Tai Chi and Stress Reduction in Premedical Students

A randomized, controlled pilot study was performed to determine the correlation between the practice of Tai Chi exercise and anxiety scores, among full-time pre-med undergraduate students who reside in college campus housing. The sample (N = 14) was recruited from 70 pre-med students enrolled at Lake Erie College (LEC) located in Painesville, Ohio. Participants included: (a) full-time LEC pre-med students; (b) between 18 and 25 years old; and (c) residents of either on-campus housing or within two miles of the college campus. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups: (a) Tai Chi (n = 8); (b) control (n = 6). The Tai Chi group received instruction from a certified instructor, three times a week for five weeks. The control group received no training. Both groups completed a basic health history questionnaire including blood pressure and pulse measurements, maintained a physical activity log, and completed a pre and post measure of anxiety using the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI)© scale. The p-value of .334 between pre-study control and Tai Chi groups was greater than the alpha level at 0.05. The p-value of .101 between post-study control and Tai Chi groups was greater than the alpha level at 0.05. The small sample size of this pilot limited the generalizability of this study. Therefore, there was insufficient evidence to conclude that the true mean anxiety change between the pre-test and post-test in pre-med students taking Tai Chi was greater than the true mean anxiety change between the pre-test and post-test in pre-med students maintaining normal daily activities. However, this was a small pilot study, and research suggests the anxiety lowering effects of Tai Chi, therefore this research will be expanded for a multi-center study.https://fuse.franklin.edu/ss2014/1040/thumbnail.jp

Management of the child born small for gestational age through to adulthood: A consensus statement of the international societies of pediatric endocrinology and the Growth Hormone Research Society

Objective: Low birth weight remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in early infancy and childhood. It is associated with an increased risk of health problems later in life, particularly coronary heart disease and stroke. A meeting was convened to identify the key health issues facing a child born small for gestational age (SGA) and to propose management strategies. Participants: There were 42 participants chosen for their expertise in obstetrics, peri- and neonatal medicine, pediatrics, pediatric and adult endocrinology, epidemiology, and pharmacology. Evidence: Written materials were exchanged, reviewed, revised, and then made available to all. This formed the basis for discussions at the meeting. Where published data were not available or adequate, discussion was based on expert clinical opinions. Consensus Process: Each set of questions was considered by all and then discussed in plenary sessions with consensus and unresolved issues identified. The consensus statement was prepared in plenary sessions and then edited by the group chairs and shared with all participants. Conclusions: The diagnosis of SGA should be based on accurate anthropometry at birth including weight, length, and head circumference. We recommend early surveillance in a growth clinic for those without catch-up. Early neurodevelopment evaluation and interventions are warranted in at-risk children. Endocrine and metabolic disturbances in the SGA child are recognized but infrequent. For the 10% who lack catch-up, GH treatment can increase linear growth. Early intervention with GH for those with severe growth retardation (height SD score, < -2.5; age, 2-4 yr) should be considered at a dose of 35-70 mu g/kg center dot d. Long-term surveillance of treated patients is essential. The associations at a population level between low birth weight, including SGA, and coronary heart disease and stroke in later life are recognized, but there is inadequate evidence to recommend routine health surveillance of all adults born SGA outside of normal clinical practice

Risk profiles and prognosis of treated and untreated hypertensive men and women in a population-based longitudinal study: the Reykjavik Study

To access publisher full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links fieldThe aim was to examine the risk profiles and prognosis of treated and untreated hypertensive subjects and examine to what degree confounding by indication was present in a population-based cohort study with up to 30-year follow-up. The study population consisted of 9328 men and 10 062 women, aged 33-87 years at the time of attendance from 1967 to 1996. The main outcome measures were myocardial infarction (MI), cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality and all-cause mortality. Comparing the risk profiles between treated and untreated subjects entering the study showed significantly higher values for some risk factors for treated subjects. During the first 10 years, hypertensive men without treatment, compared with those treated, had a significantly lower risk of suffering MI, CVD and all-cause mortality, hazard ratio (HR) 0.72 (95% CI; 0.57, 0.90), 0.75 (95% CI; 0.59, 0.95) and 0.81 (95% CI; 0.61, 0.98), respectively. No significant differences in outcome were seen during the following 20 years. In identically defined groups of women, no significant differences in mortality were seen between groups. Subgroup analysis, at two stages of the study 5 years apart, revealed that some cardiovascular risk factors had a higher prevalence in hypertensive men who were treated at the later stage, compared with those who remained untreated (P=0.004). In conclusion, hypertensive treated men had a worse prognosis during the first 10 years of follow-up than untreated ones, which is most likely due to worse baseline risk profile. Hypertensive men that were treated at a later stage had a worse risk profile than those not treated at a later stage

Pseudoacromegaly: A Differential Diagnostic Problem for Acromegaly With a Genetic Solution.

Acromegaly is usually not a difficult condition to diagnose once the possibility of this disease has been raised. However, a few conditions present with some aspects of acromegaly or gigantism but without growth hormone (GH) excess. Such cases are described as "pseudoacromegaly" or "acromegaloidism". Here we describe a female patient investigated for GH excess at 10 years of age for tall stature since infancy (height and weight > +3 standard deviations) and typical acromegalic features, including large hands/feet, large jaw, tongue, hoarse deep voice, and headache. Results of radiography of the sella turcica and GH response at an oral glucose tolerance test and insulin-arginine- thyrotrophin-luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone test were normal. Ethinylestradiol and medroxyprogesterone were given for 2 years; this successfully stopped further height increase. Although the patient's growth rate plateaued, coarsening of the facial features and acral enlargement also led to investigations for suspicion of acromegaly at 23 and 36 years of age, both with negative results. On referral at the age of 49 years, she had weight gain, sweating, sleep apnea, headaches, joint pain, and enlarged tongue. Endocrine assessment again showing normal GH axis was followed by genetic testing with a macrocephaly/overgrowth syndrome panel. A denovo mutation in the NSD1 gene (c.6605G>C; p.Cys2202Ser) was demonstrated. Mutations affecting the same cysteine residue have been identified in patients with Sotos syndrome. In summary, Sotos syndrome and other overgrowth syndromes can mimic the clinical manifestations of acromegaly or gigantism. Genetic assessment could be helpful in these cases

Status of the Lake Ontario Food Web in a Changing Ecosystem: the 2003 Lake Ontario Lower Aquatic Food Web Assessment (LOLA)

Understanding stressor impacts on ecological processes in Lake Ontario over the last three decades has resulted from a commitment to long-term binational studies by environmental agencies and their dedicated scientists and support staffs in both Canada and the United States. LOLA was initiated at the request of the United States and Canada Lake Ontario Lakewide Management Plan (LaMP) and the Great Lakes Fishery Commission’s Lake Ontario Committee with the following two goals: 1) assess the status of and 2) develop recommendations for the long-term comprehensive assessment of the Lake Ontario lower aquatic food web. The 2003 LOLA project incorporated seasonal sampling at a large spatial scale, providing the most comprehensive assessment of the status of Lake Ontario’s lower food web since the Lake Ontario Trophic Transfer Program in 1995. Partners from seven government agencies and six universities and colleges participated in the LOLA project. A workshop attended by LaMP representatives, government agencies, and academics was held at Cornell University on November 16-17, 2005. Discussions based on significant findings that were presented at the workshop resulted in seven recommendations for future assessment of the Lake Ontario lower aquatic food web

Genomic and phenotypic analysis of BRCA2 mutated breast cancers reveals co-occurring changes linked to progression

To access publisher full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field.Inherited mutations in the BRCA2 gene greatly increase the risk of developing breast cancer. Consistent with an important role for BRCA2 in error-free DNA repair, complex genomic changes are frequently observed in tumors derived from BRCA2 mutation carriers. Here, we explore the impact of DNA copy-number changes in BRCA2 tumors with respect to phenotype and clinical staging of the disease. METHODS: Breast tumors (n = 33) derived from BRCA2 999del5 mutation carriers were examined in terms of copy-number changes with high-resolution aCGH (array comparative genomic hybridization) containing 385 thousand probes (about one for each 7 kbp) and expression of phenotypic markers on TMAs (tissue microarrays). The data were examined with respect to clinical parameters including TNM staging, histologic grade, S phase, and ploidy. RESULTS: Tumors from BRCA2 carriers of luminal and basal/triple-negative phenotypes (TNPs) differ with respect to patterns of DNA copy-number changes. The basal/TNP subtype was characterized by lack of pRb (RB1) coupled with high/intense expression of p16 (CDKN2A) gene products. We found increased proportions of Ki-67-positive cells to be significantly associated with loss of the wild-type (wt) BRCA2 allele in luminal types, whereas BRCA2wt loss was less frequent in BRCA2 tumors displaying basal/TNP phenotypes. Furthermore, we show that deletions at 13q13.1, involving the BRCA2wt allele, represents a part of a larger network of co-occurring genetic changes, including deletions at 6q22.32-q22.33, 11q14.2-q24.1, and gains at 17q24.1. Importantly, copy-number changes at these BRCA2-linked networking regions coincide with those associated with advanced progression, involving the capacity to metastasize to the nodes or more-distant sites at diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: The results presented here demonstrate divergent paths of tumor evolution in BRCA2 carriers and that deletion of the wild-type BRCA2 allele, together with co-occurring changes at 6 q, 11 q, and 17 q, are important events in progression toward advanced disease.Eimskipafelag University Minningarsjodur Bergthoru Magnusdottur and Jakobs J Bjarnasonar Gongum Saman Icelandic Cancer Research Fund SKI Icelandic Centre for Research RANNIS The University of Icelan

Safety and convenience of once-weekly somapacitan in adult GH deficiency: a 26-week randomized, controlled trial

OBJECTIVE: Somapacitan is a reversible albumin-binding growth hormone (GH) derivative, developed for once-weekly administration. This study aimed to evaluate the safety of once-weekly somapacitan vs once-daily Norditropin. Local tolerability and treatment satisfaction were also assessed. DESIGN: 26-week randomized, controlled phase 3 safety and tolerability trial in six countries (Nbib2382939). METHODS: Male or female patients aged 18-79 years with adult GH deficiency (AGHD), treated with once-daily GH for ≥6 months, were randomized to once-weekly somapacitan ( = 61) or once-daily Norditropin ( = 31) administered subcutaneously by pen. Both treatments were dose titrated for 8 weeks to achieve insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) standard deviation score (SDS) levels within the normal range, and then administered at a fixed dose. Outcome measures were adverse events (AEs), including injection site reactions; occurrence of anti-somapacitan/anti-GH antibodies and change in treatment satisfaction, assessed using the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication-9 (TSQM-9). RESULTS: Mean IGF-I SDS remained between 0 and 2 SDS throughout the trial in both groups. AEs were mostly mild or moderate and transient in nature. The most common AEs were nasopharyngitis, headache and fatigue in both groups. More than 1500 somapacitan injections were administered and no clinically significant injection site reactions were reported. No anti-somapacitan or anti-GH antibodies were detected. The TSQM-9 score for convenience increased significantly more with somapacitan vs Norditropin ( = 0.0171). CONCLUSIONS: In this 26-week trial in patients with AGHD, somapacitan was well tolerated and no safety issues were identified. Once-weekly somapacitan was reported to be more convenient than once-daily Norditropin