CSF-Biomarkers in Olympic Boxing: Diagnosis and Effects of Repetitive Head Trauma

Background Sports-related head trauma is common but still there is no established laboratory test used in the diagnostics of minimal or mild traumatic brain injuries. Further the effects of recurrent head trauma on brain injury markers are unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between Olympic (amateur) boxing and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) brain injury biomarkers. Methods The study was designed as a prospective cohort study. Thirty Olympic boxers with a minimum of 45 bouts and 25 non-boxing matched controls were included in the study. CSF samples were collected by lumbar puncture 1–6 days after a bout and after a rest period for at least 14 days. The controls were tested once. Biomarkers for acute and chronic brain injury were analysed. Results NFL (mean ± SD, 532±553 vs 135±51 ng/L p = 0.001), GFAP (496±238 vs 247±147 ng/L p<0.001), T-tau (58±26 vs 49±21 ng/L p<0.025) and S-100B (0.76±0.29 vs 0.60±0.23 ng/L p = 0.03) concentrations were significantly increased after boxing compared to controls. NFL (402±434 ng/L p = 0.004) and GFAP (369±113 ng/L p = 0.001) concentrations remained elevated after the rest period. Conclusion Increased CSF levels of T-tau, NFL, GFAP, and S-100B in >80% of the boxers demonstrate that both the acute and the cumulative effect of head trauma in Olympic boxing may induce CSF biomarker changes that suggest minor central nervous injuries. The lack of normalization of NFL and GFAP after the rest period in a subgroup of boxers may indicate ongoing degeneration. The recurrent head trauma in boxing may be associated with increased risk of chronic traumatic brain injury

Late-stage fatigue damage in a 3D orthogonal non-crimp woven composite: an experimental and numerical study

Late-stage fatigue damage of an E-glass/epoxy 3D orthogonal non-crimp textile composite loaded in the warp direction has been investigated using a combination of mechanical testing, X-ray micro computed tomography (μCT), optical microscopy and finite element modelling. Stiffness reduction and energy dissipated per cycle were found to be complementary measurements of damage accumulation, occurring in three stages: a first stage characterised by rapid changes, a more quiescent second stage, followed by a third stage where the (decreasing) stiffness and (increasing) energy dissipation change irregularly and then rapidly, to failure. Microscopy of specimens cycled into the transition between the second and third stages showed macroscopic accumulations of fibre fractures in sections of warp tows which lying adjacent to the surface weft tows which are crowned-over by the Z-tows. At these locations, the warp tow fibres are subjected to stress concentrations both from transverse weft tow matrix cracks and resin pocket cracks

with trichotillomania

Immune dysregulation may be important in the etiology of obsessive-compulsive and related disordersandbody-focusedrepetitivebehaviors, such as Trichotillomania (TTM). The role of inflammation and inflammatory markers in TTM has received relatively little attention. This study was aimed to determine the expression levels of inflammatory markers (i.e. IL-1 beta, IL-1 alpha, IL-4, IL-6, IL-17, TNF-alpha and TGF-5) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of children with TTM and healthy controls and to evaluate their association with clinical variables. Seventy-seven patients with TTM and 107 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. Peripheral blood was collected in standardized conditions. The mean age of patients and controls did not differ significantly (10.8 +/- 4.4 and 12.0 +/- 3.2 years; respectively). The majority of patients with TTM and controls were females (n = 55, 71.4 % and n = 55, 51.4 %; respectively); with a greater preponderance of females among TTM. Patients with TTM had significantly elevated expression levels of TNF-alpha, IL-6 and IL-17 compared to controls. However, the expression level of IL-4 was significantly reduced in TTM patients compared to controls. Accordingly, we found a proinflammatory state in TTM and those findings may suggest novel treatment options for TTM and further, crossdisciplinary studies focusing on neuro- inflammation in TTM conducted on larger samples are needed.C1 [Kutuk, Meryem Ozlem] Baskent Univ, Dept Child & Adolescent Psychiat, Dr Turgut Noyan Med & Res Ctr, Adana, Turkey.[Tufan, Ali Evren] Acibadem Mehmet Ali Aydinlar Univ, Dept Child & Adolescent Psychiat, Istanbul, Turkey.[Kilicaslan, Fethiye] Mehmet Akif Inan Educ & Res Hosp, Dept Child & Adolescent Psychiat, Sanliurfa, Turkey.[Mutluer, Tuba] Koc Univ, Dept Child & Adolescent Psychiat, Istanbul, Turkey.[Gokcen, Cem; Topal, Zehra] Gaziantep Univ, Dept Child & Adolescent Psychiat, Gaziantep, Turkey.[Karadag, Mehmet] Mardin State Hosp, Dept Child & Adolescent Psychiat, Mardin, Turkey.[Yektas, Cigdem] Duzce Univ, Dept Child & Adolescent Psychiat, Duzce, Turkey.[Kandemir, Hasan] Celal Bayar Univ, Dept Child & Adolescent Psychiat, Manisa, Turkey.[Buber, Ahmet] Pamukkale Univ, Dept Child & Adolescent Psychiat, Denizli, Turkey.[Aksu, Gulen Guler] Mersin Univ, Dept Child & Adolescent Psychiat, Mersin, Turkey.[Giray, Asli] Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat Univ, Dept Genet & Bioengn, Alanya, Turkey.[Celik, Fatma] Malatya Training & Res Hosp, Dept Child & Adolescent Psychiat, Malatya, Turkey.[Acikbas, Ufuk; Kutuk, Ozgur] Baskent Univ, Dept Med Genet, Adana Dr Turgut Noyan Med & Res Ctr, Adana, Turkey

Novel inflammatory targets for immunotherapies in pediatric patients with trichotillomania.

Immune dysregulation may be important in the etiology of obsessive-compulsive and related disordersandbody-focusedrepetitivebehaviors, such as Trichotillomania (TTM). The role of inflammation and inflammatory markers in TTM has received relatively little attention. This study was aimed to determine the expression levels of inflammatory markers (i.e. IL-1β, IL-1α, IL-4, IL-6, IL-17, TNF-α and TGF-β) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of children with TTM and healthy controls and to evaluate their association with clinical variables. Seventy-seven patients with TTM and 107 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. Peripheral blood was collected in standardized conditions. The mean age of patients and controls did not differ significantly (10.8 ± 4.4 and 12.0 ± 3.2 years; respectively). The majority of patients with TTM and controls were females (n = 55, 71.4 % and n = 55, 51.4 %; respectively); with a greater preponderance of females among TTM. Patients with TTM had significantly elevated expression levels of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-17 compared to controls. However, the expression level of IL-4 was significantly reduced in TTM patients compared to controls. Accordingly, we found a pro-inflammatory state in TTM and those findings may suggest novel treatment options for TTM and further, cross-disciplinary studies focusing on neuro- inflammation in TTM conducted on larger samples are needed