How the parcellation theory of comparative forebrain specialization emerged from the Division of Neuropsychiatry at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research.

The Golgi method gave birth to modern neuroscience. The Nauta method, developed in a novel Army think tank at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, was the next major breakthrough before neuroscience emerged as a separate discipline. Dr.

Fatty acids linked to cardiovascular mortality are associated with risk factors.

Background: Although saturated fatty acids (FAs) have been linked to cardiovascular mortality, it is not clear whether this outcome is attributable solely to their effects on low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) or whether other risk factors are also associated with FAs. The Western Alaskan Native population, with its rapidly changing lifestyles, shift in diet from unsaturated to saturated fatty acids and dramatic increase in cardiovascular disease (CVD), presents an opportunity to elucidate any associations between specific FAs and known CVD risk factors.

Objective: We tested the hypothesis that the specific FAs previously identified as related to CVD mortality are also associated with individual CVD risk factors.

Cardiometabolic correlates of low type 2 diabetes incidence in western Alaska Native people - The WATCH study.

Aims: Previously rare among Alaska Native (AN) people, type 2 diabetes (DM2) prevalence as indicated by registry data has increased by as much as 300% in some western Alaska regions. We sought to determine prevalence and incidence of DM2 and analyze associated cardiometabolic risk factors in western AN people.

Methods: DM2 and prediabetes prevalence and incidence were determined by the Western Alaska Tribal Collaborative for Health using consolidated data from cohort studies conducted during 2000-2010.

Apolipoprotein E isoforms 3/3 and 3/4 differentially interact with circulating stearic, palmitic, and oleic fatty acids and lipid levels in Alaskan Natives.

Lifestyle changes in Alaskan Natives have been related to the increase of cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome in the last decades. Variation of the apolipoprotein E (Apo E) genotype may contribute to the diverse response to diet in lipid metabolism and influence the association between fatty acids in plasma and risk factors for cardiovascular disease. The aim of this investigation was to analyze the interaction between Apo E isoforms and plasma fatty acids, influencing phenotypes related to metabolic diseases in Alaskan Natives.

Prevalence of Hypertension and Associated Risk Factors in Western Alaska Native People: The Western Alaska Tribal Collaborative for Health (WATCH) Study.

Hypertension is a common chronic disease and a key risk factor in the development of cardiovascular disease. The Western Alaska Tribal Collaborative for Health study consolidates baseline data from four major cohorts residing in the Norton Sound and Yukon-Kuskokwim regions of western Alaska. This consolidated cohort affords an opportunity for a systematic analysis of high blood pressure and its correlates in a unique population with high stroke rates over a wide age range.

All-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality in western Alaska Native people: western Alaska Tribal Collaborative for Health (WATCH).

Objectives: We determined all-cause, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and cancer mortality in western Alaska Native people and examined agreement between death certificate information and adjudicated cause of deaths.

Methods: Data from 4 cohort studies were consolidated. Death certificates and medical records were reviewed and adjudicated according to standard criteria.

Statistical genetic analysis of serological measures of common, chronic infections in Alaska Native participants in the GOCADAN study.

This paper describes genetic investigations of seroreactivity to five common infectious pathogens in the Genetics of Coronary Artery Disease in Alaska Natives (GOCADAN) study. Antibody titers and seroprevalence were available for 495 to 782 (depending on the phenotype) family members at two time points, approximately 15 years apart, for Chlamydophila pneumoniae, Helicobacter pylori, cytomegalovirus (CMV), herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1), and herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2). Seroprevalence rates indicate that infections with most of these pathogens are common (≥20% for all of them, >80% for H.

Utilizing harmonization and common surveillance methods to consolidate 4 cohorts: the Western Alaska Tribal Collaborative for Health (WATCH) study.

Background: According to health status reports, chronic disease prevalence appears to be rising in western Alaska Native (AN) people, and accurate population-based data are needed. Four cohort studies of western AN people were conducted in the Norton Sound and Yukon-Kuskokwim regions, but none have been large enough to allow reliable estimates of rates of chronic diseases and evaluate their risk factors.

Objective: In this article, the methods used to combine 4 major cohort studies of rural western AN people are described and the benefits and challenges encountered in combining data and standardizing surveillance methods for these studies are discussed.

Variants in CPT1A, FADS1, and FADS2 are Associated with Higher Levels of Estimated Plasma and Erythrocyte Delta-5 Desaturases in Alaskan Eskimos.

The delta-5 and delta-6 desaturases (D5D and D6D), encoded by fatty acid desaturase 1 (FADS1) and 2 (FADS2) genes, respectively, are rate-limiting enzymes in the metabolism of ω-3 and ω-6 fatty acids. The objective of this study was to identify genes influencing variation in estimated D5D and D6D activities in plasma and erythrocytes in Alaskan Eskimos (n = 761) participating in the genetics of coronary artery disease in Alaska Natives (GOCADAN) study. Desaturase activity was estimated by product: precursor ratio of polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Lipoprotein subfractions and dietary intake of n-3 fatty acid: the Genetics of Coronary Artery Disease in Alaska Natives study.

Background: Few studies have compared lipoprotein composition with dietary intake.

Objective: The lipoprotein subfraction profile was evaluated in relation to diet in Alaska Eskimos at high cardiovascular risk but with a low frequency of hyperlipidemia and high intake of n-3 (omega-3) fatty acids.

Design: A population-based sample (n = 1214) from the Norton Sound Region of Alaska underwent a physical examination and blood sampling.

Heart rate is associated with markers of fatty acid desaturation: the GOCADAN study.

Objectives: To determine if heart rate (HR) is associated with desaturation indexes as HR is associated with arrhythmia and sudden death.

Study Design: A community based cross-sectional study of 1214 Alaskan Inuit.

Methods: Data of FA concentrations from plasma and red blood cell membranes from those ≥35 years of age (n = 819) were compared to basal HR at the time of examination.

Uric acid, hypertension, and chronic kidney disease among Alaska Eskimos: the Genetics of Coronary Artery Disease in Alaska Natives (GOCADAN) study.

It is unknown what role uric acid (UA) may play in the increasing rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among Alaska Eskimos. UA is associated with both hypertension (HTN) and chronic kidney disease (CKD). The authors analyzed 1078 Genetics of Coronary Artery Disease in Alaska Natives (GOCADAN) participants.

The legacy of the Alaska Siberia Medical Research Program: a historical perspective.

Background: The Alaska Siberia Medical Research Program was established at the University of Alaska (UA) at a time when there was no research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that was concerned with Alaska Native health issues. The program grew out of a dire need for an understanding of the apparently rapidly growing health problems in the Native community. The initial plan included the following objectives.

Sex-specific associations of nutrition with hypertension and systolic blood pressure in Alaska Natives findings from the GOCADAN study.

Objectives: To examine sex-specific associations of nutritional factors with prevalent hypertension (HTN) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) in Alaska Natives. Diet is known to affect SBP, a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

Study Design: Cross-sectional analysis of participants without diabetes in the Genetics of Coronary Artery Disease in Alaska Natives study.

A QTL for genotype by sex interaction for anthropometric measurements in Alaskan Eskimos (GOCADAN Study) on chromosome 19q12-13.

Variation in anthropometric measurements due to sexual dimorphism can be the result of genotype by sex interactions (G×S). The purpose of this study was to examine the sex-specific genetic architecture in anthropometric measurements in Alaskan Eskimos from the Genetics of Coronary Artery Disease in Alaska Natives (GOCADAN) study. Maximum likelihood-based variance components decomposition methods, implemented in SOLAR, were used for G×S analyses.

Individual saturated fatty acids are associated with different components of insulin resistance and glucose metabolism: the GOCADAN study.

Objectives: Type 2 diabetes and the consumption of saturated fatty acids (FAs) are on the rise among Alaska Inuits. This analysis, based on a cross-sectional study, explores the possible associations of saturated FA content in red blood cells (RBCs) and parameters of glucose metabolism in a sample of Alaska Natives.

Study Design And Methods: The sample included 343 women and 282 men aged 35-74.

Heart rate is associated with red blood cell fatty acid concentration: the Genetics of Coronary Artery Disease in Alaska Natives (GOCADAN) study.

Background: Consumption of omega-3 fatty acids (FAs) is associated with a reduction in deaths from coronary heart disease, arrhythmia, and sudden death. Although these FAs were originally thought to be antiatherosclerotic, recent evidence suggests that their benefits are related to reducing risk for ventricular arrhythmia and that this may be mediated by a slowed heart rate (HR).

Methods: The study was conducted in Alaskan Eskimos participating in the Genetics of Coronary Artery Disease in Alaska Natives (GOCADAN) Study, a population experiencing a dietary shift from unsaturated to saturated fats.

Genetic variation in APOJ, LPL, and TNFRSF10B affects plasma fatty acid distribution in Alaskan Eskimos.

Background: Alterations in plasma fatty acid distribution are linked to metabolic abnormalities related to type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate genetic factors influencing plasma fatty acid distribution in Alaskan Eskimos from the Genetics of Coronary Artery Disease in Alaska Natives (GOCADAN) study.

Design: Fatty acids in plasma were measured by gas chromatography in 761 related individuals (>35 y of age).

Pleiotropic effects on subclasses of HDL, adiposity, and glucose metabolism in adult Alaskan Eskimos.

The aim of this study was to analyze the heritability and the presence of pleiotropic effects on subfractions of high-density lipoproteins (HDLs) as measured by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), parameters for adiposity, and glucose metabolism in adult Alaskan Eskimos. The present family study included 1,214 adult Alaskan Eskimos (537 male/677 female). Body weight, height, circumferences, selected skinfolds, and blood pressure were measured in all participants.

Relation among lipoprotein subfractions and carotid atherosclerosis in Alaskan Eskimos (from the GOCADAN Study).

Studies have been inconsistent regarding whether lipoprotein particle subfraction measures are useful indicators of cardiovascular risk. The present study evaluated the relation between lipoprotein particle concentrations and size, analyzed using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and measures of carotid atherosclerosis in a population with high cardiovascular risk but little hyperlipidemia. In this cross-sectional, population-based sample of Alaska Eskimos >or=35 years old (n = 656), a greater carotid intimal medial thickness was associated with greater low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (p = 0.

Dietary patterns are linked to cardiovascular risk factors but not to inflammatory markers in Alaska Eskimos.

Despite the tradition of a diet high in fish oils and abundant physical activity, coronary artery disease is increasing among Alaska Eskimos. Explanations for this observation include lifestyle changes. In this cross-sectional analysis, we evaluated dietary patterns of Alaska Eskimos and investigated the relations between these dietary patterns and known cardiovascular risk factors, including inflammatory markers.

Cardiovascular disease prevalence and its relation to risk factors in Alaska Eskimos.

Background And Aims: Although Eskimos were thought to be protected from cardiovascular disease (CVD), state health data show a large proportion of deaths from CVD, despite traditional lifestyles and high omega-3 fatty acid intake. This article explores CVD prevalence and its relation to risk factors in Alaska Eskimos.

Methods And Results: A population-based cohort of 499 Alaska Eskimos > age 45 from the Norton Sound region was examined in 2000-2004 for CVD and associated risk factors as part of the Genetics of Coronary Artery Disease in Alaska Natives study.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids effect on serum triglycerides concentration in the presence of metabolic syndrome components. The Alaska-Siberia Project.

Serum fatty acids (FAs) have wide effects on metabolism: Serum saturated fatty acids (SFAs) increase triglyceride (TG) levels in plasma, whereas polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) reduce them. Traditionally, Eskimos have a high consumption of omega-3 fatty acids (omega3 FAs); but the Westernization of their food habits has increased their dietary SFAs, partly reflected in their serum concentrations. We studied the joint effect of serum SFAs and PUFAs on circulating levels of TGs in the presence of metabolic syndrome components.

C-Reactive protein, insulin resistance, and metabolic syndrome in a population with a high burden of subclinical infection: insights from the Genetics of Coronary Artery Disease in Alaska Natives (GOCADAN) study.

Objective: To explore relationships between C-reactive protein (CRP), subclinical infection, insulin resistance, and metabolic syndrome.

Research Design And Methods: Data from 1,174 Eskimos, aged >/=18 years, from the Genetics of Coronary Artery Disease in Alaska Natives (GOCADAN) study were analyzed; 40 participants with diabetes were eliminated. Baseline assessment included interviews, physical exam, and blood and urine sampling.