My Mom: Modern Day Superwoman

First place winner in the Creative Non-fiction category of the 2018 Emerging Writers Contest. The essay describes the writer\u27s discovery of sign language through a childhood narrative

Alterations in serum amino acid concentrations in dogs with protein-losing enteropathy

BackgroundCertain amino acids are decreased in humans with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and supplementation with the same amino acids has shown beneficial effects in animal models of IBD. Currently, the amino acid status of dogs with protein-losing enteropathy (PLE) is unknown.Hypothesis/objectiveTo determine if serum amino acid concentrations are abnormal in dogs with PLE and correlated with clinical and laboratory variables and outcome.AnimalsThirty client-owned dogs diagnosed with PLE and 12 apparently healthy dogs seen at Bristol Veterinary School.MethodsRetrospective study using stored residual serum from fasted dogs with PLE, collected at the time of diagnostic investigation and from apparently healthy dogs. Serum was analyzed for 30 amino acids using an automated high-performance liquid chromatography amino acid analyzer.ResultsSerum tryptophan concentrations were significantly decreased in dogs with PLE (median, 22 nmol/mL; range, 1-80 nmol/mL) compared with apparently healthy control dogs (median, 77.5 nmol/mL; range, 42-135 nmol/mL, P < .001). There were no significant differences in the remaining 29 serum amino acids between dogs with PLE and apparently healthy. Serum tryptophan concentrations were also significantly correlated with serum albumin concentrations in dogs with PLE (P = .001, R2 = 0.506).Conclusions and clinical importanceDecreased serum tryptophan concentration might play a role in the pathogenesis of canine PLE or be a consequence of the disease

A narrative review on the similarities and dissimilarities between myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (me/cfs) and sickness behavior

It is of importance whether myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a variant of sickness behavior. The latter is induced by acute infections/injury being principally mediated through proinflammatory cytokines. Sickness is a beneficial behavioral response that serves to enhance recovery, conserves energy and plays a role in the resolution of inflammation. There are behavioral/symptomatic similarities (for example, fatigue, malaise, hyperalgesia) and dissimilarities (gastrointestinal symptoms, anorexia and weight loss) between sickness and ME/CFS. While sickness is an adaptive response induced by proinflammatory cytokines, ME/CFS is a chronic, disabling disorder, where the pathophysiology is related to activation of immunoinflammatory and oxidative pathways and autoimmune responses. While sickness behavior is a state of energy conservation, which plays a role in combating pathogens, ME/CFS is a chronic disease underpinned by a state of energy depletion. While sickness is an acute response to infection/injury, the trigger factors in ME/CFS are less well defined and encompass acute and chronic infections, as well as inflammatory or autoimmune diseases. It is concluded that sickness behavior and ME/CFS are two different conditions

Fatal Pancreatitis in Simian Immunodeficiency Virus SIVmac251-Infected Macaques Treated with 2′,3′-Dideoxyinosine and Stavudine following Cytotoxic-T-Lymphocyte-Associated Antigen 4 and Indoleamine 2,3-Dioxygenase Blockade

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is associated with immune activation, CD4+-T-cell loss, and a progressive decline of immune functions. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) only partially reverses HIV-associated immune dysfunction, suggesting that approaches that target immune activation and improve virus-specific immune responses may be needed. We performed a preclinical study in rhesus macaques infected with the pathogenic simian immunodeficiency virus SIVmac251 and treated with ART. We tested whether vaccination administered together with cytotoxic-T-lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) blockade and treatment with the indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) inhibitor 1-methyl-d-tryptophan (d-1mT), decreased immune activation and improved vaccine efficacy. The treatment did not augment vaccine immunogenicity; rather, it dramatically increased ART-related toxicity, causing all treated animals to succumb to acute pancreatitis and hyperglycemic coma. The onset of fulminant diabetes was associated with severe lymphocyte infiltration of the pancreas and complete loss of the islets of Langerhans. Thus, caution should be used when considering approaches aimed at targeting immune activation during ART