Medication Persistence Rates and Factors Associated with Persistence in Patients Following Stroke: A Cohort Study

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Psychosocial impact of undergoing prostate cancer screening for men with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations.

OBJECTIVES: To report the baseline results of a longitudinal psychosocial study that forms part of the IMPACT study, a multi-national investigation of targeted prostate cancer (PCa) screening among men with a known pathogenic germline mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes. PARTICPANTS AND METHODS: Men enrolled in the IMPACT study were invited to complete a questionnaire at collaborating sites prior to each annual screening visit. The questionnaire included sociodemographic characteristics and the following measures: the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Impact of Event Scale (IES), 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36), Memorial Anxiety Scale for Prostate Cancer, Cancer Worry Scale-Revised, risk perception and knowledge. The results of the baseline questionnaire are presented. RESULTS: A total of 432 men completed questionnaires: 98 and 160 had mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, respectively, and 174 were controls (familial mutation negative). Participants' perception of PCa risk was influenced by genetic status. Knowledge levels were high and unrelated to genetic status. Mean scores for the HADS and SF-36 were within reported general population norms and mean IES scores were within normal range. IES mean intrusion and avoidance scores were significantly higher in BRCA1/BRCA2 carriers than in controls and were higher in men with increased PCa risk perception. At the multivariate level, risk perception contributed more significantly to variance in IES scores than genetic status. CONCLUSION: This is the first study to report the psychosocial profile of men with BRCA1/BRCA2 mutations undergoing PCa screening. No clinically concerning levels of general or cancer-specific distress or poor quality of life were detected in the cohort as a whole. A small subset of participants reported higher levels of distress, suggesting the need for healthcare professionals offering PCa screening to identify these risk factors and offer additional information and support to men seeking PCa screening

Genetic correlation between amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and schizophrenia

A. Palotie on työryhmän Schizophrenia Working Grp Psychiat jäsen.We have previously shown higher-than-expected rates of schizophrenia in relatives of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), suggesting an aetiological relationship between the diseases. Here, we investigate the genetic relationship between ALS and schizophrenia using genome-wide association study data from over 100,000 unique individuals. Using linkage disequilibrium score regression, we estimate the genetic correlation between ALS and schizophrenia to be 14.3% (7.05-21.6; P = 1 x 10(-4)) with schizophrenia polygenic risk scores explaining up to 0.12% of the variance in ALS (P = 8.4 x 10(-7)). A modest increase in comorbidity of ALS and schizophrenia is expected given these findings (odds ratio 1.08-1.26) but this would require very large studies to observe epidemiologically. We identify five potential novel ALS-associated loci using conditional false discovery rate analysis. It is likely that shared neurobiological mechanisms between these two disorders will engender novel hypotheses in future preclinical and clinical studies.Peer reviewe

Sox10 promotes the survival of cochlear progenitors during the establishment of the organ of Corti

Transcription factors of the SoxE family are critical players that underlie various embryological processes. However, little is known about their function during inner ear development. Here, we show that Sox10 is initially expressed throughout the otic vesicle epithelium and becomes later restricted to supporting cells as cell differentiation proceeds in the organ of Corti. Morphological analyses of Sox10 mutant mice reveal a significant shortening of the cochlear duct likely resulting from the progressive depletion of cochlear progenitors. While Sox10 appears dispensable for the differentiation and patterning of the inner ear prosensory progenitors, our data support a critical role for this transcription factor in the promotion of their survival. We provide genetic evidences that Sox10, in a concentration-dependant manner, could play a role in the regulation of Jagged1, a gene known to be important for inner ear prosensory development. Together, our results demonstrate that Sox10 regulates the biology of early cochlear progenitors during inner ear development, but, in contrast to neural crest-derived cells, this transcription factor is dispensable for their differentiation. Evidence also suggests that this effect occurs via the activation of the Jagged1 gene

CD169+ macrophages mediate pathological formation of woven bone in skeletal lesions of prostate cancer

Skeletal metastases present a major clinical challenge for prostate cancer patient care, inflicting distinctive mixed osteoblastic and osteolytic lesions that cause morbidity and refractory skeletal complications. Macrophages are abundant in bone and bone marrow and can influence both osteoblast and osteoclast function in physiology and pathology. Herein, we examined the role of macrophages in prostate cancer bone lesions, particularly the osteoblastic response. First, macrophage and lymphocyte distributions were qualitatively assessed in patient's prostate cancer skeletal lesions by immunohistochemistry. Second, macrophage functional contributions to prostate tumour growth in bone were explored using an immune-competent mouse model combined with two independent approaches to achieve in vivo macrophage depletion: liposome encapsulated clodronate that depletes phagocytic cells (including macrophages and osteoclasts); and targeted depletion of CD169(+) macrophages using a suicide gene knock-in model. Immunohistochemistry and histomorphometric analysis were performed to quantitatively assess cancer-induced bone changes. In human bone metastasis specimens, CD68(+) macrophages were consistently located within the tumour mass. Osteal macrophages (osteomacs) were associated with pathological woven bone within the metastatic lesions. In contrast, lymphocytes were inconsistently present in prostate cancer skeletal lesions and when detected, had varied distributions. In the immune-competent mouse model, CD169(+) macrophage ablation significantly inhibited prostate cancer-induced woven bone formation, suggesting that CD169(+) macrophages within pathological woven bone are integral to tumour-induced bone formation. In contrast, pan-phagocytic cell, but not targeted CD169(+) macrophage depletion resulted in increased tumour mass, indicating that CD169(-) macrophage subset(s) and/or osteoclasts influenced tumour growth. In summary, these observations indicate a prominent role for macrophages in prostate cancer bone metastasis that may be therapeutically targetable to reduce the negative skeletal impacts of this malignancy, including tumour-induced bone modelling. Copyright (C) 2016 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Genetic correlation between amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and schizophrenia

We have previously shown higher-than-expected rates of schizophrenia in relatives of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), suggesting an aetiological relationship between the diseases. Here, we investigate the genetic relationship between ALS and schizophrenia using genome-wide association study data from over 100,000 unique individuals. Using linkage disequilibrium score regression, we estimate the genetic correlation between ALS and schizophrenia to be 14.3% (7.05-21.6; P=1 × 10) with schizophrenia polygenic risk scores explaining up to 0.12% of the variance in ALS (P=8.4 × 10). A modest increase in comorbidity of ALS and schizophrenia is expected given these findings (odds ratio 1.08-1.26) but this would require very large studies to observe epidemiologically. We identify five potential novel ALS-associated loci using conditional false discovery rate analysis. It is likely that shared neurobiological mechanisms between these two disorders will engender novel hypotheses in future preclinical and clinical studies