Insulin Signaling Deficiency Produces Immobility in That Models Diminished Motivation States in Man and Responds to Antidepressants.

Defects in insulin signaling have been reported in schizophrenia and major depressive disorder, which also share certain negative symptoms such as avolition, anhedonia, and apathy. These symptoms reflect diminished motivational states, which have been modeled in rodents as increased immobility in the forced swimming test. We have discovered that loss-of-function mutations in the insulin receptor () and syntaxin () genes in , brief food deprivation, and exposure to DMSO produce immobility and avolition in non-dauer adults.

Preventing Severe Asthma Exacerbations in Children. A Randomized Trial of Mite-Impermeable Bedcovers.

Rationale: Allergen exposure in sensitized individuals with asthma interacts with viruses to increase the risk of asthma exacerbation.

Objectives: To evaluate the use of house dust mite-impermeable bedding and its impact on severe asthma exacerbations in children.

Methods: We randomized mite-sensitized children with asthma (ages 3-17 yr) after an emergency hospital attendance with an asthma exacerbation to receive mite-impermeable (active group) or control (placebo group) bed encasings.

Anaplastic extramedullary cervical ependymoma with leptomeningeal metastasis.

We present a rare extramedullary ependymoma with diffuse spinal metastatic disease, and review the previous reports of extramedullary spinal ependymomas. Ependymomas are the most common intramedullary spinal cord tumor in adults. These tumors rarely present as extramedullary masses.

Analysis of comments in a petition defending electronic cigarettes.

Introduction: A 2009 petition opposing a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ban on electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) garnered international attention from e-cig users (vapers). Petitioners' comments described the perceived benefits of vaping.

Methods: We conducted a qualitative and quantitative analysis of petitioners' comments.