Reproducibility and within-day variability of body fat measurements using segmental bipolar bioelectrical impedance in women

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: little is known regarding the reproducibility of body fat measuring devices; hence, we assessed the between and within-device reproducibility, and the within-day variability of body fat measurements. METHODS: body fat percentage was measured twice on seventeen female students aged between 18 and 20 with a body mass index of 21.9 ± 2.5 kg/m2 (mean ± SD) using seven bipolar bioelectrical impedance devices. Each participant was also measured each hour between 7:00 and 22:00. RESULTS: the correlation between first and second measurements was very high (Spearman r between 0.985 and 1.000, p<0.001), as well as between devices (Spearman r between 0.916 and 0.991, p<0.001). Repeated measurements analysis showed no differences were between devices (p=0.59) or readings (first vs. second: p=0.74). Conversely, significant differences were found between assessment periods throughout the day, measurements made in the morning being lower than those made in the afternoon (F test for repeated values= 6.58, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: the between and within-device reproducibility for measuring body fat is high, enabling the use of multiple devices in a single study. Conversely, small but significant changes in body fat measurements occur during the day, urging body fat measurements to be performed at fixed times.

Health-related quality of life and functioning in bipolar disorder: the impact of pharmacotherapy.

Bipolar disorder has a major deleterious impact on many aspects of a patient's functioning and health-related quality of life. Although the formal measurement of these deficits has been neglected until recently, many well-designed trials now include an assessment of functioning and health-related quality of life using one or more rating scales. This review describes recent developments in the measurement of functioning and health-related quality of life in bipolar disorder, and discusses the evidence that medications that improve symptoms in bipolar disorder also offer clinically relevant benefits in functioning and health-related quality of life. Direct comparisons of the benefits of medications including atypical antipsychotics are problematic due to differences in trial populations, study durations and rating scales. Data from quetiapine trials indicate that this medication offers prompt and sustained improvement of functioning in patients with mania and enhancement of health-related quality of life in patients with bipolar depression, to accompany the significant improvements in mood episodes.

Suppression of Brugia malayi (sub-periodic) larval development in Aedes aegypti (Liverpool strain) fed on blood of animals immunized with microfilariae

Preliminary studies were carried out to investigate the role of filarial specific antibodies, raised in an animal model against the filarial parasite, Brugia malayi (sub-periodic), in blocking their early development in an experimental mosquito host, Aedes aegypti (Liverpool strain). In order to generate filarial specific antibodies, Mongolian gerbils, Meriones unguiculatus, were immunized either with live microfilariae (mf) of B. malayi or their homogenate. Mf were harvested from the peritoneal cavity of Mongolian gerbils with patent infection of B. malayi and fed to A. aegypti along with the blood from immunized animals. Development of the parasite in infected mosquitoes was monitored until they reached infective stage larvae (L3). Fewer number of parasites developed to first stage (L1) and subsequently to L2 and L3 in mosquitoes fed with blood of immunized animals, when compared to those fed with blood of control animals. The results thus indicated that filarial parasite specific antibodies present in the blood of the immunized animals resulted in the reduction of number of larvae of B. malayi developing in the mosquito host.

Health and Social Care Inequalities Northern Ireland: First sub-regional report

The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (Northern Ireland) published its first sub-regional bulletin of the Health and Social Care Inequalities Monitoring System (HSCIMS) on Wednesday, 7th July.The bulletin provides a picture of health inequalities at Health and Social Care (HSC) Trust level and a detailed comparison of morbidity, mortality, utilisation and access to health and social services between the 20% most deprived areas within a Trust and the overall Trust as well as NI as a whole. Health and Social Services Inequalities Monitoring System. Sub-Regional Inequalities HSC Trusts 2010 (PDF 5.6MB)��The Inequalities Monitoring system comprises various indicators which are monitored over time to assess area differences across morbidity, utilisation and access to Health and Social Care services in NI. Results for each indicator for the 20% most deprived (as per 2005 NISRA Measures of Deprivation) and the 20% most rural areas are compared with the NI average. There is also a comparison of the Section 75 equality group profiles of the areas with the 20% worst outcomes with NI overall for selected indicators.��

Characterisation of the prodrome to a first episode of psychotic mania: results of a retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the early phases of bipolar disorders (BPAD) and most of current knowledge derives from putative "high-risk" studies conducted in populations of bipolar off-spring; such information may therefore be relevant only to a sub-group of at-risk subjects. METHODS: Retrospective assessment of the phase preceding the emergence of mania and of premorbid characteristics of patients treated for a first episode of psychotic mania. The collected data was used mainly to generate hypotheses. RESULTS: Before onset of a first episode of psychotic mania, patients go through a phase of change from previous mental state where they present mood symptoms, sleep disruption and general functional decline. These clinical manifestations are however likely to have low specificity. However, their occurrence in patients presenting certain risk factors or markers of vulnerability that were identified at a relatively high prevalence in our sample, may be an indicator of impending first episode mania. LIMITATIONS: This is a retrospective study, in a small sample of patients presenting with psychotic mania. Criteria identified need therefore to be validated in larger prospective studies. CONCLUSIONS: Early identification of patients at risk to develop a first episode of psychotic mania is unlikely to be possible on the basis of symptoms alone. However, the occurrence of certain clinical characteristics in patients who have risk factors or markers of vulnerability to BPAD could be a sign of impending first episode mania.

Physiological changes in Biomphalaria glabrata say, 1818 (Pulmonata: Planorbidae) caused by sub-lethal concentrations of the latex of Euphorbia splendens var. hislopii N.E.B (Euphorbiaceae)

Molluscides have been used as one of the strategies to control schistosomiasis. Many plant extracts with molluscidal effects have been tested, but the action of the latex of Euphorbia splendens var. hislopii is considered the most promising because it meets the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO). The objective of this study was to determine the lethal dose and identify the effects of the different doses of latex of E. splendens var. hislopii on the physiology of Biomphalaria glabrata submitted to treatment for 24 h. The concentrations of glucose, uric acid and total proteins in the hemolymph and of glycogen in the digestive gland and cephalopodal mass were determined. The LD50 value was 1 mg/l. The highest escape index was found to be at a concentration of 0.6 mg/l. The results showed that the latex of E. splendens var. hislopii caused a sharp reduction in the reserves of glycogen in the digestive gland and elevation of the protein content in the hemolymph of B. glabrata.

Localization of Brugia malayi (sub-periodic) adults in different organs of Mastomys coucha and its influence on microfilaraemia and host antibody response

Lymphatic filariasis caused by nematode parasites Wuchereria bancrofti or Brugia malayi is a spectral disease and produces wide range of immune responses and varying levels ofmicrofilaraemia in infected individuals. The relationship between the immune response of host and the developmental stage of the parasite as well as the microfilariae (mf) density and specific location of the adult worms is yet to be understood. As an experimental model, B. malayi adapted in the experimental animal Mastomys coucha has been used widely for various studies in filariasis. The present study was to assess microfilaraemia as well as the humoral immune response of M. coucha during various stages of B. malayi development and their localization in different organs. The result showed that the density of mf in the circulating blood of the experimental animal depended upon the number of female worms as well as the location and co-existence of male and female worms. The mf density in the blood increased with the increase in the number of females. The clearance of inoculated infective stage (L3) or single sex infection or segregation of male and female to different organs of infected host resulted in amicrofilaraemic condition. With respect to antibody response, those animals cleared L3 after inoculation and those with adult worm as well as mf showed low antibody levels. But those with developmental fourth stage and/or adult worms without mf showed significantly higher antibody levels.

The spread of incompatibility-inducing parasites in sub-divided host populations.

BACKGROUND:Maternally transmitted symbionts have evolved a variety of ways to promote their spread through host populations. One strategy is to hamper the reproduction of uninfected females by a mechanism called cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). CI occurs in crosses between infected males and uninfected females and leads to partial to near-complete infertility. CI-infections are under positive frequency-dependent selection and require genetic drift to overcome the range of low frequencies where they are counter-selected. Given the importance of drift, population sub-division would be expected to facilitate the spread of CI. Nevertheless, a previous model concluded that variance in infection between competing groups of breeding individuals impedes the spread of CI.RESULTS:In this paper we derive a model on the spread of CI-infections in populations composed of demes linked by restricted migration. Our model shows that population sub-division facilitates the invasion of CI. While host philopatry (low migration) favours the spread of infection, deme size has a non-monotonous effect, with CI-invasion being most likely at intermediate deme size. Individual-based simulations confirm these predictions and show that high levels of local drift speed up invasion but prevent high levels of prevalence across the entire population. Additional simulations with sex-specific migration rates further show that low migration rates of both sexes are required to facilitate the spread of CI.CONCLUSION:Our analyses show that population structure facilitates the invasion of CI-infections. Since some level of sub-division is likely to occur in most natural populations, our results help to explain the high incidence of CI-infections across species of arthropods. Furthermore, our work has important implications for the use of CI-systems in order to genetically modify natural populations of disease vectors.

Neuroanatomical and neuropsychological features of euthymic patients with bipolar disorder.

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies reported that the severity of cognitive deficits in euthymic patients with bipolar disorder (BD) increases with the duration of illness and postulated that progressive neuronal loss or shrinkage and white matter changes may be at the origin of this phenomenon. To explore this issue, the authors performed a case-control study including detailed neuropsychological and magnetic resonance imaging analyses in 17 euthymic elderly patients with BD and 17 healthy individuals. METHODS: Neuropsychological evaluation concerned working memory, episodic memory, processing speed, and executive functions. Volumetric estimates of the amygdala, hippocampus, entorhinal cortex, and anterior cingulate cortex were obtained using both voxel-based and region of interest morphometric methods. Periventricular and deep white matter were assessed semiquantitatively. Differences in cognitive performances and structural data between BD and comparison groups were analyzed using paired t-test or analysis of variance. Wilcoxon test was used in the absence of normal distribution. RESULTS: Compared with healthy individuals, patients with BD obtained significantly lower performances in processing speed, working memory, and episodic memory but not in executive functions. Morphometric analyses did not show significant volumetric or white matter differences between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Our results revealed impairment in verbal memory, working memory, and processing speed in euthymic older adults with BD. These cognitive deficits are comparable both in terms of affected functions and size effects to those previously reported in younger cohorts with BD. Both this observation and the absence of structural brain abnormalities in our cohort do not support a progressively evolving neurotoxic effect in BD.

Serologic evidence of the recent circulation of Saint Louis encephalitis virus and high prevalence of equine encephalitis viruses in horses in the Nhecolândia sub-region in South Pantanal, Central-West Brazil

As in humans, sub-clinical infection by arboviruses in domestic animals is common; however, its detection only occurs during epizootics and the silent circulation of some arboviruses may remain undetected. The objective of the present paper was to assess the current circulation of arboviruses in the Nhecolândia sub-region of South Pantanal, Brazil. Sera from a total of 135 horses, of which 75 were immunized with bivalent vaccine composed of inactive Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) and Western equine encephalitis virus(WEEV) and 60 were unvaccinated, were submitted to thorough viral isolation, reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and neutralization tests for Saint Louis encephalitis virus (SLEV), EEEV, WEEV and Mayaro virus (MAYV). No virus was isolated and viral nucleic-acid detection by RT-PCR was also negative. Nevertheless, the prevalence of neutralizing antibodies in horses older than seven months was 43.7% for SLEV in equines regardless of vaccine status, and 36.4% for WEEV and 47.7% for EEEV in unvaccinated horses. There was no evidence of MAYV infections. The serologic evidence of circulation of arboviruses responsible for equine and human encephalitis, without recent official reports of clinical infections in the area, suggests that the Nhecolândia sub-region in South Pantanal is an important area for detection of silent activity of arboviruses in Brazil.

Additive effects of LPL, APOA5 and APOE variant combinations on triglyceride levels and hypertriglyceridemia: results of the ICARIA genetic sub-study.

BACKGROUND Hypertriglyceridemia (HTG) is a well-established independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease and the influence of several genetic variants in genes related with triglyceride (TG) metabolism has been described, including LPL, APOA5 and APOE. The combined analysis of these polymorphisms could produce clinically meaningful complementary information. METHODS A subgroup of the ICARIA study comprising 1825 Spanish subjects (80% men, mean age 36 years) was genotyped for the LPL-HindIII (rs320), S447X (rs328), D9N (rs1801177) and N291S (rs268) polymorphisms, the APOA5-S19W (rs3135506) and -1131T/C (rs662799) variants, and the APOE polymorphism (rs429358; rs7412) using PCR and restriction analysis and TaqMan assays. We used regression analyses to examine their combined effects on TG levels (with the log-transformed variable) and the association of variant combinations with TG levels and hypertriglyceridemia (TG > or = 1.69 mmol/L), including the covariates: gender, age, waist circumference, blood glucose, blood pressure, smoking and alcohol consumption. RESULTS We found a significant lowering effect of the LPL-HindIII and S447X polymorphisms (p < 0.0001). In addition, the D9N, N291S, S19W and -1131T/C variants and the APOE-epsilon4 allele were significantly associated with an independent additive TG-raising effect (p < 0.05, p < 0.01, p < 0.001, p < 0.0001 and p < 0.001, respectively). Grouping individuals according to the presence of TG-lowering or TG-raising polymorphisms showed significant differences in TG levels (p < 0.0001), with the lowest levels exhibited by carriers of two lowering variants (10.2% reduction in TG geometric mean with respect to individuals who were homozygous for the frequent alleles of all the variants), and the highest levels in carriers of raising combinations (25.1% mean TG increase). Thus, carrying two lowering variants was protective against HTG (OR = 0.62; 95% CI, 0.39-0.98; p = 0.042) and having one single raising polymorphism (OR = 1.20; 95% CI, 1.39-2.87; p < 0.001) or more (2 or 3 raising variants; OR = 2.90; 95% CI, 1.56-5.41; p < 0.001) were associated with HTG. CONCLUSION Our results showed a significant independent additive effect on TG levels of the LPL polymorphisms HindIII, S447X, D9N and N291S; the S19W and -1131T/C variants of APOA5, and the epsilon4 allele of APOE in our study population. Moreover, some of the variant combinations studied were significantly associated with the absence or the presence of hypertriglyceridemia.