Amygdala hyperactivation in untreated depressed individuals

The amygdala participates in the detection and control of affective states, and has been proposed to be a site of dysfunction in affective disorders. To assess amygdala processing in individuals with unipolar depression, we applied a functional MRI (fMRI) paradigm previously shown to be sensitive to amygdala function. Fourteen individuals with untreated DSM-IV major depression and 15 healthy subjects were studied using fMRI with a standardized emotion face recognition task. Voxel-level data sets were subjected to a multiple-regression analysis, and functionally defined regions of interest (ROI), including bilateral amygdala, were analyzed with MANOVA. Pearson correlation coefficients between amygdala activation and HAM-D score also were performed. While both depressed and healthy groups showed increased amygdala activity when viewing emotive faces compared to geometric shapes, patients with unipolar depression showed relatively more activity than healthy subjects, particularly on the left. Positive Pearson correlations between amygdala activation and HAM-D score were found for both left and right ROIs in the patient group. This study provides in vivo imaging evidence to support the hypothesis of abnormal amygdala functioning in depressed individuals. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

A double-blind, placebo-controlled treatment trial of citalopram for major depressive disorder in older patients with heart failure: The relevance of the placebo effect and psychological symptoms

Background: Little is known about the treatment of depression in older patients with heart failure. This Study was developed to investigate the effectiveness of antidepressant treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD) in the elderly with heart failure. Methods: We enrolled 72 older outpatients with ejection fraction < 50 and diagnosed with MDD by the structured clinical interview for DSM-IV. Thirty-seven patients, 19 on citalopram and 18 on placebo, initiated an 8-week double-blind treatment phase. Measurements were performed with the 31-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (Ham-D-31), the Montgomery-Asberg rating scale (MADRS) and the Systematic Assessment for Treatment Emergent Effects (SAFTEE). A psychiatrist followed up the patients weekly, performing a consultation for about 20 min to field complaints after the measurements. Results: A trend toward superiority of citalopram over placebo in reducing depression was observed in MADRS scores (15.05 + 9.74 vs 9.44 + 9.25, P = .082) but not on HAM-D scores. The depressive symptomatology significantly decreased in both groups (P < .001). The high rate of placebo response during the double-blind phase (56.3%) led us to conclude the study at the interim analysis with 37 patients. Conclusion: Citalopram treatment of MDD in older patients with heart failure is well-tolerated with low rates of side effects, but was not significantly more effective than placebo in the treatment of depression. Weekly psychiatric follow-up including counseling may contribute to the improvement of depression in this population. Scales weighted on psychological symptoms such as the MADRS are possibly better suited to measure depression severity and improvement in patients with heart failure. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

DC-SIGN (CD209) gene promoter polymorphisms in a Brazilian population and their association with human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 infection

This study evaluated four polymorphisms located in the DC-SIGN (CD209) gene promoter region (positions -336, -332 -201 and -139) in DNA samples from four Brazilian ethnic groups (Caucasians, Afro-Brazilian, Asians and Amerindians) to establish the population distribution of these single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and correlated DC-SIGN polymorphisms and infection in samples from human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1)-infected individuals. To identify CD209 SNPs, 452 bp of the CD209 promoter region were sequenced and the genotype and allelic frequencies were evaluated. This is the first study to show genetic polymorphism in the CD209 gene in distinct Brazilian ethnic groups with the distribution of allelic and genotypic frequency. The results showed that -336A and -139A SNPs were quite common in Asians and that the -201T allele was not observed in Caucasians, Asians or Amerindians. No significant differences were observed between individuals with HTLV-1 disease and asymptomatic patients. However, the -336A variant was more frequent in HTLV-1 -infected patients [HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP), 80%; healthy asymptomatic HTLV-1 carriers, 90 %] than in the control group (70 %) [P=0.0197, odds ratio (OR)=2.511, 95 % confidence interval (CI)=1.218-5.179). In addition, the -139A allele was found to be associated with protection against HTLV-1 infection (P=0.0037, OR=0.3758, 95% CI=0.1954-0.7229) when the HTLV-1 -infected patients as a whole were compared with the healthy-control group. These observations suggest that the -139A allele may be associated with HTLV-1 infection, although no significant association was observed among asymptomatic and HAM/TSP patients. In conclusion, the variation observed in SNPs -336 and -139 indicates that this lectin may be of crucial importance in the susceptibility/transmission of HTLV-1 infections.

Inhibition of Expression of HTLV-1 Structural Genes Mediated by Short Hairpin RNA In Vitro

Background: Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 (HTLV-1) is associated with the T-cell malignancy known as adult T-cell leukemia! lymphoma (ATLL) and with a disorder called HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). Currently, the treatment of these diseases is based on symptom relief. RNA interference (RNAi) technology has been described as an efficient mechanism for development of new therapeutic methods. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the inhibition of HTLV-1 structural proteins using short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) expressed by non-viral vectors. Materials and Methods: Reporter plasmids that express enhanced green fluorescent protein-Gag (EGFP-Gag) and EGFP-Env fusion proteins and vectors that express shRNAs corresponding to the HTLV-1 gag and env genes were constructed. shRNA vectors and reporter plasmids were simultaneously transfected into HEK 293 cells. Results: Fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry and real-time PCR showed that shRNAs were effective in inhibiting the fusion proteins. Conclusion: These shRNAs are effective against the expression of structural genes and may provide an approach to the development of new therapeutic agents.

Performance of a chromogenic medium for the isolation of Listeria monocytogenes in food

According to the producers, CHROMagar (TM) Listeria medium comes to facilitate the detection, differentiating Listeria monocytogenes from the other species, directly on the isolation process, allowing final results in 72 h, while the traditional method takes up to 10 days. A total of 120 food samples of sliced cooked ham, ground beef and frankfurters was analyzed. From 151 colonies presenting typical L. monocytogenes characteristics on CHROMagar (TM) Listeria (bluish, surrounded by a white halo), only 95 (62.9%) were confirmed as L. monocytogenes. The medium was highly sensitive to detect L. monocytogenes in ground beef and frankfurter, but not in sliced ham. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Oral manifestations of human T-cell lymphotropic virus infection in adult patients from Brazil

Objective: Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) was the first human retrovirus discovered and its pathogenesis is related to T cells infection. This study aimed to verify the presence of oral manifestations in a Brazilian population of patients who was seropositive for HTLV, and identify risk factors for oral manifestations. Subjects and methods: An assessment was made of 139 patients at the Emilio Ribas Institute of Infectious Diseases. Results: A total of 112 (80.5%) patients were HTLV-1, 26 (18.7%) were HTLV-2+. About 35.2% of patients had myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP), with 48 of them being HTLV-1+ and one patient was seropositive for HTLV-1 and -2. The most common oral manifestations were: xerostomia (26.8%), candidiasis (20.8%), fissured tongue (17.9%), and loss of tongue papillae (10.0%). A multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that HAM/TSP is an independent risk factor for xerostomia (P = 0.02). The patients who were HAM/TSP+ were three times more likely to develop xerostomia when compared with patients without HAM/TSP (odds ratio = 2.69, 95% confidence interval = 1.17-6.17). Conclusion: Despite the fact that the findings of this study suggest a relationship between xerostomia and HAM/TSP, more studies should be developed to show what the association would be between xerostomia presented by HTLV patients and pathogenesis of the virus.

Macropodid herpesvirus 1 encodes genes for both thymidylate synthase and ICP34.5

Macropodid herpesvirus 1 (MaHV-1) is an unclassified alphaherpesvirus linked with the fatal infections of kangaroos and other marsupials. During the characterisation of the internal repeat region of MaHV-1, an open reading frame (ORF) encoding for thymidylate synthase (TS) gene was identified and completely sequenced. Southern blot analysis confirmed the presence of two copies of the TS gene in the MaHV-1 genome as expected. Computer analysis of the TS ORF showed it was 948 nucleotides in length. A putative polyadenylation signal was identified 17-22 bp inside the ORF implying a minimal or absent 3' untranslated region. The predicted polypeptide was 316 amino acid residues in length and contained the highly conserved motifs for folate binding and F-dUMP binding, typical of all TS enzymes. Interestingly, MaHV-1 TS polypeptide had highest similarity to the human TS polypeptide (81%) compared to the TS polypeptides of other herpesviruses (72-75%). Immediately upstream of the TS gene, a second ORF of 510 bp, encoding a polypeptide with 170 amino acid residues, was identified. The carboxyl domain of this MaHV-1 polypeptide shared 68% similarity to a 59 amino acid motif of human herpesvirus 1 ICP34.5, identifying it as the MaHV-1 ICP34.5 homologue. This is the first report of a herpesvirus that encodes for both TS and ICP34.5.

Trichostome ciliates from Australian marsupials. II. Polycosta gen. nov (Litostomatea : Polycostidae fam. nov.)

A new family, Polycostidae, containing one new genus, Polycosta, of ciliates endwocommensal in the stomachs of macropodid marsupials is described. Four new species, A roundi, P. turniae, A sebastopolensis and P. parma are described from Wallabia bicolor, Macropus dorsalis, Petrogale herberti and M. eugenii, respectively. Polycosta is holotrichous with slightly spiral meridional kineties arranged between broad interkinetal ridges. The ultrastructure of one representative species displays the knitted together pattern of postciliary microtubules and kinetodesmata of somatic kinetids common in trichostomes and the interkinetal ridges are dominated by layers of dark bodies but lack ectoplasmic hydrogenosomes. The vestibulum is conical and its aperture appears capable of closing tightly in most species; vesibular kineties are continuations of the right somatic kineties into the vestibulum. There is a prominent phago-plasm delimited internally by a basket of nematodesmata derived from electron dense plates at the bases of kinetosomes the anterior somatic and vestibular kineties. There is a prominent cytoproct which is situated within an invagination of the cell in some species. Polycosta is similar to Amylovorax in terms of gross morphology, somatic ciliature and cortical ultrastructure. The vestibular ultrastructure, however, is more similar to that of Macropodinium. The affinities of the group are thus not clear and this unique combination of characters supports the erection of a new family.

Making distance learning E.R.O.T.I.C.: Applying interpretation principles to distance learning

Distance learners are self-directed learners traditionally taught via study books, collections of readings, and exercises to test understanding of learning packages. Despite advances in e-Learning environments and computer-based teaching interfaces, distance learners still lack opportunities to participate in exercises and debates available to classroom learners, particularly through non-text based learning techniques. Effective distance teaching requires flexible learning opportunities. Using arguments developed in interpretation literature, we argue that effective distance learning must also be Entertaining, Relevant, Organised, Thematic, Involving and Creative—E.R.O.T.I.C. (after Ham, 1992). We discuss an experiment undertaken with distance learners at The University of Queensland Gatton Campus, where we initiated an E.R.O.T.I.C. external teaching package aimed at engaging distance learners but using multimedia, including but not limited to text-based learning tools. Student responses to non-text media were positive.

Effect of a sardine supplement on C-reactive protein in patients receiving hemodialysis

Objective - The study evaluated the effect of a canned sardine supplement in C-reactive protein (CRP) in patients on hemodialysis (HD) and the compliance and adherence to this supplement. Design - This was a quasi-experimental study: Participants with a serum CRP of 5 mg/dL or less volunteered to consume a sardine supplement or were maintained on the usual cheese/ham sandwich supplement. Setting - The study took place in two outpatient dialysis units in Lisbon, Portugal. Patients - The study comprised 63 patients receiving maintenance HD three times per week for at least 6 months and an initial CRP concentration of 5 mg/dL or less. Exclusion criteria included the presence of graft vascular access or history of cancer. Intervention - After a 4-week washout period, the nutritional intervention included a canned sardine sandwich for the case group (n = 31) and a cheese or ham sandwich for the control group (n = 32), to be ingested during each routine HD session, 3 times per week, for 8 weeks. Main outcome measure - Serum levels of high-sensitivity CRP were the outcome measure. Results - Only 65 patients from the invited 186 patients met the inclusion criteria and agreed to eat the sardine sandwich supplement three times per week and were involved in the study. A significant proportion of 48% (n = 31, case group) consumed the sardine sandwich supplement three times per week for 8 weeks, fulfilling the requirements and completing the study. The present investigation showed that a sardine sandwich supplement had no effect on CRP levels among patients on HD. However, when participants were stratified according to tertiles of CRP distribution values at baseline, a reduction in CRP levels was found for those in the higher tertile, being higher for the case group (P = .047). Although diabetic patients were excluded from the analysis (eight in the sardine supplementation group and seven in the control group) a significant CRP reduction was found (P = .034). Conclusion - Although a supplement of low-dose n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids had no effect on the plasma high-sensitivity CRP of the supplemented group, a reduction in CRP levels was found when patients were stratified for tertiles of CRP (for the upper tertile) and diabetic status (for nondiabetic patients). These findings need to be further confirmed. This canned sardine supplement was accepted by an important proportion of patients, enhancing diet variety and contributing for a greater n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid intake.

Implementação e validação de um método de avaliação do perfil de ácidos gordos e do teor de gordura em alimentos por cromatografia gasosa

Nos dias de hoje é necessário criar hábitos de vida mais saudáveis que contribuam para o bem-estar da população. Adoptar medidas e práticas de modo regular e disciplinado, pode diminuir o risco do aparecimento de determinadas doenças, como a obesidade, as doenças cardiovasculares, a hipertensão, a diabetes, alguns tipos de cancro e tantas outras. É também importante salientar que, uma alimentação cuidada dá saúde e aumenta a esperança média de vida. Em Portugal, nos últimos anos, os costumes alimentares da população têm vindo a alterar-se significativamente. As refeições caseiras confeccionadas com produtos frescos dão lugar à designada “cultura do fast food”. Em contrapartida, os consumidores são cada vez mais exigentes, estando em permanente alerta no que se refere ao estado dos alimentos. A rotulagem de um produto, para além da função publicitária, tem vindo a ser objecto de legislação específica de forma a fornecer informação simples e clara, correspondente à composição, qualidade, quantidade, validade ou outras características do produto. Estas informações devem ser acessíveis a qualquer tipo de público, com mais ou menos formação e de qualquer estrato social. A qualidade e segurança dos produtos deve basear-se na garantia de que todos os ingredientes, materiais de embalagem e processos produtivos são adequados à produção de produtos seguros, saudáveis e saborosos. A Silliker Portugal, S.A. é uma empresa independente de prestação de serviços para o sector agro-alimentar, líder mundial na prestação de serviços para a melhoria da qualidade e segurança alimentar. A Silliker dedica-se a ajudar as empresas a encontrar soluções para os desafios actuais do sector, oferecendo uma ampla gama de serviços, onde se inclui o serviço de análises microbiológicas, químicas e sensorial; consultadoria em segurança alimentar e desenvolvimento; auditorias; rotulagem e legislação. A actualização permanente de procedimentos na procura de uma melhoria contínua é um dos objectivos da empresa. Para responder a um dos desafios colocados à Silliker, surgiu este trabalho, que consistiu no desenvolvimento de um novo método para determinação de ácidos gordos e da gordura total em diferentes tipos de alimentos e comparação dos resultados, com os obtidos com o método analítico até então adoptado. Se a gordura é um elemento de grande importância na alimentação, devido às suas propriedades nutricionais e organoléticas, recentemente, os investigadores têm focado a sua atenção nos mais diversos ácidos gordos (saturados, monoinsaturados e polinsaturados), em particular nos ácidos gordos essenciais e nos isómeros do ácido linoleico conjugado (CLA), uma mistura de isómeros posicionais e geométricos do ácido linoleico com actividade biológica importante. A técnica usada nas determinações foi a cromatografia gasosa com ionização de chama, GC-FID, tendo as amostras sido previamente tratadas e extraídas de acordo com o tipo de matriz. A metodologia analítica desenvolvida permitiu a correcta avaliação do perfil em ácidos gordos, tendo-se para isso usado uma mistura de 37 ésteres metílicos, em que o ácido gordo C13:0 foi usado como padrão interno. A identificação baseou-se nos tempos de retenção de cada ácido gordo da mistura e para a quantificação usaram-se os factores de resposta. A validação do método implementado foi baseada nos resultados obtidos no estudo de três matrizes relativas a materiais certificados pela BIPEA (Bureau Interprofessionnel des Etudes Analytiques), para o que foram efectuadas doze réplicas de cada matriz. Para cada réplica efectuada foi calculado o teor de matéria gorda, sendo posteriormente o resultado comparado com o emitido pela entidade certificada. Após análise de cada constituinte foi também possível calcular o teor em ácidos gordos saturados, monoinsaturados e polinsaturados. A determinação do perfil em ácidos gordos dos materiais certificados foi aceitável atendendo aos valores obtidos, os quais se encontravam no intervalo de valores admissíveis indicados nos relatórios. A quantificação da matéria gorda no que se refere à matriz de “Paté à Tartinier” apresentou um z-score de 4,3, o que de acordo com as exigências internas da Silliker, não é válido. Para as outras duas matrizes (“Mélange Nutritif” e “Plat cuisiné à base de viande”) os valores de z-score foram, respectivamente, 0,7 e -1,0, o que permite concluir a validade do método. Para que o método possa vir a ser adoptado como método alternativo é necessário um estudo mais alargado relativamente a amostras com diferentes composições. O método foi aplicado na análise de amostras de fiambre, leite gordo, queijo, ovo com ómega 3, amendoim e óleo de girassol, e os resultados foram comparados com os obtidos pelo método até então adoptado.

Activation of effector immune cells promotes tumor stochastic extinction: A homotopy analysis approach

In this article we provide homotopy solutions of a cancer nonlinear model describing the dynamics of tumor cells in interaction with healthy and effector immune cells. We apply a semi-analytic technique for solving strongly nonlinear systems – the Step Homotopy Analysis Method (SHAM). This algorithm, based on a modification of the standard homotopy analysis method (HAM), allows to obtain a one-parameter family of explicit series solutions. By using the homotopy solutions, we first investigate the dynamical effect of the activation of the effector immune cells in the deterministic dynamics, showing that an increased activation makes the system to enter into chaotic dynamics via a period-doubling bifurcation scenario. Then, by adding demographic stochasticity into the homotopy solutions, we show, as a difference from the deterministic dynamics, that an increased activation of the immune cells facilitates cancer clearance involving tumor cells extinction and healthy cells persistence. Our results highlight the importance of therapies activating the effector immune cells at early stages of cancer progression.

Differentiation of pathogenic and non-pathogenic leptospires by means of the polymerase chain reaction

A polymerase chain reaction was carried out to detect pathogenic leptospires isolated from animals and humans in Argentina. A double set of primers (G1/G2, B64-I/B64-II), described before, were used to amplify by PCR a DNA fragment from serogroups belonging to Leptospira interrogans but did not allow to detect saprophytic strains isolated from soil and water (L. biflexa). This fact represents an advantage since it makes possible the differentiation of pathogenic from non-pathogenic leptospires in cultures. The sensitivity of this assay has been determined, allowing to detect just only 10 leptospires in the reaction tube. Those sets of primers generated either a 285 bp or 360 bp fragment, depending on the pathogenic strain

INTERFERON BETA-1A TREATMENT IN HTLV-1-ASSOCIATED MYELOPATHY/TROPICAL SPASTIC PARAPARESIS: A CASE REPORT

Here a young patient (< 21 years of age) with a history of infective dermatitis is described. The patient was diagnosed with myelopathy associated with HTLV-1/tropical spastic paraparesis and treated with interferon beta-1a. The disease was clinically established as HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP), and laboratory tests confirmed the presence of antibodies to HTLV-1 in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Mumps, cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, schistosomiasis, herpes virus 1 and 2, rubella, measles, varicella-zoster toxoplasmosis, hepatitis, HIV, and syphilis were excluded by serology. The patient was diagnosed with neurogenic bladder and presented with nocturia, urinary urgency, paresthesia of the lower left limb, a marked reduction of muscle strength in the lower limbs, and a slight reduction in upper limb strength. During the fourth week of treatment with interferon beta-1a, urinary urgency and paresthesia disappeared and clinical motor skills improved.

HTLV-I associated myelopathy in the northern region of Brazil (Belém-Pará): serological and clinical features of three cases

Three patients (males, black, ages 37, 40 and 57) attended a university clinic with a progressive paraparesis of obscure origin. One patient who referred disease duration of more than 16 years, showed diminished deep reflexes, bilateral Babinski's sign, diminished sensation of vibration, abnormal bladder function and back pain. The other two patients (with one and six years of disease duration) complained of weakness in one leg, increased deep reflexes and back pain. Babinski's sign and bladder disturbance were also present in the patient with six years of disease. Blood samples tested by an enzyme immune assay and a discriminatory Western blot were positive for HTLV-I. The familial analysis of one patient showed a possible pattern of sexual and vertical transmission of the virus. To the best of our knowledge, these are the first cases of a proven association between HTLV-I and TSP/HAM in Belem, Para, and emphasize the need to actively look for cases of neurological disease associated to the virus.