Publications by authors named "Bernard William Downs"

Article Synopsis
  • Since 1990, there has been significant growth in genetic studies linking certain alleles to severe alcoholism, with a focus on developing a test for identifying individuals at risk for alcohol use disorder (AUD) through the genetic addiction risk severity (GARS) test, which analyzes ten genes and eleven associated risk alleles.
  • Statistical validations have reinforced the association of these genetic markers with AUD and related conditions, utilizing rigorous analyses like the Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium and chi-square tests to assess their risk levels.
  • The findings support the creation of a "preaddiction" model, similar to "prediabetes," that could enhance treatment and prevention strategies for reward deficiency syndrome (RDS).
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Pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with group A streptococcal infections (PANDAS) is a concept that is used to characterize a subset of children with neuropsychiatric symptoms, tic disorders, or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), whose symptoms are exacerbated by group A streptococcal (GAS) infection. PANDAS has been known to cause a sudden onset of reward deficiency syndrome (RDS). RDS includes multiple disorders that are characterized by dopaminergic signaling dysfunction in the brain reward cascade (BRC), which may result in addiction, depression, avoidant behaviors, anxiety, tic disorders, and/or OCD.

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Background: The American Society of Hematology reported that according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) anemia is the most common blood disorder, which affects more than 3 million Americans, while the Global Burden of Disease 2016 (GBD 2016) reported that iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is the leading cause of anemia, which affects 1.93 billion people worldwide. Anemia is intricately linked to chronic inflammation, chronic kidney disease, gastrointestinal and gynecological malignancies, and autoimmune disorders.

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