Diffusion tensor imaging of two unrelated Chinese men with hereditary spastic paraplegia associated with thin corpus callosum

Hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) associated with thin corpus callosum is a rare autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by an abnormally thin corpus callosum, normal motor development, slowly progressive spastic paraparesis and cognitive deterioration. To investigate and localize abnormalities in the brains of two Chinese patients with HSP-TCC, with mutations in the spatacsin gene. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was used to determine the mean diffusion (MD) and fractional anisotropy (FA) in the brains of the patients in comparison to 20 healthy subjects. Voxel-based analysis (VBA) of both the diffusion and anisotropy values were performed using statistical parametric mapping (SPM). Significant changes with MD increase and FA reduction were found in the already known lesions including the corpus callosum, cerebellum and thalamus. In addition, changes were also found in regions that appear to be normal in conventional MRI, such as the brain stem, internal capsule, cingulum and subcortical white matter including superior longitudinal fascicle and inferior longitudinal fascicle. Neither increase in FA nor reduction in MD was detected in the brain. Our study provides clear in vivo MR imaging evidence of a more widespread brain involvement of HSP-TCC. MD is more sensitive than FA in detecting lesions in thalamus and subcortical white matter, suggesting that MD may be a better marker of the disease progression.

Metabolic predictors of inflammation, adhesion, and coagulability in healthy younger-aged adults

Elevated levels of inflammatory biomarkers are associated with the pathophysiology of cardiovascular diseases and are predictors of cardiovascular events. The objective of this study was to determine the unique contributions of metabolic factors as predictors of inflammation (C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6)), adhesion (soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1)), and coagulation (D-dimer) in healthy younger-aged adults. Participants were 83 women and 92 men (mean age 30.04 years, s.d. +/- 4.8, range 22-39) of normal weight to moderate obese weight (mean BMI 24.4 kg/m(2), s.d. +/- 3.35, range 17-32). The primary data analytical approaches included Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression. Circulating levels of CRP, IL-6, sICAM-1, and D-dimer were determined in plasma. Higher levels of CRP were independently associated with higher BMI, a greater waist-to-hip ratio, female gender, and higher triglycerides (P < 0.001). Higher IL-6 levels were independently associated with a greater waist-to-hip ratio (P < 0.01). Higher levels of sICAM-1 were independently associated with higher BMI, higher triglycerides, and lower insulin resistance (P < 0.001). Higher D-dimer levels were independently associated with higher BMI and being female (P < 0.001). Having a higher BMI was most consistently associated with elevated biomarkers of inflammation, adhesion, and coagulation in this sample of healthy younger-aged adults, although female gender, insulin resistance, and lipid levels were also related to the biomarkers. The findings provide insight into the adverse cardiovascular risk associated with elevated body weight in younger adults.

Relationship between heart rate variability, interleukin-6, and soluble tissue factor in healthy subjects

Decreased heart rate variability (HRV) has been associated with an increased risk of atherosclerosis. We hypothesized that a decrease in frequency domains of resting HRV would be associated with elevated plasma levels of interleukin (IL)-6 and soluble tissue factor (sTF) both previously shown to prospectively predict atherothrombotic events in healthy subjects. Subjects were 102 healthy and unmedicated black and white middle-aged men and women. We determined IL-6 and sTF antigen in plasma and HRV measures from surface electrocardiogram data using spectral analysis. All statistical analyses controlled for age, gender, ethnicity, smoking status, blood pressure, and body mass index. Low amounts of low frequency (LF) power (beta=-0.31, p=0.007) and high frequency (HF) power (beta=-0.36, p=0.002) were associated with increased amounts of IL-6, explaining 7% and 9% of the variance, respectively. Interactions between LF power and IL-6 (p=0.002) and between HF power and IL-6 (p=0.012) explained 8% and 5%, respectively, of the variance in sTF. Post hoc analyses showed associations between IL-6 and sTF when LF power (beta=0.51, p<0.001) and HF power (beta=0.48, p<0.001) were low but not when LF power and high HF power were high. The findings suggest that systemic low-grade inflammatory activity is associated with a decrease in HRV. Furthermore, there was a positive relationship between plasma levels of IL-6 and sTF antigen when HRV was low. Inflammation and related hypercoagulability might particularly contribute to atherothrombotic events in a setting of decreased HRV.

Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator mutations in azoospermic and oligospermic men and their partners

The objective of this study was to investigate the contribution of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) to human infertility and to define screening and counselling procedures for couples asking for assisted reproduction treatment. Extended CFTR mutation screening was performed in 310 infertile men (25 with congenital absence of the vas deferens (CAVD), 116 with non-CAVD azoospermia, 169 with severe oligospermia), 70 female partners and 96 healthy controls. CFTR mutations were detected in the majority (68%) of CAVD patients and in significant proportions in azoospermic (31%) and oligospermic (22%) men. Carrier frequency among partners of infertile men was 16/70, exceeding that of controls (6/96) significantly (P = 0.0005). Thus, in 23% of infertile couples both partners were carriers, increasing the risk for their offspring to inherit two mutations to 25% or 50%. This study emphasizes the necessity to offer extended CFTR mutation screening and counselling not only to patients with CAVD but also to azoospermic and oligozoospermic men and their partners before undergoing assisted reproduction techniques. The identification of rare and/or mild mutations will not be a reason to abstain from parenthood, but will allow adequate treatment in children at risk for atypical or mild cystic fibrosis as soon as they develop any symptoms.

Social inequality and smoking in young Swiss men: intergenerational transmission of cultural capital and health orientation

OBJECTIVES Smoking is related to income and education and contributes to social inequality in morbidity and mortality. Socialisation theories focus on one's family of origin as regards acquisition of norms, attitudes and behaviours. Aim of this study is to assess associations of daily smoking with health orientation and academic track in young Swiss men. Further, to assess associations of health orientation and academic track with family healthy lifestyle, parents' cultural capital, and parents' economic capital. METHODS Cross-sectional data were collected during recruitment for compulsory military service in Switzerland during 2010 and 2011. A structural equation model was fitted to a sample of 18- to 25-year-old Swiss men (N = 10,546). RESULTS Smoking in young adults was negatively associated with academic track and health orientation. Smoking was negatively associated with parents' cultural capital through academic track. Smoking was negatively associated with health orientation which in turn was positively associated with a healthy lifestyle in the family of origin. CONCLUSIONS Results suggest two different mechanisms of intergenerational transmissions: first, the family transmission path of health-related dispositions, and secondly, the structural transmission path of educational inequality.

Apolipoprotein E genotypes and cognitive functions in healthy elderly persons

Objectives- We investigated whether apoE genotypes correlate with cognitive functions in clinically healthy persons. Methods - In 1993 and 1995, we measured information processing speed, delayed free recall and semantic aspects of long-term memory in 227 men and 105 women aged 65 and over, a randomly selected subsample of the prospective Basel Study. Cardiovascular risk factors and education were assessed. Results -E2 were more prevalent in old-old (>75 years, 23.5% vs 15%) compared to E4 than in young-old (<75 years, 19.3% vs 23.5%). Taking into account age and education, subjects with ɛ3/ɛ4 or ɛ4/ɛ4 alleles (E4) performed lowest in all 3 tests compared to those homozygous for ɛ3 (E3) or carriers of one or two ɛ2 alleles (E2) (reaction time P=0.009, free recall P=0.05, WAIS-R vocabulary P<0.05). In old-old there was a significant difference between E2 and E4 for reaction time (P=0.02) and free recall (P<0.02) but not for vocabulary (P=0.086). In all 3 groups there were no significant changes after 2 years. The subgroup with the genotype ɛ2/ɛ4 performed consistently best in the cognitive tests. Cholesterol was significantly increased in the E4 and E3 group compared to the E2 group. Conclusion - ApoE genotype correlates with cognitive performance. The increased prevalence of E2 in the old-old and the significantly lower plasma cholesterol levels suggest differential morbidity and mortality as important factors influencing the prevalence of cognitive disorders in late life.

Cardiac lipid levels show diurnal changes and long-term variations in healthy human subjects

(1) H-MRS is regularly applied to determine lipid content in ectopic tissue - mostly skeletal muscle and liver - to investigate physiological and/or pathologic conditions, e.g. insulin resistance. Technical developments also allow non-invasive in vivo assessment of cardiac lipids; however, basic data about methodological reliability (repeatability) and physiological variations are scarce. The aim of the presented work was to determine potential diurnal changes of cardiac lipid stores in humans, and to put the results in relation to methodological repeatability and normal physiological day-to-day variations. Optimized cardiac- and respiratory-gated (1) H-MRS was used for non-invasive quantification of intracardiomyocellular lipids (ICCL), creatine, trimethyl-ammonium compounds (TMA), and taurine in nine healthy young men at three time points per day on two days separated by one week. This design allowed determination of (a) diurnal changes, (b) physiological variation over one week and (c) methodological repeatability of the ICCL levels. Comparison of fasted morning to post-absorptive evening measurements revealed a significant 37 ± 19% decrease of ICCL during the day (p = 0.0001). There was a significant linear correlation between ICCL levels in the morning and their decrease during the day (p = 0.015). Methodological repeatability for the ICCL/creatine ratio was excellent, with a coefficient of variance of ~5%, whereas physiological variation was found to be considerably higher (22%) in spite of a standardized physiological preparation protocol. In contrast, TMA levels remained stable over this time period. The proposed (1) H-MRS technique provides a robust way to investigate relevant physiological changes in cardiac metabolites, in particular ICCL. The present results suggest that ICCL reveal a diurnal course, with higher levels in the morning as compared to evening. In addition, a considerable long-term variation of ICCL levels, in both the morning and evening, was documented. Given the high methodological repeatability, these effects should be taken into account in studies investigating the metabolic role of ICCL.

Serum Testosterone Levels and Symptom-Based Depression Subtypes in Men

The main objective of this preliminary study was to further clarify the association between testosterone (T) levels and depression by investigating symptom-based depression subtypes in a sample of 64 men. The data were taken from the ZInEP epidemiology survey. Gonadal hormones of a melancholic (n  = 25) and an atypical (n = 14) depression subtype, derived from latent class analysis, were compared with those of healthy controls (n  = 18). Serum T was assayed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay procedure. Analysis of variance, analysis of covariance, non-parametrical tests, and generalized linear regression models were performed to examine group differences. The atypical depressive subtype showed significantly lower T levels compared with the melancholic depressives. While accumulative evidence indicates that, beyond psychosocial characteristics, the melancholic and atypical depressive subtypes are also distinguishable by biological correlates, the current study expanded this knowledge to include gonadal hormones. Further longitudinal research is warranted to disclose causality by linking the multiple processes in pathogenesis of depression.

Preclinical atherosclerosis and inflammation in 61-year-old men with newly diagnosed diabetes and established diabetes.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of subclinical atherosclerosis and underlying mechanisms in men with newly diagnosed diabetes and established diabetes compared with healthy control subjects. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS In a population-based study of 61-year-old Caucasian men (n = 271) with established diabetes (n = 50) and newly diagnosed diabetes (n = 24) and healthy control subjects (n = 197), standard risk factors and highly sensitive (hs) C-reactive protein (CRP) were measured. Ultrasound measurements of intima-media thickness (IMT) were performed bilaterally in the common carotid artery, and a composite measure was calculated from common carotid and carotid bulb IMT (composite IMT). The plaque status was assessed. RESULTS Composite IMT and carotid plaque size increased gradually among the healthy control subjects, newly diagnosed diabetic patients, and established diabetic patients (P for trend < or =0.001, respectively). CRP was higher in newly and established diabetes (NS between diabetes groups) compared with healthy control subjects (P < 0.001). Total cholesterol levels were lower in newly diagnosed diabetes (5.51 +/- 1.13 mmol/l, P < 0.05) and established diabetes (5.45 +/- 1.15 mmol/l, P < 0.01) compared with those of healthy control subjects (5.77 +/- 1.03 mmol/l). In men with diabetes (n = 74), diabetes onset status (newly diagnosed versus established), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and serum triglycerides, but not CRP, explained 16% of the variance in composite IMT. CONCLUSIONS This is the first study to show increased preclinical atherosclerotic changes (IMT and plaque size) and increased inflammation (hs-CRP) in men with newly diagnosed diabetes as well as in patients with established diabetes compared with healthy control subjects. WHR, diabetes onset status (newly diagnosed versus established), and triglycerides, but not CRP, were independent correlates of carotid artery IMT in men with diabetes.

Healthy relationships: An HIV intervention for positives

The present study assessed Community Prevention Intervention Unit clients participating in Healthy Relationships in December of 2005 to December of 2006. Healthy Relationships was formulated from Social Cognitive Theory-based HIV prevention. This 5-week intervention integrates skills building, self-efficacy, and positive expectations about new behaviors in addition to stress reduction and sexual risk reduction techniques to elicit a behavior change. The study was undertaken to evaluate differences in attitudes, beliefs and behaviors regarding one's HIV status and participation in Healthy Relationships. Gender differences among participants in Healthy Relationships were also measured. Subjects were evaluated utilizing pre- and post-questionnaires. Analyses revealed that there were significant differences in some risk behaviors, beliefs and attitudes. However, men and women did differ with regard to significant differences among disclosure. ^

Thermal body patterns for healthy Brazilian adults (male and female)

The aim of this study was to establish the skin temperature (Tsk) thermal profile for the Brazilian population and to compare the differences between female and male Brazilian adults. A total of 117 female and 103 male were examined with a thermographic camera. The Tsk of 24 body regions of interest (ROI) were recorded and analyzed. Male Tsk results were compared to female and 10 ROI were evaluated with respect to the opposite side of the body (right vs. left) to identify the existence of significant contralateral Tsk differences (?Tsk). When compared right to left, the largest contralateral ?Tsk was 0.3 °C. The female vs. male analysis yielded significant differences (p menor que0.05) in 13 of the 24 ROI. Thigh regions, both ventral and dorsal, had the highest ?Tsk by sex (? 1.0 °C). Tsk percentile below P5 or P10 and over P9o or P95 may be used to characterize hypothermia and hyperthermia states, respectively. Thermal patterns and Tsk tables 2 were established for Brazilian adult men and women for each ROI. There is a low Tsk variation between sides of the body and gender differences were only significant for some ROIs.

Trainee teachers' habits of healthy physical activity

Introduction: This study analyses the habits of physical activity of a group of students at the University of Vigo (Spain). Methods: It uses the SRHI (Self-Report Habits Index) scale, which was used for the first time in Spain. It starts from the premise that future educators should have good physical activity habits if they want to convey this attitude to their students due to its importance for health and quality of life. Results: Physical activity habits are well-established in future Secondary Education Physical Education teachers but not in future Infant and Primary Education teachers. In addition, there are greater physical activity habits in men, in students who previously participated in sport at school and at younger ages. The most common difficulties for creating physical activity habits are lack of time, sport facilities and companionship for carrying out the activity. Discussion: In this section our results, which broadly coincide with the results of other studies regarding the same subject, are contrasted with the results of those other studies.

Health inequality between immigrants and natives in Spain: the loss of the healthy immigrant effect in times of economic crisis

Background: The immigrant population living in Spain grew exponentially in the early 2000s but has been particularly affected by the economic crisis. This study aims to analyse health inequalities between immigrants born in middle- or low-income countries and natives in Spain, in 2006 and 2012, taking into account gender, year of arrival and socioeconomic exposures. Methods: Study of trends using two cross-sections, the 2006 and 2012 editions of the Spanish National Health Survey, including residents in Spain aged 15–64 years (20 810 natives and 2950 immigrants in 2006, 14 291 natives and 2448 immigrants in 2012). Fair/poor self-rated health, poor mental health (GHQ-12 > 2), chronic activity limitation and use of psychotropic drugs were compared between natives and immigrants who arrived in Spain before 2006, adjusting robust Poisson regression models for age and socioeconomic variables to obtain prevalence ratios (PR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: Inequalities in poor self-rated health between immigrants and natives tend to increase among women (age-adjusted PR2006 = 1.39; 95% CI: 1.24–1.56, PR2012 = 1.56; 95% CI: 1.33–1.82). Among men, there is a new onset of inequalities in poor mental health (PR2006 = 1.10; 95% CI: 0.86–1.40, PR2012 = 1.34; 95% CI: 1.06–1.69) and an equalization of the previously lower use of psychotropic drugs (PR2006 = 0.22; 95% CI: 0.11–0.43, PR2012 = 1.20; 95% CI: 0.73–2.01). Conclusions: Between 2006 and 2012, immigrants who arrived in Spain before 2006 appeared to worsen their health status when compared with natives. The loss of the healthy immigrant effect in the context of a worse impact of the economic crisis on immigrants appears as potential explanation. Employment, social protection and re-universalization of healthcare would prevent further deterioration of immigrants’ health status.

Effects of chronic exposure to low-level cadmium on renal tubular function and CYP2A6-mediated coumarin metabolism in healthy human subjects

Relationships between cadmium (Cd) body burden, kidney function and coumarin metabolism were investigated using two groups of 197 and 200 healthy Thais with men and women in nearly equal numbers. A mean age of one group was 30.5 years and it was 39.3 years for the other group. Of 397, 20 subjects (5%) excreted urine Cd between 1.4 mug/g and 3.8 mug/g creatinine and these subjects faced 10-15% increase in the probability of having abnormal urinary excretion of N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG-uria). The prevalence of NAG-uria varied with Cd body burden in a dose-dependent manner (chi(2) = 22, P < 0.008). Also NAG-nuria was one of the three kidney effect markers tested that showed the greatest strength of correlation with urine Cd in both men and women (r = 0.48 P < 0.001). In addition, urine Cd excretion of men and women showed a positive correlation (r = 0.46 to 0.54. P < 0.001) with urine 7-hydroxycoumarin (7-OHC) excretion which was used as a marker of liver cytochrome P450 2A6 (CYP2A6) enzyme activity. Urinary CA excretion accounted for 25% of the total variation in urine 7-OHC excretion (P < 0.001). These data suggest that Cd may increase the expression of CYP2A6 in liver, resulting in enhanced coumarin metabolism in subjects with high Cd body burden. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Family average income and body mass index above the healthy weight range among urban and rural residents in regional Mainland China

Objective: To explore the relationship between family average income (FAI; an index of socio-economic status) and body mass index (BMI; a widely used, inexpensive indicator of weight status) above the healthy weight range in a region of Mainland China. Design: Population-based cross-sectional study, conducted between October 1999 and March 2000 on a sample of regular local residents aged 35 years or older who were selected by random cluster sampling. Setting: Forty-five administrative villages selected from three urban districts and two rural counties of Nanjing municipality, Mainland China, with a regional population of 5.6 million. Subjects: In total, 29 340 subjects participated; 67.7% from urban and 32.3% from rural areas; 49.8% male and 50.2% female. The response rate among eligible participants was 90.1%. Results: The proportion of participants classified as overweight was 30.5%, while 7.8% were identified as obese. After adjusting for possible confounding variables (age, gender, area of residence, educational level, occupational and leisure-time physical activity, daily vegetable consumption and frequency of red meat intake), urban participants were more likely to be overweight or obese relative to their rural counterparts, more women than men were obese, and participants in the lowest FAI tertile were the least likely to be above the healthy weight range. Conclusions: The proportion of adults with BMI above the healthy weight range was positively related to having a higher socio-economic status (indexed by FAI) in a regional Chinese population.