Metabolic effects of diets differing in glycaemic index depend on age and endogenous glucose-dependent insulinotrophic polypeptide in mice.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: High- vs low-glycaemic index (GI) diets unfavourably affect body fat mass and metabolic markers in rodents. Different effects of these diets could be age-dependent, as well as mediated, in part, by carbohydrate-induced stimulation of glucose-dependent insulinotrophic polypeptide (GIP) signalling. METHODS: Young-adult (16 weeks) and aged (44 weeks) male wild-type (C57BL/6J) and GIP-receptor knockout (Gipr ( -/- )) mice were exposed to otherwise identical high-carbohydrate diets differing only in GI (20-26 weeks of intervention, n = 8-10 per group). Diet-induced changes in body fat distribution, liver fat, locomotor activity, markers of insulin sensitivity and substrate oxidation were investigated, as well as changes in the gene expression of anorexigenic and orexigenic hypothalamic factors related to food intake. RESULTS: Body weight significantly increased in young-adult high- vs low-GI fed mice (two-way ANOVA, p < 0.001), regardless of the Gipr genotype. The high-GI diet in young-adult mice also led to significantly increased fat mass and changes in metabolic markers that indicate reduced insulin sensitivity. Even though body fat mass also slightly increased in high- vs low-GI fed aged wild-type mice (p < 0.05), there were no significant changes in body weight and estimated insulin sensitivity in these animals. However, aged Gipr ( -/- ) vs wild-type mice on high-GI diet showed significantly lower cumulative net energy intake, increased locomotor activity and improved markers of insulin sensitivity. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: The metabolic benefits of a low-GI diet appear to be more pronounced in younger animals, regardless of the Gipr genotype. Inactivation of GIP signalling in aged animals on a high-GI diet, however, could be beneficial.

Late outcome of spinal cord stimulation for unreconstructable and limb-threatening lower limb ischemia.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether the initial benefits of spinal cord stimulation (SCS) treatment for critical limb ischemia (CLI) persist over years. DESIGN: Analysis of data prospectively collected for every CLI patient receiving permanent SCS. Follow-up range 12 to 98 months (mean 46+/-23, median 50 months). POPULATION: 87 patients (28% stage III, 72%stage IV) with unreconstructable CLI due (83%) or not (17%) to atherosclerosis and with an initial sitting/supine transcutaneous pO2 gradient >15 mmHg. METHODS: Assessment of actuarial patient survival (PS), limb salvage (LS) and amputation-free patient survival (AFPS). Analysis of the impact of 15 risk factors on long-term outcomes using the Fischer's exact test for categorical variables and the t test for continuous variables. RESULTS: Follow-up was complete for patient and limb survival. A single non-atherosclerotic patient died during follow-up. Among atherosclerotic patients PS decreased from 88% at 1y, to 76% at 3y, 64% at 5y and 57% at 7y. LS reached 84% at 1y, 78% at 2y, 75% at 3y and remained stable thereafter. Diabetes was found to affect LS (p<0.05) and heart disease to reduce PS (p<0.01). AFPS was reduced in heart patients (p<0.01), diabetics (p<0.05) and in patients with previous stroke (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In CLI patients the beneficial effects of SCS persist far beyond the first year of treatment and major amputation becomes infrequent after the second year.

Interplay between wheat cultivars, biocontrol pseudomonads, and soil.

There is a significant potential to improve the plant-beneficial effects of root-colonizing pseudomonads by breeding wheat genotypes with a greater capacity to sustain interactions with these bacteria. However, the interaction between pseudomonads and crop plants at the cultivar level, as well as the conditions which favor the accumulation of beneficial microorganisms in the wheat rhizosphere, is largely unknown. Therefore, we characterized the three Swiss winter wheat (Triticum aestivum) cultivars Arina, Zinal, and Cimetta for their ability to accumulate naturally occurring plant-beneficial pseudomonads in the rhizosphere. Cultivar performance was measured also by the ability to select for specific genotypes of 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol (DAPG) producers in two different soils. Cultivar-specific differences were found; however, these were strongly influenced by the soil type. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis of fragments of the DAPG biosynthetic gene phlD amplified from natural Pseudomonas rhizosphere populations revealed that phlD diversity substantially varied between the two soils and that there was a cultivar-specific accumulation of certain phlD genotypes in one soil but not in the other. Furthermore, the three cultivars were tested for their ability to benefit from Pseudomonas inoculants. Interestingly, Arina, which was best protected against Pythium ultimum infection by inoculation with Pseudomonas fluorescens biocontrol strain CHA0, was the cultivar which profited the least from the bacterial inoculant in terms of plant growth promotion in the absence of the pathogen. Knowledge gained of the interactions between wheat cultivars, beneficial pseudomonads, and soil types allows us to optimize cultivar-soil combinations for the promotion of growth through beneficial pseudomonads. Additionally, this information can be implemented by breeders into a new and unique breeding strategy for low-input and organic conditions.

Adolescent drinking patterns across countries: associations with alcohol policies.

Early consumption of full servings of alcohol and early experience of drunkenness have been linked with alcohol-related harmful effects in adolescence, as well as adult health and social problems. On the basis of secondary analysis of county-level prevalence data, the present study explored the current pattern of drinking and drunkenness among 15- and 16-year-old adolescents in 40 European and North American countries. Data from the 2006 Health Behavior in School Children survey and the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and other Drugs were used. The potential role of alcohol control and policy measures in explaining variance in drinking patterns across countries was also examined. Policy measures and data on adult consumption patterns were taken from the WHO Global Information System on Alcohol and Health, Eurostat and the indicator of alcohol control policy strength developed by Brand DA, Saisana M, Rynn LA et al. [(2007) Comparative analysis of alcohol control policies in 30 countries. PLoS Med 4:e151.]. We found that a non-significant trend existed whereby higher prices and stronger alcohol controls were associated with a lower proportion of weekly drinking but a higher proportion of drunkenness. It is important that future research explores the causal relationships between alcohol policy measures and alcohol consumption patterns to determine whether strict policies do in fact have any beneficial effect on drinking patterns, or rather, lead to rebellion and an increased prevalence of binge drinking.

Department of Health & Children: Statement of Strategy 2008 - 2010

During the period covered by our last Statement of Strategy, fundamental changes were made to the structures and organisation of our health services. Most notably, the Health Service Executive (HSE) was established, and given statutory responsibility to use the resources available to it in the most beneficial, effective, and efficient manner to improve, promote and protect the health and welfare of the public. The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) was established to help drive continuous improvement in Ireland's health and social care services. Click here to download PDF 464kb

Changing Cardiovascular Health: National Cardiovascular Health Policy 2010 - 2019

This new cardiovascular policy, Changing Cardiovascular Health covering the period 2010-2019, comes a decade after the first national cardiovascular health strategy, entitled Building Healthier Hearts, was published by the Department of Health in 1999. The new policy is timely given the pace of scientific discovery and related changes in medical practice, changes in health service structures, and patterns and influences on population health behaviours in Ireland over the decade. Cardiovascular health and its maintenance is a microcosm of health more generally. A policy that can improve cardiovascular health and cardiovascular disease management will have beneficial effects for the whole healthcare system and population.Download this document

Role of genetic and social factors in modulating the efficiency of division of labour in social insects

Summary : Division of labour is one of the most fascinating aspects of social insects. The efficient allocation of individuals to a multitude of different tasks requires a dynamic adjustment in response to the demands of a changing environment. A considerable number of theoretical models have focussed on identifying the mechanisms allowing colonies to perform efficient task allocation. The large majority of these models are built on the observation that individuals in a colony vary in their propensity (response threshold) to perform different tasks. Since individuals with a low threshold for a given task stimulus are more likely to perform that task than individuals with a high threshold, infra-colony variation in individual thresholds results in colony division of labour. These theoretical models suggest that variation in individual thresholds is affected by the within-colony genetic diversity. However, the models have not considered the genetic architecture underlying the individual response thresholds. This is important because a better understanding of division of labour requires determining how genotypic variation relates to differences in infra-colony response threshold distributions. In this thesis, we investigated the combined influence on task allocation efficiency of both, the within-colony genetic variability (stemming from variation in the number of matings by queens) and the number of genes underlying the response thresholds. We used an agent-based simulator to model a situation where workers in a colony had to perform either a regulatory task (where the amount of a given food item in the colony had to be maintained within predefined bounds) or a foraging task (where the quantity of a second type of food item collected had to be the highest possible). The performance of colonies was a function of workers being able to perform both tasks efficiently. To study the effect of within-colony genetic diversity, we compared the performance of colonies with queens mated with varying number of males. On the other hand, the influence of genetic architecture was investigated by varying the number of loci underlying the response threshold of the foraging and regulatory tasks. Artificial evolution was used to evolve the allelic values underlying the tasks thresholds. The results revealed that multiple matings always translated into higher colony performance, whatever the number of loci encoding the thresholds of the regulatory and foraging tasks. However, the beneficial effect of additional matings was particularly important when the genetic architecture of queens comprised one or few genes for the foraging task's threshold. By contrast, higher number of genes encoding the foraging task reduced colony performance with the detrimental effect being stronger when queens had mated with several males. Finally, the number of genes determining the threshold for the regulatory task only had a minor but incremental effect on colony performance. Overall, our numerical experiments indicate the importance of considering the effects of queen mating frequency, genetic architecture underlying task thresholds and the type of task performed when investigating the factors regulating the efficiency of division of labour in social insects. In this thesis we also investigate the task allocation efficiency of response threshold models and compare them with neural networks. While response threshold models are widely used amongst theoretical biologists interested in division of labour in social insects, our simulation reveals that they perform poorly compared to a neural network model. A major shortcoming of response thresholds is that they fail at one of the most crucial requirement of division of labour, the ability of individuals in a colony to efficiently switch between tasks under varying environmental conditions. Moreover, the intrinsic properties of the threshold models are that they lead to a large proportion of idle workers. Our results highlight these limitations of the response threshold models and provide an adequate substitute. Altogether, the experiments presented in this thesis provide novel contributions to the understanding of how division of labour in social insects is influenced by queen mating frequency and genetic architecture underlying worker task thresholds. Moreover, the thesis also provides a novel model of the mechanisms underlying worker task allocation that maybe more generally applicable than the widely used response threshold models. Resumé : La répartition du travail est l'un des aspects les plus fascinants des insectes vivant en société. Une allocation efficace de la multitude de différentes tâches entre individus demande un ajustement dynamique afin de répondre aux exigences d'un environnement en constant changement. Un nombre considérable de modèles théoriques se sont attachés à identifier les mécanismes permettant aux colonies d'effectuer une allocation efficace des tâches. La grande majorité des ces modèles sont basés sur le constat que les individus d'une même colonie diffèrent dans leur propension (inclination à répondre) à effectuer différentes tâches. Etant donné que les individus possédant un faible seuil de réponse à un stimulus associé à une tâche donnée sont plus disposés à effectuer cette dernière que les individus possédant un seuil élevé, les différences de seuils parmi les individus vivant au sein d'une même colonie mènent à une certaine répartition du travail. Ces modèles théoriques suggèrent que la variation des seuils des individus est affectée par la diversité génétique propre à la colonie. Cependant, ces modèles ne considèrent pas la structure génétique qui est à la base des seuils de réponse individuels. Ceci est très important car une meilleure compréhension de la répartition du travail requière de déterminer de quelle manière les variations génotypiques sont associées aux différentes distributions de seuils de réponse à l'intérieur d'une même colonie. Dans le cadre de cette thèse, nous étudions l'influence combinée de la variabilité génétique d'une colonie (qui prend son origine dans la variation du nombre d'accouplements des reines) avec le nombre de gènes supportant les seuils de réponse, vis-à-vis de la performance de l'allocation des tâches. Nous avons utilisé un simulateur basé sur des agents pour modéliser une situation où les travailleurs d'une colonie devaient accomplir une tâche de régulation (1a quantité d'une nourriture donnée doit être maintenue à l'intérieur d'un certain intervalle) ou une tâche de recherche de nourriture (la quantité d'une certaine nourriture doit être accumulée autant que possible). Dans ce contexte, 'efficacité des colonies tient en partie des travailleurs qui sont capable d'effectuer les deux tâches de manière efficace. Pour étudier l'effet de la diversité génétique d'une colonie, nous comparons l'efficacité des colonies possédant des reines qui s'accouplent avec un nombre variant de mâles. D'autre part, l'influence de la structure génétique a été étudiée en variant le nombre de loci à la base du seuil de réponse des deux tâches de régulation et de recherche de nourriture. Une évolution artificielle a été réalisée pour évoluer les valeurs alléliques qui sont à l'origine de ces seuils de réponse. Les résultats ont révélé que de nombreux accouplements se traduisaient toujours en une plus grande performance de la colonie, quelque soit le nombre de loci encodant les seuils des tâches de régulation et de recherche de nourriture. Cependant, les effets bénéfiques d'accouplements additionnels ont été particulièrement important lorsque la structure génétique des reines comprenait un ou quelques gènes pour le seuil de réponse pour la tâche de recherche de nourriture. D'autre part, un nombre plus élevé de gènes encodant la tâche de recherche de nourriture a diminué la performance de la colonie avec un effet nuisible d'autant plus fort lorsque les reines s'accouplent avec plusieurs mâles. Finalement, le nombre de gènes déterminant le seuil pour la tâche de régulation eu seulement un effet mineur mais incrémental sur la performance de la colonie. Pour conclure, nos expériences numériques révèlent l'importance de considérer les effets associés à la fréquence d'accouplement des reines, à la structure génétique qui est à l'origine des seuils de réponse pour les tâches ainsi qu'au type de tâche effectué au moment d'étudier les facteurs qui régulent l'efficacité de la répartition du travail chez les insectes vivant en communauté. Dans cette thèse, nous étudions l'efficacité de l'allocation des tâches des modèles prenant en compte des seuils de réponses, et les comparons à des réseaux de neurones. Alors que les modèles basés sur des seuils de réponse sont couramment utilisés parmi les biologistes intéressés par la répartition des tâches chez les insectes vivant en société, notre simulation montre qu'ils se révèlent peu efficace comparé à un modèle faisant usage de réseaux de neurones. Un point faible majeur des seuils de réponse est qu'ils échouent sur un point crucial nécessaire à la répartition des tâches, la capacité des individus d'une colonie à commuter efficacement entre des tâches soumises à des conditions environnementales changeantes. De plus, les propriétés intrinsèques des modèles basés sur l'utilisation de seuils conduisent à de larges populations de travailleurs inactifs. Nos résultats mettent en évidence les limites de ces modèles basés sur l'utilisation de seuils et fournissent un substitut adéquat. Ensemble, les expériences présentées dans cette thèse fournissent de nouvelles contributions pour comprendre comment la répartition du travail chez les insectes vivant en société est influencée par la fréquence d'accouplements des reines ainsi que par la structure génétique qui est à l'origine, pour un travailleur, du seuil de réponse pour une tâche. De plus, cette thèse fournit également un nouveau modèle décrivant les mécanismes qui sont à l'origine de l'allocation des tâches entre travailleurs, mécanismes qui peuvent être appliqué de manière plus générale que ceux couramment utilisés et basés sur des seuils de réponse.

Healthy Ireland - A Framework for Improved Health and Wellbeing 2013 - 2025

Healthy Ireland is a new national framework for action to improve the health and wellbeing of our country over the coming generation. Based on international evidence, it outlines a new commitment to public health with a considerable emphasis on prevention, while at the same time advocating for stronger health systems. It provides for new arrangements to ensure effective co-operation between the health sector and other areas of Government and public services, concerned with social protection, children, business, food safety, education, housing, transport and the environment. It also invites the private and voluntary sector to participate through well-supported and mutually beneficial partnerships. It sets out four central goals and outlines actions under 6 thematic areas, in which all people and all parts of society can participate to achieve these goals. Click here to download PDF 4.72MB

First Steps on health for young people

This project will promote health awareness and encourage a more pro-active approach to looking after your health for12-16 year olds. Although focusing on young people, the approach being used hopes to cascade the information- the young people will take what their understanding into the home and the wider community. In order to reach their objectives they will carry out workshops with the youth in ways that will grab their attention and encourage a ‘change of lifestyles’ for example; painting murals relating to health issues etc. An information day was held as was an art project and several workshops, 1 of which allowed students to make a video on the role of the pharmacist. Results showed teenagers found it beneficial to get information on areas of health that they wanted to increase their awareness in. The project also identified a determination amongst staff to become more aware of the dangers of smoking and the project gave them a means of empowerment to help students who smoke to stop. All those involved in the project either through the information day, workshops or the art project felt it was tangible and was a sensitive wasy to deal with teenge health problems. The project created an understanding of why there is a need to take a communtiy response to such problems.

Biocontrol by phenazine-1-carboxamide-producing Pseudomonas chlororaphis PCL1391of tomato root rot caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici

Seventy bacterial isolates from the rhizosphere of tomato were screened for antagonistic activity against the tomato foot and root rot-causing fungal pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici. One isolate, strain PCL1391, appeared to be an efficient colonizer of tomato roots and an excellent biocontrol strain in an F. oxysporum/tomato test system. Strain PCL1391 was identified as Pseudomonas chlororaphis and further characterization showed that it produces a broad spectrum of antifungal factors (AFFs), including a hydrophobic compound, hydrogen cyanide, chitinase(s), and protease(s). Through mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance, the hydrophobic compound was identified as phenazine-1-carboxamide (PCN). We have studied the production and action of this AFF both in vitro and in vivo. Using a PCL1391 transposon mutant, with a lux reporter gene inserted in the phenazine biosynthetic operon (phz), we showed that this phenazine biosynthetic mutant was substantially decreased in both in vitro antifungal activity and biocontrol activity. Moreover, with the same mutant it was shown that the phz biosynthetic operon is expressed in the tomato rhizosphere. Comparison of the biocontrol activity of the PCN-producing strain PCL1391 with those of phenazine-1-carboxylic acid (PCA)-producing strains P. fluorescens 2-79 and P. aureofaciens 30-84 showed that the PCN-producing strain is able to suppress disease in the tomato/F. oxysporum system, whereas the PCA-producing strains are not. Comparison of in vitro antifungal activity of PCN and PCA showed that the antifungal activity of PCN was at least 10 times higher at neutral pH, suggesting that this may contribute to the superior biocontrol performance of strain PCL1391 in the tomato/F. oxysporum system.

Vibration training elicits a mixed aerobic and resistance-type exercise in sedentary subjects.

Objective. Vibration training (VT) is a new exercise method, with good acceptance among sedentary subjects, due to its passive principle: the machine moves the subject, not the opposite. We hypothesize that untrained subjects can benefit from a greater cardiovascular and metabolic stimulation than trained athletes, resembling classical aerobic-type activity, in addition of eliciting strength gains shown in diverse studies. Methods. 3 group of male subjects, inactive (SED), endurance trained athletes (END) and strength trained athletes (STR) underwent fitness (VO2max) and lower-body strength tests (isokinetic). Subjects were submitted to a session of oscillating VT, composed of 3 exercises (isometric half-squat, dynamic squat, dynamic squat with added load), each of 3 minutes duration, and repeated at 3 frequencies. VO2, heart rate and Borg scale were monitored. Results. 27 healthy subjects (10 SED, 9 END and 8 STR), mean age 24.5 (SED), 25.0 (STR) and 29.8 (END) were included. VO2max was significantly different as expected (47.9 vs. 52.9 vs. 63.9 ml/kg/min, resp. for SED, STR and END). Isokinetic dominant leg extensors strength was higher in STR (3.32 Nm/kg vs. 2.60 and 2.74 in SED and END). During VT, peak oxygen consumption (% of VO2max) attained was 59.3 in SED, 50.8 in STR and 48.0 in END (P<0.001 between SED and other subjects). Peak heart rate (% of heart rate max) was 82.7 in SED, 80.4 in STR and 72.4 in END. In SED, dynamic exercises without extra load elicited 51.0% of VO2max and 72.1% of heart rate max, and perceived effort reached 15.1/20. Conclusions. VT is an unconventional type of exercise, which has been shown to enhance strength, bone density, balance and flexibility. Users are attracted by the relative passivity. In SED, we show that VT elicits sufficient cardiovascular response to benefit overall fitness in addition to the known strength effects. VT's higher acceptance as an exercise in sedentary people, compared to jogging or cycling for example, can lead to better adherence to physical activity. Although long-term effects of VT on health are not avalaible, we believe this type of combination of aerobic and resistance-type exercise can be beneficial on multiple health parameters, especially cardiovascular health.

Task-dependent influence of genetic architecture and mating frequency on division of labour in social insect societies.

Division of labour is one of the most prominent features of social insects. The efficient allocation of individuals to different tasks requires dynamic adjustment in response to environmental perturbations. Theoretical models suggest that the colony-level flexibility in responding to external changes and internal perturbation may depend on the within-colony genetic diversity, which is affected by the number of breeding individuals. However, these models have not considered the genetic architecture underlying the propensity of workers to perform the various tasks. Here, we investigated how both within-colony genetic variability (stemming from variation in the number of matings by queens) and the number of genes influencing the stimulus (threshold) for a given task at which workers begin to perform that task jointly influence task allocation efficiency. We used a numerical agent-based model to investigate the situation where workers had to perform either a regulatory task or a foraging task. One hundred generations of artificial selection in populations consisting of 500 colonies revealed that an increased number of matings always improved colony performance, whatever the number of loci encoding the thresholds of the regulatory and foraging tasks. However, the beneficial effect of additional matings was particularly important when the genetic architecture of queens comprised one or a few genes for the foraging task's threshold. By contrast, a higher number of genes encoding the foraging task reduced colony performance with the detrimental effect being stronger when queens had mated with several males. Finally, the number of genes encoding the threshold for the regulatory task only had a minor effect on colony performance. Overall, our numerical experiments support the importance of mating frequency on efficiency of division of labour and also reveal complex interactions between the number of matings and genetic architecture.

Shaping the future: applying therapy research to practice

In these challenging financial times the use of research as a basis for effective health and social care cannot be overstated. 'Shaping the Future', a joint Public Health Agency and University of Ulster workshop (27 January) takes a fresh look at research within the Allied Health Professions (AHPs) to improve the care and experiences of people across Northern Ireland.The AHPs provide a wide range of services including physiotherapy, occupational therapy, radiography, podiatry, speech and language therapy and orthoptics.The nature of their work enables AHPs to carry out research that can rapidly benefit patient care and experience. 'Shaping the Future' will look at priorities for new AHP research and consider how existing research can be more effectively shared and used in health and social care development, rather than perhaps being limited to the academic world.Speaking at the event, Professor Bernie Hannigan, Director of Health and Social Care Research and Development (HSC R&D), aDivision of the PHA, said: "A sound base of evidence from research is vital for effective health and social care practice. I welcome this study as an important resource that will help generate new evidence and highlight the potential for existing evidence to be applied in practice. The evidence base points to beneficial innovations that use the most up-to-date knowledge and keep the service user at the centre of care practices. At this event, health and social care policy makers, commissioners, academics and researchers will be able to consider how they can do and use research to ensure our AHP services deliver the best outcomes for patients and are sufficiently cost-effective to be sustained."A recent study funded by HSC R&D was carried out by the University of Ulster working closely with leading AHPs, key stakeholders and service users* from throughout Northern Irealnd. Presenting the results of this study at the 'Shaping the Future' event will help to identify ways to gather evidence and contribute to innovative projects and programmes.Professor Suzanne McDonough, of the Health and Rehabilitation Sciences Research Centre at the University of Ulster, said: "In our study we used the Delphi technique, which is a structured process using a series of questionnaires, to gather information and gain consensus from AHP groups, stakeholders and service users."The results identified seven major priority areas for research. These ranged from: the need for more practice evaluation particularly in the areas of mental health, cancer, obesity; diabetes; chronic disease management (especially stroke and brain injury); the role of AHPs in health promotion; service delivery issues such as access to services and waiting times. This study provides an important road map for AHP research priorities. It is the first step in the process of identifying what research still needs to be undertaken, what research already exists but needs to be translated, and some of the processes that need to be in place to ensure that research is an integral part of the day-to-day practice of AHPs and of service delivery."

Involvement of PPAR nuclear receptors in tissue injury and wound repair.

Tissue damage resulting from chemical, mechanical, and biological injury, or from interrupted blood flow and reperfusion, is often life threatening. The subsequent tissue response involves an intricate series of events including inflammation, oxidative stress, immune cell recruitment, and cell survival, proliferation, migration, and differentiation. In addition, fibrotic repair characterized by myofibroblast transdifferentiation and the deposition of ECM proteins is activated. Failure to initiate, maintain, or stop this repair program has dramatic consequences, such as cell death and associated tissue necrosis or carcinogenesis. In this sense, inflammation and oxidative stress, which are beneficial defense processes, can become harmful if they do not resolve in time. This repair program is largely based on rapid and specific changes in gene expression controlled by transcription factors that sense injury. PPARs are such factors and are activated by lipid mediators produced after wounding. Here we highlight advances in our understanding of PPAR action during tissue repair and discuss the potential for these nuclear receptors as therapeutic targets for tissue injury.

Intérêt des faibles doses de rt-PA dans les syndromes inflammatoires et hémorragiques du segment antérieur: étude clinique et revue de la littérature [Treatment of anterior segment fibrinous reactions and hemorrhage with intracameral low dose rt-PA: clinical study and review of the literature].

PURPOSE: to evaluate the efficacy and the safety of low dose intraocular tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) in the treatment of traumatic hyphema and postoperative fibrinous membrane. METHODS: Six microg to 10 microg of rt-PA was injected into the anterior chamber to treat severe fibrinous postoperative membranes and total traumatic hyphemae. RESULTS: Thirteen eyes of 13 patients were treated. Four cases of traumatic hyphema and 9 cases of fibrinous membranes were included. Complete fibrinolysis within 24 hours was observed in 4 cases (30.8%). A partial success was noted in 7 eyes (53.8%). No beneficial effect was observed in two cases of traumatic hyphema associated with intravitreal hemorrhage after penetrating trauma. No side effect attributable to rt-PA occurred. CONCLUSION: Low dose intraocular rt-PA appears to be safe and effective in the treatment of postoperative fibrinous membrane and endocular hemorrhage limited to the anterior chamber.