Brain lesions disrupting addiction map to a common human brain circuit.

Drug addiction is a public health crisis for which new treatments are urgently needed. In rare cases, regional brain damage can lead to addiction remission. These cases may be used to identify therapeutic targets for neuromodulation.

The effects of aspirin and N-3 fatty acids on telomerase activity in adults with diabetes mellitus.

Type 2 Diabetes mellitus is associated with aging and shortened telomere length. Telomerase replaces lost telomeric repeats at the ends of chromosomes and is necessary for the replicative immortality of cells. Aspirin and the n3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are commonly used therapies in people with type 2 diabetes for reducing cardiovascular disease events, though their relation to telomerase activity is not well studied.

Implications of insular cortex laterality for treatment of nicotine addiction.

Background: Damage to the insula disrupts nicotine-induced cravings and is associated with greater odds of cessation. The role of laterality in regulating these changes is unclear. Neuroimaging studies in cigarette smokers show left hemispheric activation during a period of forced withdrawal and right hemispheric activation after having just smoked.

Effects of aspirin in combination with EPA and DHA on HDL-C cholesterol and ApoA1 exchange in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Background/synopsis: Low-dose aspirin is an effective drug for the prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events but individuals with diabetes mellitus can be subject to 'aspirin resistance'. Thus, aspirin's effect in these individuals is controversial. Higher blood levels of seafood-derived omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω3) eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) also have beneficial effects in reducing risk of CVD events but few studies have examined the interaction of plasma EPA and DHA with aspirin ingestion.

Immediate and Sustained Decrease in Smoking Urges After Acute Insular Cortex Damage.

Introduction: Smoking urges are fundamental aspects of nicotine dependence that contribute significantly to drug use and postquit relapse. Recent evidence has indicated that damage to the insular cortex disrupts smoking behaviors and claims to reduce urges associated with nicotine use, although tools that assess urge have yet to be used to validate these findings. We examined the effect of insular versus non-insular damage on urge using a well-accepted urge scale.

Study of monotherapy versus combination therapy for tobacco dependence among heavily addicted smokers.

Objectives: Combination therapy for tobacco dependence is becoming a standard of care. We sought to compare benefits and adverse events for combination therapy versus monotherapy for smokers in The Smokers' Health Project.

Methods: This secondary data analysis was derived from adult smokers (n = 198) who initially smoked 15 or more cigarettes per day and participated in The Smokers' Health Project.

Damage to the insula leads to decreased nicotine withdrawal during abstinence.

Background And Aims: Current pharmacotherapies for tobacco dependence are generally well tolerated, but have relatively high rates of relapse. They target primarily the brains' mesocorticolimbic 'reward' pathway. However, recent evidence suggests that the insular cortex, a central cerebral hemispheric region historically overlooked in addiction models, may also play an important role in cognitive and emotional processes that facilitate drug use.

Effects of an evidence-based computerized virtual clinician on low-density lipoprotein and non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in adults without cardiovascular disease: The Interactive Cholesterol Advisory Tool.

There is a lack of research on the use of electronic tools that guide patients toward reducing their cardiovascular disease risk. We conducted a 9-month clinical trial in which participants who were at low (n = 100) and moderate (n = 23) cardiovascular disease risk-based on the National Cholesterol Education Program III's 10-year risk estimator-were randomized to usual care or to usual care plus use of an Interactive Cholesterol Advisory Tool during the first 8 weeks of the study. In the moderate-risk category, an interaction between treatment condition and Framingham risk estimate on low-density lipoprotein and non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was observed, such that participants in the virtual clinician treatment condition had a larger reduction in low-density lipoprotein and non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol as their Framingham risk estimate increased.

Smoking cessation behaviors three months following acute insular damage from stroke.

Background: Recent evidence suggests that the insular cortex may play an important role in cognitive and emotional processes that facilitate drug use but it is unclear whether changes to the insula would result in sustained abstinence. To better understand the role of the insula in maintaining abstinence, we examined quitting patterns in smokers with acute damage to their insula relative to other regions.

Design: Prospective cohort study with 3month follow-up, beginning June 2013 and ending May 2014.

The effects of aspirin on platelet function and lysophosphatidic acids depend on plasma concentrations of EPA and DHA.

Aspirin's prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus is controversial. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and aspirin all affect the cyclooxygenase enzyme. The relationship between plasma EPA and DHA and aspirin's effects has not been determined.

A feasibility study of conducting the Montreal Cognitive Assessment remotely in individuals with movement disorders.

Remote assessments of individuals with a neurological disease via telemedicine have the potential to reduce some of the burdens associated with clinical care and research participation. We aim to evaluate the feasibility of conducting the Montreal Cognitive Assessment remotely in individuals with movement disorders. A pilot study derived from two telemedicine trials was conducted.

The effects of aspirin and fish oil consumption on lysophosphatidylcholines and lysophosphatidic acids and their correlates with platelet aggregation in adults with diabetes mellitus.

Many diabetics are insensitive to aspirin's platelet anti-aggregation effects. The influence of co-administration of aspirin and fish oil (FO) on plasma lysophospholipids in subjects with diabetes is poorly characterized. Thirty adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus were treated with aspirin (81mg/day) for seven days, then with FO (4g/day) for 28 days, then in combination for another seven days.

Effects of low-dose aspirin and fish oil on platelet function and NF-kappaB in adults with diabetes mellitus.

Introduction: Many diabetics are insensitive to aspirin's platelet anti-aggregation effects. The possible modulating effects of co-administration of aspirin and fish oil in subjects with diabetes are poorly characterized.

Participants And Methods: Thirty adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus were treated with aspirin 81 mg/d for 7 days, then with fish oil 4 g/day for 28 days, then the combination of fish oil and aspirin for another 7 days.

Modelling the cost effectiveness of disease-modifying treatments for multiple sclerosis: issues to consider.

Several cost-effectiveness models of disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) for multiple sclerosis (MS) have been developed for different populations and different countries. Vast differences in the approaches and discrepancies in the results give rise to heated discussions and limit the use of these models. Our main objective is to discuss the methodological challenges in modelling the cost effectiveness of treatments for MS.

A case-control study of paternal occupational exposures and the risk of childhood sporadic bilateral retinoblastoma.

Background: The risk factors for sporadic (ie, non-familial) retinoblastoma remain largely unknown.

Objectives: We examined the relationship between paternal occupational exposures from jobs held 10 years and 1 year prior to conception and the risk of sporadic bilateral retinoblastoma in children.

Methods: Paternal occupational data were obtained for 198 incident cases diagnosed with sporadic bilateral retinoblastoma from January 1998 to May 2006 and 245 referral-based controls from the case child's relatives and friends who were matched to 135 of the cases on birth year.

Potential reliability and validity of a modified version of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale that could be administered remotely.

Background: By permitting remote assessments of patients and research participants, telemedicine has the potential to reshape clinical care and clinical trials for Parkinson disease. While the majority of the motor Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) items can be conducted visually, rigidity and retropulsion pull testing require hands-on assessment by the rater and are less feasible to perform remotely in patients' homes.

Methods: In a secondary data analysis of the Comparison of the Agonist pramipexole vs.

Nosocomial infections in a pediatric residential care facility.

Background: Nosocomial infections have rarely been characterized in pediatric residential care facilities. The purpose of this study is to assess the frequency of and risk factors for infectious diseases in pediatric residential care facilities over a 1-year period and to contrast them with other pediatric extended care facilities.

Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed at a pediatric residential care facility dedicated exclusively to children with severe physical and mental disabilities.

Incubation of nicotine seeking is associated with enhanced protein kinase A-regulated signaling of dopamine- and cAMP-regulated phosphoprotein of 32 kDa in the insular cortex.

A recent clinical study demonstrated that damage to the insular cortex can disrupt tobacco addiction. The neurobiological mechanisms for this effect are not yet understood. In this study we used an animal model of nicotine addiction to examine the possibility that changes in insular cortex levels of dopamine (DA)- and cAMP-regulated phosphoprotein of 32 kDa (DARPP-32), a phosphoprotein enriched in DA neurons containing DA D1 receptors, may be associated with changes in vulnerability to nicotine addiction.