Treatment of Depression in Huntington's Disease: A Systematic Review.

Depression is a common psychiatric disorder among individuals with Huntington's disease (HD). Depression in HD and major depressive disorder appear to have different pathophysiological mechanisms. Despite the unique pathophysiology, the treatment of depression in HD is based on data from the treatment of major depressive disorder in the general population.

Development of a methodology for large-scale production of prions for biological and structural studies.

Prion diseases are a group of infectious neurodegenerative diseases produced by the conversion of the normal prion protein (PrP) into the disease-associated form (PrP). Extensive evidence indicate that the main or sole component of the infectious agent is PrP, which can replicate in affected individuals in the absence of nucleic acids. However, the mechanism of PrP-to-PrP conversion remains elusive, which has been attributed to the lack of sufficient structural information of infectious PrP and a reliable system to study prion replication .

Prion Dissemination through the Environment and Medical Practices: Facts and Risks for Human Health.

Prion diseases are a group of fatal, infectious neurodegenerative disorders affecting various species of mammals, including humans. The infectious agent in these diseases, termed prion, is composed exclusively of a misfolded protein that can spread and multiply in the absence of genetic materials. In this article, we provide an overview of the mechanisms of prion replication, interindividual transmission, and dissemination in communities.

North American and Norwegian Chronic Wasting Disease Prions Exhibit Different Potential for Interspecies Transmission and Zoonotic Risk.

Background: Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a rapidly spreading prion disorder affecting various species of wild and captive cervids. The risk that CWD poses to cohabiting animals or more importantly to humans is largely unknown.

Methods: In this study, we investigated differences in the capacity of CWD isolates obtained from 6 different cervid species to induce prion conversion in vitro by protein misfolding cyclic amplification.

Microsolvation of F.

A staggering structural diversity for the microsolvation of F- with up to six water molecules is uncovered in this work. Given the structural variety and the proximity in energy among several local minima, we show here that in order to match available experimental data, statistical averages over contributing structures are needed, rather than assigning experimental values to isolated structures. Our results suggest that the formal charge in F- is strong enough as to induce partial and total dissociation of water molecules and to alter the nature of the surrounding network of water to water hydrogen bonds.

Community-embedded disease intervention specialist program for syphilis partner notification in a clinic serving men who have sex with men.

Background/objectives: We evaluated the effectiveness of a Community-Embedded Disease Intervention Specialist (CEDIS) in providing partner notification (PN) for primary syphilis cases in a high STD morbidity, community-based clinic serving men who have sex with men in Los Angeles.

Methods: The CEDIS was trained by the same standards as the local health department Disease Investigator Specialists but was employed by and stationed at the clinic where the primary cases were diagnosed. We compared the CEDIS on specific PN outcomes before and after placement of the CEDIS and among countywide men who have sex with men primary syphilis cases, excluding the cases from the CEDIS clinic.