Fel d 1–derived peptide antigen desensitization shows a persistent treatment effect 1 year after the start of dosing: A randomized, placebo-controlled study

BackgroundAllergic rhinoconjunctivitis is an increasingly common source of morbidity, with sensitivity to cats accounting for 10% to 15% of disease burden. Allergy to cats is also a major risk factor for the development of asthma.ObjectivesWe sought to probe the persistence of the treatment effect of a novel Fel d 1–derived peptide antigen desensitization (Cat-PAD) 1 year after the start of treatment in subjects with cat allergy–induced rhinoconjunctivitis after standardized allergen challenge.MethodsIn a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group clinical trial, subjects attended an environmental exposure chamber in which they were exposed to cat allergen before and after treatment with 2 different regimens of Cat-PAD over a 3-month period. Clinical efficacy was assessed as a change in total rhinoconjunctivitis symptom scores 18 to 22 weeks and 50 to 54 weeks after the start of treatment.ResultsTreatment with Cat-PAD showed greater efficacy with 4 administrations of a 6-nmol dose 4 weeks apart than with 8 administrations of a 3-nmol dose 2 weeks apart. The treatment effect of 6 nmol persisted 1 year after the start of treatment and was significantly different from that of 3 nmol (P = .0342) and placebo (P = .0104). The treatment effect was apparent on both nasal and ocular symptoms at 1 year.ConclusionsA short course of Cat-PAD improves the ocular and nasal components of rhinoconjunctivitis symptoms in subjects with cat allergy, with the treatment effect persisting 1 year after the start of treatment

LISREL analysis of twin data with structured means

Introduces a method to test the hypothesis that the phenotypic means and the phenotypic covariances can be modeled with the same common genetic and environmental factors. LISREL can be used to implement the method. An illustration with simulated twin data is provided

The Human Frontal Oculomotor Cortical Areas Contribute Asymmetrically to Motor Planning in a Gap Saccade Task

BACKGROUND: Saccadic eye movements are used to rapidly align the fovea with the image of objects of interest in peripheral vision. We have recently shown that in children there is a high preponderance of quick latency but poorly planned saccades that consistently fall short of the target goal. The characteristics of these multiple saccades are consistent with a lack of proper inhibitory control of cortical oculomotor areas on the brainstem saccade generation circuitry. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In the present paper, we directly tested this assumption by using single pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to transiently disrupt neuronal activity in the frontal eye fields (FEF) and supplementary eye fields (SEF) in adults performing a gap saccade task. The results showed that the incidence of multiple saccades was increased for ispiversive but not contraversive directions for the right and left FEF, the left SEF, but not for the right SEF. Moreover, this disruption was most substantial during the approximately 50 ms period around the appearance of the peripheral target. A control condition in which the dorsal motor cortex was stimulated demonstrated that this was not due to any non-specific effects of the TMS influencing the spatial distribution of attention. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Taken together, the results are consistent with a direction-dependent role of the FEF and left SEF in delaying the release of saccadic eye movements until they have been fully planned

Socioeconomic Status (SES) and Children's Intelligence (IQ): In a UK-Representative Sample SES Moderates the Environmental, Not Genetic, Effect on IQ

The environment can moderate the effect of genes - a phenomenon called gene-environment (GxE) interaction. Several studies have found that socioeconomic status (SES) modifies the heritability of children's intelligence. Among low-SES families, genetic factors have been reported to explain less of the variance in intelligence; the reverse is found for high-SES families. The evidence however is inconsistent. Other studies have reported an effect in the opposite direction (higher heritability in lower SES), or no moderation of the genetic effect on intelligence