Background: Familial hyperaldosteronism type II (FH-II) is characterized by the familial occurrence of primary aldosteronism; unlike FH-I, it is not glucocorticoid-remediable and not associated with the hybrid CYP11B1/CYP11B2 gene mutation. Linkage to a 5-Mbp region of chromosome 7p22 was previously reported in an Australian family with eight affected members. Mutations in the exons or intron-exon boundaries of PRKAR1B (7p22, closely related to PRKAR1A, which is mutated in Carney complex) have been excluded in this family.
Objective: To refine the region of linkage, and to seek evidence of linkage in a South American family and in three other Australian families with FH-II, using seven closely spaced markers at 7p22.
Methods: To establish phenotypes (affected, uncertain or unaffected), blood pressure, plasma aldosterone and plasma renin (activity or concentration) were measured and the aldosterone: renin ratio (ARR) calculated. Individuals with consistently increased ARR underwent fludrocortisone suppression testing. The genotypes of the five pedigrees were analysed using seven closely spaced microsatellite markers at 7p22, and two-point and multipoint logarithm of odds (LOD) scores were calculated to assess linkage with FH-II.
Results: The combined multipoint LOD score for three families (the original Australian, the South American and a new Australian family) showing linkage at 7p22 was highly significant at 4.61 (theta = 0) for markers D7S462 and D7S517. A newly found recombination event in the first Australian family narrowed the area of linkage by 1.8 Mbp, permitting exclusion of approximately half the candidate genes in the originally reported locus. It was not possible to demonstrate linkage at the 7p22 region in the remaining two Australian families.
Conclusion: This study provides further evidence for linkage of FH-II to 7p22, refines the locus, and supports the notion that FH-II may be genetically heterogeneous.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.hjh.0000174299.66369.26 | DOI Listing |
Brain
January 2025
Medical Research Council Prion Unit, University College London Institute of Prion Diseases, London, W1W 7FF, UK.
Prions are assemblies of misfolded prion protein that cause several fatal and transmissible neurodegenerative diseases, with the most common phenotype in humans being sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD). Aside from variation of the prion protein itself, molecular risk factors are not well understood. Prion and prion-like mechanisms are thought to underpin common neurodegenerative disorders meaning that the elucidation of mechanisms could have broad relevance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMidwifery
January 2025
Health Promotion Unit, Population Health Research & Evaluation Hub, Sydney Local Health District, Australia; Sydney School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Australia; Sydney Institute for Women, Children and Their Families, Sydney Local Health District, Australia; Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Australia; NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in the Early Prevention of Obesity in Childhood (EPOCH), Australia. Electronic address:
Problem: Low social capital has been identified as an important risk factor in the development of postpartum mental illness.
Background: Evidence suggests that new and expectant mothers with higher levels of support have lower rates of maternal mental illness, yet few studies examine this relationship longitudinally.
Aim: This study investigated the association between social capital in late pregnancy and maternal mental health up to 5 years postpartum.
Environ Microbiome
January 2025
Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia.
Background: Recovery of degraded coral reefs is reliant upon the recruitment of coral larvae, yet the mechanisms behind coral larval settlement are not well understood, especially for non-acroporid species. Biofilms associated with reef substrates, such as coral rubble or crustose coralline algae, can induce coral larval settlement; however, the specific biochemical cues and the microorganisms that produce them remain largely unknown. Here, we assessed larval settlement responses in five non-acroporid broadcast-spawning coral species in the families Merulinidae, Lobophyllidae and Poritidae to biofilms developed in aquaria for either one or two months under light and dark treatments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Gambl Stud
January 2025
Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, Rural and Remote Health, Flinders University, Charles Darwin University, PO Box U362 PO Box 42500, Casuarina, NT, 0815, Australia.
This study provides an in-depth qualitative exploration of Aboriginal peoples' experiences with seeking help for gambling-related issues in the Northern Territory (NT), Australia. Through semi-structured interviews with 29 participants, including regular and occasional gamblers as well as those affected by others' gambling, the research highlights key barriers to seeking formal help. These barriers included the normalisation of gambling within Aboriginal communities, denial of gambling problems, feelings of shame, privacy concerns, and a lack of trust in mainstream services.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNutrients
January 2025
School of Molecular Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.
Background: Whilst it is inconvenient and time-intensive, predominantly (PP) and exclusively pumping (EP) mothers rely on breast expression to provide milk for their infants and to ensure continued milk supply, yet these populations are poorly understood.
Methods: We assessed and characterised Western Australian PP mothers ( = 93) regarding 24 h milk production (MP) and infant milk intake and demographics, perinatal complications and breastfeeding difficulties, the frequencies of which were compared with published general population frequencies. Pumping efficacy and milk flow parameters during a pumping session in PP mothers ( = 32) were compared with those that pump occasionally (reference group, = 60).
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