Vintage venoms: proteomic and pharmacological stability of snake venoms stored for up to eight decades

For over a century, venom samples from wild snakes have been collected and stored around the world. However, the quality of storage conditions for "vintage" venoms has rarely been assessed. The goal of this study was to determine whether such historical venom samples are still biochemically and pharmacologically viable for research purposes, or if new sample efforts are needed. In total, 52 samples spanning 5 genera and 13 species with regional variants of some species (e.g., 14 different populations of Notechis scutatus) were analysed by a combined proteomic and pharmacological approach to determine protein structural stability and bioactivity. When venoms were not exposed to air during storage, the proteomic results were virtually indistinguishable from that of fresh venom and bioactivity was equivalent or only slightly reduced. By contrast, a sample of Acanthophis antarcticus venom that was exposed to air (due to a loss of integrity of the rubber stopper) suffered significant degradation as evidenced by the proteomics profile. Interestingly, the neurotoxicity of this sample was nearly the same as fresh venom, indicating that degradation may have occurred in the free N- or C-terminus chains of the proteins, rather than at the tips of loops where the functional residues are located. These results suggest that these and other vintage venom collections may be of continuing value in toxin research. This is particularly important as many snake species worldwide are declining due to habitat destruction or modification. For some venoms (such as N. scutatus from Babel Island, Flinders Island, King Island and St. Francis Island) these were the first analyses ever conducted and these vintage samples may represent the only venom ever collected from these unique island forms of tiger snakes. Such vintage venoms may therefore represent the last remaining stocks of some local populations and thus are precious resources. These venoms also have significant historical value as the Oxyuranus venoms analysed include samples from the first coastal taipan (Oxyuranus scutellatus) collected for antivenom production (the snake that killed the collector Kevin Budden), as well as samples from the first Oxyuranus microlepidotus specimen collected after the species' rediscovery in 1976. These results demonstrate that with proper storage techniques, venom samples can retain structural and pharmacological stability. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Proteomics of non-model organisms. Biological significance: •These results show that with proper storage venoms are useful for decades.•These results have direct implications for the use of rare venoms

Safety and efficacy of long-term asenapine versus olanzapine in schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder patients

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ASENAPINE IN SCHIZOPHRENIA: AN OVERVIEW OF CLINICAL TRIALS IN THE OLYMPIA PROGRAM

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Erratum: Long-term assessment of asenapine vsolanzapine in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder (Pharmacopsychiatry (2010) 43 (138-146))

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Long-term efficacy and safety of asenapine or olanzapine in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder: an extension study

Geneeskunde en GesondheidswetenskappePsigiatriePlease help us populate SUNScholar with the post print version of this article. It can be e-mailed to: [email protected]

Trends of under-and overweight among rural and urban poor women indicate double burden of malnutrition in Bangladesh.

BACKGROUND: Although undernutrition and communicable diseases dominate the current disease burden in resource-poor countries, the prevalence of diet related chronic diseases is increasing. This paper explores current trends of under- and overweight in Bangladeshi women. METHOD: Nationally representative data on reproductive age women from rural Bangladesh (n = 242,433) and selected urban poor areas (n = 39,749) collected by the Nutritional Surveillance Project during 2000-2004 were analyzed. RESULTS: While the prevalence of chronic energy deficiency [CED, body mass index (BMI) < 18.5 kg/m(2)] continues to be major nutritional problem among Bangladeshi women (38.8% rural, 29.7% urban poor; P < 0.001), between 2000-2004, 9.1% of urban poor and 4.1% of rural women were overweight (BMI > or = 25 kg/m(2), P < 0.001). In addition, 9.8% of urban poor and 5.5% of rural women were found to be 'at risk of overweight' (BMI 23.0-<25 kg/m(2)). From 2000 to 2004, prevalence of CED decreased (urban poor: 33.8-29.3%; rural: 42.6-36.6%), while prevalence of overweight increased (urban poor: 6.8-9.1%; rural: 2.8-5.5%). The risk of being overweight was higher among women who were older and of higher socioeconomic status. Rural women with at least 14 years of education had a 8.1-fold increased risk of being overweight compared with non-educated women [95% confidence intervals (CI): 6.6-8.7]. Women living in houses of at least 1000 sq ft (93 m(2)) were 3.7 times more likely to be overweight compared with women living in <250 sq ft (23 m(2)) houses (95% CI: 3.2-4.3). CONCLUSION: The recent increase in overweight prevalence among both urban poor and rural women, along with high prevalence of CED, indicates the emergence of a double burden of malnutrition in Bangladesh

Improvement of the Vietnamese diet for women of reproductive age by micronutrient fortification of staples foods and condiments

Background: A micronutrient survey carried out in 2010 among randomly selected Vietnamese women in reproductive age indicated that anemia and micronutrient deficiencies are still prevalent. The objective of this study was thus to analyze the dietary micronutrient intakes of these women, to select the food vehicles to be fortified and to calculate their contributions to meet the recommended nutrient intake (RNI) for iron, zinc, vitamin A and folic acid. Main Findings: Consumption data showed that the median intake was 38.4% of the RNI for iron, 61.1% for vitamin A and 91.8% for zinc. However, more than 50% of the women had daily zinc consumption below the RNI. Rice and vegetable oil were consumed daily in significant amounts (median: 320.4 g/capita/day and 8.6 g/capita/day respectively) by over 90% of the women, making them suitable vehicles for fortification. Based on consumption data, fortified vegetable oil could contribute to an additional vitamin A intake of 27.1% of the RNI and fortified rice could increase the intake of iron by 41.4% of the RNI, zinc by 15.5% and folate by 34.1%. Other food vehicles, such as fish and soy sauces and flavoring powders, consumed respectively by 63% and 90% of the population could contribute to increase micronutrient intakes if they are properly fortified and promoted. Wheat flower was consumed by 39% of the women and by less than 20% women from the lowest socioeconomic strata. Conclusion: The fortification of edible vegetable oils with vitamin A and of rice with iron, zinc and folic acid are the most promising fortification strategies to increase micronutrient intakes of women in reproductive age in Vietnam. While rice fortification will be implemented, fortification of fish and soy sauces with iron, that has been proven to be effective, has to be supported and fortification of flavouring powders with micronutrients investigated