The role of self-compassion and self-criticism in binge eating behaviour

Self-criticism and low self-compassion are implicated in the development and maintenance of binge eating. However, the association between these self-attitudes and binge eating symptoms remains unclear. Women with symptoms of Bulimia Nervosa (BN) or Binge Eating Disorder (BED) were randomised to either a self-compassion (n = 30) or self-critical rumination (n = 30) strategy following a negative mood induction. Responses to food cues (cue reactivity and affect) and calorie consumption in a ‘taste test’ were assessed. The self-compassion strategy was associated with a greater improvement in positive and negative affect following the negative mood induction. Despite the differential effects on mood, self-compassion and self-critical rumination led to similar self-reported food cravings and physiological reactivity to cues. However, participants in the self-compassion condition consumed significantly fewer calories, rated the consumed food as less pleasurable, and reported less desire to continue eating. The findings suggest that therapeutic strategies for cultivating self-compassion are associated with improved food-related self-regulation in the context of negative mood

Linking changes in pain severity to changes in other outcomes in patients with posttraumatic peripheral neuropathic pain treated with pregabalin [POSTER]

No abstract available

Protein fiber linear dichroism for structure determination and kinetics in a low-volume, low-wavelength couette flow cell

High-resolution structure determination of soluble globular proteins relies heavily on x-ray crystallography techniques. Such an approach is often ineffective for investigations into the structure of fibrous proteins as these proteins generally do not crystallize. Thus investigations into fibrous protein structure have relied on less direct methods such as x-ray fiber diffraction and circular dichroism. Ultraviolet linear dichroism has the potential to provide additional information on the structure of such biomolecular systems. However, existing systems are not optimized for the requirements of fibrous proteins. We have designed and built a low-volume (200 μL), low-wavelength (down to 180 nm), low-pathlength (100 μm), high-alignment flow-alignment system (couette) to perform ultraviolet linear dichroism studies on the fibers formed by a range of biomolecules. The apparatus has been tested using a number of proteins for which longer wavelength linear dichroism spectra had already been measured. The new couette cell has also been used to obtain data on two medically important protein fibers, the all-β-sheet amyloid fibers of the Alzheimer's derived protein Aβ and the long-chain assemblies of α1-antitrypsin polymers

Satisfaction, adherence and health-related quality of life with transdermal buprenorphine compared with oral opioid medications in the usual care of osteoarthritis pain

Background Osteoarthritis (OA) causes substantial pain and reduced health-related quality of life (HRQL). Although opioid analgesics are commonly used, the relative benefits of different opioids are poorly studied. Transdermal buprenorphine (TDB) offers an alternative to oral opioids for the treatment of moderate-to-severe chronic pain. This observational study of people with OA pain assessed satisfaction, HRQL and medication adherence. Methods Patients in the UK with self-reported knee and/or hip OA who had been receiving one or more of TDB, co-codamol (an oral paracetamol/codeine combination) and tramadol for at least 1 month completed an online or telephone questionnaire. Medication satisfaction scores, HRQL scores (Short-Form 36 [SF-36]), medication adherence (Morisky Medication Adherence Scale [MMAS™]), adverse events and treatment discontinuations were recorded. Linear and logistic regression models were used to compare the treatment effect of TDB with co-codamol or tramadol. Results Overall, 966 patients met the inclusion criteria; 701 were taking only one of the target medications (TDB: 85; co-codamol: 373; tramadol: 243). The largest age group was 50–59 years and 76.0 % of patients were female. The TDB group was younger, with more male patients, therefore the statistical models were adjusted for age and sex. Medication satisfaction scores were significantly higher in the TDB group than the other two groups (TDB vs. co-codamol: 3.56, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 1.90–6.68, p < 0.0001; TDB vs. tramadol: 3.22, 95 % CI 1.67–6.20, p = 0.0005). Physical Component Summary scores for HRQL and mean adherence were also higher in the TDB group, while Mental Component Summary HRQL scores were similar across the three groups. Conclusions Patients with knee and/or hip OA pain treated with TDB were more satisfied and more adherent with their medication, and reported higher Physical Component Summary HRQL scores than those treated with co-codamol or tramadol, although demographic differences were observed between groups

Results from a randomized, controlled trial on efficacy and tolerability of a 5% Lidocaine-Medicated Plaster vs. Pregabalin in patients with Post-Herpetic Neuralgia (PHN) and Painful Diabetic Polyneuropathy (DPN) [poster]

No abstract available

A Qualitative Exploration of Sport and Social Pressures on Elite Athletes in Relation to Disordered Eating

Introduction: Athletes are at increased risk of disordered eating compared to non-athletes. Inspired by previous investigation into quantitative work on an etiological model of disordered eating in athletes, the current study aimed to explore a problematic aspect of the model: athletes' lived experiences of social and sport pressures in relation to the onset of disordered eating and differing eating behaviors. / Methods: Nine (N = 9) male and female athletes representing a range of endurance sports took part in semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis was utilized. / Analysis: Analysis revealed two main themes each with two corresponding subthemes (1) Conflating physical appearance and sporting ability with the subthemes of (1a) social comparison in a sporting world and (1b) societal notions of “the athlete body” and (2) Living as an athlete with the corresponding subthemes of (2a) discipline and sacrifice and (2b) the balancing act. / Discussion: It is the complex interaction between societal expectations as lived out in social messages and comparisons, and sport pressures that contributes to the development of disordered eating behaviors. These findings suggest that prevention and treatment of disordered eating in athletes can be applied from those already established in non-sporting realm

Sequence Isomerism in Uniform Polyphosphoesters Programmes Self-Assembly and Folding

We have adapted solid phase phosphoramidite synthesis commonly used to make DNA, to produce two sequence-isomeric non-biological polymers which display sequence-programmed folding and self-assembly, going beyond structures which would be trivially anticipated. These findings open up possibilities for more sophisticated sequence/structure relationships using the same synthetic platform

The molecular basis for apolipoprotein E4 as the major risk factor for late onset Alzheimer's disease

Apolipoprotein E4 (ApoE4) is one of three (E2, E3 and E4) human isoforms of an -helical, 299-amino acid protein. Homozygosity for the ε4 allele is the major risk factor for developing late onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD). ApoE2, ApoE3 and ApoE4 differ at amino acid positions 112 and 158 and these sequence variations may confer conformational differences that underlie their participation in the risk of developing AD. Here, we compared the shape, oligomerisation state, conformation and stability of ApoE isoforms using a range of complementary biophysical methods including small angle X-ray scattering, analytical ultracentrifugation, circular dichroism, X-ray fibre diffraction and transmission electron microscopy We provide an in-depth and definitive study demonstrating that all three proteins are similar in stability and conformation. However, we show that ApoE4 has a propensity to polymerise to form wavy filaments which do not share the characteristics of cross- amyloid fibrils. Moreover, we provide evidence for the inhibition of ApoE4 fibril formation by ApoE3. This study shows that recombinant ApoE isoforms show no significant differences at the structural or conformational level. However, self-assembly of the ApoE4 isoform may play a role in pathogenesis and these results open opportunities for uncovering new triggers for AD onset

Kinetically controlled coassembly of multichromophoric peptide hydrogelators and the impacts on energy transport

We report a peptide-based multichromophoric hydrogelator system, wherein π-electron units with different inherent spectral energies are spatially controlled within peptidic 1-D nanostructures to create localized energy gradients in aqueous environments. This is accomplished by mixing different π-conjugated peptides prior to initiating self-assembly through solution acidification. We can vary the kinetics of the assembly and the degree of self-sorting through the choice of the assembly trigger, which changes the kinetics of acidification. The hydrolysis of glucono-δ-lactone (GdL) provides a slow pH drop that allows for stepwise triggering of peptide components into essentially self-sorted nanostructures based on subtle pKa differences, whereas HCl addition leads to a rapid formation of mixed components within a nanostructure. Using 1H NMR spectroscopy and fiber X-ray diffraction, we determine the conditions and peptide mixtures that favor self-sorting or intimate comixing. Photophysical investigations in the solution phase provide insight into the correlation of energy-transport processes occurring within the assemblies to the structural organization of the π-systems