Evidence of a causal and modifiable relationship between kidney function and circulating trimethylamine N-oxide

The host-microbiota co-metabolite trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) is linked to increased cardiovascular risk but how its circulating levels are regulated remains unclear. We applied "explainable" machine learning, univariate, multivariate and mediation analyses of fasting plasma TMAO concentration and a multitude of phenotypes in 1,741 adult Europeans of the MetaCardis study. Here we show that next to age, kidney function is the primary variable predicting circulating TMAO, with microbiota composition and diet playing minor, albeit significant, roles. Mediation analysis suggests a causal relationship between TMAO and kidney function that we corroborate in preclinical models where TMAO exposure increases kidney scarring. Consistent with our findings, patients receiving glucose-lowering drugs with reno-protective properties have significantly lower circulating TMAO when compared to propensity-score matched control individuals. Our analyses uncover a bidirectional relationship between kidney function and TMAO that can potentially be modified by reno-protective anti-diabetic drugs and suggest a clinically actionable intervention for decreasing TMAO-associated excess cardiovascular risk

Les bibliothèques américaines de plus en plus impliquées dans l'édition de revues

Journal entry par JoelMontes (CC-BY-SA) "Ces dernières années, un nombre croissant de bibliothèques universitaires ont été impliquées dans la publication de revues, comme une nouvelle direction pour supporter et soutenir l'accès ouvert à la communication scientifique. L'Association of Research Libraries (association américaine des bibliothèques de recherche) a publié un rapport qui a examiné quatre-vingts bibliothèques de recherche aux États-Unis. Elle a constaté qu'environ 65% de ces bibliot..

Les bibliothèques américaines de plus en plus impliquées dans l'édition de revues

Journal entry par JoelMontes (CC-BY-SA) "Ces dernières années, un nombre croissant de bibliothèques universitaires ont été impliquées dans la publication de revues, comme une nouvelle direction pour supporter et soutenir l'accès ouvert à la communication scientifique. L'Association of Research Libraries (association américaine des bibliothèques de recherche) a publié un rapport qui a examiné quatre-vingts bibliothèques de recherche aux États-Unis. Elle a constaté qu'environ 65% de ces bibliot..

Effet du traitement des cellules endothéliales par l'hydroxyurée sur l'hémodynamique et l'adhérence des globules rouges drépanocytaires

PARIS7-Bibliothèque centrale (751132105) / SudocSudocFranceF

Brain metabolism and related connectivity in patients with acrophobia treated by virtual reality therapy: an F-18-FDG PET pilot study sensitized by virtual exposure

International audienceBackground: The aim of this pilot study is to investigate the impact of virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) on brain metabolism and connectivity. Eighteen patients with acrophobia were assessed by an F-18-FDG PET scan sensitized by virtual exposure before treatment, and nine of them were assessed again after eight sessions of VRET. Statistical Parametric Mapping was used to study the correlations between metabolism and pretherapeutic clinical scores and to compare metabolism before and after VRET (p voxel < 0.005, corrected for cluster volume). Metabolic connectivity was evaluated through interregional correlation analysis. Results: Before therapy, a positive correlation was found between scores on the behavioural avoidance test and left occipital metabolism (BA17-18). After VRET, patients presented increased metabolism in the left frontal superior gyri and the left precentral gyrus, which showed increased metabolic connectivity with bilateral occipital areas (BA17-18-19), concomitant with clinical recovery. Conclusions: This study highlights the exciting opportunity to use brain PET imaging to investigate metabolism during virtual exposure and reports the involvement of the visual-motor control system in the treatment of acrophobia by VRET

Metabolic Positron Emission Tomography Response to Gamma Knife of the Ventral Intermediate Nucleus in Essential Tremor

International audienceBackground: To understand the substrate of response and non-response, and identify potential biomarkers for selection and follow-up of patients with essential tremor (ET) treated by Gamma-Knife of the Ventrointermedius nucleus (GKVIM).Objective: This observational study aims to characterize PET changes in metabolism of glucose and metabolic connectivity in patients with ET treated by GKVIM. Methods: Forty-two patients with right ET were referred to 18F-FDG PET imaging before, and after left GKVIM. Statistical Parametric Mapping-T score maps comparisons were performedbetween pre- and post-GKVIM groups, and between clinical responders and non-responders. Metabolic connectivity was evaluated by interregional correlation analysis method.Results: After GKVIM, patients with ET exhibited a decrease of the left thalamic metabolism, associated with remote metabolic decreases in the right cerebellum, left temporal gyri, and bilateral frontal gyri (p<0.05 with family-wise error correction). Non-responders (n=7) additionally showed after GKVIM a metabolic decrease in the right temporo-occipital area (p<0.005 corrected for cluster volume). The metabolism of this area was already reduced before treatment in comparison to responders, and was predictive of the future response (sensitivity: 89 %; specificity: 71 %). In non-responder patients, a strong connectivity between the left thalamus and right temporo-occipital area was found before GKVIM and lost after treatment, while it remained weak and stable in responders.Conclusions: These findings could lead to a better knowledge of the variability of metabolic PET profiles among patients with ET, especially the integration of 18F-FDG PET imaging in the pretherapeutic evaluation of patients with refractory ET candidate to GKVIM

Dietary scores at midlife and healthy ageing in a French prospective cohort

International audienceAlthough nutrition has been advocated as a major determinant of healthy ageing (HA), studies investigating the link between dietary quality and HA are scarce. We investigated the association between adherence to French food-based and nutrient-based guidelines at midlife, as assessed by three dietary scores, and HA. HA was assessed in 2007-2009, among 2329 participants of the SUpplémentation en Vitamines et Minéraux AntioXydants study aged 45-60 years at baseline (1994-1995) and initially free of diabetes, CVD and cancer. HA was defined as not developing any major chronic disease, good physical and cognitive functioning, no limitations in instrumental activities of daily living, no depressive symptoms, no health-related limitations in social life, good overall self-perceived health and no function-limiting pain. Data from repeated 24-h dietary records provided at baseline permitted the computation of the modified French Programme National Nutrition Santé-Guideline Score (mPNNS-GS), the Probability of Adequate Nutrient Intake Dietary Score (PANDiet) and the Diet Quality Index-International (DQI-I). Associations of these scores with HA were assessed by logistic regression. In 2007-2009, 42 % of men and 36 % of women met our criteria of HA. After adjustment for potential confounders, higher scores of the mPNNS-GS (ORquartile 4 v. quartile 1 1·44; 95 % CI 1·10, 1·87; P trend=0·006) and the PANDiet (1·28; 95 % CI 1·00, 1·64; P trend=0·03) were associated with higher odds of HA. We observed no association between DQI-I and HA. In conclusion, this study suggests a beneficial long-term role of high adherence to both food-based and nutrient-based French dietary guidelines for a HA process

ON REPRESENTATION AND POWER: PORTRAIT OF A VODUN LEADER IN PRESENT-DAY BENIN

International audienceIn this paper, the author discusses the power of vodun leaders in present-day Benin, and more specifically anti-witchcraft cults born from the encounter with world religions. Offering an analysis inspired by Louis Marin’s theory on power in its representation, the author illustrates her analysis through the portrait of a vodun leader with a view to escape from a functionalist analysis of occult power or syncretism. With the baroque mirror metaphor conceived as a device, which underscores what it is that connects heterogeneous practices, Tall describes what is shown in the rituals and practices of a vodun leader and emphasizes the centrality of the transubstantiation phenomenon in the production of a community of believers.Dans cet article, l’auteur s’intéresse au pouvoir des chefs de cultes vodun dans le Bénin contemporain. S’attachant plus particulièrement aux leaders de cultes anti-sorcellerie nés de la rencontre avec les religions universalistes, elle propose une analyse inspirée des travaux de Louis Marin sur le pouvoir dans sa représentation et construit son propos à travers le portrait d’un chef de culte pour échapper aux analyses fonctionnalistes en termes de pouvoir occulte ou de syncrétisme. A travers la métaphore du miroir baroque conçu comme un dispositif qui met en lumière ce qui articule des pratiques hétérogènes, E.K. Tall s’attache à ce que montrent les rituels et les pratiques d’un officiant tout en illustrant la centralité du phénomène de transsubstantiation dans la production d’une communauté de croyants