Reduced Cancer Incidence in Huntington's Disease: Analysis in the Registry Study

Background: People with Huntington’s disease (HD) have been observed to have lower rates of cancers. Objective: To investigate the relationship between age of onset of HD, CAG repeat length, and cancer diagnosis. Methods: Data were obtained from the European Huntington’s disease network REGISTRY study for 6540 subjects. Population cancer incidence was ascertained from the GLOBOCAN database to obtain standardised incidence ratios of cancers in the REGISTRY subjects. Results: 173/6528 HD REGISTRY subjects had had a cancer diagnosis. The age-standardised incidence rate of all cancers in the REGISTRY HD population was 0.26 (CI 0.22–0.30). Individual cancers showed a lower age-standardised incidence rate compared with the control population with prostate and colorectal cancers showing the lowest rates. There was no effect of CAG length on the likelihood of cancer, but a cancer diagnosis within the last year was associated with a greatly increased rate of HD onset (Hazard Ratio 18.94, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Cancer is less common than expected in the HD population, confirming previous reports. However, this does not appear to be related to CAG length in HTT. A recent diagnosis of cancer increases the risk of HD onset at any age, likely due to increased investigation following a cancer diagnosis

The V471A polymorphism in autophagy-related gene ATG7 modifies age at onset specifically in Italian Huntington disease patients

The cause of Huntington disease (HD) is a polyglutamine repeat expansion of more than 36 units in the huntingtin protein, which is inversely correlated with the age at onset of the disease. However, additional genetic factors are believed to modify the course and the age at onset of HD. Recently, we identified the V471A polymorphism in the autophagy-related gene ATG7, a key component of the autophagy pathway that plays an important role in HD pathogenesis, to be associated with the age at onset in a large group of European Huntington disease patients. To confirm this association in a second independent patient cohort, we analysed the ATG7 V471A polymorphism in additional 1,464 European HD patients of the “REGISTRY” cohort from the European Huntington Disease Network (EHDN). In the entire REGISTRY cohort we could not confirm a modifying effect of the ATG7 V471A polymorphism. However, analysing a modifying effect of ATG7 in these REGISTRY patients and in patients of our previous HD cohort according to their ethnic origin, we identified a significant effect of the ATG7 V471A polymorphism on the HD age at onset only in the Italian population (327 patients). In these Italian patients, the polymorphism is associated with a 6-years earlier disease onset and thus seems to have an aggravating effect. We could specify the role of ATG7 as a genetic modifier for HD particularly in the Italian population. This result affirms the modifying influence of the autophagic pathway on the course of HD, but also suggests population-specific modifying mechanisms in HD pathogenesis

Legislation and road safety

Traffic accident statistics point out that the most dangerous fault of drivers is the fact of not adapting the speed of their vehicles. Many of them often do not realize the fact that it is necessary to comply with the allowed speed not only for their own travel safety but also because of other road users ability to respond to them. In this case the driving speed is an essential assumption to handle a situation not only in a populated urban area but also on the open road. The quality and condition of the road surface has a signifi cant impact on the driving safety. Drivers are oft en unaware of the fact that with increasing speed also their kinetic energy increases, which is converted into braking heat then and the braking distance of their vehicles gets longer. The text provides some model situations of these effects

Study of light nonstoichiometry in Eu-Ba-Cu-O systems

We studied effects of light Eu-Ba nonstoichiometry in Eu-Ba-Cu-O superconducting compounds on their transition, structural, and magnetic properties. Two series of Eu1+xBa2-x Cu3O7+delta and Eu1-x Ba2+xCu3O7+delta samples with x = 0, 0.01, 0.02, 0.04, 0.05, 0.07 and 0.1 were synthesized by the solid-state reaction method from Eu2O3, BaCO3 and CuO precursors and sintered at 1050 degrees C for 72 h in flowing oxygen. Structural, transition, and magnetic properties were investigated by means of X-ray diffraction, resistance, mutual inductance, magnetization and optical measurement methods. The Eu-Ba nonstoichiometry in the two series results in different effects on transport, magnetization, grain, intergrain and microstructure properties of the samples in relation to the substitution level of x. All the samples show the values of critical temperature T-c, volume density rho, and maximum volume magnetization M-max higher than 91 K, 6.4 g cm(-3) and 10(4) Am-1, respectively

Impact of a severe flood on large-scale contamination of arable soils by potentially toxic elements (Serbia)

Extreme flooding in May, 2014 affected the sub-catchments of six major rivers in Serbia. The goal of the study was to evaluate the contents of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) As, Cd, Pb, Cr, Ni, Cu, and Zn in flood sediments and arable soils within the affected sub-catchments using regulatory guidelines and BACKGROUND: levels. The sub-catchment of West Morava was selected to assess the degree of sediments and soils contamination and environmental risk [using the Pollution index (P-i), Enrichment factor, Geo-accumulation index, and Potential ecological risk index (PERI)] as well as to identify main PTEs sources by Principal component (PCA) and cluster analysis. Contents of Ni, Cr, As, Pb, and Cu above both guidelines and BACKGROUND: levels, and of Zn and Cd above BACKGROUND: levels were detected in the sediments and soils from all the sub-catchments. P-i indicted that about 95% of the soils and sediments were extremely polluted by Ni and about 65% slightly polluted by Cr, whereas about 90% were not polluted by As, Cd, Pb, Cu, or Zn. E-f indicated minor to moderate enrichment of the soils and sediments by Ni, and Cr. PCA differentiated a geogenic origin of Ni, Cr, As, and Pb, a mixed origin of Cd and Zn, and a predominantly anthropogenic origin of Cu. PERI of the soils and sediments suggested a low overall multi-element ecological risk. The ecological risk of the individual elements (E) for soils was Zn lt Cr lt Pb lt Ni lt Cu lt As lt Cd