Variations in Suppressor Molecule CTLA-4 Gene Are Related to Susceptibility to Multiple Myeloma in a Polish Population

Various phenotype and functional T-cell abnormalities are observed in multiple myeloma (MM) patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between polymorphisms in the gene encoding cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4), a negative regulator of the T-lymphocyte immune response and susceptibility to multiple myeloma in a Polish population. Two hundred MM patients and 380 healthy subjects were genotyped for the following polymorphisms: CTLA-4c.49A>G, CTLA-4g.319C>T, CTLA-4g.*642AT(8_33), CT60 (CTLA-4g.*6230G>A), Jo31 (CTLA-4g.*10223G>T). Our study is the largest and most comprehensive evaluation to date of the association between genetic polymorphisms in the CTLA-4 molecule and multiple myeloma. It was found that CTLA-4c.49A>G[G], CT60[G], and Jo31[G] alleles were more frequently observed in MM patients than in controls (0.50 vs. 0.44, p = 0.03, 0.65 vs. 0.58, p = 0.04, and 0.63 vs. 0.57, p = 0.03, respectively). Moreover, the haplotype CTLA-4c.49A>G[G], CTLA-4g.319C>T[C], CTLA-4g.*642AT(8_33) [8], CT60[G], Jo31[G] including all susceptibility alleles increases the risk of MM about fourfold (OR: 3.79, 95%CI: 2.08–6.89, p = 0.00001). These findings indicate that genetic variations in the CTLA-4 gene play role in susceptibility to multiple myeloma and warrant further investigation through replication studies

'We Have the Internet in Our Hands’: Bangladeshi College Students’ Use of ICTs For Health Information

Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) which enable people to access, use and promote health information through digital technology, promise important health systems innovations which can challenge gatekeepers’ control of information, through processes of disintermediation. College students, in pursuit of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information, are particularly affected by gatekeeping as strong social and cultural norms restrict their access to information and services. This paper examines mobile phone usage for obtaining health information in Mirzapur, Bangladesh. It contrasts college students’ usage with that of the general population, asks whether students are using digital technologies for health information in innovative ways, and examines how gender affects this

2017 HRS/EHRA/ECAS/APHRS/SOLAECE expert consensus statement on catheter and surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation: executive summary.

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