Altered Parvalbumin-Positive Neuron Distribution in Basal Ganglia of Individuals with Tourette Syndrome

The neuropathology of Tourette Syndrome (TS) is poorly characterized. This thesis provides the first quantitative stereologic immunohistochemical study of the basal ganglia in TS. TS is a childhood neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by motor and vocal tics. Previous imaging studies found alterations in caudate (Cd) and putamen (Pt) volumes. To investigate possible alterations in cell populations, postmortem basal ganglia tissue from individuals with TS and normal controls (NC) was analyzed using unbiased stereological techniques. A markedly higher (\u3e160% of control) total neuron number and density was found in the internal segment of the globus pallidus (GPi) of TS (p220% of control) and proportion of these GPi neurons were positive for the calcium-binding protein parvalbumin (PV) in the tissue from TS subjects (p0.025). The imbalance in striatal and GPi inhibitory neuron distribution suggests that the functional dynamics of cortico-striato-thalamic circuitry are fundamentally altered in severe, persistent TS

Differential effects of natural palm oil, chemically- and enzymatically-modified palm oil on weight gain, blood lipid metabolites and fat deposition in a pediatric pig model

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Increasing prevalence of obesity and overweight in the Western world, continue to be a major health threat and is responsible for increased health care costs. Dietary intervention studies show a strong positive association between saturated fat intake and the development of obesity and cardiovascular disease. This study investigated the effect of positional distribution of palmitic acid (Sn-1, 2 & 3) of palm oil on cardiovascular health and development of obesity, using weaner pigs as a model for young children.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Male and female weaner piglets were randomly allocated to 4 dietary treatment groups: 1) pork lard (LRD); 2) natural palm olein (NPO); 3) chemically inter-esterified PO (CPO) and 4) enzymatically inter-esterified PO (EnPO) as the fat source. Diets were formulated with 11% lard or with palm olein in order to provide 31% of digestible energy from fat in the diet and were balanced for cholesterol, protein and energy across treatments.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>From 8 weeks onwards, pigs on EnPO diet gained (P < 0.05) more weight than all other groups. Feed conversion efficiency (feed to gain) over the 12 week experimental period did not vary between treatment groups. Plasma LDL-C content and LDL-C/HDL-C ratio in pigs fed natural PO tended to be lower compared to all other diets. The natural PO lowered (P < 0.02) the plasma triglyceride (TG) content relative to the lard or EnPO diets, but was not different from the CPO diet. The natural PO diet was associated with lower (P < 0.05) saturated fat levels in subcutaneous adipose tissue than the CPO and EnPO diets that had lower saturated fat levels than the lard diet. Female pigs had lower lean and higher fat and fat:lean ratio in the body compared with male pigs. No difference in weight gain or blood lipid parameters was observed between sexes.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The observations on plasma TG, muscle and adipose tissue saturated fatty acid contents and back fat (subcutaneous) thickness suggest that natural palm oil may reduce deposition of body fat. In addition, dietary supplementation with natural palm oil containing palmitic acid at different positions in meat producing animals may lead to the production of meat and meat products with lower saturated fats. An increase in fat content and a decrease in lean content in female pigs resulted in an increased body fat:lean ratio but gender had no effect on blood lipid parameters or insulin concentrations.</p

Alterations in the microstructure of white matter in children and adolescents with Tourette syndrome measured using tract-based spatial statistics and probabilistic tractography

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by repetitive and intermittent motor and vocal tics. TS is thought to reflect fronto-striatal dysfunction and the aetiology of the disorder has been linked to widespread alterations in the functional and structural integrity of the brain. The aim of this study was to assess white matter (WM) abnormalities in a large sample of young patients with TS in comparison to a sample of matched typically developing control individuals (CS) using diffusion MRI. The study included 35 patients with TS (3 females; mean age: 14.0 ± 3.3) and 35 CS (3 females; mean age: 13.9 ± 3.3). Diffusion MRI data was analysed using tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) and probabilistic tractography. Patients with TS demonstrated both marked and widespread decreases in axial diffusivity (AD) together with altered WM connectivity. Moreover, we showed that tic severity and the frequency of premonitory urges (PU) were associated with increased connectivity between primary motor cortex (M1) and the caudate nuclei, and increased information transfer between M1 and the insula, respectively. This is to our knowledge the first study to employ both TBSS and probabilistic tractography in a sample of young patients with TS. Our results contribute to the limited existing literature demonstrating altered connectivity in TS and confirm previous results suggesting in particular, that altered insular function contributes to increased frequency of PU

Traumatic EDH: Trends in National Mortality and Cost, 1993-2006

Epidural hematoma is a well-known sequela of traumatic brain injury, although information regarding patient outcomes and cost previously has been derived mainly from single-institution series. The aim of our study was to evaluate these data for trends on a national level. We evaluated 28,158 traumatic epidural hematoma admissions recorded in the National Inpatient Sample database over the 14-year period from 1993 to 2006 for mortality, cost, length of stay, and discharge status. Admissions for traumatic epidural hematoma increased 19.4 percent from 1,849 in 1993 to 2,207 in 2006, an increase that corresponds to population growth. Incidence during this period was stable at 7 per 1 million. In-hospital mortality varied from 2.5 percent to 6 percent, and rates of routine discharge remained between 70 percent and 75 percent. Despite a decrease in length of stay from 9.3 days to 5.9 days, average hospital charges increased 69 percent, from $26,030 to$44,046. This increase in percentage corresponded to an increase in average hospital charges by approximately $1,300 per admission per year. This study provides a national perspective on inpatient trends for traumatic epidural hematoma. The data show that, while incidence of and mortality from traumatic epidural hematoma remained stable, lengths of stay decreased and hospital charges increased significantly over this time period

Traumatic EDH: Trends in National Mortality and Cost, 1993-2006

Epidural hematoma is a well-known sequela of traumatic brain injury, although information regarding patient outcomes and cost previously has been derived mainly from single-institution series. The aim of our study was to evaluate these data for trends on a national level. We evaluated 28,158 traumatic epidural hematoma admissions recorded in the National Inpatient Sample database over the 14-year period from 1993 to 2006 for mortality, cost, length of stay, and discharge status. Admissions for traumatic epidural hematoma increased 19.4 percent from 1,849 in 1993 to 2,207 in 2006, an increase that corresponds to population growth. Incidence during this period was stable at 7 per 1 million. In-hospital mortality varied from 2.5 percent to 6 percent, and rates of routine discharge remained between 70 percent and 75 percent. Despite a decrease in length of stay from 9.3 days to 5.9 days, average hospital charges increased 69 percent, from $26,030 to$44,046. This increase in percentage corresponded to an increase in average hospital charges by approximately $1,300 per admission per year. This study provides a national perspective on inpatient trends for traumatic epidural hematoma. The data show that, while incidence of and mortality from traumatic epidural hematoma remained stable, lengths of stay decreased and hospital charges increased significantly over this time period