Response Inhibition During Processing of Sexual Stimuli in Males with Problematic Hypersexual Behavior

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Individuals with problematic hypersexual behavior (PHB) are unable to control their sexual cravings, regardless of other situational factors. This inability to control cravings is a common trait in patients with neurological pathologies related to response inhibition. Until recently, however, it was unclear whether individuals with PHB have decreased inhibition and altered neural responses in the brain regions associated with inhibition compared to healthy control individuals, especially in the presence of distracting sexual stimuli. In this study, we examined the neural and psychological underpinnings of inhibition in individuals with PHB. METHODS: Thirty individuals with PHB and 30 healthy subjects underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while performing a modified go/no-go task with neutral or sexual backgrounds used as distractors. RESULTS: Individuals with PHB showed poorer response inhibition than healthy subjects, especially when sexual distractors were present. Further, compared to healthy control subjects, individuals with PHB showed decreased activation in the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and reduced functional connectivity between the IFG and the pre-supplementary motor area (preSMA) when response inhibition was required. Finally, the reduced activation and connectivity were more pronounced in the presence of sexual distractors than in the presence of neutral distractors. DISCUSSION: These findings suggest that individuals with PHB show reduced ability to inhibit responses that might be related to lower IFG activation and IFG-preSMA connectivity during response inhibition. Our results provide insights into the neurobiological underpinnings of poor response inhibition in individuals with PHB

Altered Prefrontal and Inferior Parietal Activity During a Stroop Task in Individuals With Problematic Hypersexual Behavior

Accumulating evidence suggests a relationship between problematic hypersexual behavior (PHB) and diminished executive control. Clinical studies have demonstrated that individuals with PHB exhibit high levels of impulsivity; however, relatively little is known regarding the neural mechanisms underlying impaired executive control in PHB. This study investigated the neural correlates of executive control in individuals with PHB and healthy controls using event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Twenty-three individuals with PHB and 22 healthy control participants underwent fMRI while performing a Stroop task. Response time and error rates were measured as surrogate indicators of executive control. Individuals with PHB exhibited impaired task performance and lower activation in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and inferior parietal cortex relative to healthy controls during the Stroop task. In addition, blood oxygen level-dependent responses in these areas were negatively associated with PHB severity. The right DLPFC and inferior parietal cortex are associated with higher-order cognitive control and visual attention, respectively. Our findings suggest that individuals with PHB have diminished executive control and impaired functionality in the right DLPFC and inferior parietal cortex, providing a neural basis for PHB

FE65 as a link between VLDLR and APP to regulate their trafficking and processing

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Several studies found that FE65, a cytoplasmic adaptor protein, interacts with APP and LRP1, altering the trafficking and processing of APP. We have previously shown that FE65 interacts with the ApoE receptor, ApoER2, altering its trafficking and processing. Interestingly, it has been shown that FE65 can act as a linker between APP and LRP1 or ApoER2. In the present study, we tested whether FE65 can interact with another ApoE receptor, VLDLR, thereby altering its trafficking and processing, and whether FE65 can serve as a linker between APP and VLDLR.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found that FE65 interacted with VLDLR using GST pull-down and co-immunoprecipitation assays in COS7 cells and in brain lysates. This interaction occurs via the PTB1 domain of FE65. Co-transfection with FE65 and full length VLDLR increased secreted VLDLR (sVLDLR); however, the levels of VLDLR C-terminal fragment (CTF) were undetectable as a result of proteasomal degradation. Additionally, FE65 increased cell surface levels of VLDLR. Moreover, we identified a novel complex between VLDLR and APP, which altered trafficking and processing of both proteins. Furthermore, immunoprecipitation results demonstrated that the presence of FE65 increased the interaction between APP and VLDLR <it>in vitro </it>and <it>in vivo</it>.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These data suggest that FE65 can regulate VLDLR trafficking and processing. Additionally, the interaction between VLDLR and APP altered both protein's trafficking and processing. Finally, our data suggest that FE65 serves as a link between VLDLR and APP. This novel interaction adds to a growing body of literature indicating trimeric complexes with various ApoE Receptors and APP.</p

The Effects of Acupuncture Stimulation for Brain Activation and Alcohol Abstinence Self-Efficacy: Functional MRI Study

We attempted to investigate whether acupuncture stimulation at HT7 can have an effect on brain activation patterns and alcohol abstinence self-efficacy. Thirty-four right-handed healthy subjects were recruited for this study. They were randomly assigned into two groups: the HT7 (Shenmen) group and the LI5 (Yangxi) group. Acupuncture stimulation was performed using a block paradigm during fMRI scanning. Additionally, the Korean version of Alcohol Abstinence Self-Efficacy Scale (AASES) was used to determine the effect of acupuncture stimulation on self-efficacy to abstain from alcohol use. According to the result of fMRI group analysis, the activation induced by HT7 stimulation was found on the bilateral postcentral gyrus, inferior parietal lobule, inferior frontal gyrus, claustrum, insula, and anterior lobe of the cerebellum, as well as on the left posterior lobe of the cerebellum (p<0.001, uncorrected). According to the AASES analysis, the interaction effect for gender and treatment was marginally significant (F(1,30)=4.152, p=0.050). For female group, the simple main effect of treatment was significant (F(1,11)=8.040, p=0.016), indicating that the mean change score was higher in the HT7 stimulation than in the LI5 stimulation. Therefore, our study has provided evidence to support that HT7 stimulation has a positive therapeutic effect on the alcohol-related diseases

CTA-Based Truncal-Type Occlusion Is Best Matched With Postprocedural Fixed Focal Stenosis in Vertebrobasilar Occlusions

Background: Differentiation of embolic and atherosclerotic occlusions is difficult prior to endovascular treatment (EVT) of acute ischemic stroke due to intracranial large artery occlusions. CTA-determined occlusion type has been reported to be associated with a negative cardiac embolic source and stent retriever failure, a potential of intracranial atherosclerosis (ICAS)-related occlusions. In this study, we evaluated the agreement between preprocedural identification of CTA-determined truncal-type occlusion (TTO) and postprocedural evaluation of underlying fixed focal stenosis (FFS) in the occlusion site.Methods: Patients who underwent intracranial EVT for acute ischemic stroke within 24 h of onset and who had baseline CTA were identified from a multicenter registry collected between January 2011 and May 2016. Preprocedural occlusion type was classified as TTO (target artery bifurcation saved) or branching-site occlusion (bifurcation involved) on CTA. As for postprocedural identification, FFS was evaluated by stepwise analyses of procedural and postprocedural angiographies. The agreement between TTO and FFS was evaluated in respective intracranial vascular beds. Receiver operating characteristics analyses were also performed.Results: A total of 509 patients were included [intracranial internal carotid artery (ICA): 193, middle cerebral artery (MCA) M1: 256, and vertebrobasilar artery (VBA): 60]. In preprocedural identification, 33 (17.1%), 41 (16.0%), and 29 patients (48.3%) had TTOs, respectively. TTOs had good agreement with angiographic FFS in M1 (positive predictive value: 63.4%, negative predictive value: 83.2%, likelihood ratio: 5.42, Pmultivariate &lt; 0.001) and VBA (72.4%, 96.8%, and 4.54, respectively, Pmultivariate = 0.004), but not in intracranial ICA occlusions (Pmultivariate = 0.358). The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve was the largest for VBA (0.872, p &lt; 0.001), followed by MCA M1 (0.671, p &lt; 0.001), and intracranial ICA (0.551, p = 0.465).Conclusions: Agreement between preprocedural TTO and postprocedural FFS, both of which are surrogate markers for ICAS-related occlusions, is highest for VBA, followed by MCA M1 occlusions. There is no significant association in intracranial ICA

Role of Intranasal Topical Steroid in Pediatric Sleep Disordered Breathing and Influence of Allergy, Sinusitis, and Obesity on Treatment Outcome

ObjectivesTo evaluate efficacy of short term intranasal corticosteroid (mometasone furoate) treatment in pediatric sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) patients.MethodsA prospective, observational study was done. A total of 41 children (2-11 years old) were enrolled into this study. All patients received 4-weeks course of mometasone furoate 100 µg/day treatment. They were evaluated at pretreatment and immediately after treatment with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)-18 quality of life survey and lateral neck X-ray. Also, the assessment of each patients included history, skin prick test or CAP test, and sinus radiography. We compared the OSA-18 survey score and adenoidal-nasopharyngeal (AN) ratio between before and after treatment.ResultsTotal OSA-18 score and AN ratio decreased significantly after treatment regardless of allergy, sinusitis, and obesity (P=0.003, P=0.006). There was no complication after treatment of mometasone furoate.ConclusionPediatric SDB patients with adenoid hypertrophy could be effectively treated with 4-weeks course of mometasone furoate. Allergy, obesity, and sinusitis did not affect on the result of treatment

Development of the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences Guideline for Rating Physical Impairment

Systematic and effective welfare for the disabled is possible when there are scientific and objective criteria demonstrating either presence or severity of the impairment. We need our own scientific criteria suitable for our culture and society, since the impairment is influenced by them. In 2007, we established the Developing Committee of Korean Academy of Medical Sciences (KAMS) Guideline for Impairment Rating under KAMS supervision. We included all fixed and permanent physical impairments after a sufficient medical treatment. The impairment should be stable and medically measurable. If not, it should be reevaluated later. We benchmarked the American Medical Association Guides. The KAMS Guideline should be scientific, objective, valid, reasonable and practical. In particular, we tried to secure objectivity. We developed the KAMS Guideline for Impairment Rating

Quality of life outcomes including neuropathy-associated scale from a phase II, multicenter, randomized trial of eribulin plus gemcitabine versus paclitaxel plus gemcitabine as first-line chemotherapy for HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer: Korean Cancer Study Group Trial (KCSG BR13-11)

Background A phase II clinical trial of the comparison between eribulin plus gemcitabine (EG) and paclitaxel plus gemcitabine (PG) as first-line chemotherapy for patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) found that the EG regimen was less neurotoxic, but was similar in efficacy to the PG regimen. In the present study, we analyzed functional assessment of cancer therapy-taxane (FACT-Taxane) questionnaires from patients in this clinical trial to determine their quality of life (QoL). Methods QoL was assessed using the Korean version of the FACT-Taxane questionnaires. After baseline assessment, QoL was assessed every 2 cycles for 12 cycles and every 3 cycles thereafter. The linear mixed model was used to evaluate the difference in QoL between the EG and PG arms. Results Of the 118 enrolled patients, 117 responded to the FACT-Taxane questionnaires at baseline, 1 in the PG arm did not. Baseline QoL scores were not different between the EG and PG arms. During treatment, taxane subscale scores were significantly higher in the PG arm than in the EG arm after 2–13 cycles of chemotherapy (all P < 0.05), except for the 11th cycle. Neuropathy-specific analysis showed that patients in the PG arm had earlier and more severe neuropathic symptoms than those in the EG arm (P < 0.001). Conclusions In our QoL analysis, the EG regimen delayed and decreased neuropathy as compared with the PG regimen. Therefore, eribulin would be a reasonable substitute for paclitaxel as first-line chemotherapy for MBC.This study was supported by Eisai Korea Inc. (supplied eribulin), Dong-A ST Co., Ltd. (supplied gemcitabine), and Samyang Biopharmaceuticals (supplied paclitaxel). This work was supported by a grant from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Republic of Korea (HA17C0055) and by the National R&D Program for Cancer Control, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Republic of Korea (1720150)