Sero-survey of rubella IgM antibodies among children in Jos, Nigeria

Sero-survey of rubella IgM antibodies was carried out among children aged 0-10 years in Jos, Nigeria. Blood samples were collected from the subjects and sera extracted. Of the 93(100%) assayed for the rubella IgM antibody, 42(45.2%) were seropositive for rubella IgM antibody while 51(54.8%) were seronegative. A breakdown of the seropositive subjects reveals that 14(15.1%) of the infected children were males while 28(30.1%) were females. Those subjects within the age groups of 1-2, 3-4 and 5-6 years had the highest prevalence of 8(8.6%) followed by those within the age groups of 7-8, 9-10 years with 7(7.5%). Blood transfusion as a risk factor did not show any significant influence on the status of the subjects. The demographic data of the mothers of the subjects were also linked with the seropositivity of the children

Loss of interleukin-12 modifies the pro-inflammatory response but does not prevent duct obstruction in experimental biliary atresia

BACKGROUND: Livers of infants with biliary atresia and of neonatal mice infected with rotavirus (RRV) have increased expression of interferon-gamma (IFNγ) and interleukin (IL)-12. While the expression of IFNγ regulates the obstruction of extrahepatic bile ducts by lymphocytes, the role of IL-12 in the pathogenesis of biliary obstruction is unknown. Based on the role of IL-12 as a key proinflammatory cytokine, we hypothesized that loss of IL-12 prevents the obstruction of extrahepatic bile ducts. METHODS: IL12-knockout (IL-12KO) and wild type mice were injected with RRV or saline at day 1 of age and monitored for the development of symptoms. The cellular and molecular phenotypes were determined at days 3, 7, and 14 by real-time PCR and flow cytometry. RESULTS: RRV infection of IL-12KO mice resulted in growth failure, jaundice/acholic stools, and decreased survival similar to wild-type mice. IL-12KO mice had a remarkable neutrophil-rich portal inflammation and epithelial sloughing of extrahepatic bile ducts. Loss of IL-12 decreased but did not abolish the hepatic expression of IFNγ, displayed a remarkable increase in expression of TNFα, IFNα, IFNβ and decreased expression of IL-4 and IL-5. CONCLUSION: Loss of IL-12 did not modify the progression of bile duct obstruction in experimental biliary atresia. However, the inflammatory response was predominantly neutrophil-based and displayed a Th1 response in the absence of IL-12

Life Expectancy in a Large Cohort of Type 2 Diabetes Patients Treated in Primary Care (ZODIAC-10)

Background: Most longitudinal studies showed increased relative mortality in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus until now. As a result of major changes in treatment regimes over the past years, with more stringent goals for metabolic control and cardiovascular risk management, improvement of life expectancy should be expected. In our study, we aimed to assess present-day life expectancy of type 2 diabetes patients in an ongoing cohort study. Methodology and Principal Findings: We included 973 primary care type 2 diabetes patients in a prospective cohort study, who were all participating in a shared care project in The Netherlands. Vital status was assessed from May 2001 till May 2007. Main outcome measurement was life expectancy assessed by transforming actual survival time to standardised survival time allowing adjustment for the baseline mortality rate of the general population. At baseline, mean age was 66 years, mean HbA(1c) 7.0%. During a median follow-up of 5.4 years, 165 patients died (78 from cardiovascular causes), and 17 patients were lost to follow-up. There were no differences in life expectancy in subjects with type 2 diabetes compared to life expectancy in the general population. In multivariate Cox regression analyses, concentrating on the endpoints 'all-cause' and cardiovascular mortality, a history of cardiovascular disease: hazard ratio (HR) 1.71 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.23-2.37), and HR 2.59 (95% CI 1.56-4.28); and albuminuria: HR 1.72 (95% CI 1.26-2.35), and HR 1.83 (95% CI 1.17-2.89), respectively, were significant predictors, whereas smoking, HbA(1c), systolic blood pressure and diabetes duration were not. Conclusions: This study shows a normal life expectancy in a cohort of subjects with type 2 diabetes patients in primary care when compared to the general population. A history of cardiovascular disease and albuminuria, however, increased the risk of a reduction of life expectancy. These results show that, in a shared care environment, a normal life expectancy is achievable in type 2 diabetes patients

Assessment of cognitive status in patients with type 2 diabetes through the mini-mental status examination: a cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Diabetes is considered an independent risk factor for cognitive impairment and some studies observed through neuropsychological tests that cognitive disfunction affects both elderly and younger patients with diabetes. The aims of this study were to evaluate the cognitive status of outpatients with type 2 diabetes and to evaluate factors associated with impaired function.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional study was conducted in a group of type 2 diabetic outpatients. They were asked to undergo the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) during routine ambulatory visits between April 2006 and January 2007, with the highest pontuation of the test being 30 points. Patients were classified as having possible dementia according to years of study. Exclusion criteria were blindness, illiterately, stroke, Alzheimer disease and psychiatric disorder. Results are presented as median (interquartile range) or mean ± SD.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The study group was composed of 346 type 2 diabetic outpatients (216 females), aged 58,6 ± 12,1 years and with duration of diabetes of 12,3 ± 9,1 years. Hypertension was present in 77,2%. The total MMSE score achieved was 26 points (16 - 30) and was correlated with years of study (R²= 0,39, p < 0,001) and 'per capita' income (R²= 0,22, p < 0,0001) and duration of diabetes (R2 = - 0,13, p = 0,01). Patients who needed help to take their medications obtained worst performance in the MMSE (23,16 ± 3,55 <it>vs </it>25,7 ± 2,84, p < 0,01) and were more likely to present possible dementia (p < 0,01). Forty two subjects (12.1%) had diagnosis of possible dementia and this was also associated with years of study (p = 0,045). No association was observed between possible dementia and total MMSE scores with A1C levels.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We conclude that patients with type 2 diabetes should be regularly evaluated for their cognitive function, because duration of disease could be associated with decline in cognition. The early implementation of mini mental which is a simple method of execution can be done to detect early stages of dementia. This test could be an important tool to access the ability of patient to understand their disease and treatment.</p

A population study on the association between leisure time physical activity and self-rated health among diabetics in Taiwan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is strong evidence for the beneficial effects of physical activity in diabetes. There has been little research demonstrating a dose-response relationship between physical activity and self-rated health in diabetics. The aim of this study was to explore the dose-response association between leisure time physical activity and self-rated health among diabetics in Taiwan.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data came from the 2001 Taiwan National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Inclusion criteria were a physician confirmed diagnosis of diabetes mellitus and age 18 years and above (n = 797). Self-rated health was assessed by the question "In general, would you say that your health is excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor?" Individuals with a self perceived health status of good, very good, or excellent were considered to have positive health status.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In the full model, the odds ratio (OR) for positive health was 2.51(95% CI = 1.53-4.13), 1.62(95% CI = 0.93-2.84), and 1.35(95% CI = 0.77-2.37), for those with a total weekly energy expenditure of ≥ 1000 kcal, between 500 and 999 kcal, and between 1 and 499 kcal, respectively, compared to inactive individuals. Those with duration over 10 years (OR = 0.53, 95%CI = 0.30-0.94), heart disease (OR = 0.50, 95%CI = 0.30-0.85), and dyslipidemia (OR = 0.65, 95% CI = 0.43-0.98) were less likely to have positive health than their counterparts. After stratified participants by duration, those with a duration of diabetes < 6 years, the adjusted OR for positive health was 1.95(95% CI = 1.02-3.72), 1.22(95% CI = 0.59-2.52), and 1.19(95% CI = 0.58-2.41) for those with a total weekly energy expenditure of ≥ 1000 kcal, between 500 and 999 kcal, and between 1 and 499 kcal, respectively, compared to inactive individuals. In participants with a duration of diabetes ≥ 6 years, total energy expenditure showed a gradient effect on self-perceived positive health. The adjusted OR for positive health was 3.45(95% CI = 1.53-7.79), 2.77(95% CI = 1.11-6.92), and 1.90(95% CI = 0.73-4.94) for those with a total weekly energy expenditure of ≥ 1000 kcal, between 500 and 999 kcal, and between 1 and 499 kcal, respectively, compared to inactive individuals.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results highlight that regular leisure activity with an energy expenditure ≧ 500 kcal per week is associated with better self-rated health for those with longstanding diabetes.</p

A quantitative analysis of complexity of human pathogen-specific CD4 T cell responses in healthy M. tuberculosis infected South Africans

Author Summary: Human pathogen-specific immune responses are tremendously complex and the techniques to study them ever expanding. There is an urgent need for a quantitative analysis and better understanding of pathogen-specific immune responses. Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is one of the leading causes of mortality due to an infectious agent worldwide. Here, we were able to quantify the Mtb-specific response in healthy individuals with Mtb infection from South Africa. The response is highly diverse and 66 epitopes are required to capture 80% of the total reactivity. Our study also show that the majority of the identified epitopes are restricted by multiple HLA alleles. Thus, technical advances are required to capture and characterize the complete pathogen-specific response. This study demonstrates further that the approach combining identified epitopes into "megapools" allows capturing a large fraction of the total reactivity. This suggests that this technique is generally applicable to the characterization of immunity to other complex pathogens. Together, our data provide for the first time a quantitative analysis of the complex pathogen-specific T cell response and provide a new understanding of human infections in a natural infection setting

Denial of Reward in the Neonate Shapes Sociability and Serotonergic Activity in the Adult Rat

BACKGROUND: Manipulations of the early environment are linked to long-lasting alterations of emotionality and social capabilities. Denial of rewarding mother-pup interactions in early life of rats could serve as model for child neglect. Negative consequences for social competence in later life, accompanied by changes in the serotonergic system would be expected. In contrast, rewarding mother-pup contact should promote adequate social abilities. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Male Wistar rats trained in a T-maze during postnatal days 10-13 under denial (DER) or permission (RER) of maternal contact were tested for play behavior in adolescence and for coping with defeat in adulthood. We estimated serotonin (5-HT) levels in the brain under basal conditions and following defeat, as well as serotonin receptor 1A (5-HT1A) and serotonin transporter (SERT) expression. DER rats exhibited increased aggressive-like play behavior in adolescence (i.e. increased nape attacks, p<0.0001) and selected a proactive coping style during defeat in adulthood (higher sum of proactive behaviors: number of attacks, flights, rearings and defensive upright posture; p = 0.011, p<0.05 vs RER, non-handled-NH). In adulthood, they had lower 5-HT levels in both the prefrontal cortex (p<0.05 vs RER) and the amygdala (p<0.05 vs NH), increased 5-HT levels following defeat (PFC p<0.0001) and decreased serotonin turnover (amygdala p = 0.008). The number of 5-HT1A immunopositive cells in the CA1 hippocampal area was increased (p<0.05 DER, vs RER, NH); SERT levels in the amygdala were elevated (p<0.05 vs RER, NH), but were lower in the prefrontal cortex (p<0.05 vs NH). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Denial of expected maternal reward early in life negatively affects sociability and the serotonergic system in a complex manner. We propose that our animal model could contribute to the identification of the neurobiological correlates of early neglect effects on social behavior and coping with challenges, but also in parallel with the effects of a rewarding early-life environment

Sequence comparison of prefrontal cortical brain transcriptome from a tame and an aggressive silver fox (Vulpes vulpes)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Two strains of the silver fox (<it>Vulpes vulpes</it>), with markedly different behavioral phenotypes, have been developed by long-term selection for behavior. Foxes from the tame strain exhibit friendly behavior towards humans, paralleling the sociability of canine puppies, whereas foxes from the aggressive strain are defensive and exhibit aggression to humans. To understand the genetic differences underlying these behavioral phenotypes fox-specific genomic resources are needed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>cDNA from mRNA from pre-frontal cortex of a tame and an aggressive fox was sequenced using the Roche 454 FLX Titanium platform (> 2.5 million reads & 0.9 Gbase of tame fox sequence; >3.3 million reads & 1.2 Gbase of aggressive fox sequence). Over 80% of the fox reads were assembled into contigs. Mapping fox reads against the fox transcriptome assembly and the dog genome identified over 30,000 high confidence fox-specific SNPs. Fox transcripts for approximately 14,000 genes were identified using SwissProt and the dog RefSeq databases. An at least 2-fold expression difference between the two samples (p < 0.05) was observed for 335 genes, fewer than 3% of the total number of genes identified in the fox transcriptome.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Transcriptome sequencing significantly expanded genomic resources available for the fox, a species without a sequenced genome. In a very cost efficient manner this yielded a large number of fox-specific SNP markers for genetic studies and provided significant insights into the gene expression profile of the fox pre-frontal cortex; expression differences between the two fox samples; and a catalogue of potentially important gene-specific sequence variants. This result demonstrates the utility of this approach for developing genomic resources in species with limited genomic information.</p

Alterations in ethanol-induced behaviors and consumption in knock-in mice expressing ethanol-resistant NMDA receptors

Ethanol's action on the brain likely reflects altered function of key ion channels such as glutamatergic N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs). In this study, we determined how expression of a mutant GluN1 subunit (F639A) that reduces ethanol inhibition of NMDARs affects ethanol-induced behaviors in mice. Mice homozygous for the F639A allele died prematurely while heterozygous knock-in mice grew and bred normally. Ethanol (44 mM; ∼0.2 g/dl) significantly inhibited NMDA-mediated EPSCs in wild-type mice but had little effect on responses in knock-in mice. Knock-in mice had normal expression of GluN1 and GluN2B protein across different brain regions and a small reduction in levels of GluN2A in medial prefrontal cortex. Ethanol (0.75-2.0 g/kg; IP) increased locomotor activity in wild-type mice but had no effect on knock-in mice while MK-801 enhanced activity to the same extent in both groups. Ethanol (2.0 g/kg) reduced rotarod performance equally in both groups but knock-in mice recovered faster following a higher dose (2.5 g/kg). In the elevated zero maze, knock-in mice had a blunted anxiolytic response to ethanol (1.25 g/kg) as compared to wild-type animals. No differences were noted between wild-type and knock-in mice for ethanol-induced loss of righting reflex, sleep time, hypothermia or ethanol metabolism. Knock-in mice consumed less ethanol than wild-type mice during daily limited-access sessions but drank more in an intermittent 24 h access paradigm with no change in taste reactivity or conditioned taste aversion. Overall, these data support the hypothesis that NMDA receptors are important in regulating a specific constellation of effects following exposure to ethanol. © 2013 den Hartog et al