Iron status is inversely associated with dietary iron intakes in patients with inactive or mildly active inflammatory bowel disease.

BACKGROUND: Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) frequently appear iron deplete but whether this is a reflection of dietary iron intakes is not known. METHODS: Dietary data were collected from 29 patients with inactive or mildly-active IBD and 28 healthy controls using a validated food frequency questionnaire that measured intakes of iron and its absorption modifiers. Non-haem iron availability was estimated using a recently developed algorithm. Subjects were classified for iron status based upon data from a concomitant and separately published study of iron absorption. Absorption was used to define iron status because haematological parameters are flawed in assessing iron status in inflammatory conditions such as IBD. RESULTS: Dietary intakes of total iron, non-haem iron and vitamin C were significantly greater in IBD patients who were iron replete compared to those who were iron deplete (by 48%, 48% and 94% respectively; p≤0.05). The predicted percentage of available non-haem iron did not differ between these groups (19.7 ± 2.0% vs 19.3 ± 2.0% respectively; p=0.25). However, because of the difference in iron intake, the overall amount of absorbed iron did (2.4 ± 0.8 mg/d vs 1.7 ± 0.5 mg/d; p=0.013). No such differences were observed in the healthy control subjects. CONCLUSIONS: In IBD, iron status is more closely related to the quality and quantity of dietary iron intake than in the general healthy population.RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are

Dietary fortificant iron intake is negatively associated with quality of life in patients with mildly active inflammatory bowel disease.

BACKGROUND: Iron deficiency anaemia and oral iron supplementation have been associated negatively with quality of life, and with adverse effects, respectively, in subjects with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Hence, the risk-benefit ratio of oral iron is not understood in this patient group. The present case-control study investigated whether dietary iron intake impacts on quality of life in IBD patients. METHODS: Quality of life, habitual dietary iron intakes and iron requirements were assessed in 29 patients with inactive or mildly active IBD as well as in 28 healthy control subjects. RESULTS: As expected, quality of life was worse in IBD patients as a whole in comparison to healthy controls according to EuroQol score and EuroQol VAS percentage (6.9 ± 1.6 vs 5.3 ± 0.6; p< 0.0001 and 77 ± 14% vs 88 ± 12%; p=0.004 respectively). For IBD subjects, 21/29 were iron deplete based upon serum iron responses to oral iron but, overall, were non-anaemic with mean haemoglobin of 13.3 ± 1.5 g/dL, and there was no difference in their quality of life compared to 8/29 iron replete subjects (Hb 14.0 ± 0.8 g/dL). Interestingly, total dietary iron intake was significantly negatively associated with quality of life in IBD patients, specifically for non-haem iron and, more specifically, for fortificant iron. Moreover, for total non-haem iron the negative association disappeared when fortificant iron values were subtracted. Finally, further sub-analysis indicated that the negative association between (fortificant) dietary iron intake and quality of life in IBD patients is driven by findings in patients with mildly active disease rather than in patients with quiescent disease. CONCLUSIONS: Iron deficiency per se (i.e. without concomitant anaemia) does not appear to further affect quality of life in IBD patients with inactive or mildly active disease. However, in this preliminary study, dietary iron intake, particularly fortificant iron, appears to be significantly negatively associated with quality of life in patients with mildly active disease.RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are

Isoforms of U1-70k control subunit dynamics in the human spliceosomal U1 snRNP

Most human protein-encoding genes contain multiple exons that are spliced together, frequently in alternative arrangements, by the spliceosome. It is established that U1 snRNP is an essential component of the spliceosome, in human consisting of RNA and ten proteins, several of which are post- translationally modified and exist as multiple isoforms. Unresolved and challenging to investigate are the effects of these post translational modifications on the dynamics, interactions and stability of the particle. Using mass spectrometry we investigate the composition and dynamics of the native human U1 snRNP and compare native and recombinant complexes to isolate the effects of various subunits and isoforms on the overall stability. Our data reveal differential incorporation of four protein isoforms and dynamic interactions of subunits U1-A, U1-C and Sm-B/B’. Results also show that unstructured post- ranslationally modified C-terminal tails are responsible for the dynamics of Sm-B/B’ and U1-C and that their interactions with the Sm core are controlled by binding to different U1-70k isoforms and their phosphorylation status in vivo. These results therefore provide the important functional link between proteomics and structure as well as insight into the dynamic quaternary structure of the native U1 snRNP important for its function.This work was funded by: BBSRC (OVM), BBSRC and EPSRC (HH and NM), EU Prospects (HH), European Science Foundation (NM), the Royal Society (CVR), and fellowship from JSPS and HFSP (YM and DAPK respectively)

Prognostic factors in non-surgically treated sciatica: A systematic review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>When present sciatica is considered an obstacle to recovery in low back pain patients, yet evidence is limited regarding prognostic factors for persistent disability in this patient group. The aim of this study is to describe and summarise the evidence regarding prognostic factors for sciatica in non-surgically treated cohorts. Understanding the prognostic factors in sciatica and their relative importance may allow the identification of patients with particular risk factors who might benefit from early or specific types of treatment in order to optimise outcome.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A systematic literature search was conducted using Medline, EMBASE and CINAHL electronic databases. Prospective cohort studies describing subjects with sciatica and measuring pain, disability or recovery outcomes were included. Studies of cohorts comprised entirely of surgically treated patients were excluded and mixed surgically and conservatively treated cohorts were included only if the results were analysed separately by treatment group or if the analysis was adjusted for treatment.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Seven adequate or high quality eligible studies were identified. There were conflicting but mainly negative results regarding the influence of baseline pain severity, neurological deficit, nerve root tension signs, duration of symptoms and radiological findings on outcome. A number of factors including age, gender, smoking, previous history of sciatica and heaviness of work do not appear to influence outcome. In contrast to studies of low back pain and purely surgically treated sciatica cohorts, psychological factors were rarely investigated.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>At present, the heterogeneity of the available studies makes it difficult to draw firm conclusions about sciatica prognosis, and highlights the need for further research for this group of patients. Large scale prospective studies of high methodological quality, using a well-defined, consistent definition of sciatica and investigating psychosocial factors alongside clinical and radiological findings are recommended to identify prognostic factors in this population.</p

Time of Day and its Association with Risk of Death and Chance of Discharge in Critically Ill Patients: A Retrospective Study.

Outcomes following admission to intensive care units (ICU) may vary with time and day. This study investigated associations between time of day and risk of ICU mortality and chance of ICU discharge in acute ICU admissions. Adult patients (age ≥ 18 years) who were admitted to ICUs participating in the Austrian intensive care database due to medical or surgical urgencies and emergencies between January 2012 and December 2016 were included in this retrospective study. Readmissions were excluded. Statistical analysis was conducted using the Fine-and-Gray proportional subdistribution hazards model concerning ICU mortality and ICU discharge within 30 days adjusted for SAPS 3 score. 110,628 admissions were analysed. ICU admission during late night and early morning was associated with increased hazards for ICU mortality; HR: 1.17; 95% CI: 1.08-1.28 for 00:00-03:59, HR: 1.16; 95% CI: 1.05-1.29 for 04:00-07:59. Risk of death in the ICU decreased over the day; lowest HR: 0.475, 95% CI: 0.432-0.522 for 00:00-03:59. Hazards for discharge from the ICU dropped sharply after 16:00; lowest HR: 0.024; 95% CI: 0.019-0.029 for 00:00-03:59. We conclude that there are "time effects" in ICUs. These findings may spark further quality improvement efforts

Cytochemical techniques and energy-filtering transmission electron microscopy applied to the study of parasitic protozoa

The study of parasitic protozoa plays a major role in cell biology, biochemistry and molecular biology. Numerous cytochemical techniques have been developed in order to unequivocally identify the nature of subcellular compartments. Enzyme and immuno-cytochemistry allow the detection of, respectively, enzymatic activity products and antigens in particular sites within the cell. Energy-filtering transmission electron microscopy permits the detection of specific elements within such compartments. These approaches are particularly useful for studies employing antimicrobial agents where cellular compartments may be destroyed or remarkably altered and thus hardly identified by standard methods of observation. In this regard cytochemical and spectroscopic techniques provide valuable data allowing the determination of the mechanisms of action of such compounds