Antiaging Potential of Peptides from Underused Marine Bioresources

Aging is a biological process that occurs under normal conditions and in several chronic degenerative diseases. Bioactive natural peptides have been shown to improve the effects of aging in cell and animal models and in clinical trials. However, few reports delve into the enormous diversity of peptides from marine organisms. This review provides recent information on the antiaging potential of bioactive peptides from underused marine resources, including examples that scavenge free radicals in vitro, inhibit cell apoptosis, prolong the lifespan of fruit flies and Caenorhabditis elegans, suppress aging in mice, and exert protective roles in aging humans. The underlying molecular mechanisms involved, such as upregulation of oxidase activity, inhibition of cell apoptosis and MMP-1 expression, restoring mitochondrial function, and regulating intestinal homeostasis, are also summarized. This work will help highlight the antiaging potential of peptides from underused marine organisms which could be used as antiaging foods and cosmetic ingredients in the near future

A case of ureteral myeloid sarcoma post-renal transplantation

Abstract Background Significant attention has been directed toward the high incidence of malignant tumours that occur post-transplantation. However, there are few reports of myeloid sarcomas (MSs) following renal transplantation. Case presentation This case report describes a 26-year-old male patient who presented with repeatedly high creatinine levels and hydronephrosis six months post-renal transplantation. Surgical pathology revealed ureteral MS; however, the tumour recurred following resection. Bone marrow biopsy indicated that the patient also had acute promyelocytic leukaemia. The tumour was treated with local radiotherapy, and the leukaemia was treated with systemic chemotherapy. The patient’s conditions were satisfactory at the one-year follow-up. Conclusions This report is the first to describe a ureteral MS post-renal transplantation. Our findings suggest that surgical resection combined with radiotherapy and chemotherapy can help control the status of patients with this condition

Resemblance of symptoms for major depression assessed at interview versus from hospital record review.

BACKGROUND: Diagnostic information for psychiatric research often depends on both clinical interviews and medical records. Although discrepancies between these two sources are well known, there have been few studies into the degree and origins of inconsistencies. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We compared data from structured interviews and medical records on 1,970 Han Chinese women with recurrent DSM-IV major depression (MD). Correlations were high for age at onset of MD (0.93) and number of episodes (0.70), intermediate for family history (+0.62) and duration of longest episode (+0.43) and variable but generally more modest for individual depressive symptoms (mean kappa = 0.32). Four factors were identified for twelve symptoms from medical records and the same four factors emerged from analysis of structured interviews. Factor congruencies were high but the correlation of factors between interviews and records were modest (i.e. +0.2 to +0.4). CONCLUSIONS: Structured interviews and medical records are highly concordant for age of onset, and the number and length of episodes, but agree more modestly for individual symptoms and symptom factors. The modesty of these correlations probably arises from multiple factors including i) inconsistency in the definition of the worst episode, ii) inaccuracies in self-report and iii) difficulties in coding medical records where symptoms were recorded solely for clinical purposes

Inherited and multiple de novo mutations in autism/developmental delay risk genes suggest a multifactorial model

Abstract Background We previously performed targeted sequencing of autism risk genes in probands from the Autism Clinical and Genetic Resources in China (ACGC) (phase I). Here, we expand this analysis to a larger cohort of patients (ACGC phase II) to better understand the prevalence, inheritance, and genotype–phenotype correlations of likely gene-disrupting (LGD) mutations for autism candidate genes originally identified in cohorts of European descent. Methods We sequenced 187 autism candidate genes in an additional 784 probands and 85 genes in 599 probands using single-molecule molecular inversion probes. We tested the inheritance of potentially pathogenic mutations, performed a meta-analysis of phase I and phase II data and combined our results with existing exome sequence data to investigate the phenotypes of carrier parents and patients with multiple hits in different autism risk genes. Results We validated recurrent, LGD, de novo mutations (DNMs) in 13 genes. We identified a potential novel risk gene (ZNF292), one novel gene with recurrent LGD DNMs (RALGAPB), as well as genes associated with macrocephaly (GIGYF2 and WDFY3). We identified the transmission of private LGD mutations in genes predominantly associated with DNMs and showed that parental carriers tended to share milder autism-related phenotypes. Patients that carried DNMs in two or more candidate genes show more severe phenotypes. Conclusions We identify new risk genes and transmission of deleterious mutations in genes primarily associated with DNMs. The fact that parental carriers show milder phenotypes and patients with multiple hits are more severe supports a multifactorial model of risk

Factor Loadings obtained from analysis of 12 major depression symptoms from medical records.

<p>Factor Loadings obtained from analysis of 12 major depression symptoms from medical records.</p

Correlation between information obtained from a structured interview and medical records for major depression onset and episodes.

<p>The table gives the mean, the standard deviation and the range for age in years of onset of major depression, the duration of the longest episode (in weeks) and the total number of episodes. The final two columns give the total number of observations (n), the Pearson correlation coefficient (r), and the intraclass correlation coefficient (icc).</p

Correlation between MD Symptom Factors Derived from Personal Interview And Medical Records.

<p>The correlation (r) and associated p-value (p) between four factors derived from factor analysis of medical records and interview data. The correlation for the same factor is depicted in <b>bold</b>.</p