Tattoos and antisocial personality disorder

Objective  The relationship of tattoos to the diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) was explored in a forensic psychiatric inpatient hospital setting. It was hypothesized that a greater proportion of forensic inpatients that possessed tattoos had ASPD than patients who did not possess tattoos. Method  Forensic male psychiatric inpatients (N = 36) were administered a semi-structured interview to determine the presence of a tattoo. ASPD was determined by criteria on a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV ASPD checklist. Demographic and background characteristics of the patients were collected, and details about each tattoo were obtained including a calculation of the surface area of each tattoo. Results  Significantly more forensic psychiatric inpatients with tattoos had a diagnosis of ASPD compared to patients without tattoos. Patients with ASPD also had a significantly greater number of tattoos, a trend toward having a greater percentage of their total body surface area tattooed, and were more likely to have a history of substance abuse than patients without ASPD. Tattooed subjects, with or without ASPD, were significantly more likely to have histories of substance abuse, sexual abuse and suicide attempts than non-tattooed patients. Conclusions  Forensic psychiatric inpatients with tattoos should be assessed carefully for the presence of ASPD as well as for substance abuse, sexual abuse and suicide attempts, factors having potentially significant influence on the assessment and treatment of such patients. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/60449/1/43_ftp.pd

Myosin light chain 1 isoform expression remains constant during ageing in Wistar F455 rats

In order to study muscle gene expression during ageing, we examined both protein and total cellular RNA from Wistar F455 rat soleus and extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles at a variety of chronological ages. We found no evidence of the reappearance of the fast protein isoform of myosin light chain 1 [MLC1] in the slow soleus muscle during ageing previously reported by Syrovy and Gutmann, Pflugers Arch., 369 (1977) 85-89. We used both SDS-PAGE analysis of MLC1 proteins and slot blot RNA analysis with a probe specific for rat fast MLC1 mRNA (pC91), and found no changes in fast MLC1 expression during ageing in soleus or EDL muscles from these rats. These results indicate that re-expression of the fast MLC1 isoform is not a universal property of ageing soleus muscle.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/28987/1/0000014.pd

The Role of Muscle microRNAs in Repairing the Neuromuscular Junction

microRNAs have been implicated in mediating key aspects of skeletal muscle development and responses to diseases and injury. Recently, we demonstrated that a synaptically enriched microRNA, miR-206, functions to promote maintenance and repair of the neuromuscular junction (NMJ); in mutant mice lacking miR-206, reinnervation is impaired following nerve injury and loss of NMJs is accelerated in a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Here, we asked whether other microRNAs play similar roles. One attractive candidate is miR-133b because it is in the same transcript that encodes miR-206. Like miR-206, miR-133b is concentrated near NMJs and induced after denervation. In miR-133b null mice, however, NMJ development is unaltered, reinnervation proceeds normally following nerve injury, and disease progression is unaffected in the SOD1(G93A) mouse model of ALS. To determine if miR-206 compensates for the loss of miR-133b, we generated mice lacking both microRNAs. The phenotype of these double mutants resembled that of miR-206 single mutants. Finally, we used conditional mutants of Dicer, an enzyme required for the maturation of most microRNAs, to generate mice in which microRNAs were depleted from skeletal muscle fibers postnatally, thus circumventing a requirement for microRNAs in embryonic muscle development. Reinnervation of muscle fibers following injury was impaired in these mice, but the defect was similar in magnitude to that observed in miR-206 mutants. Together, these results suggest that miR-206 is the major microRNA that regulates repair of the NMJ following nerve injury.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NIH grant R01AG032322)National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (U.S.) (NRSA Postdoctoral Fellowship from NINDS/NIH)Ruth K. Broad Biomedical Research Foundation (Fellowship)McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT (Poitras Center for Affective Disorders Research

Recovery of mouse neuromuscular junctions from single and repeated injections of botulinum neurotoxin A

Botulinum neurotoxin type A (BoNT/A) paralyses muscles by blocking acetylcholine (ACh) release from motor nerve terminals. Although highly toxic, it is used clinically to weaken muscles whose contraction is undesirable, as in dystonias. The effects of an injection of BoNT/A wear off after 3–4 months so repeated injections are often used. Recovery of neuromuscular transmission is accompanied by the formation of motor axon sprouts, some of which form new synaptic contacts. However, the functional importance of these new contacts is unknown. Using intracellular and focal extracellular recording we show that in the mouse epitrochleoanconeus (ETA), quantal release from the region of the original neuromuscular junction (NMJ) can be detected as soon as from new synaptic contacts, and generally accounts for > 80% of total release. During recovery the synaptic delay and the rise and decay times of endplate potentials (EPPs) become prolonged approximately 3-fold, but return to normal after 2–3 months. When studied after 3–4 months, the response to repetitive stimulation at frequencies up to 100 Hz is normal. When two or three injections of BoNT/A are given at intervals of 3–4 months, quantal release returns to normal values more slowly than after a single injection (11 and 15 weeks to reach 50% of control values versus 6 weeks after a single injection). In addition, branching of the intramuscular muscular motor axons, the distribution of the NMJs and the structure of many individual NMJs remain abnormal. These findings highlight the plasticity of the mammalian NMJ but also suggest important limits to it

Multi-site assessment of the precision and reproducibility of multiple reaction monitoring–based measurements of proteins in plasma

Verification of candidate biomarkers relies upon specific, quantitative assays optimized for selective detection of target proteins, and is increasingly viewed as a critical step in the discovery pipeline that bridges unbiased biomarker discovery to preclinical validation. Although individual laboratories have demonstrated that multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) coupled with isotope dilution mass spectrometry can quantify candidate protein biomarkers in plasma, reproducibility and transferability of these assays between laboratories have not been demonstrated. We describe a multilaboratory study to assess reproducibility, recovery, linear dynamic range and limits of detection and quantification of multiplexed, MRM-based assays, conducted by NCI-CPTAC. Using common materials and standardized protocols, we demonstrate that these assays can be highly reproducible within and across laboratories and instrument platforms, and are sensitive to low µg/ml protein concentrations in unfractionated plasma. We provide data and benchmarks against which individual laboratories can compare their performance and evaluate new technologies for biomarker verification in plasma

A multidisciplinary interclerkship on hunger and malnutrition

Objective: In 1997 we developed a third-year interclerkship course during which students return to the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) campus for two days to study childhood hunger and malnutrition. We sought to ( 1) provide knowledge about (a) the extent to which hunger and malnutrition occur, (b) the short· and long-term physical, psychosocial, and cognitive consequences of hunger and malnutrition, (c) practical information on good nutrition, (d) and resources available that help children at risk for hunger or malnutrition; (2) develop skills to use physical signs and screening questions to identify risk and apply nutritional principles and effective patients education; and (3) foster an attitude supportive of the role of nutrition in preventive medicine and of physician advocacy for the nutritional health of children and communities

Disseminated Blastomycosis in a Pregnant Woman Successfully Treated With Amphotericin-B. A Case Report

An 18-year-old woman developed disseminated blastomycosis in the 30th week of pregnancy. She was treated with amphotericin-B. Simultaneous maternal-infant blood levels at birth were 1.9 and 1.3 μg/mL, respectively. The amphotericin-B level in the amniotic fluid was 0.3 μg/mL at delivery. The infant was normal and without ill effects from either the blastomycosis or the amphotericin-B. The skin lesions and pulmonary infiltrates in the mother improved rapidly, without unexpected side effects from the therapy. The limited experience with amphotericin-B indicates that it is both well tolerated and effective in this clinical situation