Evolution of metabolic risk factors over a two-year period in a cohort of first episodes of psychosis

Patients with a first episode of psychosis (FEP) display a broad range of metabolic risk factors related to the development of diverse medical comorbidities. Initial stages of these disorders are essential in understanding the increased vulnerability of developing cardiometabolic disturbances, associated with a reduced life expectancy. This study aimed to evaluate the metabolic profile of a cohort of patients with a FEP and its evolution during a two year follow-up, as well as the factors that influence the changes in their metabolic status. 16 participating centers from the PEPs Project recruited 335 subjects with a FEP and 253 matched healthy controls, aged 9–35 years. We investigated a set of anthropometric measures, vital signs and laboratory data obtained from each participant over two years in a prospective, naturalistic study. From the beginning of the study the FEP group showed differences in the metabolic profile compared to the control group, together with a progressive worsening in the major part of the analyzed variables during the follow-up period, with higher rates of obesity and metabolic syndrome. Certain risk factors were related to determinate clinical variables such as male gender, the presence of affective symptoms or an early onset or to treatment variables such as the use of antipsychotic polypharmacy, antidepressants or mood stabilizers. Our results highlight the extremely high risk of patients at early phases of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders of developing cardiovascular comorbidity and the fast worsening of the metabolic profile during the first two years

Obstetric complications and clinical presentation in first episode of psychosis

Objective: Psychotic disorders exhibit a complex aetiology that combines genetic and environmental factors. Among the latter, obstetric complications (OCs) have been widely studied as risk factors, but it is not yet well understood how OCs relate to the heterogeneous presentations of psychotic disorders. We assessed the clinical phenotypes of individuals with a first episode of psychosis (FEP) in relation to the presence of OCs. Methods: Two-hundred seventy-seven patients with an FEP were assessed for OCs using the Lewis–Murray scale, with data stratified into three subscales depending on the timing and the characteristics of the obstetric event, namely: complications of pregnancy, abnormal foetal growth and development and difficulties in delivery. We also considered other two groups: any complications during the pregnancy period and all OCs taken altogether. Patients were clinically evaluated with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale for schizophrenia. Results: Total OCs and difficulties in delivery were related to more severe psychopathology, and this remained significant after co-varying for age, sex, traumatic experiences, antipsychotic dosage and cannabis use. Conclusions: Our results highlight the relevance of OCs for the clinical presentation of psychosis. Describing the timing of the OCs is essential in understanding the heterogeneity of the clinical presentation

Obesity and its implication in breast cancer

La obesidad y el cáncer de mama constituyen dos patologías de extremada prevalencia en la actualidad y con un alto impacto en la sociedad. Numerosas investigaciones han intentado establecer una asociación entre ambos procesos, circunstancia que aún continúa en entredicho. Se llevó a cabo una recogida de datos a partir de las historias clínicas de 524 mujeres diagnosticadas y tratadas de cáncer de mama durante el período de enero de 2009 a septiembre de 2010. Los objetivos del estudio fueron verificar una posible asociación entre el estado nutricional de las mujeres y su relación con la edad de diagnóstico del tumor. En segundo lugar, determinar la posible implicación de la obesidad en relación con la edad de la menarquia y con ello en el diagnóstico de cáncer de mama. Se encontró una relación estadísticamente significativa entre el estado nutricional de las mujeres y la edad a la cual fueron diagnosticadas de cáncer de mama (p < 0,0001), así como una asociación estadísticamente significativa (p < 0,0001) entre la edad de la menarquia y el estado nutricional de las pacientes. Los resultados obtenidos en este estudio muestran que la obesidad se encuentra íntimamente asociada con el cáncer de mama.Obesity and breast cancer are two very frequent pathologies in the world today, which have a strong impact on society. Various research studies have tried linking the two. For this purpose, data was collected from the medical histories of 524 women who had been diagnosed and treated for breast cancer from January 2009 to September 2010. The objectives of the study were to find and verify a possible association between the nutritional state of these women and their age when they were diagnosed with the tumour (p < 0.0001) as well as a statistically significant association (p < 0.0001) between the age of the first menstruation and the nutritional state of the patients. The results obtained showed that obesity was closely related to breast cancer

Comportamiento reproductivo del Cebú Cubano Bermejo de la Empresa Genética Rescate de Sanguily del municipio Camagüey

Records of 3,075 deliveries between the years 1981 - 2002 were used in the herd 22 of Cebu Bermejo of the Genetic Rescue Company of Sanguily, aged 28 to 256 months, with the objective of determining the influence of non-genetic factors : number of births (12), time (6), year of delivery (22) and sex of the offspring (2) and as genetic factor the stallions (35). For the statistical analysis a linear model was used by the method of Minimum Squares (SPSS, 2001), estimating the general means and their standard deviations for each trait studied. Reproductive traits period of service (PS) and labor-delivery interval (IPP) were significantly affected (P &lt;0.01) for the time of delivery and the stallion for the number of services per gestation (S / G). The general averages and their standard deviations were: PS (287.6 ± 17.16 days); IPP (572.9 ± 36.18 days); DG (285.3 ± 3.28 days) and S / G (1.8 ± 1.04) inseminations performed).Se utilizaron los registros de 3 075 partos comprendidos entre los años 1981 – 2002 en el rebaño 22 de Cebú Bermejo de la Empresa Genética Rescate de Sanguily, con edades de 28 a 256 meses, con el objetivo de determinar la influencia de los factores no genéticos: número de partos (12), época (6), año del parto (22) y sexo de las crías (2) y como factor genético los sementales (35). Para el análisis estadístico se empleó un modelo lineal por el método de los Mínimos Cuadrados (SPSS, 2001), estimándose las medias generales y sus desviaciones estándar para cada rasgo estudiado. Los rasgos reproductivos periodo de servicio (PS) e intervalo parto–parto (IPP) fueron afectados significativamente (P&lt; 0.01) para la época del parto y el semental para el número de servicios por gestación (S/G). Las medias generales y sus desviaciones estándar fueron: PS (287.6 ±17.16 días); IPP (572.9 ± 36.18 días); DG (285.3 ± 3.28 días) y S/G (1.8 ± 1.04) inseminaciones realizadas)

Holoclone Forming Cells from Pancreatic Cancer Cells Enrich Tumor Initiating Cells and Represent a Novel Model for Study of Cancer Stem Cells

Pancreatic cancer is one of the direct causes of cancer-related death. High level of chemoresistance is one of the major obstacles of clinical treatment. In recent years, cancer stem cells have been widely identified and indicated as the origin of chemoresistance in multi-types of solid tumors. Increasing evidences suggest that cancer stem cells reside in the cells capable of forming holoclones continuously. However, in pancreatic cancer, holoclone-forming cells have not been characterized yet. Therefore, the goal of our present study was to indentify the holoclone-forming pancreatic cancer stem cells and develop an in vitro continuous colony formation system, which will greatly facilitate the study of pancreatic cancer stem cells.Pancreatic cancer cell line BxPC3 was submitted to monoclonal cultivation to generate colonies. Based on the morphologies, colonies were classified and analyzed for their capacities of secondary colony formation, long-term survival in vitro, tumor formation in vivo, and drug resistance. Flowcytometry and quantitative RT-PCR were performed to detect the expression level of cancer stem cells associated cell surface markers, regulatory genes and microRNAs in distinct types of colonies. Three types of colonies with distinct morphologies were identified and termed as holo-, mero-, and paraclones, in which only holoclones generated descendant colonies of all three types in further passages. Compared to mero- and paraclones, holoclones possessed higher capacities of long-term survival, tumor initiation, and chemoresistance. The preferential expression of cancer stem cells related marker (CXCR4), regulatory genes (BMI1, GLI1, and GLI2) and microRNAs (miR-214, miR-21, miR-221, miR-222 and miR-155) in holoclones were also highlighted.Our results indicate that the pancreatic tumor-initiating cells with high level of chemoresistance were enriched in holoclones derived from BxPC3 cell line. Generation of holoclones can serve as a novel model for studying cancer stem cells, and attribute to developing new anti-cancer drugs

Validation of the Scientific Program for the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) was designed to conduct a survey covering 14,000 deg$^2$ over five years to constrain the cosmic expansion history through precise measurements of Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO). The scientific program for DESI was evaluated during a five month Survey Validation (SV) campaign before beginning full operations. This program produced deep spectra of tens of thousands of objects from each of the stellar (MWS), bright galaxy (BGS), luminous red galaxy (LRG), emission line galaxy (ELG), and quasar target classes. These SV spectra were used to optimize redshift distributions, characterize exposure times, determine calibration procedures, and assess observational overheads for the five-year program. In this paper, we present the final target selection algorithms, redshift distributions, and projected cosmology constraints resulting from those studies. We also present a `One-Percent survey' conducted at the conclusion of Survey Validation covering 140 deg$^2$ using the final target selection algorithms with exposures of a depth typical of the main survey. The Survey Validation indicates that DESI will be able to complete the full 14,000 deg$^2$ program with spectroscopically-confirmed targets from the MWS, BGS, LRG, ELG, and quasar programs with total sample sizes of 7.2, 13.8, 7.46, 15.7, and 2.87 million, respectively. These samples will allow exploration of the Milky Way halo, clustering on all scales, and BAO measurements with a statistical precision of 0.28% over the redshift interval $z<1.1$, 0.39% over the redshift interval $1.1<z<1.9$, and 0.46% over the redshift interval $1.9<z<3.5$.Comment: 42 pages, 18 figures, accepted by A

Hilando generaciones y moda

El proyecto Hilando Generaciones y Moda tiene como objetivo principal fomentar el intercambio y la convivencia intergeneracional entre jóvenes del ITESO y adultos mayores que acuden al Centro Tapatío de Atención al Adulto Mayor, ubicado en Guadalajara, Jalisco. La problemática que se busca resolver con este proyecto es la falta de interacción y comunicación entre estas dos generaciones, lo que puede llevar a la desconexión y aislamiento social de los adultos mayores, así como a una falta de perspectiva y comprensión por parte de los jóvenes sobre las experiencias y desafíos que enfrentan las personas mayores. El proyecto busca romper con estas barreras mediante la realización de actividades que promuevan la convivencia y el aprendizaje mutuo entre ambas generaciones, permitiendo la integración social y emocional de los adultos mayores, así como el desarrollo de habilidades sociales y empáticas en los jóvenes. A través de la interacción y el diálogo entre ambas generaciones, se espera generar un ambiente de respeto y valoración hacia la sabiduría y experiencia de los adultos mayores, así como una comprensión más profunda de las realidades sociales y culturales que enfrentan. A lo largo del semestre hicimos distintas actividades relacionadas con moda, que fueron propuestas por nosotros mismos. Estos talleres pensados en los adultos mayores nos dejarían productos que reflejaran la identidad de cada adulto y con los que después haremos una exposición final. Nuestras primeras actividades con los adultos fueron hacer un collage y un esqueleto exquisito, en el que hablarían sobre ellos y podríamos conocerlos mejor. Después tuvimos un taller de joyería en el CETAM, donde los adultos crearon dijes personalizados. La siguiente actividad fue un taller de creación y personalización de playeras. Para esta, los adultos nos visitaron en el ITESO, donde compartimos desayuno, baile y creatividad con las pinturas para personalizar cada playera. Este semestre colaboramos con Andrés Moreno, stylist y creador de Vintage Ceremony. Andrés nos asesoró en nuestro camino para nuestra siguiente actividad: una sesión de fotos que buscó resaltar la identidad de cada adulto mayor. En esta sesión de fotos contamos con patrocinio de peinado y maquillaje. Nuestra última actividad será la exposición final, donde mostraremos los resultados de todas las actividades, como prendas hechas por los alumnos de moda (con telas diseñadas por ellos, inspiradas en los adultos).ITESO, A.C

Country-level gender inequality is associated with structural differences in the brains of women and men

Gender inequality across the world has been associated with a higher risk to mental health problems and lower academic achievement in women compared to men. We also know that the brain is shaped by nurturing and adverse socio-environmental experiences. Therefore, unequal exposure to harsher conditions for women compared to men in gender-unequal countries might be reflected in differences in their brain structure, and this could be the neural mechanism partly explaining women's worse outcomes in gender-unequal countries. We examined this through a random-effects meta-analysis on cortical thickness and surface area differences between adult healthy men and women, including a meta-regression in which country-level gender inequality acted as an explanatory variable for the observed differences. A total of 139 samples from 29 different countries, totaling 7,876 MRI scans, were included. Thickness of the right hemisphere, and particularly the right caudal anterior cingulate, right medial orbitofrontal, and left lateral occipital cortex, presented no differences or even thicker regional cortices in women compared to men in gender-equal countries, reversing to thinner cortices in countries with greater gender inequality. These results point to the potentially hazardous effect of gender inequality on women's brains and provide initial evidence for neuroscience-informed policies for gender equality

Circulating microRNAs in sera correlate with soluble biomarkers of immune activation but do not predict mortality in ART treated individuals with HIV-1 infection: A case control study

Introduction: The use of anti-retroviral therapy (ART) has dramatically reduced HIV-1 associated morbidity and mortality. However, HIV-1 infected individuals have increased rates of morbidity and mortality compared to the non-HIV-1 infected population and this appears to be related to end-organ diseases collectively referred to as Serious Non-AIDS Events (SNAEs). Circulating miRNAs are reported as promising biomarkers for a number of human disease conditions including those that constitute SNAEs. Our study sought to investigate the potential of selected miRNAs in predicting mortality in HIV-1 infected ART treated individuals. Materials and Methods: A set of miRNAs was chosen based on published associations with human disease conditions that constitute SNAEs. This case: control study compared 126 cases (individuals who died whilst on therapy), and 247 matched controls (individuals who remained alive). Cases and controls were ART treated participants of two pivotal HIV-1 trials. The relative abundance of each miRNA in serum was measured, by RTqPCR. Associations with mortality (all-cause, cardiovascular and malignancy) were assessed by logistic regression analysis. Correlations between miRNAs and CD4+ T cell count, hs-CRP, IL-6 and D-dimer were also assessed. Results: None of the selected miRNAs was associated with all-cause, cardiovascular or malignancy mortality. The levels of three miRNAs (miRs -21, -122 and -200a) correlated with IL-6 while miR-21 also correlated with D-dimer. Additionally, the abundance of miRs -31, -150 and -223, correlated with baseline CD4+ T cell count while the same three miRNAs plus miR- 145 correlated with nadir CD4+ T cell count. Discussion: No associations with mortality were found with any circulating miRNA studied. These results cast doubt onto the effectiveness of circulating miRNA as early predictors of mortality or the major underlying diseases that contribute to mortality in participants treated for HIV-1 infection

Consenso mexicano sobre probióticos en gastroenterología

Introducción: El uso de los probióticos es común en la práctica clínica. Existe un número signi-ficativo de estudios que apoyan la eficacia de los probióticos en algunos trastornos digestivos.Sin embargo, el desconocimiento de la evidencia científica y las diferentes presentaciones ycomposiciones microbianas de los probióticos disponibles dificultan su prescripción.Objetivo: Proveer al clínico de una revisión consensuada sobre los probióticos y recomendacio-nes de su uso en gastroenterología.Material y métodos: Se seleccionaron los ensayos clínicos controlados, metaanálisis y revisio-nes sistemáticas publicados hasta 2015, usando los términos MESH: probiotics, gastrointestinaldiseases, humans, adults and children. Se utilizó la metodología Delphi. Diecisiete gastroente-rólogos de adultos y 12 de ni˜nos elaboraron enunciados los cuales fueron votados hasta obteneracuerdo > 70%. Para cada enunciado se evaluó el nivel de evidencia basado en el sistema GRADE.Resultados y conclusiones: Se generaron 11 enunciados sobre conceptos generales de probió-ticos y 27 enunciados sobre uso de probióticos en enfermedades gastrointestinales tanto enni˜nos como en adultos. El grupo de consenso recomienda el uso de probióticos en las siguientescondiciones clínicas: prevención de la diarrea asociada a antibióticos, tratamiento de la diarreaaguda infecciosa, prevención de infección por Clostridium difficile y enterocolitis necrosante,para disminuir los eventos adversos de la terapia de erradicación del Helicobacter pylori, elalivio de los síntomas del síndrome de intestino irritable, en el estre˜nimiento funcional deladulto, para inducir y mantener la remisión en pacientes con colitis ulcerosa crónica idiopáticay pouchitis, y en la encefalopatía hepática oculta y manifiesta.© 2016 Asociaci´on Mexicana de Gastroenterolog´ıa. Publicado por Masson Doyma M´exico S.A.Este es un art´ıculo Open Access bajo la licencia CC BY-NC-ND (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). ASTRACT Introduction: Probiotics are frequently prescribed in clinical practice. Their efficacy in treatinggastrointestinal disorders is supported by a significant number of clinical trials. However, thecorrect prescription of these agents is hampered due to a lack of knowledge of the scientificevidence and to the different presentations and microbial compositions of the probiotics thatare currently available.Aim: To provide the clinician with a consensus review of probiotics and recommendations fortheir use in gastroenterology.Materials and methods: Controlled clinical trials, meta-analyses, and systematic reviewspublished up to 2015 were selected, using the MESH terms: probiotics, gastrointestinal diseases,humans, adults, AND children. The Delphi method was employed. Eighteen gastroenterologiststreating adult patients and 14 pediatric gastroenterologists formulated statements that werevoted on until agreement > 70% was reached. The level of evidence based on the GRADE systemwas evaluated for each statement.Results and conclusions: Eleven statements on the general concepts of probiotics and 27 sta-tements on the use of probiotics in gastrointestinal diseases in both adults and children wereformulated. The consensus group recommends the use of probiotics under the following clini-cal conditions: the prevention of diarrhea associated with antibiotics, the treatment of acuteinfectious diarrhea, the prevention of Clostridium difficile infection and necrotizing enteroco-litis, the reduction of adverse events from Helicobacter pylori eradication therapy, relief fromirritable bowel syndrome symptoms, the treatment of functional constipation in the adult, and the induction and maintenance of remission in patients with ulcerative colitis and pouchitis,and the treatment of covert and overt hepatic encephalopathy.© 2016 Asociaci´on Mexicana de Gastroenterolog´ıa. Published by Masson Doyma M´exico S.A. Thisis an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)