DNA damage and plasma homocysteine levels are associated with serum metabolites and mineral constituents’ profiles in children with persistent diarrhea

This study describes the association between levels of DNA damage and homocysteine (Hcy) in persistent diarrheic (PD) patients and correlates them with serum biochemical metabolites and mineral components. PD patients (n = 36) age 4 - 6 years from Faisalabad hospitals were examined for anthropometric factors, plasma biochemical and mineral constituents. Compared to 36 normal controls, children with PD had significantly higher concentrations of LDL (p = 0.0001), ALT (p = 0.01),homocysteine (p = 0.001), TOS (p = 0.0001), TBARS (p = 0.001), K (p = 0.0001) and Mg (p = 0.0001) while serum triglyceride, total proteins, albumin, globulin, T3, T4, TAS, Na, Ca, Zn and Cu were significantlylower than those of healthy individuals. Both DNA damage and Hcy were positively linked with LDLcholesterol, TBARS and K (all p values < 0.05). Both Hcy profile and percentage DNA damage in PD patients may impart role in the endothelium damage even in the normal range. PD patients have severe deficiency of macro- and micro-nutrients which may have resulted in enhancement of oxidative stress, DNA damage and Hcy levels in patients’ plasma. Appropriate supplementation of macro- and micronutrients may decrease the DNA damage, Hcy levels and enhance the levels of health markers and decrease the mortality rate of PD patients

Evidence-based teaching in contact lenses education: Teaching and learning strategies

Contact lens (CL) practice is an ever-changing field with clinical knowledge, techniques and equipment continuously evolving. These new developments are backed with clinical trials and research to ensure that practitioners feel confident that there is an evidence base to support these advances. Evidence-based practice is now a crucial part of CL practice, and its importance also filters down to CL education. For example, lectures are one of the most popular tools for an educator but, is standing at the front of a lecture theatre full of students a more effective way of teaching than providing the same material for students to read by themselves? What evidence exists specific to CL education

Menopausal Status Modifies Breast Cancer Risk Associated with the Myeloperoxidase (MPO) G463A Polymorphism in Caucasian Women: A Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer susceptibility may be modulated partly through polymorphisms in oxidative enzymes, one of which is myeloperoxidase (MPO). Association of the low transcription activity variant allele A in the G463A polymorphism has been investigated for its association with breast cancer risk, considering the modifying effects of menopausal status and antioxidant intake levels of cases and controls. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To obtain a more precise estimate of association using the odds ratio (OR), we performed a meta-analysis of 2,975 cases and 3,427 controls from three published articles of Caucasian populations living in the United States. Heterogeneity among studies was tested and sensitivity analysis was applied. The lower transcriptional activity AA genotype of MPO in the pre-menopausal population showed significantly reduced risk (OR 0.56-0.57, p = 0.03) in contrast to their post-menopausal counterparts which showed non-significant increased risk (OR 1.14; p = 0.34-0.36). High intake of antioxidants (OR 0.67-0.86, p = 0.04-0.05) and carotenoids (OR 0.68-0.86, p = 0.03-0.05) conferred significant protection in the women. Stratified by menopausal status, this effect was observed in pre-menopausal women especially those whose antioxidant intake was high (OR 0.42-0.69, p = 0.04). In post-menopausal women, effect of low intake elicited susceptibility (OR 1.19-1.67, p = 0.07-0.17) to breast cancer. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Based on a homogeneous Caucasian population, the MPO G463A polymorphism places post-menopausal women at risk for breast cancer, where this effect is modified by diet

Head Circumference of Infants Born to Mothers with Different Educational Levels; The Generation R Study

Objective: Head circumference (HC) reflect growth and development of the brain in early childhood. It is unknown whether socioeconomic differences in HC are present in early childhood. Therefore, we investigated the association between socioeconomic position (SEP) and HC in early childhood, and potential underlying factors. Methods: The study focused on Dutch children born between April 2002 and January 2006 who participated in The Generation R Study, a population-based prospective cohort study in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Maternal educational level was used as indicator of SEP. HC measures were concentrated around 1, 3, 6 and 11 months. Associations and explanatory factors were investigated using linear regression analysis, adjusted for potential mediators. Results: The study included 3383 children. At 1, 3 and 6 months of age, children of mothers with a low education had a smaller HC than those with a high education (difference at 1 month: -0.42 SD; 95% CI: -0.54,-0.30; at 3 months: -0.27 SD; 95% CI -0.40,-0.15; and at 6 months: -0.13 SD; 95% CI -0.24,-0.02). Child's length and weight could only partially explain the smaller HC at 1 and 3 months of age. At 6 months, birth weight, gestational age and parental height explained the HC differences. At 11 months, no HC differences were found. Conclusion: Educational inequalities in HC in the first 6 months of life can be mainly explained by pregnancy-related factors, such as birth weight and gestational age. These findings further support public health policies to prevent negative birth outcomes in lower socioeconomic groups

Albumin and multiple sclerosis

A grant from the One-University Open Access Fund at the University of Kansas was used to defray the author's publication fees in this Open Access journal. The Open Access Fund, administered by librarians from the KU, KU Law, and KUMC libraries, is made possible by contributions from the offices of KU Provost, KU Vice Chancellor for Research & Graduate Studies, and KUMC Vice Chancellor for Research. For more information about the Open Access Fund, please see http://library.kumc.edu/authors-fund.xml.Leakage of the blood–brain barrier (BBB) is a common pathological feature in multiple sclerosis (MS). Following a breach of the BBB, albumin, the most abundant protein in plasma, gains access to CNS tissue where it is exposed to an inflammatory milieu and tissue damage, e.g., demyelination. Once in the CNS, albumin can participate in protective mechanisms. For example, due to its high concentration and molecular properties, albumin becomes a target for oxidation and nitration reactions. Furthermore, albumin binds metals and heme thereby limiting their ability to produce reactive oxygen and reactive nitrogen species. Albumin also has the potential to worsen disease. Similar to pathogenic processes that occur during epilepsy, extravasated albumin could induce the expression of proinflammatory cytokines and affect the ability of astrocytes to maintain potassium homeostasis thereby possibly making neurons more vulnerable to glutamate exicitotoxicity, which is thought to be a pathogenic mechanism in MS. The albumin quotient, albumin in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)/albumin in serum, is used as a measure of blood-CSF barrier dysfunction in MS, but it may be inaccurate since albumin levels in the CSF can be influenced by multiple factors including: 1) albumin becomes proteolytically cleaved during disease, 2) extravasated albumin is taken up by macrophages, microglia, and astrocytes, and 3) the location of BBB damage affects the entry of extravasated albumin into ventricular CSF. A discussion of the roles that albumin performs during MS is put forth