Eating dysfunction associated with oromandibular dystonia: clinical characteristics and treatment considerations

BACKGROUND: In oromandibular dystonia (OMD) abnormal repetitive contractions of masticatory, facial, and lingual muscles as well as the presence of orobuccolingual (OBL) dyskinesias may interfere with the appropriate performance of tasks such as chewing and swallowing leading to significant dysphagia and weight loss. We present here the clinical characteristics and treatment variables of a series of patients that developed an OMD-associated eating dysfunction. METHODS: We present a series of patients diagnosed and followed-up at the Movement Disorders Clinic of the Department of Neurology of University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine over a 10-year period. Patients were treated with botulinum toxin injections according to standard methods. RESULTS: Five out of 32 (15.6%) OMD patients experienced symptoms of eating dysfunction associated with OMD. Significant weight loss was reported in 3/5 patients (ranged for 13–15 lbs). Two patients regained the lost weight after treatment and one was lost to follow-up. Tetrabenazine in combination with other antidystonic medication and/or botulinum toxin injections provided substantial benefit to the patients with dysphagia caused by OMD. CONCLUSION: Dystonic eating dysfunction may occasionally complicate OMD leading to weight loss. Its adequate characterization at the time of history taking and clinical examination should be part of outcome measurements of the anti-dystonic treatment in clinical practice

Effects of a brief mindfulness-based intervention on emotional regulation and levels of mindfulness in senior students

Mindfulness-based interventions have been applied in diverse populations and achieved mental health benefits. This study examined the effects of a brief mindfulness program for emotional regulation and levels of mindfulness on senior students in Brazil. The intervention consisted of six weekly meetings attended by 30 participants. It is a pre-experimental research, with pre- and post-test comparative and correlation measurements. The preliminary results, which relied on parametrical and non-parametrical tests, revealed a reduction in total emotional regulation difficulties (p = 0.0001; r = − 0.55). Also, there was an increase in the levels of mindfulness in the subtests for both dimensions under evaluation: “Awareness” (p = 0.0001; d = 0.77) and “Acceptance” (p = 0.048; d = 0.37). By associating the amount of meditative practices performed by students with the variables, a significant positive correlation was found with the mindfulness dimension “Awareness” (rP = 0.422; p = 0.020), and there was a significant negative correlation with Difficulties in emotion regulation (rS = − 0.478; p = 0.008) and with its respective subscales “Non-acceptance” (rS = − 0.654; p = 0.0001) and “Clarity” (rS = − 0.463; p = 0.010). In conclusion, the application of a brief mindfulness-based intervention is promising in Brazilian university contexts; moreover, it can bring benefits to students, e.g., an increase in emotion regulation as well as in levels of mindfulness. We suggest that further research should use an experimental design and follow-up.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Determining the neurotransmitter concentration profile at active synapses

Establishing the temporal and concentration profiles of neurotransmitters during synaptic release is an essential step towards understanding the basic properties of inter-neuronal communication in the central nervous system. A variety of ingenious attempts has been made to gain insights into this process, but the general inaccessibility of central synapses, intrinsic limitations of the techniques used, and natural variety of different synaptic environments have hindered a comprehensive description of this fundamental phenomenon. Here, we describe a number of experimental and theoretical findings that has been instrumental for advancing our knowledge of various features of neurotransmitter release, as well as newly developed tools that could overcome some limits of traditional pharmacological approaches and bring new impetus to the description of the complex mechanisms of synaptic transmission

Recurrent Plasmodium falciparum Malaria Infections in Kenyan Children Diminish T-Cell Immunity to Epstein Barr Virus Lytic but Not Latent Antigens

Plasmodium falciparum malaria (Pf-malaria) and Epstein Barr Virus (EBV) infections coexist in children at risk for endemic Burkitt's lymphoma (eBL); yet studies have only glimpsed the cumulative effect of Pf-malaria on EBV-specific immunity. Using pooled EBV lytic and latent CD8+ T-cell epitope-peptides, IFN-γ ELISPOT responses were surveyed three times among children (10 months to 15 years) in Kenya from 2002–2004. Prevalence ratios (PR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated in association with Pf-malaria exposure, defined at the district-level (Kisumu: holoendemic; Nandi: hypoendemic) and the individual-level. We observed a 46% decrease in positive EBV lytic antigen IFN-γ responses among 5–9 year olds residing in Kisumu compared to Nandi (PR: 0.54; 95% CI: 0.30–0.99). Individual-level analysis in Kisumu revealed further impairment of EBV lytic antigen responses among 5–9 year olds consistently infected with Pf-malaria compared to those never infected. There were no observed district- or individual-level differences between Pf-malaria exposure and EBV latent antigen IFN-γ response. The gradual decrease of EBV lytic antigen but not latent antigen IFN-γ responses after primary infection suggests a specific loss in immunological control over the lytic cycle in children residing in malaria holoendemic areas, further refining our understanding of eBL etiology

Lithic technological responses to Late Pleistocene glacial cycling at Pinnacle Point Site 5-6, South Africa

There are multiple hypotheses for human responses to glacial cycling in the Late Pleistocene, including changes in population size, interconnectedness, and mobility. Lithic technological analysis informs us of human responses to environmental change because lithic assemblage characteristics are a reflection of raw material transport, reduction, and discard behaviors that depend on hunter-gatherer social and economic decisions. Pinnacle Point Site 5-6 (PP5-6), Western Cape, South Africa is an ideal locality for examining the influence of glacial cycling on early modern human behaviors because it preserves a long sequence spanning marine isotope stages (MIS) 5, 4, and 3 and is associated with robust records of paleoenvironmental change. The analysis presented here addresses the question, what, if any, lithic assemblage traits at PP5-6 represent changing behavioral responses to the MIS 5-4-3 interglacial-glacial cycle? It statistically evaluates changes in 93 traits with no a priori assumptions about which traits may significantly associate with MIS. In contrast to other studies that claim that there is little relationship between broad-scale patterns of climate change and lithic technology, we identified the following characteristics that are associated with MIS 4: increased use of quartz, increased evidence for outcrop sources of quartzite and silcrete, increased evidence for earlier stages of reduction in silcrete, evidence for increased flaking efficiency in all raw material types, and changes in tool types and function for silcrete. Based on these results, we suggest that foragers responded to MIS 4 glacial environmental conditions at PP5-6 with increased population or group sizes, 'place provisioning', longer and/or more intense site occupations, and decreased residential mobility. Several other traits, including silcrete frequency, do not exhibit an association with MIS. Backed pieces, once they appear in the PP5-6 record during MIS 4, persist through MIS 3. Changing paleoenvironments explain some, but not all temporal technological variability at PP5-6.Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada; NORAM; American-Scandinavian Foundation; Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia [SFRH/BPD/73598/2010]; IGERT [DGE 0801634]; Hyde Family Foundations; Institute of Human Origins; National Science Foundation [BCS-9912465, BCS-0130713, BCS-0524087, BCS-1138073]; John Templeton Foundation to the Institute of Human Origins at Arizona State Universit

Development of outcome measures for autoimmune dermatoses

Validated outcome measures are essential in monitoring disease severity. Specifically in dermatology, which relies heavily on the clinical evaluation of the patient and not on laboratory values and radiographic tests, outcome measures help standardize patient care. Validated cutaneous scoring systems, much like standardized laboratory values, facilitate disease management and follow therapeutic response. Several cutaneous autoimmune dermatoses, specifically cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE), dermatomyositis (DM), and pemphigus vulgaris (PV), lack such outcome measures. As a result, evaluation of disease severity and patients’ response to therapy over time is less reliable. Ultimately, patient care is compromised. These diseases, which are often chronic and relapsing and remitting, are also often refractory to treatment. Without outcome measures, new therapies cannot be systematically assessed in these diseases. Clinical trials that are completed without standardized outcome measures produce less reliable results. Therefore, the development of validated outcome measures in these autoimmune dermatoses is critical. However, the process of developing these tools is as important, if not more so, than their availability. This review examines the steps that should be considered when developing outcome measures, while further examining their importance in clinical practice and trials. Finally, this review more closely looks at CLE, DM, and PV and addresses the recent and ongoing progress that has been made in the development of their outcome measures

Impact of receptor clustering on ligand binding

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cellular response to changes in the concentration of different chemical species in the extracellular medium is induced by ligand binding to dedicated transmembrane receptors. Receptor density, distribution, and clustering may be key spatial features that influence effective and proper physical and biochemical cellular responses to many regulatory signals. Classical equations describing this kind of binding kinetics assume the distributions of interacting species to be homogeneous, neglecting by doing so the impact of clustering. As there is experimental evidence that receptors tend to group in clusters inside membrane domains, we investigated the effects of receptor clustering on cellular receptor ligand binding.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We implemented a model of receptor binding using a Monte-Carlo algorithm to simulate ligand diffusion and binding. In some simple cases, analytic solutions for binding equilibrium of ligand on clusters of receptors are provided, and supported by simulation results. Our simulations show that the so-called "apparent" affinity of the ligand for the receptor decreases with clustering although the microscopic affinity remains constant.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Changing membrane receptors clustering could be a simple mechanism that allows cells to change and adapt its affinity/sensitivity toward a given stimulus.</p