Contagious Horror: Infectious Themes in Fiction and Film.

Infectious diseases have been a preeminent part of literature since the earliest human writings. In particular, they have contributed greatly to the genre of horror-written or visual art intended to startle or scare. Horror fiction has emphasized infectious themes from the earliest Babylonian and Hebrew texts.

Kisspeptin Stimulates Growth Hormone Release by Utilizing Neuropeptide Y Pathways and Is Dependent on the Presence of Ghrelin in the Ewe.

Although kisspeptin is the primary stimulator of gonadotropin-releasing hormone secretion and therefore the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, recent findings suggest kisspeptin can also regulate additional neuroendocrine processes including release of growth hormone (GH). Here we show that central delivery of kisspeptin causes a robust rise in plasma GH in fasted but not fed sheep. Kisspeptin-induced GH secretion was similar in animals fasted for 24 hours and those fasted for 72 hours, suggesting that the factors involved in kisspeptin-induced GH secretion are responsive to loss of food availability and not the result of severe negative energy balance.

Adeno-Associated Virus Gene Therapy in a Sheep Model of Tay-Sachs Disease.

Tay-Sachs disease (TSD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder caused by a deficiency of the enzyme hexosaminidase A (HexA). TSD also occurs in sheep, the only experimental model of TSD that has clinical signs of disease. The natural history of sheep TSD was characterized using serial neurological evaluations, 7 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging, echocardiograms, electrodiagnostics, and cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers.

Leukemia inhibitory factor as a mediator of lipopolysaccharide effects on appetite and selected hormones and metabolites.

Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) has been suggested to function as a potent inhibitor of feed intake in rodents. In sheep, intravenous injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) resulted in an increase in gene expression for LIF in the arcuate nucleus ( < 0.01).