Prenatal Lead Levels, Plasma Amyloid β Levels, and Gene Expression in Young Adulthood

Background: Animal studies suggest that early-life lead exposure influences gene expression and production of proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD)

Consensus Statement on Dementia Education and Training in Europe

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the current statement is to agree on: (1) what is the current situation with education and training on dementia in Europe; (2) what are the minimum educational requirements for professionals (neurologists, psychiatrists, primary care providers, nurses, biologists, neuroradiologists, etc.) regarding Alzheimer's disease and dementia, and (3) how to start a course of action for the future. DESIGN: In 2005, a simple questionnaire was sent to members of the European Alzheimer's Disease Consortium (EADC) concerning the education and training on dementia in their countries. Fourteen universities of the respective countries responded to this simple questionnaire. The answers varied, and the conclusion of this effort was that little was done concerning the training of students and health professionals on dementia. In 2008, another more structured and specified questionnaire was sent to professors in different universities of the same countries. RESULTS: The answers obtained were different from those of the previous questionnaire and demonstrated that it is very difficult to know about training and education in the field of dementia in every European country. CONCLUSION: From the data collected, it seems that although in the recent past little had been done concerning training on dementia, nowadays training has been developed in most European countries, and relevant educational projects exist both for medical students and doctors during their specialty training. Our main purpose is to develop training material or develop specific courses to improve the professional knowledge about dementia so that best medical and non-medical practice is implemented

Orthorexia in a group of dietetics students

Wprowadzenie i cel. Ortoreksja jest definiowana jako nadmierne zaabsorbowanie tematyką jedzenia, przygotowywanie posiłków według ściśle określonych zasad, podporządkowanie swojego życia restrykcyjnej diecie. Celem badania była ocena zagrożenia ortoreksją wśród studentów kierunku dietetyka, ocena związku pomiędzy realizowanymi studiami a tendencjami do prezentowania zachowań ortorektycznych. Kolejnym celem była próba znalezienia czynników predysponujących do występowania tego zaburzenia w grupie przyszłych dietetyków. Materiał i metoda. Badania przeprowadzono wśród 155 studentów kierunku dietetyka Uniwersytetu Medycznego w Łodzi. Do badania zastosowano ankietę personalną oraz dwa kwestionariusze, które posłużyły do diagnozy ortoreksji: test autorstwa Stevena Bratmana (BOT) oraz test ORTO-15. Wyniki. Co trzecia osoba badana spełniała kryteria diagnostyczne ortoreksji. 39% znalazło się w grupie podwyższonego ryzyka, a 28% badanych nie zgłaszało żadnych symptomów charakterystycznych dla ortoreksji. Analiza danych uzyskanych kwestionariuszem BOT wskazuje na najsilniejszy spadek tendencji to zachowań ortorektycznych między I a II rokiem studiów licencjackich. Test ORTO-15 natomiast wskazuje na podobny spadek, ale między I a II rokiem studiów uzupełniających magisterskich. Wnioski. Problem występowania ortoreksji w grupie studentów kierunku dietetyka należy uznać za znaczny w porównaniu z podobnymi grupami z innych krajów. Studenci dietetyki płci męskiej charakteryzują się mniejszymi tendencjami ortorektycznymi niż kobiety. Duże zróżnicowanie wyników uzyskanych dwoma różnymi kwestionariuszami sugeruje konieczność przeprowadzenia dokładniejszych badań nad ich trafnością i rzetelnością.Introduction. Ortorexia is defined as an excessive preoccupation with healthy food, preparation of meals according to strict rules, and subordination of life to the restrictive diet. Aim. The aim of this study was evaluation of the threat of ortorexia in a group of students in the specialty of dietetics, evaluation of the relationship between university study, and tendencies towards the presentation of orthorexia behaviour. The subsequent goal of the study was an attempt to find factors predisposing for the occurrence of this disorder in a group of future dieteticians. Material and methods. The study involved 155 students of dietetics at the Medical University in Łódź, and was conducted using 2 questionnaires for diagnosing ortorexia: ORTO-15 and Bratman Orthorexia Test (BOT). Results. Every third respondent fulfilled the diagnostic criteria of orthorexia, 39% of the students were in a group at elevated risk, while 28% of them did not report any orthorectic symptoms. Analysis of data using the BOT questionnaire indicated the strongest downward tendency in orthorectic behaviours between the first and second year of Bachelor’s study, whereas the ORTO-15 confirmed a similar situation during complementary Master study. Conclusions. The existence of ortorectic behaviours in a group of students in the specialty of dietetics seems to be a notable problem. In the examined group, ortorectic tendencies were more pronounced in female than in male students. The significant diversity of results obtained using two various questionnaires – ORTO-15 and BOT – imply that it is necessary to conduct more comprehensive research on the validity and reliability of the two methods