Maternal bonding styles in smokers and non-smokers: a comparative study

BACKGROUND: Parental bonding has been implicated in smoking behavior, and the quality of maternal bonding (MB) has been associated with poor mental health and substance use. However, little is known about the association of MB and the smoking of the offspring. METHODS: In our study, 129 smokers and 610 non-smoker medical students completed the parental bonding instrument, which measures MB along two dimensions: care and overprotection. Four categories can be created by high and low scores on care and overprotection: optimal parenting (OP; high care/low overprotection); affectionless control (ALC; low care/high overprotection); affectionate constraint (AC; high care/high overprotection), and neglectful parenting (NP; low care/low overprotection). Nicotine dependence was assessed by the Fagerstrom Nicotine Dependence Test, exhaled CO level, and daily cigarette consumption (CPD). RESULTS: Higher CPD was significantly associated with lower overprotection (p = 0.016) and higher care (p = 0.023) scores. The odds for being a smoker were significantly higher in the neglectful maternal bonding style compared to the other rearing styles (p = 0.022). Besides, smokers showed significantly higher care and lower overprotection scores with the Mann-Whitney U-test than non-smokers, although these associations did not remain significant in multiple regression models. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that focusing on early life relationship between patient and mother can be important in psychotherapeutic interventions for smoking. Registration trials retrospectively registered

Results, meta-analysis and a first evaluation of UNOxR, the urinary nitrate-to-nitrite molar ratio, as a measure of nitrite reabsorption in experimental and clinical settings

We recently found that renal carbonic anhydrase (CA) is involved in the reabsorption of inorganic nitrite (NO2−), an abundant reservoir of nitric oxide (NO) in tissues and cells. Impaired NO synthesis in the endothelium and decreased NO bioavailability in the circulation are considered major contributors to the development and progression of renal and cardiovascular diseases in different conditions including diabetes. Isolated human and bovine erythrocytic CAII and CAIV can convert nitrite to nitrous acid (HONO) and its anhydride N2O3 which, in the presence of thiols (RSH), are further converted to S-nitrosothiols (RSNO) and NO. Thus, CA may be responsible both for the homeostasis of nitrite and for its bioactivation to RSNO/NO. We hypothesized that enhanced excretion of nitrite in the urine may contribute to NO-related dysfunctions in the renal and cardiovascular systems, and proposed the urinary nitrate-to-nitrite molar ratio, i.e., UNOxR, as a measure of renal CA-dependent excretion of nitrite. Based on results from clinical and experimental animal studies, here, we report on a first evaluation of UNOxR. We determined UNOxR values in preterm neonates, healthy children, and adults, in children suffering from type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) or Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), in elderly subjects suffering from chronic rheumatic diseases, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), coronary artery disease (CAD), or peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD). We also determined UNOxR values in healthy young men who ingested isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN), pentaerythrityl tetranitrate (PETN), or inorganic nitrate. In addition, we tested the utility of UNOxR in two animal models, i.e., the LEW.1AR1-iddm rat, an animal model of human T1DM, and the APOE*3-Leiden.CETP mice, a model of human dyslipidemia. Mean UNOxR values were lower in adult patients with rheumatic diseases (187) and in T2DM patients of the DALI study (74) as compared to healthy elderly adults (660) and healthy young men (1500). The intra- and inter-variabilities of UNOxR were of the order of 50% in young and elderly healthy subjects. UNOxR values were lower in black compared to white boys (314 vs. 483, P = 0.007), which is in line with reported lower NO bioavailability in black ethnicity. Mean UNOxR values were lower in DMD (424) compared to healthy (730) children, but they were higher in T1DM children (1192). ISDN (3 × 30 mg) decreased stronger UNOxR compared to PETN (3 × 80 mg) after 1 day (P = 0.046) and after 5 days (P = 0.0016) of oral administration of therapeutically equivalent doses. In healthy young men who ingested NaNO3 (0.1 mmol/kg/d), UNOxR was higher than in those who ingested the same dose of NaCl (1709 vs. 369). In LEW.1AR1-iddm rats, mean UNOxR values were lower than in healthy rats (198 vs. 308) and comparable to those in APOE*3-Leiden.CETP mice (151)

Asthma biomarkers in the age of biologics

Abstract The heterogeneous nature of asthma has been understood for decades, but the precise categorization of asthma has taken on new clinical importance in the era of specific biologic therapy. The simple categories of allergic and non-allergic asthma have given way to more precise phenotypes that hint at underlying biologic mechanisms of variable airflow limitation and airways inflammation. Understanding these mechanisms is of particular importance for the approximately 10% of patients with severe asthma. Biomarkers that aid in phenotyping allow physicians to “personalize” treatment with targeted biologic agents. Unfortunately, testing for these biomarkers is not routine in patients whose asthma is refractory to standard therapy. Scientific advances in the recognition of sensitive and specific biomarkers are steadily outpacing the clinical availability of reliable and non-invasive assessment methods designed for the prompt and specific diagnosis, classification, treatment, and monitoring of severe asthma patients. This article provides a practical overview of current biomarkers and testing methods for prompt, effective management of patients with severe asthma that is refractory to standard therapy