Regional Differences in the Temporal Expression of Non-Apoptotic Caspase-3-Positive Bergmann Glial Cells in the Developing Rat Cerebellum

Although caspases have been intimately linked to apoptotic events, some of the pro-apoptotic caspases also may regulate differentiation. We previously demonstrated that active caspase-3 is expressed and has an apparent non-apoptotic function during the development of cerebellar Bergmann glia. The current study seeks to further correlate active/cleaved caspase-3 expression with the developmental phenotype of Bergmann glia by examining regional differences in the temporal pattern of expression of cleaved caspase-3 immunoreactivity in lobules of the cerebellar vermis. In general, we found that the expression pattern of cleaved caspase-3 corresponds to the reported developmental temporal profile of the lobes and that its levels peak at 15 days and declines thereafter. Compared to intermediate or late maturing lobules, early maturing lobules had higher levels of active caspase-3 at earlier postnatal times. This period of postnatal development is precisely the time during which Bergmann glia initiate differentiation

Unmet needs, quality of life and support networks of people with dementia living at home

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is lack of evidence about the unmet needs of people with dementia (PWD) living at home and the predictors of high levels of unmet needs. The main aim of this study was to identify the relationship between unmet needs, social networks and quality of life of PWD living at home.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>One hundred and fifty two community dwelling PWD and 128 carers were interviewed about PWD's needs, social networks, quality of life and other functional and psychological factors. All the interviews with PWD were carried out at their homes. Interviews with carers were undertaken either at PWD's home, their own home or at the health centre. Whenever possible, PWD and carers were interviewed separately. The data collection took place between November 2005 and July 2007. The majority of participants (129, 84.9%) were recruited from National Health Services (NHS) and the rest (23, 15.1%) were recruited from other organisations such as social services and voluntary organizations in the UK.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The most frequent unmet needs for PWD were daytime activities (77, 50.7%), company (60, 39.5%), and help with psychological distress (47, 30.9%). Higher number of behavioural and psychological symptoms, low-community involvement social networks, having a younger carer and higher carer's anxiety were found to be predictors of higher unmet needs in PWD. Social networks and behavioural and psychological symptoms had an indirect effect on PWD's self-rated quality of life through unmet needs.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Interventions aiming to reduce unmet needs, through the treatment of behavioural and psychological symptoms and the involvement of PWD in the community, would potentially improve PWD's quality of life.</p

Introduction to "Shaping the future using thin films and nanotechnology"

Aruna Ivaturi and Oomman Varghese introduce the Materials Advances themed issue on “Shaping the future using thin films and nanotechnology”

ESSENS dyslipidemia: A placebo-controlled, randomized study of a nutritional supplement containing red yeast rice in subjects with newly diagnosed dyslipidemia

AbstractObjectiveEvidence suggests prolonged exposure to lower levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), starting at a younger age, substantially lowers cardiovascular (CV) risk. Accordingly, the CV pandemic affecting younger population in low- to low-middle-income countries, where statin usage is poor even in secondary prevention, may benefit from lipid-lowering nutritional products, as nutritional intervention is generally preferred in these cultures. However, the safety and efficacy of such preparations have not been systematically tested.MethodsIn this multicenter, double-blind study, 191 statin-free subjects with newly-diagnosed hyperlipidemia (LDL-C >120 mg/dL, 3.11 mmol/L) and no evidence of CV disease were randomized to one capsule of a proprietary bioactive phytonutrient formulation containing red yeast rice, grape-seed, niacinamide, and folic acid (RYR-NS) or matched placebo twice daily, along with lifestyle modification, for 12 wk.ResultsMean baseline LDL-C levels were 148.5 ± 24.0 mg/dL (3.85 ± 0.62 mmol/L) and 148.6 ± 21.9 mg/dL (3.85 ± 0.57 mmol/L) in the RYR-NS and placebo groups respectively. Compared with placebo, RYR-NS resulted in a significant reduction in LDL-C (−29.4% versus −3.5%, P < 0.0001) and non–high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C; −29.8% versus −10.3%, P < 0.0001) at 12 wk. With RYR-NS, 43.4% individuals attained desirable LDL-C levels and 55.4% desirable non-HDL-C levels by week 12, compared to only 0% and 1.1%, respectively, at baseline. No safety issues were observed.ConclusionThis study demonstrates the efficacy and safety of RYR-NS in lowering LDL-C and non-HDL-C after 12 wk, with magnitude of LDL-C reduction being comparable to that seen with moderate-intensity statin therapy. Further long-term studies are required to determine the impact of RYR-NS on treatment adherence and clinical outcomes

Adverse event reporting in studies of penetrating acupuncture during pregnancy: a systematic review

Background - Acupuncture within pregnancy has frequently been investigated, often with finding this to be more effective than standard care. However, the adverse event severity, types and occurrence are unclear. Objective - To investigate the quality of reporting adverse events and to attempt to identify occurrence, type and severity of adverse events in acupuncture and non-acupuncture groups. Results - Overall quality of reporting of adverse events was poor, with information describing the adverse events often lacking in detail. A number of trends were noted: adverse events occurring within a treatment session was 3%-17% in the acupuncture groups and 4-25% in the non-acupuncture groups. The percentage of women affected by an adverse event was between 14%-17% in the acupuncture groups and 15-19% in non-acupuncture groups. Conclusions - Adverse event reporting within acupuncture trials is generally poor. The trends noted were that adverse events do occur, but would appear to be largely minor and comparable to non-acupuncture related interventions

Perceptions regarding correct pre-operative storage and transfer of amputated digits : a national experience

Replantation of amputated body parts is a highly specialised, cost-intensive procedure and can offer significantly increased quality of life in selected cases. To optimise chances of successful replantation, appropriate preparation and transfer to the replantation centre is critical. In the absence of custom made devices for storage of the amputated part, pre-hospital preparation is often determined by the referring practitioner, prior to contact with the referring department. This study has re-explored the perceptions of referring practitioners regarding correct pre-operative storage and transfer of amputated tissue to the Welsh Centre for Plastic Surgery, following an earlier national audit (2008).peer-reviewe

How HIV/AIDS scale-up has impacted on non- HIV priority services in Zambia

Background: Much of the debate as to whether or not the scaling up of HIV service delivery in Africa benefits non-HIV priority services has focused on the use of nationally aggregated data. This paper analyses and presents routine health facility record data to show trend correlations across priority services. Methods: Review of district office and health facility client records for 39 health facilities in three districts of Zambia, covering four consecutive years (2004-07). Intra-facility analyses were conducted, service and coverage trends assessed and rank correlations between services measured to compare service trends within facilities. Results: VCT, ART and PMTCT client numbers and coverage levels increased rapidly. There were some strong positive correlations in trends within facilities between reproductive health services (family planning and antenatal care) and ART and PMTCT, with Spearman rank correlations ranging from 0.33 to 0.83. Childhood immunisation coverage also increased. Stock-outs of important drugs for non-HIV priority services were significantly more frequent than were stock-outs of antiretroviral drugs. Conclusions: The analysis shows scale-up in reproductive health service numbers in the same facilities where HIV services were scaling up. While district childhood immunisations increased overall, this did not necessarily occur in facility catchment areas where HIV service scale-up occurred. The paper demonstrates an approach for comparing correlation trends across different services, using routine health facility information. Larger samples and explanatory studies are needed to understand the client, facility and health systems factors that contribute to positive and negative synergies between priority services