

Genome of Diuraphis noxia, a global aphid pest of small grains

Background: The Russian wheat aphid, Diuraphis noxia Kurdjumov, is one of the most important pests of small grains throughout the temperate regions of the world. This phytotoxic aphid causes severe systemic damage symptoms in wheat, barley, and other small grains as a direct result of the salivary proteins it injects into the plant while feeding.Results: We sequenced and de novo assembled the genome of D. noxia Biotype 2, the strain most virulent to resistance genes in wheat. The assembled genomic scaffolds span 393 MB, equivalent to 93% of its 421 MB genome, and contains 19,097 genes. D. noxia has the most AT-rich insect genome sequenced to date (70.9%), with a bimodal CpG(O/E) distribution and a complete set of methylation related genes. The D. noxia genome displays a widespread, extensive reduction in the number of genes per ortholog group, including defensive, detoxification, chemosensory, and sugar transporter groups in comparison to the Acyrthosiphon pisum genome, including a 65% reduction in chemoreceptor genes. Thirty of 34 known D. noxia salivary genes were found in this assembly. These genes exhibited less homology with those salivary genes commonly expressed in insect saliva, such as glucose dehydrogenase and trehalase, yet greater conservation among genes that are expressed in D. noxia saliva but not detected in the saliva of other insects. Genes involved in insecticide activity and endosymbiont-derived genes were also found, as well as genes involved in virus transmission, although D. noxia is not a viral vector.Conclusions: This genome is the second sequenced aphid genome, and the first of a phytotoxic insect. D. noxia's reduced gene content of may reflect the influence of phytotoxic feeding in shaping the D. noxia genome, and in turn in broadening its host range. The presence of methylation-related genes, including cytosine methylation, is consistent with other parthenogenetic and polyphenic insects. The D. noxia genome will provide an important contrast to the A. pisum genome and advance functional and comparative genomics of insects and other organisms.Peer reviewedBiochemistry and Molecular Biolog

Cs-133 NMR and ESR Studies of Cesium-Loaded LiX and LiA Zeolites

The species generated when cesium metal was loaded into zeolites LiA, LiX, and LiLSX by vapor deposition were systematically investigated by 133Cs NMR and ESR as a function of loading level. The primary 133Cs NMR signal in Cs-loaded LiA at low loading was assigned to Cs+ in the eight-ring SII sites and showed axial anisotropy of the chemical shift. The primary 133Cs NMR signal in Cs-loaded LiX and LiLSX was isotropic and was assigned to Cs+ dynamically exchanging among the SIII sites. This dynamics was found to be frozen out at 173 K. At higher loadings, additional broader 133Cs NMR signals, some with large shifts, indicated the presence of diamagnetic species influenced by neighboring paramagnetic species. The ESR results were characteristic of interacting paramagnetic species, and the spin counts showed that a significant fraction of the introduced spins became spin-paired, consistent with the presence of both paramagnetic and diamagnetic clusters. The existence of caeside Cs- ion in any of these materials is still an open question. © 2008 American Chemical Society

Probing the location and distribution of paramagnetic centers in alkali metal-loaded zeolites through (7)Li MAS NMR.

The nature and surroundings of lithium cations in lithium-exchanged X and A zeolites following loading with the alkali metals Na, K, Rb, and Cs have been studied through (7)Li solid-state NMR spectroscopy. It is demonstrated that the lithium in these zeolites is stable with respect to reduction by the other alkali metals. Even though the lithium cations are not directly involved in chemical interactions with the excess electrons introduced in the doping process, the corresponding (7)Li NMR spectra are extremely sensitive to paramagnetic species that are located inside the zeolite cavities. This sensitivity makes (7)Li NMR a useful probe to study the formation, distribution, and transformation of such species

Distribution and modification of sorption sites in amphiphilic calixarene-based solid lipid nanoparticles from hyperpolarized 129Xe NMR spectroscopy.

International audienceThe site distribution and accessibility in amphiphilic calixarenes-based solid lipid nanoparticles were determined as a function of lipid chain length using in situ 129Xe NMR spectroscopy with flowing hyperpolarized Xe gas. The study illustrates that host cavities in as-prepared materials are increasingly occluded by the lipid chain for compounds with chain lengths from C6 to C12 and are almost completely occluded for C14 and C16 chain lengths. Host cavities present at the surface of the particles are still accessible to small atoms (xenon) and organic molecules (methylene chloride, etc). The Xe spectra show that the accessible void space can be increased remarkably by exposure of the particle surface to suitably sized guest molecules that appear to displace the occluding hydrocarbon chains from the host cavities by competitive adsorption. This postsynthesis treatment thus modifies the state of self-assembly and improves sorption capability. The HP Xe NMR approach presented is suitable for small samples (a few milligrams) of SLNs, likely also for other biomaterials such as vesicles, model membranes, etc.The site distribution and accessibility in amphiphilic calixarenes-based solid lipid nanoparticles were determined as a function of lipid chain length using in situ 129Xe NMR spectroscopy with flowing hyperpolarized Xe gas. The study illustrates that host cavities in as-prepared materials are increasingly occluded by the lipid chain for compounds with chain lengths from C6 to C12 and are almost completely occluded for C14 and C16 chain lengths. Host cavities present at the surface of the particles are still accessible to small atoms (xenon) and organic molecules (methylene chloride, etc). The Xe spectra show that the accessible void space can be increased remarkably by exposure of the particle surface to suitably sized guest molecules that appear to displace the occluding hydrocarbon chains from the host cavities by competitive adsorption. This postsynthesis treatment thus modifies the state of self-assembly and improves sorption capability. The HP Xe NMR approach presented is suitable for small samples (a few milligrams) of SLNs, likely also for other biomaterials such as vesicles, model membranes, etc