The Opie Recordings: What’s Left to be Heard?

This chapter presents an analysis of selected recordings from the Opie Collection of Children's Games in the National Sound Archive. It contextualises them with an account of the Opies' research approach, and identifies three themes emerging from the recordings which are not found in published work by the Opies. These are: the strong rleatinoship between children's media cultures and traditional play cultures; more extensive variation of words and music in the singing games; and more extreme examples of obscene and scatological rhymes

Protocol for the saMS trial (supportive adjustment for multiple sclerosis): a randomized controlled trial comparing cognitive behavioral therapy to supportive listening for adjustment to multiple sclerosis

BackgroundMultiple Sclerosis (MS) is an incurable, chronic, potentially progressive and unpredictable disease of the central nervous system. The disease produces a range of unpleasant and debilitating symptoms, which can have a profound impact including disrupting activities of daily living, employment, income, relationships, social and leisure activities, and life goals. Adjusting to the illness is therefore particularly challenging. This trial tests the effectiveness of a cognitive behavioural intervention compared to supportive listening to assist adjustment in the early stages of MS.MethodsThis is a two arm randomized multi-centre parallel group controlled trial. 122 consenting participants who meet eligibility criteria will be randomly allocated to receive either Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or Supportive Listening. Eight one hour sessions of therapy (delivered over a period of 10 weeks) will be delivered by general nurses trained in both treatments. Self-report questionnaire data will be collected at baseline (0 weeks), mid-therapy (week 5 of therapy), post-therapy (15 weeks) and at six months (26 weeks) and twelve months (52 weeks) follow-up. Primary outcomes are distress and MS-related social and role impairment at twelve month follow-up. Analysis will also consider predictors and mechanisms of change during therapy. In-depth interviews to examine participants’ experiences of the interventions will be conducted with a purposively sampled sub-set of the trial participants. An economic analysis will also take place. DiscussionThis trial is distinctive in its aims in that it aids adjustment to MS in a broad sense. It is not a treatment specifically for depression. Use of nurses as therapists makes the interventions potentially viable in terms of being rolled out in the NHS. The trial benefits from incorporating patient input in the development and evaluation stages. The trial will provide important information about the efficacy, cost-effectiveness and acceptability of the interventions as well as mechanisms of psychosocial adjustment.Trial registrationCurrent Controlled Trials ISRCTN91377356<br/

The Serum Proteome and Ursodeoxycholic Acid Response in Primary Biliary Cholangitis.

Funder: UK‐PBC MRC Stratified MedicineFunder: Pfizer; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100004319BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Stratified therapy has entered clinical practice in primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), with routine use of second-line therapy in nonresponders to first-line therapy with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA). The mechanism for nonresponse to UDCA remains, however, unclear and we lack mechanistic serum markers. The UK-PBC study was established to explore the biological basis of UDCA nonresponse in PBC and identify markers to enhance treatment. APPROACH AND RESULTS: Discovery serum proteomics (Olink) with targeted multiplex validation were carried out in 526 subjects from the UK-PBC cohort and 97 healthy controls. In the discovery phase, untreated PBC patients (n = 68) exhibited an inflammatory proteome that is typically reduced in scale, but not resolved, with UDCA therapy (n = 416 treated patients). Nineteen proteins remained at a significant expression level (defined using stringent criteria) in UDCA-treated patients, six of them representing a tightly linked profile of chemokines (including CCL20, known to be released by biliary epithelial cells (BECs) undergoing senescence in PBC). All showed significant differential expression between UDCA responders and nonresponders in both the discovery and validation cohorts. A linear discriminant analysis, using serum levels of C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 11 and C-C motif chemokine ligand 20 as markers of responder status, indicated a high level of discrimination with an AUC of 0.91 (CI, 0.83-0.91). CONCLUSIONS: UDCA under-response in PBC is characterized by elevation of serum chemokines potentially related to cellular senescence and was previously shown to be released by BECs in PBC, suggesting a potential role in the pathogenesis of high-risk disease. These also have potential for development as biomarkers for identification of high-risk disease, and their clinical utility as biomarkers should be evaluated further in prospective studies

Neurosteroid Activation of GABA-A Receptors: A Potential Treatment Target for Symptoms in Primary Biliary Cholangitis?

Funder: Umecrine Cognition ABBACKGROUND AND AIMS: A third of patients with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) experience poorly understood cognitive symptoms, with a significant impact on quality of life (QOL), and no effective medical treatment. Allopregnanolone, a neurosteroid, is a positive allosteric modulator of gamma-aminobutyricacid-A (GABA-A) receptors, associated with disordered mood, cognition, and memory. This study explored associations between allopregnanolone and a disease-specific QOL scoring system (PBC-40) in PBC patients. METHOD: Serum allopregnanolone levels were measured in 120 phenotyped PBC patients and 40 age and gender-matched healthy controls. PBC subjects completed the PBC-40 at recruitment. Serum allopregnanolone levels were compared across PBC-40 domains for those with none/mild symptoms versus severe symptoms. RESULTS: There were no overall differences in allopregnanolone levels between healthy controls (median = 0.03 ng/ml (IQR = 0.025)) and PBC patients (0.031 (0.42), p = 0.42). Within the PBC cohort, higher allopregnanolone levels were observed in younger patients (r (120) = -0.53, p < 0.001) but not healthy controls (r (39) = -0.21, p = 0.21). Allopregnanolone levels were elevated in the PBC-40 domains, cognition (u = 1034, p = 0.02), emotional (u = 1374, p = 0.004), and itch (u = 795, p = 0.03). Severe cognitive symptoms associated with a younger age: severe (50 (12)) vs. none (60 (13); u = 423 p = 0.001). CONCLUSION: Elevated serum allopregnanolone is associated with severe cognitive, emotional, and itch symptoms in PBC, in keeping with its known action on GABA-A receptors. Existing novel compounds targeting allopregnanolone could offer new therapies in severely symptomatic PBC, satisfying a significant unmet need

Rituximab for the treatment of fatigue in primary biliary cholangitis (formerly primary biliary cirrhosis): a randomised controlled trial

Background: Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is an autoimmune liver disease, and 50% of patients with this disease experience fatigue. This is a debilitating symptom affecting quality of life and resulting in social isolation, which is highlighted by patients as a research priority. PBC is characterised immunologically by the presence of high-titre autoantibodies that are directed at the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC) and are highly effective at blocking its energy generation function. We hypothesised that if anti-PDC antibodies were a driver of fatigue through bioenergetic dysfunction, then the B-cell-targeting biological agent rituximab (MabThera®, Roche Products Ltd, Welwyn Garden City, UK) might be a therapeutic option. Objective: To assess whether or not rituximab safely improved moderate or severe fatigue in PBC patients. Design: A Phase II, double-blind, randomised controlled trial comparing rituximab with placebo in fatigued PBC patients. Randomisation was conducted using a web-based system. Participants received two infusions on days 1 and 15 and were followed up at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. Setting: A single-centre UK study in Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Participants: Seventy-one participants aged ≥ 18 years with PBC and moderate or severe fatigue (score of > 33 on the PBC-40 fatigue domain) were screened. The PBC-40 questionnaire is a fully validated disease-specific health-related quality-of-life measure for use in patients with PBC. Fatigue, with a maximum score of 55, is one of its six domains. Fifty-seven participants were randomised to the trial, 55 of whom reached the primary end-point assessment. Intervention: Participants were randomised in a 1 : 1 ratio to receive either rituximab (1000 mg) or a saline intravenous infusion (placebo) on days 1 and 15. The infusions were delivered in a double-blind manner using the same protocol. Main outcome measures: The primary outcome measure was the PBC-40 fatigue domain at 3 months, assessed on an intention-to-treat basis. Secondary outcome measures included markers of bioenergetics function (anaerobic threshold and post-exercise muscle pH assessed using magnetic resonance imaging) and physical activity levels. Impact on biochemical markers of liver disease severity was assessed as an experimental outcome. Results: Rituximab therapy was safe, with no serious adverse events linked to the drug. There was no statistically significant difference in fatigue score at 3 months between the rituximab and placebo arms [adjusted mean difference –0.9, 95% confidence interval (CI) –4.6 to 3.1]. However, improvement in fatigue was observed in both arms {mean score decreasing from 41.2 [standard deviation (SD) 5.5] to 36.2 (SD 8.4) in the rituximab arm and from 43.0 (SD 5.9) to 38.1 (SD 8.7) in the placebo arm}. There was little difference in any of the secondary outcomes between arms. However, anaerobic threshold improved significantly in the rituximab arm (adjusted mean difference at 3 months 1.41, 95% CI 0.03 to 2.80). No change in muscle bioenergetics characteristics was seen. A suggestive improvement in liver biochemistry was observed. Limitations: Recruitment was lower than the original target, leading to a reduction in study power. A clinically significant placebo effect on PBC-40 fatigue scores was seen. Conclusions: Rituximab is ineffective for the treatment of fatigue in unselected PBC patients despite metabolic modulation through improvement of anaerobic threshold. Future work: Results from the trial demonstrate that metabolic effect of rituximab is not translated into clinical benefit. This will help to guide us to design future trials and when looking at completely different targets. Trial registration: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN03978701, ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02376335 and EudraCT number 2012-000145-12. Funding: This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation programme and will be published in full in Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation; Vol. 5, No. 2. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information. Additional funding was received from the Medical Research Council and a Department of Health and Social Care subvention

Anti-Cholestatic Therapy with Obeticholic Acid Improves Short-Term Memory in Bile Duct-Ligated Mice.

Patients with cholestatic liver disease, including those with primary biliary cholangitis, can experience symptoms of impaired cognition or brain fog. This phenomenon remains unexplained and is currently untreatable. Bile duct ligation (BDL) is an established rodent model of cholestasis. In addition to liver changes, BDL animals develop cognitive symptoms early in the disease process (before development of cirrhosis and/or liver failure). The cellular mechanisms underpinning these cognitive symptoms are poorly understood. Herein, the study explored the neurocognitive symptom manifestations, and tested potential therapies, in BDL mice, and used human neuronal cell cultures to explore translatability to humans. BDL animals exhibited short-term memory loss and showed reduced astrocyte coverage of the blood-brain barrier, destabilized hippocampal network activity, and neuronal senescence. Ursodeoxycholic acid (first-line therapy for most human cholestatic diseases) did not reverse symptomatic or mechanistic aspects. In contrast, obeticholic acid (OCA), a farnesoid X receptor agonist and second-line anti-cholestatic agent, normalized memory function, suppressed blood-brain barrier changes, prevented hippocampal network deficits, and reversed neuronal senescence. Co-culture of human neuronal cells with either BDL or human cholestatic patient serum induced cellular senescence and increased mitochondrial respiration, changes that were limited again by OCA. These findings provide new insights into the mechanism of cognitive symptoms in BDL animals, suggesting that OCA therapy or farnesoid X receptor agonism could be used to limit cholestasis-induced neuronal senescence