Lack of association between estrogen receptor β dinucleotide repeat polymorphism and autoimmune thyroid diseases in Japanese patients

BACKGROUND: The autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITDs), such as Graves' disease (GD) and Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT), appear to develop as a result of complex interactions between predisposing genes and environmental triggers. Susceptibility to AITDs is conferred by genes in the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) and genes unlinked to HLA, including the CTLA-4 gene. Recently, estrogen receptor (ER) β, located at human chromosome 14q23-24.1, was identifed. We analyzed a dinucleotide (CA)n repeat polymorphism located in the flanking region of ERβ gene in patients with AITDs and in normal subjects. High heterozygosity makes this polymorphism a useful marker in the genetic study of disorders affecting female endocrine systems. We also correlated a ERβ gene microsatellite polymorphism with bone mineral density (BMD) in the distal radius and biochemical markers of bone turnover in patients with GD in remission. RESULTS: Fourteen different alleles were found in 133 patients with GD, 114 patients with HT, and 179 controls subjects. The various alleles were designated as allele(*)1 through allele(*)14 according to the number of the repeats, from 18 to 30. There was no significant difference in the distributions of ERβ alleles between patient groups and controls. Although recent study demonstrated a significant relation between a allele(*)9 in the ERβ gene and BMD in postmenopausal Japanese women, there were no statistically significant interaction between this allele and BMD in the distal radius, nor biochemical markers in patients with GD in remission. CONCLUSIONS: The present results do not support an association between the ERβ microsatellite marker and AITD in the Japanese population. We also suggest that the ERβ microsatellite polymorphism has at most a minor pathogenic importance in predicting the risk of osteoporosis as a complication of GD

Expert Status and Performance

Expert judgements are essential when time and resources are stretched or we face novel dilemmas requiring fast solutions. Good advice can save lives and large sums of money. Typically, experts are defined by their qualifications, track record and experience [1], [2]. The social expectation hypothesis argues that more highly regarded and more experienced experts will give better advice. We asked experts to predict how they will perform, and how their peers will perform, on sets of questions. The results indicate that the way experts regard each other is consistent, but unfortunately, ranks are a poor guide to actual performance. Expert advice will be more accurate if technical decisions routinely use broadly-defined expert groups, structured question protocols and feedback

Absence of a specific radiation signature in post-Chernobyl thyroid cancers

Thyroid cancers have been the main medical consequence of the Chernobyl accident. On the basis of their pathological features and of the fact that a large proportion of them demonstrate RET-PTC translocations, these cancers are considered as similar to classical sporadic papillary carcinomas, although molecular alterations differ between both tumours. We analysed gene expression in post-Chernobyl cancers, sporadic papillary carcinomas and compared to autonomous adenomas used as controls. Unsupervised clustering of these data did not distinguish between the cancers, but separates both cancers from adenomas. No gene signature separating sporadic from post-Chernobyl PTC (chPTC) could be found using supervised and unsupervised classification methods although such a signature is demonstrated for cancers and adenomas. Furthermore, we demonstrate that pooled RNA from sporadic and chPTC are as strongly correlated as two independent sporadic PTC pools, one from Europe, one from the US involving patients not exposed to Chernobyl radiations. This result relies on cDNA and Affymetrix microarrays. Thus, platform-specific artifacts are controlled for. Our findings suggest the absence of a radiation fingerprint in the chPTC and support the concept that post-Chernobyl cancer data, for which the cancer-causing event and its date are known, are a unique source of information to study naturally occurring papillary carcinomas

Age-related increases in parathyroid hormone may be antecedent to both osteoporosis and dementia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Numerous studies have reported that age-induced increased parathyroid hormone plasma levels are associated with cognitive decline and dementia. Little is known about the correlation that may exist between neurological processing speed, cognition and bone density in cases of hyperparathyroidism. Thus, we decided to determine if parathyroid hormone levels correlate to processing speed and/or bone density.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The recruited subjects that met the inclusion criteria (n = 92, age-matched, age 18-90 years, mean = 58.85, SD = 15.47) were evaluated for plasma parathyroid hormone levels and these levels were statistically correlated with event-related P300 potentials. Groups were compared for age, bone density and P300 latency. One-tailed tests were used to ascertain the statistical significance of the correlations. The study groups were categorized and analyzed for differences of parathyroid hormone levels: parathyroid hormone levels <30 (n = 30, mean = 22.7 ± 5.6 SD) and PTH levels >30 (n = 62, mean = 62.4 ± 28.3 SD, p ≤ 02).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Patients with parathyroid hormone levels <30 showed statistically significantly less P300 latency (P300 = 332.7 ± 4.8 SE) relative to those with parathyroid hormone levels >30, which demonstrated greater P300 latency (P300 = 345.7 ± 3.6 SE, p = .02). Participants with parathyroid hormone values <30 (n = 26) were found to have statistically significantly higher bone density (M = -1.25 ± .31 SE) than those with parathyroid hormone values >30 (n = 48, M = -1.85 ± .19 SE, p = .04).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our findings of a statistically lower bone density and prolonged P300 in patients with high parathyroid hormone levels may suggest that increased parathyroid hormone levels coupled with prolonged P300 latency may become putative biological markers of both dementia and osteoporosis and warrant intensive investigation.</p

A path forward in the debate over health impacts of endocrine disrupting chemicals

Several recent publications reflect debate on the issue of “endocrine disrupting chemicals” (EDCs), indicating that two seemingly mutually exclusive perspectives are being articulated separately and independently. Considering this, a group of scientists with expertise in basic science, medicine and risk assessment reviewed the various aspects of the debate to identify the most significant areas of dispute and to propose a path forward. We identified four areas of debate. The first is about the definitions for terms such as “endocrine disrupting chemical”, “adverse effects”, and “endocrine system”. The second is focused on elements of hormone action including “potency”, “endpoints”, “timing”, “dose” and “thresholds”. The third addresses the information needed to establish sufficient evidence of harm. Finally, the fourth focuses on the need to develop and the characteristics of transparent, systematic methods to review the EDC literature. Herein we identify areas of general consensus and propose resolutions for these four areas that would allow the field to move beyond the current and, in our opinion, ineffective debate

Leadership = Communication? The relations of leaders' communication styles with leadership styles, knowledge sharing and leadership outcomes

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relations between leaders' communication styles and charismatic leadership, human-oriented leadership (leader's consideration), task-oriented leadership (leader's initiating structure), and leadership outcomes. Methodology: A survey was conducted among 279 employees of a governmental organization. The following six main communication styles were operationalized: verbal aggressiveness, expressiveness, preciseness, assuredness, supportiveness, and argumentativeness. Regression analyses were employed to test three main hypotheses. Findings: In line with expectations, the study showed that charismatic and human-oriented leadership are mainly communicative, while task-oriented leadership is significantly less communicative. The communication styles were strongly and differentially related to knowledge sharing behaviors, perceived leader performance, satisfaction with the leader, and subordinate's team commitment. Multiple regression analyses showed that the leadership styles mediated the relations between the communication styles and leadership outcomes. However, leader's preciseness explained variance in perceived leader performance and satisfaction with the leader above and beyond the leadership style variables. Implications: This study offers potentially invaluable input for leadership training programs by showing the importance of leader's supportiveness, assuredness, and preciseness when communicating with subordinates. Originality/value: Although one of the core elements of leadership is interpersonal communication, this study is one of the first to use a comprehensive communication styles instrument in the study of leadership. © 2009 The Author(s)