Dermatofibroma: a curious tumor.

A tumor, such as a dermatofibroma, causes consternation among many patients, but it rarely creates problems on its own. Also called a histiocytoma, it remains one of the most common mesenchymal growths. Its etiology is unknown with the previous theory that it is a dermal response to injury, such as an insect bite, being challenged. As much as patients like to blame spiders or other arthropods for traumatizing an arm or leg, no definitive explanation is available for its etiology

Integrated syphilis/HIV screening in China: a qualitative analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The last decade has seen enormous advances in HIV treatment and care, but how to implement scaled up HIV testing, prevention, and treatment in low-income areas still presents a formidable public health challenge. South China faces expanding syphilis and sexually transmitted HIV epidemics, but health systems characteristics important for scaling up syphilis and HIV testing have not been defined.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A purposive sample to ensure public, private, and public-private hybrid STI clinic inclusion was selected in a South China city. Eight key informant interviews were conducted with the STI clinic manager, followed by eight focus group discussions with physicians. Data collection relied on a semi-structured format that included questions in each of the following domains: 1) clinical facilities; 2) laboratory capacity with a focus on syphilis/HIV diagnosis; 3) clinic personnel; 4) physical space with a focus on locations to disclose confidential results; 5) financial support.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Public STI clinics had free syphilis testing/treatment and laboratory facilities to perform essential syphilis and HIV tests. However, despite serving a large number of STI patients, private STI clinics lacked nontreponemal syphilis testing, HIV testing, and had fewer connections to the public health infrastructure. Formally trained assistant physicians were 2.5 times as common as physicians at STI clinics. Only one of the 8 sites had onsite voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) services available.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These STI case studies reveal the potential for expanding integrated syphilis/HIV services at public STI clinics in China. More health services research is needed to guide scale-up of syphilis/HIV testing in China.</p

To Each According to His Need? Variability in the Responses to Inequity in Nonhuman Primates

While it is well established that humans respond to inequity, it remains unclear the extent to which this behavior occurs in our nonhuman primate relatives. By comparing a variety of species, spanning from New World and Old World monkeys to great apes, scientists can begin to answer questions about how the response to inequity evolved, what the function of this response is, and why and how different contexts shape it. In particular, research across nonhuman primate species suggests that the response is quite variable across species, contexts and individuals. In this paper, we aim to review these differences in an attempt to identify and better understand the patterns that emerge from the existing data with the goal of developing directions for future research. To begin, we address the importance of considering socio-ecological factors in nonhuman primates in order to better understand and predict expected patterns of cooperation and aversion to inequity in different species, following which we provide a detailed analysis of the patterns uncovered by these comparisons. Ultimately, we use this synthesis to propose new ideas for research to better understand this response and, hence, the evolution of our own responses to inequity

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

Genome-wide association identifies nine common variants associated with fasting proinsulin levels and provides new insights into the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: Proinsulin is a precursor of mature insulin and C-peptide. Higher circulating proinsulin levels are associated with impaired β-cell function, raised glucose levels, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Studies of the insulin processing pathway could provide new insights about T2D pathophysiology. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We have conducted a meta-analysis of genome-wide association tests of ∼2.5 million genotyped or imputed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and fasting proinsulin levels in 10,701 nondiabetic adults of European ancestry, with follow-up of 23 loci in up to 16,378 individuals, using additive genetic models adjusted for age, sex, fasting insulin, and study-specific covariates. RESULTS: Nine SNPs at eight loci were associated with proinsulin levels (P < 5 × 10(-8)). Two loci (LARP6 and SGSM2) have not been previously related to metabolic traits, one (MADD) has been associated with fasting glucose, one (PCSK1) has been implicated in obesity, and four (TCF7L2, SLC30A8, VPS13C/C2CD4A/B, and ARAP1, formerly CENTD2) increase T2D risk. The proinsulin-raising allele of ARAP1 was associated with a lower fasting glucose (P = 1.7 × 10(-4)), improved β-cell function (P = 1.1 × 10(-5)), and lower risk of T2D (odds ratio 0.88; P = 7.8 × 10(-6)). Notably, PCSK1 encodes the protein prohormone convertase 1/3, the first enzyme in the insulin processing pathway. A genotype score composed of the nine proinsulin-raising alleles was not associated with coronary disease in two large case-control datasets. CONCLUSIONS: We have identified nine genetic variants associated with fasting proinsulin. Our findings illuminate the biology underlying glucose homeostasis and T2D development in humans and argue against a direct role of proinsulin in coronary artery disease pathogenesis

Chronic corticotropin-releasing factor type 1 receptor antagonism with antalarmin regulates the dopaminergic system of Fawn-Hooded rats

Corticotropin-releasing factor is a neuropeptide associated with the integration of physiological and behavioural responses to stress and also in the modulation of affective state and drug reward. The selective, centrally acting corticotropin-releasing factor type 1 receptor antagonist, antalarmin, is a potent anxiolytic and reduces volitional ethanol consumption in Fawn-Hooded rats. The efficacy of antalarmin to reduce ethanol consumption increased with time, suggestive of adaptation to reinforcement processes and goal-directed behaviour. The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of chronic antalarmin treatment on reward-related regions of Fawn-Hooded rat brain. Bi-daily antalarmin treatment (20 mg/kg, i.p.) for 10 days increased tyrosine hydroxylase messenger RNA expression throughout the ventral mesencephalon. Following chronic antalarmin the density of dopaminergic terminals within the basal ganglia and amygdaloid complex were reduced, as was dopamine transporter binding within the striatum. Receptor autoradiography indicated an up-regulation of dopamine D2, but no change in D1, binding in striatum, and Golgi-Cox analysis of striatal medium spiny neurones indicated that chronic antalarmin treatment increased spine density. Thus, chronic antalarmin treatment modulates dopaminergic pathways and implies that chronic treatment with drugs of this class may ultimately alter postsynaptic signaling mechanisms within the basal ganglia