bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Smaller pituitary volume in adult patients with obsessive–compulsive disorder
Authors: Atmaca Murad , Yildirim Hanefi , Ozler Sinan , Koc Mustafa , Kara Bilge , Sec Semih 
Published: May 2009

Aims:  Another structure in the obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) circuit may be the pituitary gland because of the fact that limbic–hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (LHPA) axis abnormality has been reported in patients with OCD. There has been only one prior study, however, concerning pituitary volumetry, in which the sample was a pediatric group. The purpose of the present study was therefore to investigate this in an adult OCD patient group using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).Methods:  Pituitary volume was measured in 23 OCD patients and the same number of healthy control subjects. Volumetric measurements were made on T1‐weighted coronal MRI, with 2.40‐mm‐thick slices, at 1.5 T, and were done blindly.Results:  A statistically significantly smaller pituitary volume was found in OCD patients compared to healthy controls (age and intracranial volume as covariates). With regard to gender and diagnosis, there was a significant difference in pituitary gland volume (F = 4.18, P < 0.05). In addition, post‐hoc analysis indicated near‐significant difference in men with OCD as compared with women with OCD (P = 0.07) and significant difference between control men and control women (F = 10.96, P < 0.001).Conclusions:  Taking into consideration that the prior study found decreases in pituitary volume in pediatric patients with OCD as compared with healthy control subjects, future large MRI studies should investigate pituitary size longitudinally, with a careful characterization of hypothalamo‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA) function in conjunction with anatomic MRI evaluation.
Autonomic nervous system activity and psychiatric severity in schizophrenia
Authors: Fujibayashi Mami , Matsumoto Tamaki , Kishida Ikuko , Kimura Tetsuya , Ishii Chie , Ishii Norio , Moritani Toshio 
Published: May 2009

Aims:  Schizophrenia patients have a mortality rate two to three‐fold higher than that of the general population. Despite the disorder's widespread recognition, how and to what extent autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity contributes to schizophrenia remains inconclusive. The aim of the present study, therefore, was to determine the extent of ANS activity depression with respect to healthy, well‐matched control subjects and the severity of psychiatric disorders as determined using the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale among schizophrenia patients with special reference to antipsychotic dose.Methods:  This study included 71 schizophrenia patients and 72 healthy controls. ANS activity was assessed by means of heart rate variability power spectral analysis.Results:  ANS‐related spectral parameters were three–four‐fold lower in the patients compared to the control group (P < 0.01). Furthermore, when the patients without cardiovascular complications were classified according to GAF score, overall ANS (P = 0.033) and parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) activity (P = 0.025) were significantly reduced in the low‐GAF as compared to the high‐GAF group. Partial correlation analyses demonstrated that ANS activity was significantly correlated with GAF score while statistically eliminating the effects of age, gender, body mass index, antipsychotic dose, and lipid profiles of the patient population.Conclusion:  The significantly lower ANS activity in the low‐GAF group suggests that such autonomic functional depression could be associated with the severity of schizophrenia. The present data further imply that schizophrenia patients with more depressed overall ANS and PNS activity might encounter increasing risks for cardiovascular events such as sudden death.
Measuring quality of life in Japanese children: Development of the Japanese version of PedsQL
Authors: Kobayashi Kyoko , Kamibeppu Kiyoko 
Published: May 2009

AbstractBackground:  Health‐related quality of life (HRQL) is perceived as an important health‐care outcome. There are several systems for measuring the HRQL in adults but there are few such systems for children in Japan. Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) is valid and demonstrates excellent reliability in the USA, Europe, and Asian countries. The aim of the present study was therefore to develop the Japanese version of PedsQL.Methods:  A two‐step procedure was performed: translation of PedsQL, followed by examination of the psychometric properties in a cross‐sectional study. The feasibility, reproducibility, internal consistency reliability, factor structure, and concurrent and clinical validity were examined.Results:  The internal consistency reliability of the Child Self‐Reports of young children was slightly low, but that of the Child Self‐Reports of school children and adolescents was good. Further, all the Parent Proxy‐Reports had excellent alphas. The Japanese version had satisfactory feasibility for all age ranges. The intercorrelation of subscales supported the multidimensional factor structure. Clinical validity was examined by analysis of variance performed for four groups with different health conditions (healthy, chronic needs only, mental condition only, and chronic needs and mental condition). The scores of each functioning scale differed among the four groups, with the healthy group having the highest scores for all functioning scales.Conclusions:  The Japanese version of PedsQL can be applied in community and school health settings in Japan. Because children with chronic health needs and mental conditions were included, the Japanese version of PedsQL is expected to be useful in clinical settings.
An osmosensitive voltage‐gated K+current in rat supraoptic neurons
Authors: Zhang Wenbo , Wang Daoyi , Liu Xiao‐Hong , Kosala W.R.A. , Rajapaksha J.S. , Fisher Thomas E. 
Published: May 2009

AbstractThe magnocellular neurosecretory cells of the hypothalamus (MNCs) regulate their electrical behaviour as a function of external osmolality through changes in the activity of osmosensitive ion channels. We now present evidence that the MNCs express an osmosensitive voltage‐gated K+current (the OKC). Whole‐cell patch‐clamp experiments on acutely isolated MNCs were used to show that increases in the external osmolality from 295 to 325 mosmol/kg cause an increase in a slow, tetraethylammonium‐insensitive outward current. The equilibrium potential for this current is close to the predicted EKin two different concentrations of external K+. The OKC is sensitive to block by Ba2+(0.3 mm), and by the M‐type K+current blockers linopirdine (150 μm) and XE991 (5 μm), and to enhancement by retigabine (10 μm), which increases opening of M‐type K+channels. The OKC is suppressed by muscarine (30 μm) and is decreased by the L‐type Ca2+channel blocker nifedipine (10 μm), but not by apamin (100 nm), which blocks SK‐type Ca2+‐dependent K+currents. Reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction and immunocytochemical data suggest that MNCs express several members of the KV7 (KCNQ) family of K+channels, including KV7.2, 7.3, 7.4 and 7.5. Extracellular recordings of individual MNCs in a hypothalamic explant preparation demonstrated that an XE991‐ and retigabine‐sensitive current contribute to the regulation of MNC firing. Our data suggest that the MNCs express an osmosensitive K+current that could contribute to the regulation of MNC firing by external osmolality and that could be mediated by KV7/M‐type K+channels.
Double‐tagged fluorescent bacterial bioreporter for the study of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon diffusion and bioavailability
Authors: Tecon Robin , Binggeli Olivier , Van Der Meer Jan R. 
Published: May 2009

SummaryBacterial degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), ubiquitous contaminants from oil and coal, is typically limited by poor accessibility of the contaminant to the bacteria. In order to measure PAH availability in complex systems, we designed a number of diffusion‐based assays with a double‐tagged bacterial reporter strain Burkholderia sartisoli RP037‐mChe. The reporter strain is capable of mineralizing phenanthrene (PHE) and induces the expression of enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) as a function of the PAH flux to the cell. At the same time, it produces a second autofluorescent protein (mCherry) in constitutive manner. Quantitative epifluorescence imaging was deployed in order to record reporter signals as a function of PAH availability. The reporter strain expressed eGFP proportionally to dosages of naphthalene or PHE in batch liquid cultures. To detect PAH diffusion from solid materials the reporter cells were embedded in 2 cm‐sized agarose gel patches, and fluorescence was recorded over time for both markers as a function of distance to the PAH source. eGFP fluorescence gradients measured on known amounts of naphthalene or PHE served as calibration for quantifying PAH availability from contaminated soils. To detect reporter gene expression at even smaller diffusion distances, we mixed and immobilized cells with contaminated soils in an agarose gel. eGFP fluorescence measurements confirmed gel patch diffusion results that exposure to 2–3 mg lampblack soil gave four times higher expression than to material contaminated with 10 or 1 (mg PHE) g−1.
The HEALTHGRAIN programme opens new opportunities for improving wheat for nutrition and health
Authors: Shewry P. R. 
Published: May 2009

SummaryThe health benefits of wholegrain cereal products are now widely recognised and considered to result from the presence of a range of bioactive components, including dietary fibre and phytochemicals. However, little is known about the extent to which the amounts and compositions of these components vary between types of wheat and whether this can be exploited to produce new types of wheat with enhanced health benefits. This topic is the focus of Module 2 of the EU FP6 HEALTHGRAIN programme, which has carried out a diversity screen of the amounts and compositions of dietary fibre and phytochemical components in 150 wheat lines. Substantial variation in all components was demonstrated with differences in the concentrations of phytochemicals in wholemeal ranging from 1.4‐fold for tocols up to 3.6‐fold for phenolic acids. Similarly, the concentrations of dietary fibre components differed by up to 4.7 fold, for water‐extractable arabinoxylans in flour. Furthermore, multi‐site trials of a smaller number of varieties showed that much of this variation is genetically determined, although environmental effects were also observed.This study shows that it is possible to select for high levels for bioactive components in wheat breeding programmes leading to a new generation of “healthy” wheat varieties.
CYP2B6 G516T genotyping in a UK cohort of HIV‐positive patients: polymorphism frequency and influence on efavirenz discontinuation
Authors: Powers V , Ward J , Gompels M 
Published: May 2009

ObjectivesThe nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) efavirenz undergoes phase I metabolism by the cytochrome P450 enzyme, CYP2B6. Previous studies outside of the United Kingdom have shown associations between the CYP2B6 polymorphism G516T and increased toxicity. This study aimed to develop a CYP2B6 G516T genotyping assay to identify individuals at risk of efavirenz toxicity. The frequency of this polymorphism in a UK HIV‐infected population and its prevalence in individuals who had discontinued efavirenz were also to be assessed.MethodsGenomic DNA from HIV‐positive patients (n=206) attending clinic at Southmead Hospital, North Bristol NHS Trust was extracted from spare blood taken for CD4 monitoring. An allele‐specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method for the CYP2B6 G516T polymorphism was used to assign patients' genotypes. Patients' age, sex, ethnicity and drug history were also recorded.ResultsThe G516T polymorphism was more prevalent in Blacks (16%; n=10/63) than Caucasians (6%; n=9/143). No significant difference in the distribution of genotypes between individuals who had discontinued efavirenz (n=31) and individuals who had continued efavirenz (n=74) was observed (χ2; P=0.63).ConclusionsA genotyping method for the CYP2B6 G516T method was used to assess the polymorphism frequency in a UK cohort of HIV‐infected patients. The polymorphism was not more prevalent in individuals who had discontinued efavirenz. Reasons for drug discontinuation are likely to be multifactorial and as this study showed cannot be explained by this genetic difference alone. For this reason we do not advocate testing for this polymorphism in routine clinical practice at present.
Lack of interferon‐beta bioactivity is associated with the occurrence of relapses in multiple sclerosis
Authors: Van Der Voort L. F. , Visser A. , Knol D. L. , Oudejans C. B. M. , Polman C. H. , Killestein J. 
Published: May 2009

Background:  Treatment failure to Interferon‐beta (IFNβ) in multiple sclerosis (MS) can only partly be explained by anti‐IFNβ neutralising antibodies (NAb). Myxovirus resistance protein A (MxA) mRNA, reflecting IFNβ bioactivity, is studied as an alternative biomarker for IFNβ therapy response. Although absent IFNβ bioactivity is associated with NAb and NAb are associated with reduced drug efficacy, the direct relationship between IFNβ bioactivity and clinical disease activity is largely unknown.Methods:  We enrolled 126 consecutive relapsing‐remitting MS patients on IFNβ treatment. MxA mRNA expression was assessed 4 h after IFNβ injection. Biological response status was determined after 3 months, by combined measurement of MxA mRNA expression and induction (MxA mRNA expression after/before IFNβ injection). Patients were considered biological non‐responders when both MxA mRNA expression and MxA mRNA induction were negative.Results:  Biological non‐responders showed a significantly higher annualised relapse rate and smaller proportion relapse‐free patients compared with biological responders (relapse rate 0.81 vs. 0.37; proportion relapse free 37% vs. 67%).Conclusions:  Our results suggest that a lack of IFNβ bioactivity is associated with the occurrence of relapses and therefore can be useful as a biomarker for unresponsiveness to IFNβ.
Cognitive deficits in multiple system atrophy correlate with frontal atrophy and disease duration
Authors: Chang C. C. , Chang Y. Y. , Chang W. N. , Lee Y. C. , Wang Y. L. , Lui C. C. , Huang C. W. , Liu W. L. 
Published: May 2009

Background and purpose:  Dementia remains an exclusion criterion in diagnosing multiple system atrophy (MSA). This study aimed to determine the cognitive changes and brain atrophy patterns in the Parkinsonian (MSA‐P) and cerebellar (MSA‐C) variants of MSA.Methods:  Voxel‐based morphometry (VBM) of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and neuro‐psychological tests were applied to 10 MSA‐C and 13 MSA‐P patients, and compared to 37 age‐matched controls. Correlation analyses were performed between cognitive test results and morphometric data extracted from the VBM data.Results:  In neuro‐psychological testing, the 23 MSA patients scored lower in the Stroop interference test and took longer in the trail‐making test as compared with the controls, whereas MSA‐C performed worse than MSA‐P in the memory scores, Stroop test, and time to complete the trail‐making test. MSA, as a group, showed atrophy in the cerebellum, insular cortex, fusiform gyrus, inferior orbito‐frontal gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, and caudate nucleus. Memory scores correlated well with pre‐frontal lobe atrophy but not in the insular area.Conclusion:  In conclusion, although dementia is not a typical presenting feature of MSA and is regarded as a sub‐cortical movement disorder, frontal atrophy, cognitive changes, and dementia are identifiable as MSA progresses.
Quantitative muscle ultrasound in neuromuscular disorders using the parameters ‘intensity’, ‘entropy’, and ‘fractal dimension’
Authors: Gdynia H.‐J. , Müller H.‐P. , Ludolph A. C. , Köninger H. , Huber R. 
Published: May 2009

Background and purpose:  Ultrasound is a useful non‐invasive instrument in visualizing physiological and pathological morphology in skeletal muscle. Here, we evaluate the possibility that quantitative muscle ultrasound using the parameters ‘intensity’, ‘entropy’, and ‘fractal dimension’ is a feasible method to distinguish between dystrophic myopathies (DM), inflammatory myopathies (IM), and motor neuron disorders.Methods:  Seven patients with IM, 12 patients with DM, nine patients with motor neuron diseases, and 24 healthy subjects underwent an identical ultrasound examination protocol, applied on gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior muscle. Analysis parameters were applied on grey scale images as well as on gradient images.Results:  Statistical evaluation revealed no significant differences in the evaluated parameters for differentiation of the distinct disease groups. Compared with healthy controls however we found statistically significant differences between almost of all the investigated parameters, even in disease cases with clinically unaffected distal musculature.Conclusion:  The parameters are able to distinguish between healthy and affected musculature but not between distinct disease entities. Studies are needed to establish whether or not the parameters are helpful to monitor muscle involvement and disease progression in neuromuscular diseases.
Configuration of the setal fields ofRhoptropus(Gekkota: Gekkonidae): functional, evolutionary, ecological and phylogenetic implications of observed pattern
Authors: Johnson Megan K. , Russell Anthony P. 
Published: May 2009

SummaryMany gekkotans possess seta‐bearing adhesive subdigital pads. Details of setal structure, however, are largely based upon putatively exemplary fibrils deemed typical of the species. Little is known of the pattern of configuration of the setae across the subdigital pads and how great, if any, the variance in structure and dimensions is. To understand setal fields as functional entities, as opposed to individual setae, it is necessary to consider this pattern. Additionally, gekkotans within individual radiations occupy different environments and potentially are substrate‐specific in terms of the locomotor surface exploited. To investigate these issues, we herein examine the configuration and dimensions of seven species of the gekkotan genusRhoptropus, and an outgroup taxon,Chondrodactylus bibronii. All of these taxa are rupicolous and the array of rock surfaces exploited by this cluster of taxa is extensive. Our results show that setal field configuration follows a predictable pattern, both from one digit to another within a species, and between homologous digits and anatomical locations between species. One species,Rhoptropus afer, a more terrestrial taxon, exhibits significantly shorter setae and a smaller subdigital pad area than do its congeners, but exhibits the same overall pattern of setal arrangement. Our findings have implications for the understanding of the evolution of adhesive structures, and for the principles used for generating and manufacturing biomimetic artificial microfibrillar arrays.
A microstructural investigation of intervertebral disc lamellar connectivity: detailed analysis of the translamellar bridges
Authors: Schollum Meredith L. , Robertson Peter A. , Broom Neil D. 
Published: May 2009

AbstractLittle is known about the complex forces acting on the deformable multi‐layered annulus at a microstructural level as the spine is compressed, flexed and twisted. The recently described translamellar bridging network radially linking many lamellae at discrete locations around the disc wall could be expected to play a significant biomechanical role. In this study, segments of annular wall that were sectioned at a range of angles (oblique, in‐plane, sagittal and transverse) were examined using differential interference contrast microscopy to fully elucidate the fibrous detail of the translamellar bridging structures. Typically encompassing a width of 300–600 µm, translamellar bridging fibres proceed radially in the interbundle space within an individual lamella. Upon traversing the lamella, the bulk of these radial fibres bend through 90° to merge with the fibres of the adjacent lamellae. The central fibres of this bridging system continue into the equivalent bridging structures in the adjacent lamellae. As well as exposing structural details that underpin the biomechanical properties of the disc wall, this study has also exposed the limitations of using standard section planes commonly employed by disc researchers.
Myelin basic protein‐positive nerve fibres in human Meissner corpuscles
Authors: García‐Suárez O. , Montaño J. A. , Esteban I. , González‐Martínez T. , Alvarez‐Abad C. , López‐Arranz E. , Cobo J. , Vega J. A. 
Published: May 2009

AbstractMyelinated nerve fibres forming sensory corpuscles become amyelinic before entering the corpuscle. Interestingly, in Meissner corpuscles from monkey myelin basic protein (MBP), a specific component of myelin sheath co‐localized with neuronal markers. To investigate whether or not this also occurs in human digital Meissner corpuscles, we used single and double immunohistochemistry to detect MBP associated with axonic (protein gene product (PGP) 9.5) or Schwann and Schwann‐related cell (S100 protein) markers. We also studied these markers in Pacinian corpuscles. Nerve fibres immunoreactive for MBP were detected in about 25% of the Meissner corpuscles examined; however, MBP never co‐localized with PGP 9.5 and MBP occasionally co‐localized with S100 protein. MBP‐immunoreactive fibres associated with Meissner corpuscles were observed at the periphery of the lamellar cells or within the corpuscle between the lamellar cells. These results describe the distribution of myelinated nerve fibres expressing MBP in human Meissner corpuscles, which is important when studying Meissner corpuscles in cutaneous biopsies used for the diagnosis of peripheral and degenerative neuropathies.
Three‐dimensional morphometric analysis of brain shape in nonsyndromic orofacial clefting
Authors: Weinberg Seth M. , Andreasen Nancy C. , Nopoulos Peg 
Published: May 2009

AbstractPrevious studies report structural brain differences in individuals with nonsyndromic orofacial clefts (NSOFC) compared with healthy controls. These changes involve non‐uniform shifts in tissue volume within the cerebral cortex and cerebellum, suggesting that the shape of the brain may be altered in cleft‐affected individuals. To test this hypothesis, a landmark‐based morphometric approach was utilized to quantify and compare brain shape in a sample of 31 adult males with cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL/P), 14 adult males with cleft palate only (CPO) and 41 matched healthy controls. Fifteen midline and surface landmarks were collected from MRI brain scans and the resulting 3D coordinates were subjected to statistical shape analysis. First, a geometric morphometric analysis was performed in three steps: Procrustes superimposition of raw landmark coordinates, omnibus testing for group difference in shape, followed by canonical variates analysis (CVA) of shape coordinates. Secondly, Euclidean distance matrix analysis (EDMA) was carried out on scaled inter‐landmark distances to identify localized shape differences throughout the brain. The geometric morphometric analysis revealed significant differences in brain shape among all three groups (P < 0.001). From CVA, the major brain shape changes associated with clefting included selective enlargement of the anterior cerebrum coupled with a relative reduction in posterior and/or inferior cerebral portions, changes in the medio‐lateral position of the cerebral poles, posterior displacement of the corpus callosum, and reorientation of the cerebellum. EDMA revealed largely similar brain shape changes. Thus, compared with controls, major brain shape differences were present in adult males with CL/P and CPO. These results both confirm and expand previous findings from traditional volumetric studies of the brain in clefting and provide further evidence that the neuroanatomical phenotype in individuals with NSOFC is a primary manifestation of the defect and not a secondarily acquired characteristic.