Stationary vs. singular points in an accelerating FRW cosmology derived from six-dimensional Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity

Six-dimensional Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity (with a linear Gauss-Bonnet term) is investigated. This theory is inspired by basic features of results coming from string and M-theory. Dynamical compactification is carried out and it is seen that a four-dimensional accelerating FRW universe is recovered, when the two-dimensional internal space radius shrinks. A non-perturbative structure of the corresponding theory is identified which has either three or one stable fixed points, depending on the Gauss-Bonnet coupling being positive or negative. A much richer structure than in the case of the perturbative regime of the dynamical compactification recently studied by Andrew, Bolen, and Middleton is exhibited.Comment: 9 pages, 20 figures, accepted in PL

Neurofibromatosis type 1 is not associated with subarachnoid haemorrhage

BackgroundThe prevalence of intracranial aneurysms (IAs) has been proposed to be elevated in the patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). Our aims were to determine the prevalence of NF1 in a large Finnish population based cohort of IA patients and, on the other hand, the occurrences of subarachnoid haemorrhage and unruptured intracranial aneurysms in a nationwide population-based cohort of NF1 patients and its matched ten-fold control cohort.MethodsThe Kuopio IA Database (www.kuopioneurosurgery.fi) includes all ruptured and unruptured IA cases admitted to the Kuopio University Hospital (KUH) from its defined Eastern Finnish catchment population since 1980. In this registry-based study, we cross-linked the Kuopio IA database with the Finnish national registry covering all hospital diagnoses. The NF1 diagnoses of the 4543 patients with either saccular of fusiform IA were identified from 1969 to 2015 and verified from patient records. Our second approach was to analyze the occurrence of aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage (aSAH) and unruptured IAs in a nationwide population-based database of 1410 NF1 patients and its ten-fold matched control cohort (n = 14030) using national registry of hospital diagnoses between 1987 and 2014.Results One NF1 patient was identified among the 4543 IA patients. Three verified IA cases (one unruptured IA and two aSAH cases) were identified in the cohort of 1410 NF1 patients, with similar occurrences in the control cohort.Conclusions We found no evidence in our population-based cohorts to support the conception that NF1 is associated with IAs. Our results indicate that the incidence of aSAH is not elevated in patients with NF1. Further studies are required to confirm that there is no association between NF1 and unruptured IAs

Difference in rupture risk between familial and sporadic intracranial aneurysms an individual patient data meta-analysis

Background and Objectives We combined individual patient data (IPD) from prospective cohorts of patients with unruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIAs) to assess to what extent patients with familial UIA have a higher rupture risk than those with sporadic UIA. Methods For this IPD meta-analysis, we performed an Embase and PubMed search for studies published up to December 1, 2020. We included studies that (1) had a prospective study design; (2) included 50 or more patients with UIA; (3) studied the natural course of UIA and risk factors for aneurysm rupture including family history for aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage and UIA; and (4) had aneurysm rupture as an outcome. Cohorts with available IPD were included. All studies included patients with newly diagnosed UIA visiting one of the study centers. The primary outcome was aneurysmal rupture. Patients with polycystic kidney disease and moyamoya disease were excluded. We compared rupture rates of familial vs sporadic UIA using a Cox proportional hazard regression model adjusted for PHASES score and smoking. We performed 2 analyses: (1) only studies defining first-degree relatives as parents, children, and siblings and (2) all studies, including those in which first-degree relatives are defined as only parents and children, but not siblings. Results We pooled IPD from 8 cohorts with a low and moderate risk of bias. First-degree relatives were defined as parents, siblings, and children in 6 cohorts (29% Dutch, 55% Finnish, 15% Japanese), totaling 2,297 patients (17% familial, 399 patients) with 3,089 UIAs and 7,301 person-years follow-up. Rupture occurred in 10 familial cases (rupture rate: 0.89%/person-year; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.45-1.59) and 41 sporadic cases (0.66%/person-year; 95% CI 0.48-0.89); adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for familial cases 2.56 (95% CI 1.18-5.56). After adding the 2 cohorts excluding siblings as first-degree relatives, resulting in 9,511 patients, the adjusted HR was 1.44 (95% CI 0.86-2.40). Discussion The risk of rupture of UIA is 2.5 times higher, with a range from a 1.2 to 5 times higher risk, in familial than in sporadic UIA. When assessing the risk of rupture in UIA, family history should be taken into account.Paroxysmal Cerebral Disorder

New insights into the genetic etiology of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias

Characterization of the genetic landscape of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (ADD) provides a unique opportunity for a better understanding of the associated pathophysiological processes. We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study totaling 111,326 clinically diagnosed/'proxy' AD cases and 677,663 controls. We found 75 risk loci, of which 42 were new at the time of analysis. Pathway enrichment analyses confirmed the involvement of amyloid/tau pathways and highlighted microglia implication. Gene prioritization in the new loci identified 31 genes that were suggestive of new genetically associated processes, including the tumor necrosis factor alpha pathway through the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex. We also built a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future AD/dementia or progression from mild cognitive impairment to AD/dementia. The improvement in prediction led to a 1.6- to 1.9-fold increase in AD risk from the lowest to the highest decile, in addition to effects of age and the APOE ε4 allele

Comparison of insulin lispro protamine suspension versus insulin glargine once daily in basal-bolus therapies with insulin lispro in type 2 diabetes patients : a prospective randomized open-label trial

AIMS: To compare the efficacy and safety of insulin lispro protamine suspension (ILPS) versus insulin glargine once daily in a basal-bolus regimen in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients. METHODS: Three hundred eighty-three insulin-treated patients were randomized to either ILPS plus lispro or glargine plus lispro in this open-label 24-week European study. Insulin doses were titrated to predefined blood glucose (BG) targets. Non-inferiority of ILPS versus glargine was assessed by comparing the upper limit of the 95% confidence interval (CI) for the change of HbA1c from baseline to week 24 (adjusted for country and baseline HbA1c) with the non-inferiority margin of 0.4%. Secondary endpoints included HbA1c categories, BG profiles, insulin doses, hypoglycaemic episodes, adverse events and vital signs. RESULTS: Non-inferiority of ILPS versus glargine in the change of HbA1c from baseline was shown: least-square mean between-treatment difference (95% CI) was 0.1% (-0.11; 0.31). Mean changes at week 24 were -1.05% (ILPS) and -1.20% (glargine). HbA1c <7.0% was achieved by 21.7 versus 29.4% of patients. Mean basal/mealtime insulin doses at week 24 were 29.6/36.2 IU/day (ILPS) versus 32.8/42.2 IU/day (glargine); the difference was not statistically significant for total dose (p = 0.7). In both groups, 56.1/25.7% versus 63.6/19.3% of patients experienced any/nocturnal hypoglycaemia (p = 0.2 for both). No relevant differences were noted in any other variables. CONCLUSIONS: A basal-bolus regimen with ILPS once daily resulted in non-inferior glycaemic control compared to a similar regimen with glargine, without statistically significant or clinically relevant differences in hypoglycaemia. ILPS-based regimens can be considered an alternative to basal-bolus regimens with glargine for T2DM patients

The relative importance of aerobic capacity, physical activity and body mass index in impaired glucose toleranceand Type 2 diabetes

Aim: To investigate the relative importance of aerobic capacity, physical activity and body mass index (BMI) for discriminating between people with Impaired Glucose Tolerance (IGT) or Type 2 diabetes and healthy controls. Method: Variables included scores on estimated VO2-max (ml/kg/min) by walking the UKK walking-test, responses to questions on self-reported physical activity and BMI. Design: Participants were recruited into groups of IGT, Type 2 diabetes and healthy controls (N64). Statistical analyses were performed by multifactor ANOVA, bivariate correlations and logistic regression. Result: Obesity, as indicated by BMI, was most evident in the IGT and Type 2 diabetes groups when jointly compared with the healthy controls (p=0.004, OR ≥16.00). However, when separately compared with the healthy controls, BMI scores strongly discriminated between the IGT versus healthy controls but failed to distinguish between Type 2 diabetes and healthy controls. Scores for aerobic capacity and level of physical activity failed to distinguish between healthy controls and IGT as well as Type 2 diabetes status. Conclusion: BMI was significantly associated with IGT whereas aerobic capacity and level of physical activity were not predictive of group status for IGT and Type 2 diabetes. The results indicated that primary health care should focus on all means for weight reduction, including physical activity and other life style changes, in order to prevent individuals from escalating into IGT in order to prevent risk of Type 2 diabetes