Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome in a Predominantly Cuban, Psychiatrically Ill, and Homeless Population

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the prevalence of metabolic syndrome among a group of psychiatric outpatients enrolled in a homeless program that is located in a predominantly Hispanic geographic area of South Florida. METHOD: Data for this retrospective, cross-sectional analysis were obtained from a record review of 122 adult patients who received full medical and psychiatric assessments based on DSM-IV criteria during participation in our homeless program from January 2009 to May 2009. The primary outcome measure was the presence of metabolic syndrome. RESULTS: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome within this population was 29.5%. Elevated waist circumference (48.5%) and elevated blood pressure (44.3%) were the 2 most frequent risk factors for the syndrome. Mean length of homelessness was 3.93 years, with no significant relationship noted between the presence of metabolic syndrome and duration of homelessness. Ninety-three percent of the subjects had been diagnosed with either schizophrenia or a mood disorder, and 61% had been treated with an atypical antipsychotic for at least 2 months over the preceding year. Our sample was predominantly Hispanic (79.5%), with Cuban Americans comprising 95% of that group. Among Hispanics, the prevalence rate of metabolic syndrome was 28.9%. CONCLUSIONS: Within our sample, homeless individuals compared to the general adult population in the United States seem to be at equal risk for metabolic syndrome. Although other studies have suggested an increased prevalence for metabolic syndrome among Hispanics, the obtained rate for our particular Hispanic sample was consistent with estimated prevalence of non-Hispanic individuals in the United States. Intervention programs rendering services to this population should include routine screening for presence of cardiovascular risk factors constituting metabolic syndrome

Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome in a Predominantly Cuban, Psychiatrically Ill, and Homeless Population

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the prevalence of metabolic syndrome among a group of psychiatric outpatients enrolled in a homeless program that is located in a predominantly Hispanic geographic area of South Florida. METHOD: Data for this retrospective, cross-sectional analysis were obtained from a record review of 122 adult patients who received full medical and psychiatric assessments based on DSM-IV criteria during participation in our homeless program from January 2009 to May 2009. The primary outcome measure was the presence of metabolic syndrome. RESULTS: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome within this population was 29.5%. Elevated waist circumference (48.5%) and elevated blood pressure (44.3%) were the 2 most frequent risk factors for the syndrome. Mean length of homelessness was 3.93 years, with no significant relationship noted between the presence of metabolic syndrome and duration of homelessness. Ninety-three percent of the subjects had been diagnosed with either schizophrenia or a mood disorder, and 61% had been treated with an atypical antipsychotic for at least 2 months over the preceding year. Our sample was predominantly Hispanic (79.5%), with Cuban Americans comprising 95% of that group. Among Hispanics, the prevalence rate of metabolic syndrome was 28.9%. CONCLUSIONS: Within our sample, homeless individuals compared to the general adult population in the United States seem to be at equal risk for metabolic syndrome. Although other studies have suggested an increased prevalence for metabolic syndrome among Hispanics, the obtained rate for our particular Hispanic sample was consistent with estimated prevalence of non-Hispanic individuals in the United States. Intervention programs rendering services to this population should include routine screening for presence of cardiovascular risk factors constituting metabolic syndrome

Crosslinked polyDADMAC gels as highly selective and reusable arsenate binding materials

High porosity cationic hydrogels synthesized via crosslinking co-polymerization of diallyldimethylammonium chloride (DADMAC) with N,N'-tetraallylpiperaziniumdichloride (TAP) showed high affinity towards arsenate anions over a wide pH range within notably short periods. Batch tests indicated that poly(DADMAC) hydrogels removed 99% of the arsenate anions from aqueous solutions at pH 6-10 and exhibited a maximum arsenic removal capacity of 0.12 g arsenic per gram of hydrogel. DADMAC hydrogels performed well at various pH levels after a short contact time (i.e., 10 min). Evidence of the ion exchange mechanism was based on experiments with solutions containing competing chloride and sulfate ions. An "intra-particle diffusion model" was proposed for the kinetics of arsenic removal. This gel was determined to be a good candidate for use in practice due to its easy regeneration either by treating with a 8.24 g/L of NaCl solution or by reducing the pH of the medium to below 1.0

Functional variants in the LRRK2 gene confer shared effects on risk for Crohn's disease and Parkinson's disease

Crohn's disease (CD), a form of inflammatory bowel disease, has a higher prevalence in Ashkenazi Jewish than in non-Jewish European populations. To define the role of nonsynonymous mutations, we performed exome sequencing of Ashkenazi Jewish patients with CD, followed by array-based genotyping and association analysis in 2066 CD cases and 3633 healthy controls. We detected association signals in the LRRK2 gene that conferred risk for CD (N2081D variant, P = 9.5 × 10-10) or protection from CD (N551K variant, tagging R1398H-associated haplotype, P = 3.3 × 10-8). These variants affected CD age of onset, disease location, LRRK2 activity, and autophagy. Bayesian network analysis of CD patient intestinal tissue further implicated LRRK2 in CD pathogenesis. Analysis of the extended LRRK2 locus in 24,570 CD cases, patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), and healthy controls revealed extensive pleiotropy, with shared genetic effects between CD and PD in both Ashkenazi Jewish and non-Jewish cohorts. The LRRK2 N2081D CD risk allele is located in the same kinase domain as G2019S, a mutation that is the major genetic cause of familial and sporadic PD. Like the G2019S mutation, the N2081D variant was associated with increased kinase activity, whereas neither N551K nor R1398H variants on the protective haplotype altered kinase activity. We also confirmed that R1398H, but not N551K, increased guanosine triphosphate binding and hydrolyzing enzyme (GTPase) activity, thereby deactivating LRRK2. The presence of shared LRRK2 alleles in CD and PD provides refined insight into disease mechanisms and may have major implications for the treatment of these two seemingly unrelated diseases

The Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) project

Genome-wide association studies have identified thousands of loci for common diseases, but, for the majority of these, the mechanisms underlying disease susceptibility remain unknown. Most associated variants are not correlated with protein-coding changes, suggesting that polymorphisms in regulatory regions probably contribute to many disease phenotypes. Here we describe the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) project, which will establish a resource database and associated tissue bank for the scientific community to study the relationship between genetic variation and gene expression in human tissues