Crummer SunTrust Portfolio Recommendations: Crummer Investment Management [2014]

On balance, we believe the market will move modestly higher in the short-term. As we believe the economy is still recovering, we recommend over weighting the portfolio in cyclical sectors and underweighting countercyclical sectors. Like all soothsayers, we can only hope our glass is half‐full

Autoimmune congenital heart block and primary Sjögren's syndrome:characterisation and outcomes of 49 cases

Objective. To characterise autoimmune congenital heart block (CHB) associated with a maternal diagnosis of primary Sjogren's syndrome (pSS) confirmed either before, concomitant or after the first pregnancy complicated with CHB. Methods. The following inclusion criteria were applied: (i) Mothers with positive Ro/La autoantibodies detected previously or at the time of diagnosis of the first case of CHB; (ii) diagnosis of CHB confirmed by fetal echocardiography; (iii) AV block diagnosed in uterus, at birth or within the neonatal period (0-27 days after birth) (8); (iv) absence of anatomical cardiac abnormalities which might be causal of AV block; and (v) maternal fulfillment of the 2002 SS criteria before, during or after having a pregnancy complicated with CHB. Results. We identified 49 cases of autoimmune CHB in children born from 44 mothers who had a mean age at the time of pregnancy of 30.3 years (range 18 to 41). At the time of diagnosis of autoimmune CHB, all mothers had positive anti-Ro antibodies and 28/ 44 (64%) were positive for anti-La antibodies. Only 10 (22%) mothers with affected pregnancies had a diagnosis of primary SS at the time of diagnosis of the first pregnancy complicated by CHB (a mean of 4 years before, ranging from 1 to 10 years). In 6 (14%) mothers, primary SS was diagnosed during pregnancy or less than 12 months after the delivery/termination. In the remaining 28 ( 64%) mothers, pSS was confirmed 1-5 years after CHB diagnosis (n=19, 68%), 6-10 years after (n= 2, 7%), or more than 10 years after the first case of CHB was diagnosed (n=7, 25%). CHB was diagnosed in uterus in all cases but two. AV block was initially incomplete in 11 fetuses and complete in 36 (no available data in 2 cases). Among the 35 (71%) surviving children with CHB, 5 (14%) developed other features of neonatal lupus. After the index pregnancy, 12 women had 20 subsequent pregnancies: five were complicated by a CHB ( recurrence rate of CHB of 25%). The 4 women who had recurrent CHB were double-positive for anti-Ro and anti-La antibodies, and all had a confirmed pSS before having the first index case of CHB. Conclusion. In pSS, autoimmune CHB could be one of the first "indirect" signs of the disease in women of childbearing-age, in whom the diagnosis is confirmed several years later. Some maternal characteristics could be related with recurrent CHB, such as having an already-confirmed diagnosis of pSS and carrying the two Ro/La autoantibodies

Autoimmune congenital heart block and primary Sjögren's syndrome:characterisation and outcomes of 49 cases

OBJECTIVES: To characterise autoimmune congenital heart block (CHB) associated with a maternal diagnosis of primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) confirmed either before, concomitant or after the first pregnancy complicated with CHB.METHODS: The following inclusion criteria were applied: (i) Mothers with positive Ro/La autoantibodies detected previously or at the time of diagnosis of the first case of CHB; (ii) diagnosis of CHB confirmed by fetal echocardiography; (iii) AV block diagnosed in uterus, at birth or within the neonatal period (0-27 days after birth) (8); (iv) absence of anatomical cardiac abnormalities which might be causal of AV block; and (v) maternal fulfillment of the 2002 SS criteria before, during or after having a pregnancy complicated with CHB.RESULTS: We identified 49 cases of autoimmune CHB in children born from 44 mothers who had a mean age at the time of pregnancy of 30.3 years (range 18 to 41). At the time of diagnosis of autoimmune CHB, all mothers had positive anti-Ro antibodies and 28/44 (64%) were positive for anti-La antibodies. Only 10 (22%) mothers with affected pregnancies had a diagnosis of primary SS at the time of diagnosis of the first pregnancy complicated by CHB (a mean of 4 years before, ranging from 1 to 10 years). In 6 (14%) mothers, primary SS was diagnosed during pregnancy or less than 12 months after the delivery/termination. In the remaining 28 (64%) mothers, pSS was confirmed 1-5 years after CHB diagnosis (n=19, 68%), 6-10 years after (n=2, 7%), or more than 10 years after the first case of CHB was diagnosed (n=7, 25%). CHB was diagnosed in uterus in all cases but two. AV block was initially incomplete in 11 fetuses and complete in 36 (no available data in 2 cases). Among the 35 (71%) surviving children with CHB, 5 (14%) developed other features of neonatal lupus. After the index pregnancy, 12 women had 20 subsequent pregnancies: five were complicated by a CHB (recurrence rate of CHB of 25%). The 4 women who had recurrent CHB were double-positive for anti-Ro and anti-La antibodies, and all had a confirmed pSS before having the first index case of CHB.CONCLUSIONS: In pSS, autoimmune CHB could be one of the first "indirect" signs of the disease in women of childbearing-age, in whom the diagnosis is confirmed several years later. Some maternal characteristics could be related with recurrent CHB, such as having an already-confirmed diagnosis of pSS and carrying the two Ro/La autoantibodies

Current evidence for a modulation of low back pain by human genetic variants

The manifestation of chronic back pain depends on structural, psychosocial, occupational and genetic influences. Heritability estimates for back pain range from 30% to 45%. Genetic influences are caused by genes affecting intervertebral disc degeneration or the immune response and genes involved in pain perception, signalling and psychological processing. This inter-individual variability which is partly due to genetic differences would require an individualized pain management to prevent the transition from acute to chronic back pain or improve the outcome. The genetic profile may help to define patients at high risk for chronic pain. We summarize genetic factors that (i) impact on intervertebral disc stability, namely Collagen IX, COL9A3, COL11A1, COL11A2, COL1A1, aggrecan (AGAN), cartilage intermediate layer protein, vitamin D receptor, metalloproteinsase-3 (MMP3), MMP9, and thrombospondin-2, (ii) modify inflammation, namely interleukin-1 (IL-1) locus genes and IL-6 and (iii) and pain signalling namely guanine triphosphate (GTP) cyclohydrolase 1, catechol-O-methyltransferase, μ opioid receptor (OPMR1), melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R), transient receptor potential channel A1 and fatty acid amide hydrolase and analgesic drug metabolism (cytochrome P450 [CYP]2D6, CYP2C9)