Epigenetic studies in Alzheimer's disease: Current findings, caveats, and considerations for future studies

This is the peer reviewed version of the article, which has been published in final form at DOI: 10.1002/ajmg.b.32201. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a sporadic, chronic neurodegenerative disease, usually occurring late in life. The last decade has witnessed tremendous advances in our understanding about the genetic basis of AD, but a large amount of the variance in disease risk remains to be explained. Epigenetic mechanisms, which developmentally regulate gene expression via modifications to DNA, histone proteins, and chromatin, have been hypothesized to play a role in other complex neurobiological diseases, and studies to identify genome-wide epigenetic changes in AD are currently under way. However, the simple brute-force approach that has been successfully employed in genome-wide association studies is unlikely to be successful in epigenome-wide association studies of neurodegeneration. A more academic approach to understanding the role of epigenetic variation in AD is required, with careful consideration of study design, methodological approaches, tissue-specificity, and causal inference. In this article, we review the empirical literature supporting a role for epigenetic processes in AD, and discuss important considerations and future directions for this new and emerging field of research. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.NI

Complete Erdös space is unstable

It is proved that the oountably infinite power of complete Erdos space

On maps preserving connectedness and /or compactness

We call a function $f: X\to Y$ $P$-preserving if, for every subspace $A \subset X$ with property $P$, its image $f(A)$ also has property $P$. Of course, all continuous maps are both compactness- and connectedness-preserving and the natural question about when the converse of this holds, i.e. under what conditions is such a map continuous, has a long history. Our main result is that any non-trivial product function, i.e. one having at least two non-constant factors, that has connected domain, $T_1$ range, and is connectedness-preserving must actually be continuous. The analogous statement badly fails if we replace in it the occurrences of "connected" by "compact". We also present, however, several interesting results and examples concerning maps that are compactness-preserving and/or continuum-preserving.Comment: 8 page

Post exposure prophylaxis among Ugandan nurses accidents do happen

Purpose: In 2009 we conducted a study to explore Ugandan nurses’ practice of universal precautions while caring for persons living with HIV. During our interviews about universal precautions, nurses’ also shared their experience with post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) following needle-stick injuries. We present findings related to nurses’ understanding of PEP and their experience with, and reporting of, needle stick injuries. Background: Nurses have high rates of exposure to blood-borne pathogens. Although there is minimal risk of the transmission of blood-borne pathogens from health care workers (HCWs) to patients and vice versa, post-exposure prophylaxis, has become routine following the occupational exposure of HCWs to HIV. Methods: Focused ethnography was used to guide the data collection and in-depth interviews were used to collect the data between October and November 2009. Results: Sixteen nurses from a variety of units in a large teaching hospital participated. Needle-stick injuries were a fairly common occurrence, but written policies were frequently inaccessible to nurses and they did not have adequate knowledge of PEP. Some nurses were reluctant to report injuries and avoided following PEP procedures due to lack of knowledge about PEP, concerns about anti-retroviral side effects and the stigma associated with PEP. Participants were aware of PEP however there was a wide variation in their understanding of the procedure to follow after a needle-stick injury. Conclusion: Employers have a responsibility to update PEP guidelines and to orientate HCWs to these. Educators must ensure that undergraduate nurses have a comprehensive understanding of universal precautions and current practice for PEP

The mitochondrial epigenome: a role in Alzheimer's disease?

Considerable evidence suggests that mitochondrial dysfunction occurs early in Alzheimer's disease, both in affected brain regions and in leukocytes, potentially precipitating neurodegeneration through increased oxidative stress. Epigenetic processes are emerging as a dynamic mechanism through which environmental signals may contribute to cellular changes, leading to neuropathology and disease. Until recently, little attention was given to the mitochondrial epigenome itself, as preliminary studies indicated an absence of DNA modifications. However, recent research has demonstrated that epigenetic changes to the mitochondrial genome do occur, potentially playing an important role in several disorders characterized by mitochondrial dysfunction. This review explores the potential role of mitochondrial epigenetic dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease etiology and discusses some technical issues pertinent to the study of these processes.Alzheimer’s Research UKNI