25 research outputs found
Seizure impact on the school attendance in children with epilepsy
Rationale: Epilepsy has a significant influence on the patient's quality of Life. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of ongoing seizures on school attendance amongst children with epilepsy. Methods: This was a prospective study, conducted at the University of Campinas, in the pediatric epilepsy clinic, from January 2005 to August 2006. We enrolled 50 consecutive children who had a diagnosis of epilepsy. Parents were interviewed by one of the authors using a semi-structured questionnaire that included questions specifically addressing the impact of epilepsy on the child's academic life. Results: Fifty patients were evaluated, 34 boys and 16 girls; ages ranged from 6 to 18 years old (mean = 11). Eighty-eight percent of patients in the study missed at least 1 day of school due to seizures. The reason given by parents for a school absence was seizure in 75%, medical appointment in 79.5%, epilepsy related tests (EEG, MRI, etc.) in 68.2%, and other in 0.03%. Almost half of the parents (46%) believed that if the child had a seizure at school he/she should leave school immediately. Sixty percent of families allowed the child to skip a school day even if there was no illness and the child had no seizures on that day. Among those patients with siblings, 12.5% had a brother or sister who was absent from school for at least 1 day due to his/her sibling's epilepsy. Conclusion: Seizures have a significant impact on school attendance, and as a result may increase the academic difficulties faced by children with epilepsy. This effect may be especially pronounced in children with symptomatic epilepsy and medically intractable seizures. (c) 2007 British Epilepsy Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.16869870
Histone Acetylation Regulates Intracellular pH
Differences in global levels of histone acetylation occur in normal and cancer cells although the reason why cells regulate these levels has been unclear Here we demonstrate a role for histone acetylation in regulating intracellular pH (pH(i)) As pH(i) decreases histones are globally deacetylated by histone deacetylases (HDACs) and the released acetate anions are coexported with protons out of the cell by monocarboxylate transporters (MCTs) preventing further reductions in pH(i) Conversely global histone acetylation increases as pH(i) rises such as when resting cells are induced to proliferate Inhibition of HDACs or MCTs decreases acetate export and lowers pH(i) particularly compromising pH(i) maintenance in acidic environments Global deacetylation at low pH is reflected at a genomic level by decreased abundance and extensive redistribution of acetylation throughout the genome Thus acetylation of chromatin functions as a rheostat to regulate pH(i) with important implications for mechanism of action and therapeutic use of HDAC inhibitor
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Live Cell Imaging Reveals pH Oscillations in Saccharomyces cerevisiae During Metabolic Transitions
Abstract Addition of glucose to starved Saccharomyces cerevisiae initiates collective NADH dynamics termed glycolytic oscillations. Numerous questions remain about the extent to which single cells can oscillate, if oscillations occur in natural conditions, and potential physiological consequences of oscillations. In this paper, we report sustained glycolytic oscillations in single cells without the need for cyanide. Glucose addition to immobilized cells induced pH oscillations that could be imaged with fluorescent sensors. A population of cells had oscillations that were heterogeneous in frequency, start time, stop time, duration and amplitude. These changes in cytoplasmic pH were necessary and sufficient to drive changes in NADH. Oscillators had lower mitochondrial membrane potentials and budded more slowly than non-oscillators. We also uncovered a new type of oscillation during recovery from H2O2 challenge. Our data show that pH in S. cerevisiae changes over several time scales, and that imaging pH offers a new way to measure glycolytic oscillations on individual cells