Interhemispheric temporal lobe connectivity predicts language impairment in adolescents born preterm.

Although language difficulties are common in children born prematurely, robust neuroanatomical correlates of these impairments remain to be established. This study investigated whether the greater prevalence of language problems in preterm (versus term-born) children might reflect injury to major intra- or interhemispheric white matter pathways connecting frontal and temporal language regions. To investigate this, we performed a comprehensive assessment of language and academic abilities in a group of adolescents born prematurely, some of whom had evidence of brain injury at birth (n = 50, mean age: 16 years, mean gestational age: 27 weeks) and compared them to a term-born control group (n = 30). Detailed structural magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion-tractography analyses of intrahemispheric and interhemispheric white matter bundles were performed. Analysis of intrahemispheric pathways included the arcuate fasciculus (dorsal language pathway) and uncinate fasciculus/extreme capsule (ventral language pathway). Analysis of interhemispheric pathways (in particular, connections between the temporal lobes) included the two major commissural bundles: the corpus callosum and anterior commissure. We found language impairment in 38% of adolescents born preterm. Language impairment was not related to abnormalities of the arcuate fasciculus (or its subsegments), but was associated with bilateral volume reductions in the ventral language pathway. However, the most significant volume reduction was detected in the posterior corpus callosum (splenium), which contains interhemispheric connections between the occipital, parietal and temporal lobes. Diffusion tractography showed that of the three groups of interhemispheric fibres within the splenium, only those connecting the temporal lobes were reduced. Crucially, we found that language impairment was only detectable if the anterior commissure (a second temporal lobe commissural pathway) was also small. Regression analyses showed that a combination of anatomical measures of temporal interhemispheric connectivity (through the splenium of the corpus callosum and anterior commissure) explained 57% of the variance in language abilities. This supports recent theories emphasizing the importance of interhemispheric connections for language, particularly in the developing brain

Long-Stay Psychiatric Patients: A Prospective Study Revealing Persistent Antipsychotic-Induced Movement Disorder

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess the frequency of persistent drug-induced movement disorders namely, tardive dyskinesia (TD), parkinsonism, akathisia and tardive dystonia in a representative sample of long-stay patients with chronic severe mental illness. METHOD: Naturalistic study of 209, mainly white, antipsychotic-treated patients, mostly diagnosed with psychotic disorder. Of this group, the same rater examined 194 patients at least two times over a 4-year period, with a mean follow-up time of 1.1 years, with validated scales for TD, parkinsonism, akathisia, and tardive dystonia. RESULTS: The frequencies of persistent movement disorders in the sample were 28.4% for TD, 56.2% for parkinsonism, 4.6% for akathisia and 5.7% for tardive dystonia. Two-thirds of the participants displayed at least one type of persistent movement disorder. CONCLUSIONS: Persistent movement disorder continues to be the norm for long-stay patients with chronic mental illness and long-term antipsychotic treatment. Measures are required to remedy this situation

Knowledge, attitudes and practice of breast cancer screening among female health workers in a Nigerian urban city

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Late presentation has been observed as the hallmark of breast cancer in Nigerian women and an earlier onset has been reported in this population. This study was designed to assess the awareness of female health workers about risk factors and screening methods for early detection of breast cancer.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out among female health workers in the two major government health institutions in Benin City, Edo State capital in Nigeria.</p> <p>Data analysis was by SPSS version 10 and test of significance was done with differences considered significant at p < 0.05.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Three hundred and ninety-three (393) female health workers out of five hundred and five eligible subjects completed and returned the questionnaires, giving a response rate of 77.8%. One hundred and two (26%) were Doctors, two hundred and fifty-four (64.6%) Nurses, and thirty-seven (9.4%) were Radiographers, Laboratory Scientists and Pharmacists. A high proportion of our respondents had very poor knowledge about risk factors for breast cancer (55%). The awareness of mammography as a diagnostic method was very high (80.7%), but an extremely low knowledge of mammography as a screening method was found. Mammography practice of only 3.1% was found among those above 40 years of age who qualify for routine annual screening. Relatively low knowledge (45.5%) about Breast Self Examination (BSE) as a screening method was found.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These female health workers who are expected to act as role models and educate the public had poor knowledge of risk factors for breast cancer and practice of breast cancer screening. There is very urgent need for regular update courses for health workers concerning breast cancer education including screening methods.</p

Breast cancer risk factor knowledge among nurses in teaching hospitals of Karachi, Pakistan: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in both the developed and the developing world. The incidence of breast cancer in Karachi, Pakistan is 69.1 per 100,000 with breast cancer presentation in stages III and IV being common (≥ 50%). The most pragmatic solution to early detection lies in breast cancer education of women. Nurses constitute a special group having characteristics most suited for disseminating breast cancer information to the women. We assessed the level of knowledge of breast cancer risk factors among registered female nurses in teaching hospitals of Karachi. We also identified whether selected factors among nurses were associated with their knowledge of breast cancer risk factors, so that relevant measures to improve knowledge of nurses could be implemented. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in seven teaching hospitals of Karachi using stratified random sampling with proportional allocation. A total of 609 registered female nurses were interviewed using a structured questionnaire adapted from the Stager's Comprehensive Breast Cancer Knowledge Test. Knowledge of breast cancer risk factors was categorized into good, fair and poor categories. Ordinal regression was used to identify factors associated with risk knowledge among nurses. RESULTS: Thirty five percent of nurses had good knowledge of risk factors. Graduates from private nursing schools (aOR = 4.23, 95% CI: 2.93, 6.10), nurses who had cared for breast cancer patients (aOR = 1.41, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.99), those having received a breast examination themselves (aOR = 1.56, 95% CI: 1.08, 2.26) or those who ever examined a patient's breast (aOR = 1.87, 95% CI: 1.34, 2.61) were more likely to have good knowledge. CONCLUSION: A relatively small proportion of the nursing population had good level of knowledge of the breast cancer risk factors. This knowledge is associated with nursing school status, professional breast cancer exposure and self history of clinical breast examination. Since only about one-third of the nurses had good knowledge about risk factors, there is a need to introduce breast cancer education in nursing schools particularly in the public sector. Continuing nursing education at the workplace can be of additional benefit

Adaptation of High-Growth Influenza H5N1 Vaccine Virus in Vero Cells: Implications for Pandemic Preparedness

Current egg-based influenza vaccine production technology can't promptly meet the global demand during an influenza pandemic as shown in the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. Moreover, its manufacturing capacity would be vulnerable during pandemics caused by highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses. Therefore, vaccine production using mammalian cell technology is becoming attractive. Current influenza H5N1 vaccine strain (NIBRG-14), a reassortant virus between A/Vietnam/1194/2004 (H5N1) virus and egg-adapted high-growth A/PR/8/1934 virus, could grow efficiently in eggs and MDCK cells but not Vero cells which is the most popular cell line for manufacturing human vaccines. After serial passages and plaque purifications of the NIBRG-14 vaccine virus in Vero cells, one high-growth virus strain (Vero-15) was generated and can grow over 108 TCID50/ml. In conclusion, one high-growth H5N1 vaccine virus was generated in Vero cells, which can be used to manufacture influenza H5N1 vaccines and prepare reassortant vaccine viruses for other influenza A subtypes

Methylation and Loss of Secreted Frizzled-Related Protein 3 Enhances Melanoma Cell Migration and Invasion

Wnt signaling is important in development and can also contribute to the initiation and progression of cancer. The Secreted Frizzled Related Proteins (SFRPs) constitute a family of Wnt modulators, crucial for controlling Wnt signaling. Here we investigate the expression and role of SFRP3 in melanoma

IFNG +874T/A polymorphism is not associated with American tegumentary leishmaniasis susceptibility but can influence Leishmania induced IFN-γ production

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Interferon-gamma is a key cytokine in the protective responses against intracellular pathogens. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) located in the first intron of the human IFN-γ gene can putatively influence the secretion of cytokine with an impact on infection outcome as demonstrated for tuberculosis and other complex diseases. Our aim was to investigate the putative association of IFNG+874T/A SNP with American tegumentary leishmaniasis (ATL) and also the influence of this SNP in the secretion of IFN-γ <it>in vitro</it>.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Brazilian ATL patients (78 cutaneous, CL, and 58 mucosal leishmaniasis, ML) and 609 healthy volunteers were evaluated. The genotype of +874 region in the IFN-γ gene was carried out by Amplification Refractory Mutational System (ARMS-PCR). <it>Leishmania</it>-induced IFN-γ production on peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) culture supernatants was assessed by ELISA.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There are no differences between +874T/A SNP frequency in cases and controls or in ML versus CL patients. Cutaneous leishmaniasis cases exhibiting AA genotype produced lower levels of IFN-γ than TA/TT genotypes. In mucosal cases, high and low IFN-γ producers were clearly demonstrated but no differences in the cytokine production was observed among the IFNG +874T or A carriers.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results suggest that +874T/A polymorphism was not associated with either susceptibility or severity to leishmaniasis. Despite this, IFNG +874T/A SNP could be involved in the pathogenesis of leishmaniasis by influencing the amount of cytokine released by CL patients, although it could not prevent disease development. On the other hand, it is possible that in ML cases, other potential polymorphic regulatory genes such as TNF-α and IL-10 are also involved thus interfering with IFN-γ secretion.</p