1,265 research outputs found
Temporomandibular joint damage in juvenile idiopathic arthritis: Diagnostic validity of diagnostic criteria for temporomandibular disorders
Diagnostic criteria reported in the expanded taxonomy for temporomandibular disorders include a standardised clinical examination and diagnosis (DC/TMD 3.B) of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) damage in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA); however, their validity is unknown
Hypoxia in atherogenesis
The anoxemia theory proposes that an imbalance between the demand for and supply of oxygen in the arterial wall is a key factor in the development of atherosclerosis. There is now substantial evidence that there are regions within the atherosclerotic plaque in which profound hypoxia exists; this may fundamentally change the function, metabolism, and responses of many of the cell types found within the developing plaque and whether the plaque will evolve into a stable or unstable phenotype. Hypoxia is characterized in molecular terms by the stabilization of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) 1a, a subunit of the heterodimeric nuclear transcriptional factor HIF-1 and a master regulator of oxygen homeostasis. The expression of HIF-1 is localized to perivascular tissues, inflammatory macrophages, and smooth muscle cells adjacent to the necrotic core of atherosclerotic lesions and regulates several genes that are important to vascular function including vascular endothelial growth factor, nitric oxide synthase, endothelin-1, and erythropoietin. This review summarizes the effects of hypoxia on the functions of cells involved in atherogenesis and the evidence for its potential importance from experimental models and clinical studies
Annual meeting of the International Society of Cancer Metabolism (ISCaM): Metabolic networks in cancer
Phosphorylation and Activation of the Plasma Membrane Na+/H+ Exchanger (NHE1) during Osmotic Cell Shrinkage
The Na+/H+ Exchanger isoform 1 (NHE1) is a highly versatile, broadly distributed and precisely controlled transport protein that mediates volume and pH regulation in most cell types. NHE1 phosphorylation contributes to Na+/H+ exchange activity in response to phorbol esters, growth factors or protein phosphatase inhibitors, but has not been observed during activation by osmotic cell shrinkage (OCS). We examined the role of NHE1 phosphorylation during activation by OCS, using an ideal model system, the Amphiuma tridactylum red blood cell (atRBC). Na+/H+ exchange in atRBCs is mediated by an NHE1 homolog (atNHE1) that is 79% identical to human NHE1 at the amino acid level. NHE1 activity in atRBCs is exceptionally robust in that transport activity can increase more than 2 orders of magnitude from rest to full activation. Michaelis-Menten transport kinetics indicates that either OCS or treatment with the phosphatase inhibitor calyculin-A (CLA) increase Na+ transport capacity without affecting transport affinity (Km = 44 mM) in atRBCs. CLA and OCS act non-additively to activate atNHE1, indicating convergent, phosphorylation-dependent signaling in atNHE1 activation. In situ 32P labeling and immunoprecipitation demonstrates that the net phosphorylation of atNHE1 is increased 4-fold during OCS coinciding with a more than 2-order increase in Na+ transport activity. This is the first reported evidence of increased NHE1 phosphorylation during OCS in any vertebrate cell type. Finally, liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis of atNHE1 immunoprecipitated from atRBC membranes reveals 9 phosphorylated serine/threonine residues, suggesting that activation of atNHE1 involves multiple phosphorylation and/or dephosphorylation events
Prevalence and Correlates of Common Mental Disorders among Mothers of Young Children in Kilimanjaro Region of Tanzania.
Although poor maternal mental health is a major public health problem, with detrimental effects on the individual, her children and society, information on its correlates in low-income countries is sparse. This study investigates the prevalence of common mental disorders (CMD) among at-risk mothers, and explores its associations with sociodemographic factors. This population-based survey of mothers of children aged 0-36 months used the 14-item Shona Symptom Questionnaire (SSQ). Mothers whose response was "yes" to 8 or more items on the scale were defined as "at risk of CMD." Of the 1,922 mothers (15-48 years), 28.8% were at risk of CMD. Risk of CMD was associated with verbal abuse, physical abuse, a partner who did not help with the care of the child, being in a polygamous relationship, a partner with low levels of education, and a partner who smoked cigarettes. Cohabiting appeared to be protective. Taken together, our results indicate the significance of the quality of relations with one's partner in shaping maternal mental health. The high proportion of mothers who are at risk of CMD emphasizes the importance of developing evidence-based mental health programmes as part of the care package aimed at improving maternal well-being in Tanzania and other similar settings
Psychological Functioning and Disease-Related Quality of Life in Pediatric Patients With an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator
The objective of this multicenter study was to evaluate psychological functioning and disease-related quality of life (DRQoL) in pediatric patients with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) in The Netherlands. Thirty patients were investigated; the mean age was 16.3 years, and the mean duration of implantation was 3.6 years. To assess psychological problems, three domains of the Symptom Checklist (SCL-90-R) were administered to the 25 patients >13 years old. DRQoL was assessed with a disease-specific pediatric questionnaire, the short-form 11-item Worries About (WA)ICDs Scale. Patients ≥13 years old scored significantly higher than the reference group on the domains of anxiety, depression, and sleeping problems of the SCL-90-R (T = 7.5, p < 0.001; T = 5.4, p < 0.001; and T = 7.8, p < 0.001, respectively). Patients who had received an (in)appropriate shock reported more depressive symptoms (T = 2.1, p < 0.03). Patients with >2 years implant duration (N = 19) or who had received an (in)appropriate shock (N = 13) showed lower DRQoL scores on the modified WAICD (T = 2.1, p < 0.04; T = 2.1, p < 0.5, respectively). Age at implantation or underlying disease did not influence psychological problems or DRQoL. Young ICD patients showed more anxiety, depression, and sleeping disorders. Worries were increased among patients with ICD shocks and in those who had their ICD implanted for >2 years. To determine psychological problems and help children to learn to cope with shocks, proper guidance and monitoring of young ICD patients are recommended
Imaging of carotid artery vessel wall edema using T2-weighted cardiovascular magnetic resonance
Whole-genome amplified DNA from stored dried blood spots is reliable in high resolution melting curve and sequencing analysis
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The use of dried blood spots (DBS) samples in genomic workup has been limited by the relative low amounts of genomic DNA (gDNA) they contain. It remains to be proven that whole genome amplified DNA (wgaDNA) from stored DBS samples, constitutes a reliable alternative to gDNA.</p> <p>We wanted to compare melting curves and sequencing results from wgaDNA derived from DBS samples with gDNA derived from whole blood.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>gDNA was extracted from whole blood obtained from 10 patients with lone atrial fibrillation (mean age 22.3 years). From their newborn DBS samples, stored at -24°C, genomic DNA was extracted and whole-genome amplified in triplicates. Using high resolution melting curve analysis and direct sequencing in both wgaDNA and gDNA samples, all coding regions and adjacent intron regions of the genes <it>SCN5A </it>and <it>KCNA5 </it>were investigated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Altered melting curves was present in 85 of wgaDNA samples and 81 of gDNA samples. Sequence analysis identified a total of 31 variants in the 10 wgaDNA samples. The same 31 variants were found in the exact same pattern of samples in the gDNA group. There was no false positive or negative sequence variation in the wgaDNA group.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The use of DNA amplified in triplicates from DBS samples is reliable and can be used both for high resolution curve melting analysis as well as direct sequence analysis. DBS samples therefore can serve as an alternative to whole blood in sequence analysis.</p
Psychosocial impact of implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) in young adults with Tetralogy of Fallot
Item does not contain fulltextOBJECTIVE: To investigate the psychosocial impact of having an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) in adults with Tetralogy of Fallot (ToF). METHODS: Included were 26 ToF-patients with an ICD (age 44 +/- 12 years), and two control groups consisting of 28 ToF-patients without an ICD (age 40 +/- 10 years) and a group of 35 ICD-patients of older age without ToF (age 72.0 +/- 8 years). This last control group was chosen to represent the "older general ICD population" with acquired heart disease seen at the out-patient clinic. Psychosocial functioning encompassed daily functioning, subjective health status, quality of life, anxiety, depression, coping and social support. RESULTS: ToF-patients with ICD showed diminished psychosocial functioning in comparison to ToF-patients without ICD. This was reflected by diminished subjectively perceived physical functioning (p = 0.01), general health perception (p < 0.01) and a lower satisfaction with life (p = 0.02). In comparison to older ICD-patients, ToF-patients with ICD showed less satisfaction with life (p = 0.03), experienced more anxiety (p = 0.01) and showed less favourable coping styles, although physical functioning was better for ToF-patients with ICD than for older ICD-patients (p = 0.01). More inappropriate shocks were found in ToF-patients with ICD compared to the older ICD-patients. CONCLUSION: In patients with ToF, ICD implantation had a major impact on psychosocial functioning which should be taken into account when considering ICD implantation in these young patients. To help improve psychosocial functioning, psychological counselling attuned to the specific needs of these patients may be useful.1 juli 201
A Danish population-based cohort study of newly diagnosed asthmatic children's care pathway – adherence to guidelines
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Asthma is the most common chronic disease in childhood. Large variations exist concerning the number of children being treated by general practitioners and by specialists. Consequently, health related costs due to this disease vary as care by specialists is more expensive compared with care by general practitioners. Little is known of the consequences of these variations concerning the quality of care. The aim of the study was to analyse associations between care providers and adherence to guidelines concerning frequency of contacts with the health service due to asthma.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cohort study was performed of 36,940 incident asthmatic children's (aged 6–14) contacts with the health service using the unique personal registration number to link data from five national registries. The prevalence ratios were calculated for associations between provider (general practitioner, primary care specialist, hospital specialist or both GP and specialist) and adherence with guidelines concerning three indicators of quality of care pathway: 1) diagnostic examination of lung function at start of medical treatment 2) follow-up the first six months and 3) follow-up the next six months. The associations were adjusted for sex, age, socioeconomic status, county, and severity of disease.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Most children (70.3%) had only been seen by their GP. About 80% of the children were treated with inhaled steroids, 70% were treated with inhaled steroids as well as inhaled beta2agonists and 13% were treated with inhaled beta2agonists only. A total of 12,650 children (34.2%) had no registered asthma-related contacts with the health service except when redeeming prescriptions. Care was in accordance with guidelines in all three indicators of quality in 7% of the cases (GPs only: 3%, primary care specialists only: 16%, hospital specialists: 28%, and both GP and specialists: 13%). Primary care specialists had a 5.01, hospital specialists a 8.81 and both GP and specialists a 4.32 times higher propensity to provide a clinical pathway according to guidelines compared to GPs alone.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The majority of the children were seen in general practice. Hospital specialists provided care in accordance with guidelines nine times more often compared with GPs, but still only one quarter of these children had pathways in accordance with guidelines. It is relevant to study further if these lacks of adherence to guidelines have implications for the asthmatic children or if guidelines are too demanding concerning frequency of follow-up or if asthmatic children should be stratified to different care pathways.</p
- …