Gender-stratified analyses reveal longitudinal associations between social support and cognitive decline in older men.

Research has extensively examined the relationship between social support and health outcomes in older adults. Little is known, however, about the longitudinal associations between distinct dimensions of perceived social support and incident cognitive decline. The current longitudinal study examined whether dimensions of perceived social support were associated with increased risk of cognitive decline, and if the relationship differed by gender.

The Modified Telephone-Administered Minnesota Cognitive Acuity Screen for Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Objective: This study aimed to compare the sensitivity and specificity of a modified version of the Minnesota Cognitive Acuity Screen (MCAS-m), by adding learning and recognition memory components, to the original version MCAS to distinguish amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) from healthy controls (HCs).

Methods/design: A total of 30 individuals with aMCI and 30 HCs underwent neuropsychological testing, neurologic examination, laboratory, and brain imaging tests. Once diagnosis was confirmed, participants completed the MCAS and MCAS-m in counterbalanced order.

Guilt after placement questionnaire: a new instrument to assess caregiver emotional functioning following nursing home placement.

Objective: Guilt is a core feature of dementia caregivers' experiences following placement. This study describes and validates a new assessment tool for monitoring caregiver adjustment after placement.

Methods: Forty-six items addressing ambivalence and guilt about placement were tested with 170 dementia caregivers (M age = 56.

Neural correlates of obstacle negotiation in older adults: An fNIRS study.

Older adults are less efficient at avoiding obstacles compared to young adults, especially under attention-demanding conditions. Using functional near-infrared-spectroscopy (fNIRS), recent studies implicated the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in cognitive control of locomotion, notably under dual-task walking conditions. The neural substrates underlying Obstacle Negotiation (ON), however, have not been established.

Gender effects on components of burden and depression among dementia caregivers.

Objective: Previous literature has examined burden and depression predominately as unitary constructs in relation to dementia caregiving. No studies thus far have examined gender differences in the specific components of burden and depression in dementia caregivers. The current study examined whether empirically validated dimensions of caregiver burden differed by gender for dementia caregivers.

Functional connectivity associated with social networks in older adults: A resting-state fMRI study.

Poor social networks and decreased levels of social support are associated with worse mood, health, and cognition in younger and older adults. Yet, we know very little about the brain substrates associated with social networks and social support, particularly in older adults. This study examined functional brain substrates associated with social networks using the Social Network Index (SNI) and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

The differential relationships of dimensions of perceived social support with cognitive function among older adults.

Objectives: Research has extensively examined the relationship of social support and cognition. Theories on social support suggest that it is a multidimensional construct including perceptions, actual assistance, and level of integration into a social network. Little is known, however, about the differential associations between distinct dimensions of perceived social support and cognition.

Antidepressant efficacy of ketamine in treatment-resistant major depression: a two-site randomized controlled trial.

Objective: Ketamine, a glutamate N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, has shown rapid antidepressant effects, but small study groups and inadequate control conditions in prior studies have precluded a definitive conclusion. The authors evaluated the rapid antidepressant efficacy of ketamine in a large group of patients with treatment-resistant major depression.

Method: This was a two-site, parallel-arm, randomized controlled trial of a single infusion of ketamine compared to an active placebo control condition, the anesthetic midazolam.

Rapid and longer-term antidepressant effects of repeated ketamine infusions in treatment-resistant major depression.

Background: Ketamine is reported to have rapid antidepressant effects; however, there is limited understanding of the time-course of ketamine effects beyond a single infusion. A previous report including 10 participants with treatment-resistant major depression (TRD) found that six ketamine infusions resulted in a sustained antidepressant effect. In the current report, we examined the pattern and durability of antidepressant effects of repeated ketamine infusions in a larger sample, inclusive of the original.

Increased ventricular lactate in chronic fatigue syndrome. III. Relationships to cortical glutathione and clinical symptoms implicate oxidative stress in disorder pathophysiology.

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a complex illness, which is often misdiagnosed as a psychiatric illness. In two previous reports, using (1)H MRSI, we found significantly higher levels of ventricular cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) lactate in patients with CFS relative to those with generalized anxiety disorder and healthy volunteers (HV), but not relative to those with major depressive disorder (MDD). In this third independent cross-sectional neuroimaging study, we investigated a pathophysiological model which postulated that elevations of CSF lactate in patients with CFS might be caused by increased oxidative stress, cerebral hypoperfusion and/or secondary mitochondrial dysfunction.

Teplizumab for treatment of type 1 diabetes (Protégé study): 1-year results from a randomised, placebo-controlled trial.

Background: Findings of small studies have suggested that short treatments with anti-CD3 monoclonal antibodies that are mutated to reduce Fc receptor binding preserve β-cell function and decrease insulin needs in patients with recent-onset type 1 diabetes. In this phase 3 trial, we assessed the safety and efficacy of one such antibody, teplizumab.

Methods: In this 2-year trial, patients aged 8-35 years who had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes for 12 weeks or fewer were enrolled and treated at 83 clinical centres in North America, Europe, Israel, and India.

Microchimerism in salivary glands after blood- and marrow-derived stem cell transplantation.

Blood- and marrow-derived stem cells (BMDSCs) provide disease-ameliorating effects for cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases. Microchimerism from donor BMDSCs has been reported in several recipient tissues. We hypothesized that this finding suggests a potential use of BMDSCs in the treatment of salivary dysfunctions.

Anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody treatment in newly diagnosed Type 1 diabetes patients: a hypothetical modelling analysis.

Aims: Although limited clinical data exist for anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody therapies, it is believed that they may influence glycaemic control, endogenous insulin secretion and hypoglycaemic event rates in individuals newly diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. In the absence of suitable empirical evidence, the objective of this study was to estimate the potential long-term clinical outcomes associated with treatment via a hypothetical modelling analysis.

Methods: Analyses were performed using a published and validated computer simulation model of diabetes in a hypothetical US cohort based on published literature and expert opinion.

Safety and pharmacokinetics of single intravenous dose of MGAWN1, a novel monoclonal antibody to West Nile virus.

West Nile Virus (WNV) is a neurotropic flavivirus that can cause debilitating diseases, such as encephalitis, meningitis, or flaccid paralysis. We report the safety, pharmacokinetics, and immunogenicity of a recombinant humanized monoclonal antibody (MGAWN1) targeting the E protein of WNV in a phase 1 study, the first to be performed on humans. A single intravenous infusion of saline or of MGAWN1 at escalating doses (0.

Systemic and local interleukin-17 and linked cytokines associated with Sjögren's syndrome immunopathogenesis.

Recently recognized as a distinct CD4(+) T helper (Th) lineage, Th17 cells have been implicated in host responses to infections and in pathogenesis associated with autoimmune diseases. This cytokine is implicated in primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) immunopathology because of the increased levels of circulating interleukin (IL)-17 in pSS. Plasma and minor salivary glands (MSGs) from patients with pSS were therefore evaluated for CD4(+) T cells, T regulatory cells, IL-17, and supporting cytokines by immunohistochemistry, RT-PCR, and microbead assays.

Phase-1 study of siplizumab in the treatment of pediatric patients with at least grade II newly diagnosed acute graft-versus-host disease.

In a phase-1 study, siplizumab, a humanized anti-CD2 monoclonal antibody, was administered (0.012 or 0.04 mg/kg) to 10 pediatric patients with > or = grade-II newly diagnosed, non-steroid-refractory aGvHD after BMT or PBSCT.

Lack of efficacy of etanercept in Sjögren syndrome correlates with failed suppression of tumour necrosis factor alpha and systemic immune activation.

Objective: To provide insight into the clinical failure of the tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) inhibitor, etanercept, in primary Sjögren syndrome (pSS), an extensive analysis of the systemic immune profile of patients with pSS was carried out and the effect of etanercept treatment on these immune parameters monitored.

Methods: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with pSS and healthy controls were compared by flow cytometry to determine differences in distribution of specific cell populations (T cells, B cells, monocytes), and to determine their expression of activation markers (CD25, HLA-DR), TNF receptors and chemokine receptors (CXCR1, 2) before and after treatment. Systemic cytokine levels were measured by multiplex ELISA assay in plasma and in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated whole blood from healthy controls and from patients with pSS before and after etanercept treatment.

Estimates of the prevalence of arthritis and other rheumatic conditions in the United States. Part I.

Objective: To provide a single source for the best available estimates of the US prevalence of and number of individuals affected by arthritis overall, rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile arthritis, the spondylarthritides, systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis, and Sjögren's syndrome. A companion article (part II) addresses additional conditions.

Methods: The National Arthritis Data Workgroup reviewed published analyses from available national surveys, such as the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS).

Augmented interferon-alpha pathway activation in patients with Sjögren's syndrome treated with etanercept.

Objective: Recent clinical trials suggest that etanercept is ineffective in controlling Sjögren's syndrome (SS). To address the hypothesis that tumor necrosis factor blockade can result in increased levels of interferon-alpha (IFNalpha) and BAFF, we quantified those mediators in plasma from etanercept- and placebo-treated SS patients.

Methods: We studied plasma samples from 20 patients with SS treated with etanercept (25 mg twice weekly) or placebo in a 12-week, randomized, double-blind clinical trial.

Lymphoma and other malignancies in primary Sjögren's syndrome.

Low peripheral CD4+ counts or low CD4+/CD8+ ratios may be important risk factors for lymphoma in SS

Distinct recognition of antibodies to centromere proteins in primary Sjogren's syndrome compared with limited scleroderma.

Background: Anticentromere antibodies are characteristically observed in scleroderma but have recently been reported in other autoimmune rheumatic disorders, including Sjögren's syndrome. It is not known whether distinct centromere proteins (CENP) are targeted in primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) and scleroderma.

Objective: To determine whether antibodies to CENP-B and CENP-C are present in these two disorders.

Immunological consequences of thalidomide treatment in Sjögren's syndrome.

Objective: To study the immunological consequences of systemic thalidomide treatment in patients with Sjögren's syndrome.

Methods: Cytokine (tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha), interleukin (IL) 6) and soluble receptor (sIL2R) levels were measured in patient and control plasma (n = 7), before and after thalidomide treatment. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were examined by FACS analysis for potential changes in specific cell populations (T cells, B cells, monocytes), and for the expression of activation markers (CD25, HLA-DR), costimulatory molecules (CD40, CD40L), TNF receptors, chemokine receptors, and adhesion molecules (L-selectin (L-sel)).

Serum lipid levels in Sjögren's syndrome.

Objectives: Altered lipid levels may occur in autoimmune diseases, for example low cholesterol levels have been described in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Serum lipid profiles in patients with Sjögren's syndrome (SS) have not been investigated. We hypothesized decreased lipid levels in SS patients and an inverse relationship with disease activity.

Adult heart block is associated with disease activity in primary Sjögren's syndrome.

Objectives: Congenital heart block occurring in the foetus and neonate may be associated with maternal anti-SS-A/anti-SS-B autoantibodies (anti-SSA/anti-SSB). The adult atrioventricular node is generally thought to be resistant to the damaging effects of anti-SSA/anti-SSB. However, case reports suggest that heart block developing in adult Sjögren's syndrome (SS) patients may be associated with these autoantibodies.