Genome and epigenome wide studies of neurological protein biomarkers in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936

Although plasma proteins may serve as markers of neurological disease risk, the molecular mechanisms responsible for inter-individual variation in plasma protein levels are poorly understood. Therefore, we conduct genome- and epigenome-wide association studies on the levels of 92 neurological proteins to identify genetic and epigenetic loci associated with their plasma concentrations (n = 750 healthy older adults). We identify 41 independent genome-wide significant (P

13C-Urea breath test: Reproducibility and association with the severity of Helicobacter pylori-associated antral gastritis

BackgroundThe purpose of the present paper was to assess the reproducibility of the (13)C-urea breath test ((13)C-UBT) and its ability to reflect the level of Helicobacter pylori-associated inflammation.MethodsAsymptomatic H. pylori-positive subjects (n = 21) performed the (13)C-UBT six times. The H. pylori-positive symptomatic subjects (n = 55) performed the (13)C-UBT and had antral biopsies taken for histopathology, culture, urease activity assay and myeloperoxidase activity assay.ResultsNo significant intraindividual variation in (13)C-UBT results were observed for the asymptomatic subjects. The (13)C-UBT results were significantly higher in symptomatic subjects with a moderate to severe gastritis compared to a mild gastritis and to no inflammation (34.5 +/- 4.4 vs 17.7 +/- 2.8 vs 1.7 +/- 0.1, respectively, P < 0.01). The (13)C-UBT results significantly correlated with urease (r = 0.55) and myeloperoxidase activity (r = 0.82) but not with bacterial load. conclusion: The (13)C-UBT is a reproducible determinant of H. pylori infection and non-invasively assesses the severity of antral inflammation.Matthews, Geoffrey M; Cummins, Adrian G; Lawrence, Andrew; Johnson, Bruce; Campbell, Fiona; Butler, Ross