Rare and common variants in the Apolipoprotein E gene in healthy oldest old.

Apolipoprotein E (APOE) alleles are associated with longevity in genome-wide scans, with ε4 correlated with shorter life, and ε2 with longer life, than ε3. We hypothesized that rare APOE variants with large individual effects might also contribute to long-term good health. The APOE exons and promoter were resequenced in DNA samples from 376 healthy oldest old aged ≥ 85 yrs with no self-reported history of cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, major pulmonary disease or Alzheimer disease ("Super-Seniors") and 376 population-based controls aged 41-54.

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma risk and variants in genes controlling lymphocyte development.

Non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL) are a heterogeneous group of solid tumours of lymphoid cell origin. Three important aspects of lymphocyte development include immunity and inflammation, DNA repair, and programmed cell death. We have used a previously established case-control study of NHL to ask whether genetic variation in genes involved in these three important processes influences risk of this cancer.

A randomized controlled trial of the impact of a teacher classroom management program on the classroom behavior of children with and without behavior problems.

This randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluated the efficacy of the Incredible Years (IY) Teacher Classroom Management (TCM; Webster-Stratton & Reid, 2002) program to assess whether training teachers in IY-TCM principles improve teacher behavior, whether any observed improvements impact pupil behavior classroom-wide, and whether these effects can be demonstrated with children at risk of developing conduct problems. Six intervention and six control classrooms comprising 12 teachers and 107 children (aged 3 to 7years) were recruited. Children were screened for high or low behavior problems using the cut-off points of the teacher-rated Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (Goodman, 1997).

Mirtazapine in Comorbid Major Depression and Alcohol Use Disorder: A Long-Term Follow-Up Study.

Background/objective: To date, pharmacotherapy trials of depressed alcoholics (MDD/AUD) have focused on SSRI medications, with disappointing results, so effective treatments for that comorbid population are lacking. Mirtazapine is an FDA-approved medication for treating MDD with a unique pharmacological profile whose efficacy may exceed that of SSRIs. Results from our recent open label study suggest robust acute phase efficacy for mirtazapine for decreasing both the depression and the drinking of that population.

Why is the GMN motif conserved in the CorA/Mrs2/Alr1 superfamily of magnesium transport proteins?

Members of the CorA/Mrs2/Alr1 superfamily of transport proteins mediate magnesium uptake in all kingdoms of life. Family members have a low degree of sequence conservation but are characterized by a conserved extracellular loop. While the degree of sequence conservation in the loop deviates to some extent between family members, the GMN family signature motif is always present.

Improved production of membrane proteins in Escherichia coli by selective codon substitutions.

Membrane proteins are extremely challenging to produce in sufficient quantities for biochemical and structural analysis and there is a growing demand for solutions to this problem. In this study we attempted to improve expression of two difficult-to-express coding sequences (araH and narK) for membrane transporters. For both coding sequences, synonymous codon substitutions in the region adjacent to the AUG start led to significant improvements in expression, whereas multi-parameter sequence optimization of codons throughout the coding sequence failed.

Integrated treatment of substance use and psychiatric disorders.

Epidemiological studies find that psychiatric disorders, including mental disorders and substance use disorders, are common among adults and highly comorbid. Integrated treatment refers to the focus of treatment on two or more conditions and to the use of multiple treatments such as the combination of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy. Integrated treatment for comorbidity has been found to be consistently superior compared to treatment of individual disorders with separate treatment plans.

12-step interventions and mutual support programs for substance use disorders: an overview.

Social workers and other behavioral health professionals are likely to encounter individuals with substance use disorders in a variety of practice settings outside of specialty treatment. 12-Step mutual support programs represent readily available, no cost community-based resources for such individuals; however, practitioners are often unfamiliar with such programs. The present article provides a brief overview of 12-Step programs, the positive substance use and psychosocial outcomes associated with active 12-Step involvement, and approaches ranging from ones that can be utilized by social workers in any practice setting to those developed for specialty treatment programs to facilitate engagement in 12-Step meetings and recovery activities.

Genome-wide association study of body mass index in 23 000 individuals with and without asthma.

Background: Both asthma and obesity are complex disorders that are influenced by environmental and genetic factors. Shared genetic factors between asthma and obesity have been proposed to partly explain epidemiological findings of co-morbidity between these conditions.

Objective: To identify genetic variants that are associated with body mass index (BMI) in asthmatic children and adults, and to evaluate if there are differences between the genetics of BMI in asthmatics and healthy individuals.

Functional genetic variation in NFKBIA and susceptibility to childhood asthma, bronchiolitis, and bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

Respiratory diseases are the most frequent chronic illnesses in babies and children. Although a vigorous innate immune system is critical for maintaining lung health, a balanced response is essential to minimize damaging inflammation. We investigated the functional and clinical impact of human genetic variants in the promoter of NFKBIA, which encodes IκBα, the major negative regulator of NF-κB.

A small-scale randomized controlled trial of the self-help version of the New Forest Parent Training Programme for children with ADHD symptoms.

The efficacy of a self-help parent training programme for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was evaluated. The New Forest Parenting Programme Self-help (NFPP-SH) is a 6-week written self-help psychological intervention designed to treat childhood ADHD. Forty-three children were randomised to either NFPP-SH intervention or a waiting list control group.

HLA-DQB1*02 and DQB1*06:03P are associated with peanut allergy.

Peanut allergy (PA) is a common and serious food allergy and its prevalence has increased in the past decade. Although there is strong evidence of inheritance, the genetic causes of this disease are not well understood. Previously, a large-scale genome-wide association study described an association between human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DQB1 and asthma; the aim of this study was to evaluate the association between HLA-DQB1 and PA.

Nonpharmacological interventions for ADHD: systematic review and meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials of dietary and psychological treatments.

Objective: Nonpharmacological treatments are available for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), although their efficacy remains uncertain. The authors undertook meta-analyses of the efficacy of dietary (restricted elimination diets, artificial food color exclusions, and free fatty acid supplementation) and psychological (cognitive training, neurofeedback, and behavioral interventions) ADHD treatments.

Method: Using a common systematic search and a rigorous coding and data extraction strategy across domains, the authors searched electronic databases to identify published randomized controlled trials that involved individuals who were diagnosed with ADHD (or who met a validated cutoff on a recognized rating scale) and that included an ADHD outcome.

The outer mitochondrial membrane in higher plants.

The acquisition and integration of intracellular organelles, such as mitochondria and plastids, were important steps in the emergence of complex multicellular life. Although the outer membranes of these organelles have lost many of the functions of their free-living bacterial ancestor, others were acquired during organellogenesis. To date, the biological roles of these proteins have not been systematically characterized.

Paradoxical Decrease in Striatal Activation on an fMRI Reward Task Following Treatment in Youth with Co-morbid Cannabis Dependence/Major Depression.

Reward behavior, including reward behavior involving drugs, has been shown to be mediated by the ventral striatum and related structures of the reward system. The aim of this study was to assess reward-related activity as shown by fMRI before and after treatment among youth with comorbid cannabis dependence and major depression. We hypothesized that the reward task (Delgado et al.

LONGER-TERM EFFECTIVENESS OF CBT IN TREATMENT OF COMORBID AUD/MDD ADOLESCENTS.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a commonly used therapy among persons with major depressive disorder (MDD) and also among those with alcohol use disorders (AUD). However, less is known regarding the efficacy of CBT for treating persons with co-occurring disorders involving both MDD and an AUD. Studies assessing the efficacy of CBT in adolescent populations with co-occurring disorders are particularly sparse, especially studies designed to assess the potential longer-term efficacy of an acute phase trial of CBT therapy in that youthful comorbid population.

Mirtazapine in Comorbid Major Depression and Alcohol Dependence: An Open-Label Trial.

OBJECTIVE: This was a first pilot study evaluating the acute phase (8-week) efficacy of the antidepressant medication mirtazapine for the treatment of depressive symptoms and drinking of subjects with comorbid major depressive disorder and alcohol dependence (MDD/AD). We hypothesized that mirtazapine would demonstrate within-group efficacy for the treatment of both depressive symptoms and drinking in these subjects. METHODS: We conducted a first open label study of the second generation antidepressant mirtazapine in 12 adult outpatient subjects with comorbid major depressive disorder/alcohol dependence.

Lung eQTLs to help reveal the molecular underpinnings of asthma.

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified loci reproducibly associated with pulmonary diseases; however, the molecular mechanism underlying these associations are largely unknown. The objectives of this study were to discover genetic variants affecting gene expression in human lung tissue, to refine susceptibility loci for asthma identified in GWAS studies, and to use the genetics of gene expression and network analyses to find key molecular drivers of asthma. We performed a genome-wide search for expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) in 1,111 human lung samples.

Item banks for alcohol use from the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS): use, consequences, and expectancies.

Background: We report on the development and calibration of item banks for alcohol use, negative and positive consequences of alcohol use, and negative and positive expectancies regarding drinking as part of the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS).

Methods: Comprehensive literature searches yielded an initial bank of more than 5000 items from over 200 instruments. After qualitative item analysis (including focus groups and cognitive interviewing), 141 items were included in field testing.

A meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies for serum total IgE in diverse study populations.

Background: IgE is both a marker and mediator of allergic inflammation. Despite reported differences in serum total IgE levels by race-ethnicity, African American and Latino subjects have not been well represented in genetic studies of total IgE.

Objective: We sought to identify the genetic predictors of serum total IgE levels.

Heme incorporation into the cytochrome bo3 occurs at a late stage of assembly.

Respiratory complexes in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes contain multiple co-factors, which are coordinated in defined positions so that they can function as electron wires. Intriguingly, co-factors are usually buried deep within hetero-oligomeric protein complexes and it is not clear when or how they are incorporated. In this study we show that heme is incorporated into the cytochrome bo(3) complex of Escherichia coli at a late stage of assembly.