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Spangler J, Csákányi Z, Rogers T, Katona G.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2014 Feb ;11(2):1747-55.
PMID: 24503972
Childhood exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke (SHS) increases a child's burden of respiratory conditions, but parental smoking bans may reduce such morbidity. This study evaluated household smoking bans and their relationship to respiratory illness in an outpatient otolaryngology clinic.
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Yammani RR, Loeser RF.
Arthritis Rheumatol. 2014 Feb 4. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 24497499
Objective: Nuclear protein-1 (nupr1) is a stress-inducible protein involved in gene transcription. The objectives of this study were to determine (a) if chondrocytes express nupr1 and (b) whether nupr1 regulates MMP-13 expression. Methods: Paraffin-embedded cartilage sections from normal human and osteoarthritic cartilage were immunostained using anti-nupr1 antibody. Total RNA to measure nupr1 expression was isolated from joint tissue obtained 8-weeks after surgery from young (12-week-old) and older (12-month-old) mice that underwent destabilization of medial meniscus (DMM) to induce osteoarthritis. Human chondrocytes were stimulated with 1-10ng/ml of IL-1β, 25-μM tert-butylhydroperoxide, or 2-μM of thapsigargin and nupr1 expression was analyzed by quantitative-PCR. In addition, chondrocytes were transfected with siRNA to knockdown nupr1 expression and then stimulated with IL-1β overnight. After incubation, the conditioned media was collected and analyzed for MMPs. Results: Increased nupr1 immunostaining was noted in human osteoarthritic cartilage relative to normal cartilage. Expression was increased in mouse joint tissue from 12-month-old mice that underwent DMM surgery relative to sham controls. Stimulation of chondrocytes with IL-1β induced a 2-fold increase in nupr1 mRNA within 1hr and peaked to 4-fold at 6hrs. Treatment of chondrocytes with tert-butylhydroperoxide to induce oxidative stress, but not with thapsigargin to induce endoplasmic reticulum stress, increased nupr1 mRNA expression by over 2-fold. Knocking down nupr1 inhibited IL-1β-mediated induction of MMP-13. Conclusions: Nupr1 is expressed in cartilage, and its levels are increased in OA. Nupr1 expression is required for IL-1β-mediated expression of MMP-13. Thus, our study suggests a novel pathway for regulation of IL-1β-mediated production of MMPs in chondrocytes. © 2014 American College of Rheumatology.
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Pottala JV, Yaffe K, Robinson JG, Espeland MA, Wallace R, Harris WS.
Neurology. 2014 Feb 4;82(5):435-42.
PMID: 24453077
To test whether red blood cell (RBC) levels of marine omega-3 fatty acids measured in the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study were related to MRI brain volumes measured 8 years later.
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Coker LH, Espeland MA, Hogan PE, Resnick SM, Bryan RN, Robinson JG, Goveas JS, Davatzikos C, Kuller LH, Williamson JD, Bushnell CD, Shumaker SA, .
Neurology. 2014 Feb 4;82(5):427-34.
PMID: 24384646
To determine whether smaller brain volumes in older women who had completed Women's Health Initiative (WHI)-assigned conjugated equine estrogen-based hormone therapy (HT), reported by WHI Memory Study (WHIMS)-MRI, correspond to a continuing increased rate of atrophy an average of 6.1 to 7.7 years later in WHIMS-MRI2.
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Hall ME, Rocco MV, Morgan TM, Hamilton CA, Edwards MS, Jordan JH, Hurie JB, Hundley WG.
J Cardiovasc Magn Reson. 2014;16(1):17.
PMID: 24490671
Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) magnetic resonance (MR) is a novel imaging tool that detects changes in tissue oxygenation. Increases in renal oxygenation in response to a standard 20 mg intravenous furosemide stimulus have been evaluated to assess kidney viability in patients with renal artery stenosis (RAS). The effect of prior exposure to furosemide on the ability of BOLD MR techniques to evaluate renal function is unknown.This study tested the hypothesis that chronic loop diuretic therapy is associated with attenuated responses in renal tissue oxygenation as measured by BOLD MR with an acute 20 mg intravenous furosemide stimulus in participants undergoing evaluation for RAS.
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Gilmont RR, Raghavan S, Somara S, Bitar KN.
Tissue Eng Part A. 2014 Feb 3. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 24328537
Muscle replacement for patients suffering from extensive tissue loss or dysfunction is a major objective of regenerative medicine. To achieve functional status, bioengineered muscle replacement constructs require innervation. Here we describe a method to bioengineer functionally innervated gut smooth muscle constructs using neuronal progenitor cells and smooth muscle cells isolated and cultured from intestinal tissues of adult human donors. These constructs expressed markers for contractile smooth muscle, glial cells, and mature neuronal populations. The constructs responded appropriately to physiologically relevant neurotransmitters, and neural network integration was demonstrated by responses to electrical field stimulation. The ability of enteric neuroprogenitor cells to differentiate into neuronal populations provides enormous potential for functional innervation of a variety of bioengineered muscle constructs in addition to gut. Functionally innervated muscle constructs offer a regenerative medicine-based therapeutic approach for neuromuscular replacement after trauma or degenerative disorders.
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McCool BA, Chappell AM.
Alcohol. 2014 Feb ;48(1):55-61.
PMID: 24355071
Inbred mouse strains such as C57BL/6J (B6) and DBA/2J (D2) and related strains have been used extensively to help identify genetic controls for a number of ethanol-related behaviors, including acute intoxication and sensitivity to repeated exposures. The disparate ethanol drinking behaviors of B6 mice expressing high-drinking/preference and D2 mice expressing low-drinking/preference have yielded considerable insight into the heritable control of alcohol drinking. However, the B6-high and D2-low drinking phenotypes are contrasted with ethanol-conditioned reward-like behaviors, which are robustly expressed by D2 mice and considerably less expressed by B6 mice. This suggests that peripheral factors, chiefly ethanol taste, may help drive ethanol drinking by these and related strains, which complicates mouse genetic studies designed to understand the relationships between reward-related behaviors and ethanol drinking. Traditional approaches such as the sucrose/saccharin-substitution procedure that normally accentuate ethanol drinking in rodents have had limited success in low drinking/preferring mice such as the D2 line. This may be due to allelic variations of the sweet taste receptor subunit, expressed by many ethanol low-drinking/preferring strains, which would limit the utility of these types of substitution approaches. We have recently shown (McCool & Chappell, 2012) that monosodium glutamate (MSG), the primary component of umami taste, can be used in a substitution procedure to initiate ethanol drinking in both B6 and D2 mice that greatly surpasses that initiated by a more traditional sucrose-substitution procedure. In this study, we show that ethanol drinking initiated by MSG substitution in D2 mice, but not sucrose substitution, can persist for several weeks following removal of the flavor. These findings further illustrate the utility of MSG substitution to initiate ethanol drinking in distinct mouse strains.
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Yorgason JT, Ferris MJ, Steffensen SC, Jones SR.
Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2014 Feb ;38(2):438-47.
PMID: 24117706
Ethanol (EtOH) is known to have excitatory effects on dopamine (DA) release, with moderate-to-high doses (0.5 to 2.5 g/kg) of acute EtOH enhancing DA neuron firing rates in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and DA levels in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). EtOH has also been shown to reduce DA activity, with moderate doses (1 to 2 g/kg) attenuating electrically evoked release, and higher doses (5 g/kg) decreasing NAc DA levels, demonstrating a biphasic effect of EtOH on DA release. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate EtOH's inhibitory effects on NAc DA terminal release under low- and high-frequency stimulation conditions.
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Ahmad T, Fiuzat M, Mark DB, Neely B, Neely M, Kraus WE, Kitzman DW, Whellan DJ, Donahue M, Zannad F, Piña IL, Adams K, O'Connor CM, Felker GM.
Am Heart J. 2014 Feb ;167(2):193-202.e1.
PMID: 24439980
Exercise training is recommended for chronic heart failure (HF) patients to improve functional status and reduce risk of adverse outcomes. Elevated plasma levels of amino-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and cardiac troponin T (cTnT) are associated with increased risk of adverse outcomes in this patient population. Whether exercise training leads to improvements in biomarkers and how such improvements relate to clinical outcomes are unclear.
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Chang PP, Chambless LE, Shahar E, Bertoni AG, Russell SD, Ni H, He M, Mosley TH, Wagenknecht LE, Samdarshi TE, Wruck LM, Rosamond WD.
Am J Cardiol. 2014 Feb 1;113(3):504-10.
PMID: 24342763
Most population-based estimates of incident hospitalized heart failure (HF) have not differentiated acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) from chronic stable HF nor included racially diverse populations. The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study conducted surveillance of hospitalized HF events (age ≥55 years) in 4 US communities. We estimated hospitalized ADHF incidence and survival by race and gender. Potential 2005 to 2009 HF hospitalizations were identified by International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification, codes; 6,168 records were reviewed to validate ADHF cases. Population estimates were derived from US Census data; 50% of eligible hospitalizations were classified as ADHF, of which 63.6% were incident ADHF and 36.4% were recurrent ADHF. The average incidence of hospitalized ADHF was 11.6 per 1,000 persons, aged ≥55 years, per year, and recurrent hospitalized ADHF was 6.6 per 1,000 persons/yr. Age-adjusted annual ADHF incidence was highest for black men (15.7 per 1,000), followed by black women (13.3 per 1,000), white men (12.3 per 1,000), and white women (9.9 per 1,000). Of incident ADHF events with heart function assessment (89%), 53% had reduced the ejection fraction (heart failure with reduced ejection fraction [HFrEF]) and 47% had preserved ejection fraction (heart failure with preserved ejection fraction [HFpEF]). Black men had the highest proportion of acute HFrEF events (70%); white women had the highest proportion of acute HFpEF (59%). Age-adjusted 28-day and 1-year case fatality after an incident ADHF was 10.4% and 29.5%, respectively. Survival did not differ by race or gender. In conclusion, ADHF hospitalization and HF type varied by both race and gender, but case fatality rates did not. Further studies are needed to explain why black men are at higher risk of hospitalized ADHF and HFrEF.
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Semble AL, Davis SA, Feldman SR.
Am J Clin Dermatol. 2014 Feb ;15(1):37-43.
PMID: 24281790
Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α inhibitors are an alternative to oral systemic therapies for psoriasis. Data regarding the safety of TNF-α inhibitors from randomized clinical trials may not fully reflect the effects on the clinic patient population receiving the therapy, but other sources of information are available. We performed a literature review to assess the safety and tolerability of the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis with TNF-α inhibitors. A literature search was conducted using PubMed for articles dating from January 2000 to October 2013. Randomized controlled, cohort, open-label, and observational studies were included, as well as case reports and letters to the editor. Articles found on PubMed describing the safety of anti-TNF-α therapy in psoriasis patients were included, while studies highlighting interleukin (IL)-12 and IL-23 inhibitors were excluded, as were non-English articles. In total, 58 articles were included in the review. TNF-α inhibitors exhibit both efficacy and tolerability in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. Adverse effects associated with these medications are not common and can be minimized with routine clinical monitoring and patient education. While the risk of severe adverse events is low, the lack of very large, long-term, randomized safety trials limits the ability to fully define the safety of these agents. TNF-α inhibitors have a good efficacy/safety ratio for use in patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis. Serious adverse effects are not common, and common injection-site reactions are usually manageable. The benefits of TNF-α inhibitors outweigh the risks for moderate-to-severe psoriasis; however, there are potential adverse effects and the patient populations at highest risk include the elderly and those with a history of malignancy.
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Caritis SN, Venkataramanan R, Thom E, Harper M, Klebanoff MA, Sorokin Y, Thorp JM, Varner MW, Wapner RJ, Iams JD, Carpenter MW, Grobman WA, Mercer BM, Sciscione A, Rouse DJ, Ramin S, .
Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2014 Feb ;210(2):128.e1-6.
PMID: 24113254
17-alpha hydroxyprogesterone caproate 250 mg weekly reduces recurrent spontaneous preterm birth in women with a prior spontaneous preterm birth by 33%. The dose is not based on pharmacologic considerations. A therapeutic concentration has not been determined hampering any attempt to optimize treatment. This study evaluated the relationship between 17-alpha hydroxyprogesterone caproate plasma concentrations and the rate of spontaneous preterm birth in women with singleton gestation.
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Bach DS, Kon ND.
Ann Thorac Surg. 2014 Feb ;97(2):544-51.
PMID: 24140209
The Freestyle stentless aortic root bioprosthesis has excellent hemodynamics and durability through 10 years. The purpose of this report is to present clinical outcomes in a large multicenter cohort through 15 years.
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Freedman BI, Langefeld CD, Andringa KK, Croker JA, Williams AH, Garner NE, Birmingham DJ, Hebert LA, Hicks PJ, Segal MS, Edberg JC, Brown EE, Alarcón GS, Costenbader KH, Comeau ME, Criswell LA, Harley JB, James JA, Kamen DL, Lim SS, Merrill JT, Sivils KL, Niewold TB, Patel NM, Petri M, Ramsey-Goldman R, Reveille JD, Salmon JE, Tsao BP, Gibson KL, Byers JR, Vinnikova AK, Lea JP, Julian BA, Kimberly RP, .
Arthritis Rheumatol. 2014 Feb ;66(2):390-6.
PMID: 24504811
Lupus nephritis (LN) is a severe manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) that exhibits familial aggregation and may progress to end-stage renal disease (ESRD). LN is more prevalent among African Americans than among European Americans. This study was undertaken to investigate the hypothesis that the apolipoprotein L1 gene (APOL1) nephropathy risk alleles G1/G2, common in African Americans and rare in European Americans, contribute to the ethnic disparity in risk.
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Pandey AK, Blaha MJ, Sharma K, Rivera J, Budoff MJ, Blankstein R, Al-Mallah M, Wong ND, Shaw L, Carr J, O'Leary D, Lima JA, Szklo M, Blumenthal RS, Nasir K.
Atherosclerosis. 2014 Feb ;232(2):369-76.
PMID: 24468150
We evaluated family history as a predictor of incident and progressive coronary artery calcium (CAC) using data from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).
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Baumeister RF, Vohs KD, Masicampo EJ.
Behav Brain Sci. 2014 Feb ;37(1):20-1.
PMID: 24461308
Psychologists debate whether consciousness or unconsciousness is most central to human behavior. Our goal, instead, is to figure out how they work together. Conscious processes are partly produced by unconscious processes, and much information processing occurs outside of awareness. Yet, consciousness has advantages that the unconscious does not. We discuss how consciousness causes behavior, drawing conclusions from large-scale literature reviews.
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Helzer EG, Dunning D.
Behav Brain Sci. 2014 Feb ;37(1):30-1.
PMID: 24461040
Even if people are experts at understanding how various input cues landed them at a particular decision (something the authors refer to as cue utilization), they may still fail to appreciate how context influences the weight given to those input variables. We review evidence suggesting that people are unaware of contextual influences on their decisions.
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Zakhem E, Raghavan S, Bitar KN.
Biomaterials. 2014 Feb ;35(6):1882-9.
PMID: 24315576
Neuromuscular disorders of the gut result in disturbances in gastrointestinal transit. The objective of this study was to evaluate the neo-innervation of smooth muscle in an attempt to restore lost innervation. We have previously shown the potential use of composite chitosan scaffolds as support for intestinal smooth muscle constructs. However, the constructs lacked neuronal component. Here, we bioengineered innervated colonic smooth muscle constructs using rabbit colon smooth muscle and enteric neural progenitor cells. We also bioengineered smooth muscle only tissue constructs using colonic smooth muscle cells. The constructs were placed next to each other around tubular chitosan scaffolds and left in culture. Real time force generation conducted on the intrinsically innervated smooth muscle constructs showed differentiated functional neurons. The bioengineered smooth muscle only constructs became neo-innervated. The neo-innervation results were confirmed by immunostaining assays. Chitosan supported (1) the differentiation of neural progenitor cells in the constructs and (2) the neo-innervation of non-innervated smooth muscle around the same scaffold.
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Ostchega Y, Hughes JP, Prineas RJ, Zhang G, Nwankwo T, Chiappa MM.
Blood Press Monit. 2014 Feb ;19(1):26-31.
PMID: 24247363
Accurately measuring blood pressure (BP) requires choosing an appropriate BP cuff size.
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Lester SC, Taksler GB, Kuremsky JG, Lucas JT, Ayala-Peacock DN, Randolph DM, Bourland JD, Laxton AW, Tatter SB, Chan MD.
Cancer. 2014 Feb 1;120(3):433-41.
PMID: 24452675
Insurers have started to deny reimbursement for routine brain surveillance with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for brain metastases in favor of symptom-prompted imaging. The authors investigated the clinical and economic impact of symptomatic versus asymptomatic metastases and related these findings to the use of routine brain surveillance.
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