Assessments of stress can be performed using physiological signals, such as electroencephalograms (EEGs) and galvanic skin response (GSR). Commercialized systems that are used to detect stress with EEGs require a controlled environment with many channels, which prohibits their daily use. Fortunately, there is a rise in the utilization of wearable devices for stress monitoring, offering more flexibility.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChronic abdominal pain in the absence of ongoing disease is the hallmark of disorders of gut-brain interaction (DGBIs), including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). While the etiology of DGBIs remains poorly understood, there is evidence that both genetic and environmental factors play a role. In this study, we report the identification and validation of arginine-vasopressin receptor 1A (Avpr1a) as a novel candidate gene for visceral hypersensitivity (VH), a primary peripheral mechanism underlying abdominal pain in DGBI/IBS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrecision medicine is emerging as an integral component in delivering care in the health system leading to better diagnosis and optimizing the treatment of patients. This growth is due to the new technologies in the data science field that have led to the ability to model complex diseases. Precision medicine is based on genomics and omics facilities that provide information about molecular proteins and biomarkers that could lead to discoveries for the treatment of patients suffering from various diseases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Aims: Spinal cord injury (SCI) affects roughly 300,000 Americans with 17,000 new cases added annually. In addition to paralysis, 60% of people with SCI develop neurogenic bowel (NB), a syndrome characterized by slow colonic transit, constipation, and chronic abdominal pain. The knowledge gap surrounding NB mechanisms after SCI means that interventions are primarily symptom-focused and largely ineffective.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChronic abdominal pain in the absence of ongoing disease is the hallmark of disorders of gut-brain interaction (DGBIs), including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). While the etiology of DGBIs remains poorly understood, there is evidence that both genetic and environmental factors play a role. In this study, we report the identification and validation of as a novel candidate gene for visceral hypersensitivity (VH), a primary peripheral mechanism underlying abdominal pain in DGBI/IBS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a major health problem Worldwide, Egypt shows a high rate of early CRC in the world as 35% of 1,600 Egyptian CRC patients were under 40 with threefold increased risk of death within 5 years. DNA methylation-based biomarkers as methylated Septin9 (mSEPT9) has a promising role for detecting CRC. As well as set of nuclear matrix proteins associated with changes in the nuclear structure/architecture.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDiabetes is sweeping the world as a silent epidemic, posing a growing threat to public health. Modeling diabetes is an effective method to monitor the increasing prevalence of diabetes and develop cost-effective strategies that control the incidence of diabetes and its complications. This paper focuses on a mathematical model known as the diabetes complication (DC) model.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: The objective of this study was to determine physician perceptions regarding the importance of and comfort with the use of medical genetics and genomics in medical education and practice, as well as physician expectations for medical trainees.
Methods: A retrospective survey was sent to physicians employed by a health system associated with a public medical school to assess their perceived training in medical genetics and genomics and their comfort level with ordering genetic testing.
Methods: Despite reporting formal genetics training in medical schools, clinicians' comfort with and knowledge in this content area does not meet personal expectations of competency.
Background: Chronic postsurgical pain (CPSP) in children remains an important problem with no effective preventive or therapeutic strategies. Recently, genomic underpinnings explaining additional interindividual risk beyond psychological factors have been proposed.
Aims: We present a comprehensive review of current preclinical and clinical evidence for genetic and epigenetic mechanisms relevant to pediatric CPSP.
Thermal nociception involves the transmission of temperature-related noxious information from the periphery to the CNS and is a heritable trait that could predict transition to persistent pain. Rodent forward genetics complement human studies by controlling genetic complexity and environmental factors, analysis of end point tissue, and validation of variants on appropriate genetic backgrounds. Reduced complexity crosses between nearly identical inbred substrains with robust trait differences can greatly facilitate unbiased discovery of novel genes and variants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAim: Personality disorder is a common co-occurrence ('comorbidity') among patients with bipolar disorder and appears to affect outcome negatively. However, there is little knowledge about the impact of this comorbidity in the early phases of bipolar disorder. We examined the prevalence and effect of personality disorder co-occurrence on outcome in a cohort of youth with first episode mania with psychotic features.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLithium and quetiapine are considered standard maintenance agents for bipolar disorder yet it is unclear how their efficacy compares with each other.To investigate the differential effect of lithium and quetiapine on symptoms of depression, mania, general functioning, global illness severity and quality of life in patients with recently stabilised first-episode mania.Maintenance trial of patients with first-episode mania stabilised on a combination of lithium and quetiapine, subsequently randomised to lithium or quetiapine monotherapy (up to 800 mg/day) and followed up for 1 year.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Cognitive deficits have been reported during the early stages of bipolar disorder; however, the role of medication on such deficits remains unclear. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of lithium and quetiapine monotherapy on cognitive performance in people following first episode mania.
Methods: The design was a single-blind, randomised controlled trial on a cohort of 61 participants following first episode mania.
Background: Treatment strategies for mental disorders may vary according to illness stage. However no data currently exist to guide treatment in first episode psychotic mania. The aim of this study was to compare the safety and efficacy profile of chlorpromazine and olanzapine, as add-on to lithium, in patients with a first episode of psychotic mania, expecting better safety profile and adherence to olanzapine but similar efficacy for both treatments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Past traumatic events have been associated with poorer clinical outcomes in people with bipolar disorder. However, the impact of these events in the early stages of the illness remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate whether prior traumatic events were related to poorer outcomes 12 months following a first episode of psychotic mania.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe have reported previously that duodenal follicular lymphoma (FL) is distinct from nodal FL and showed more resemblance to mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma, and that FL frequently involved the duodenal second portion. In the present study, we examined duodenal FLs and gastric/colonic FLs to clarify the clinicopathological and immunological differences between the tumor types. We analyzed 8 samples of gastric FL, 17 of duodenal ones, and 5 of colonic/rectal ones, and characterized them by immunohistochemistry, immunogenotyping, and histology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAim: There is a scarce literature describing psychological interventions for a young, first-episode cohort who have experienced psychotic mania. This study aimed to assess whether a manualized psychological intervention could be effective in reducing symptomatology and relapse, and improve functional outcome in this population.
Methods: The study was an open-label design, drawn from a larger pharmacotherapy trial.
Objective: Clinical studies suggest resting thermoregulatory cutaneous vasomotor tone could be increased in schizophrenia, resulting in reduced hand blood flow. In animal models, atypical antipsychotics including clozapine potently inhibit sympathetic neural outflow to the thermoregulatory cutaneous vascular beds. We have now determined whether antipsychotic medication administration is associated with an acute increase in hand blood flow in patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder, and whether this increase correlates with clinical status.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence and risk factors of severe liver events among HIV-infected patients treated with drug combinations including tipranavir boosted with ritonavir (TPV/r).
Methods: One hundred and fifty patients were selected because they started a regimen that included TPV/r (500/200 mg twice a day) and had clinical visits at least every 3 months. Patients who discontinued TPV/r before their first visit were included.
Objectives: To appraise the rate of grade 3-4 transaminase elevations (TEs) and grade 4 total bilirubin elevation (TBE) in patients co-infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C or hepatitis B virus (HCV or HBV, respectively) who receive atazanavir/ritonavir. Moreover, the relationship between these events and the degree of prior liver fibrosis was evaluated.
Methods: A cohort of 189 HIV-infected patients, 175 co-infected with HCV, 4 with HBV and 10 with both, receiving atazanavir/ritonavir, was analysed.
The early phases of bipolar disorders are difficult to diagnose and have specific treatment issues. The initial polarity of the illness is more commonly depressive, yet in counterpoint, mania is required for diagnosis; consequently, there is often a substantial delay in the initiation of appropriate therapy. There is good evidence that lithium in particular is most effective early in the illness course, and that its efficacy declines after multiple episodes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: To assess the association between non-severe liver enzyme elevations (LEEs) during antiretroviral treatment and liver fibrosis in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients.
Methods: All co-infected patients from an Infectious Disease Unit who had received treatment with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) for at least 12 months before undergoing a liver biopsy were included in the study.
Results: One-hundred and sixteen patients met the inclusion criteria of the study.