Human chromosome 16 conservation in primates

A study was made of the organization of the chromosome orthologous to HSA16 in primates using a panel of 8 BAC probes spanning human chromosome 16. The probes were used in FISH experiments on great apes and on representatives of the Old World monkeys, New World monkeys, and lemurs. The domestic cat was used as an outgroup. The results indicate that 16p and 16q were separate chromosomes in a primate ancestor. They fused in a Catarrhini ancestor giving rise to the present day form found in HSA, great apes, and Old World monkeys. Several rearrangements were found in New World monkeys.     

Phobias of Attachment‐Related Inner States in the Psychotherapy of Adult Survivors of Childhood Complex Trauma

The clinical case described in this article illustrates the value of taking into account the dynamics of disorganized attachment in the assessment of attachment‐related phobias (phobia of attachment and phobia of attachment loss) during the psychotherapy of chronically traumatized patients. These seemingly opposite phobias typically coexist in the same patient, appear as phobias of both inner states (affect phobias) and relational experiences, and are linked to dissociated representations of self‐with‐other. Theory and research on attachment disorganization provide a clinician‐friendly conceptual framework for capturing both the intrapsychic (e.g., intrusive and nonintegrated mental states) and the relational (e.g., dramatic unsolvable dilemmas in interpersonal exchanges) aspects of the attachment‐related phobias. The therapeutic strategy and the key interventions that logically follow from a case formulation based on this conceptual framework are examined.     

Effects of ascorbic and dehydroascorbic acid on the multiplication of tumor ascites cells in vitro

Summary The effects of AA and DHA on ATP C⁺ cell multiplication in vitro were studied by measuring incorporation of ³H thymidine into DNA. The results obtained demonstrate that both AA and DHA have the same effects: they favor cell multiplication at low doses and inhibit it at high doses. Experiments carried out with serial doses of both these substances revealed that AA is more efficient in determining both stimulating and inhibiting effects. The lesser efficiency of DHA may be attributed to its limited stability in culture medium. Studies on the effect of high doses of AA and DHA added to the culture medium in single or fractionated doses revealed that fractionated administration is more efficient in inhibiting cell multiplication than single administration.Abbreviations AA ascorbic acid - DHA dehydroascorbic acid - ATP C⁺ ascites tumor Perugia in Balb C⁺ mice - GSH reduced glutathione     

PERCEPTUA.ND LEXICA.ACTORS IN A CAS.F LETTER-BY-LETTER READING

We report the case of a letter-by-letter reader (MJ) who showed normal processing of single letters and who could normally access the orthographic input lexicon when presented with letter names for aural recognition, or when allow ed enough tim e to process a visually presented letter string. However, MJ showed severe difficulties in simultaneously processing multiple letters and other simple visual stimuli. Furthermore, she does not have normal access to lexical orthographic representations and their meanings when stimuli are presented for too brief a time to allow for serial processing of the letter string. We found no evidence of (partial) lexical or semantic access without corresponding recognition of the letters in a word: No signs of implicit reading were observed w hen the input stimuli were controlled for the relevant visual features; “implicit reading” was only obtained under conditions that allowed sophisticated guessing. This pattern of results is interpreted as indicating that LBL reading (at least in MJ) results from damage to prelexical processing mechanisms. In MJ's case, the deficit reflects the degraded transfer of information from a normal visual processing system in the right hemisphere to a normal language processing system in the left hemisphere.     

Real world experience with teriflunomide in multiple sclerosis: the TER-Italy study

Journal of Neurology - To identify baseline factors associated with disease activity in patients with relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) under teriflunomide treatment. This was an...     

Human papillomavirus infection and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia in dialyzed patients

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is a risk factor for the development of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). The incidence of certain cancers such as HPV-associated CIN is higher among dialysis patients than in the general population. In the literature there are few studies on the prevalence of HPV infection among dialyzed women and almost all of these studies concerned women with positive Pap smears. We enrolled 73 hemodialyzed women attending our center from January 2009 to December 2010; 29 denied informed consent and 44 underwent Pap tests and cervical curettage for HPV (mean age 62 ± 15 years). We found HPV positivity in 6 women (prevalence 13.6%). The prevalence of CIN in our sample was also 13.6% (6/44), 83.3% of which HPV related. Since cervical curettage for HPV is a cheap and easy to perform test with high specificity and sensitivity, we believe it is worthwhile including it in the pre-transplant workup of such women to lower the incidence of CIN in dialyzed patients and transplant recipients.     

Electrophysiological correlates of response inhibition in children and adolescents with ADHD: influence of gender, age, and previous treatment history

Deficits in response inhibition may be at the core of the cognitive syndrome in ADHD. Here, inhibitory control mechanisms were studied in 36 ADHD-combined type and 30 healthy children by exploring the event-related brain activity during the Stop Signal task. The influence of age, gender, and previous treatment history was evaluated. The ADHD group showed reduced N200 wave amplitudes. For successful inhibitions, the N200 reduction was greatest over right inferior frontal scalp, and only the control group showed a success-related enhancement of such right frontal N200. Source analysis identified a source of the N200 group effect in right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Finally, a late positive wave to failed inhibitions was selectively reduced only in treatment-naïve ADHD children, suggesting that chronic stimulants may normalize late conscious error recognition. Both effects were independent of gender and age.     

Electrophysiological evidence of early attentional bias to drug-related pictures in chronic cannabis users

Behavioral and electrophysiological correlates of attentional bias to cannabis-related cues were investigated in a marijuana dependent group and a non-user group employing a drug Stroop task in which cannabis-related, negative and neutral images were presented. Behaviorally, cannabis users were less accurate during drug-containing blocks than non-users. Electrophysiologically, in chronic marijuana-users, an early positive ERP enhancement over left frontal scalp (EAP, 200–350 ms) was present in response to drug-containing blocks relative to negative blocks. This effect was absent in the non-user group. Furthermore, drug-containing blocks gave rise to enhanced voltage of a posterior P300 (300–400 ms), and a posterior sustained slow wave (LPP, 400–700 ms) relative to negative blocks. However, such effects were similar between cannabis users and non-users. Brain source imaging in cannabis users revealed a generator for the EAP effect to drug stimuli in left ventromedial prefrontal cortex/medial orbitofrontal cortex, a region active in fMRI studies of drug cue-reactivity and a target of the core dopaminergic mesolimbic pathway involved in the processing of substances of abuse. This study identifies the timing and brain localization of an ERP correlate of early attentional capture to drug-related pictures in chronic marijuana users. The EAP to drug cues may identify a new electrophysiological marker with clinical implications for predicting abstinence versus relapse or to evaluate treatment interventions.     

Memories of attachment hamper EEG cortical connectivity in dissociative patients

In this study, we evaluated cortical connectivity modifications by electroencephalography (EEG) lagged coherence analysis, in subjects with dissociative disorders and in controls, after retrieval of attachment memories. We asked thirteen patients with dissociative disorders and thirteen age- and sex-matched healthy controls to retrieve personal attachment-related autobiographical memories through adult attachment interviews (AAI). EEG was recorded in the closed eyes resting state before and after the AAI. EEG lagged coherence before and after AAI was compared in all subjects. In the control group, memories of attachment promoted a widespread increase in EEG connectivity, in particular in the high-frequency EEG bands. Compared to controls, dissociative patients did not show an increase in EEG connectivity after the AAI. Conclusions: These results shed light on the neurophysiology of the disintegrative effect of retrieval of traumatic attachment memories in dissociative patients.