Research Review: Shared and distinct structural and functional brain alterations in adolescents with major depressive disorder' - a multimodal meta-analysis.

Background: Neuroimaging studies have identified brain structural and functional alterations in adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD); however, the results are inconsistent, and whether patients exhibit spatially convergent structural and functional brain abnormalities remains unclear.

Methods: We conducted voxel-wise meta-analysis of voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and resting-state functional studies, respectively, to identify regional gray matter volume (GMV) and brain activity alterations in adolescent MDD patients. Multimodal analysis was performed to examine the overlap of regional GMV and brain activity alterations.

Disorganized thalamic subregional functional connectivity in bipolar I disorder.

Thalamus plays a pivotal role in the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric conditions due to its strategic position and intricate connectivity with the cerebral cortex, limbic system, and other subcortical structures. In the present study, the potential involvement of the thalamus and subregions of the thalamus are explored in bipolar disorder (BD). In particular, functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging was performed on 73 adult patients with BD-I and 78 healthy controls (HCs).

Maternal plasma cortisol's effect on offspring birth weight: a Mendelian Randomisation study.

Background: Observational studies and randomized controlled trials have found evidence that higher maternal circulating cortisol levels in pregnancy are associated with lower offspring birth weight. However, it is possible that the observational associations are due to residual confounding.

Methods: We performed two-sample Mendelian Randomisation (MR) using a single genetic variant (rs9989237) associated with morning plasma cortisol (GWAS; sample 1; N = 25,314).

Fifty years of paracetamol (acetaminophen) poisoning: the development of risk assessment and treatment 1973-2023 with particular focus on contributions published from Edinburgh and Denver.

Introduction: Fifty years ago, basic scientific studies and the availability of assay methods made the assessment of risk in paracetamol (acetaminophen) poisoning possible. The use of the antidote acetylcysteine linked to new methods of risk assessment transformed the treatment of this poisoning. This review will describe the way in which risk assessment and treatments have developed over the last 50 years and highlight the remaining areas of uncertainty.

Abnormal intrinsic brain functional network dynamics in first-episode drug-naïve adolescent major depressive disorder.

Background: Alterations in brain functional connectivity (FC) have been frequently reported in adolescent major depressive disorder (MDD). However, there are few studies of dynamic FC analysis, which can provide information about fluctuations in neural activity related to cognition and behavior. The goal of the present study was therefore to investigate the dynamic aspects of FC in adolescent MDD patients.

Altered single-subject gray matter structural networks in first-episode drug-naïve adolescent major depressive disorder.

Although previous studies have demonstrated regional gray matter (GM) structural abnormalities in adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD), how the topological organization of GM networks is affected in these patients is still unclear. Structural magnetic resonance imaging data were acquired from 100 first-episode drug-naïve adolescent MDD patients and 80 healthy controls (HCs). Whole-brain GM structural network was constructed for each subject, and a graph theory analysis was used to calculate the topological metrics of GM networks.

Novel biomarkers for drug-induced liver injury.

Introduction: Liver toxicity due to medicines (drug-induced liver injury) is a challenge for clinicians and drug developers. There are well-established biomarkers of drug-induced liver injury, which are widely used and validated by decades of clinical experience. These include alanine aminotransferase and bilirubin.

Developing new antidotes for poisons with existing effective treatments: a case study of fomepizole in paracetamol poisoning.

Introduction: Acetylcysteine is the only effective and licensed therapy for paracetamol poisoning. However, acetylcysteine loses efficacy if treatment is delayed 8-12 hours after paracetamol ingestion, and there is also uncertainty as to whether the dose should be increased in high-risk paracetamol ingestions. Studies have identified potential therapeutic targets, including enzymes that metabolize paracetamol; the pathways causing mitochondrial toxicity c-Jun N-terminal kinases or superoxide generation; and other specific targets, such as nuclear factor-erythroid factor 2-dependent gene induction and autophagy.

Distinct gray matter abnormalities in children/adolescents and adults with history of childhood maltreatment.

Gray matter (GM) abnormalities have been reported in both adults and children/adolescents with histories of childhood maltreatment (CM). A comparison of effects in youth and adulthood may be informative regarding life-span effects of CM. Voxel-wise meta-analyses of whole-brain voxel-based morphometry studies were conducted in all datasets and age-based subgroups respectively, followed by a quantitative comparison of the subgroups.

Understanding host response to infectious salmon anaemia virus in an Atlantic salmon cell line using single-cell RNA sequencing.

Background: Infectious Salmon Anaemia Virus (ISAV) is an Orthomixovirus that represents a large problem for salmonid aquaculture worldwide. Current prevention and treatment methods are only partially effective. Genetic selection and genome engineering have the potential to develop ISAV resistant salmon stocks.

Gray matter alterations in adolescent major depressive disorder and adolescent bipolar disorder.

Background: Gray matter volume (GMV) alterations in several emotion-related brain areas are implicated in mood disorders, but findings have been inconsistent in adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD) or bipolar disorder (BD).

Methods: We conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis of 35 region-of-interest (ROI) and 18 whole-brain voxel-based morphometry (VBM) MRI studies in adolescent MDD and adolescent BD, and indirectly compared the results in the two groups. The effects of age, sex, and other demographic and clinical scale scores were explored using meta-regression analysis.

Metformin protects against vascular calcification through the selective degradation of Runx2 by the p62 autophagy receptor.

Vascular calcification is associated with aging, type 2 diabetes, and atherosclerosis, and increases the risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. It is an active, highly regulated process that resembles physiological bone formation. It has previously been established that pharmacological doses of metformin alleviate arterial calcification through adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-activated autophagy, however the specific pathway remains elusive.

Altered MRI Diffusion Properties of the White Matter Tracts Connecting Frontal and Thalamic Brain Regions in First-Episode, Drug-Naïve Patients With Postpartum Depression.

Background: Although progress has been made in exploring postpartum depression (PPD), the involvement of cerebral structure connectivity in PPD patients keeps unclear.

Purpose: To explore structural connectivity alternations in mothers with PPD, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and automated fiber quantification (AFQ) were used to calculate brain white matter microstructure properties.

Study Type: Cross-sectional.

Deciphering endothelial heterogeneity in health and disease at single-cell resolution: progress and perspectives.

Endothelial cells (ECs) constitute the inner lining of vascular beds in mammals and are crucial for homeostatic regulation of blood vessel physiology, but also play a key role in pathogenesis of many diseases, thereby representing realistic therapeutic targets. However, it has become evident that ECs are heterogeneous, encompassing several subtypes with distinct functions, which makes EC targeting and modulation in diseases challenging. The rise of the new single-cell era has led to an emergence of studies aimed at interrogating transcriptome diversity along the vascular tree, and has revolutionized our understanding of EC heterogeneity from both a physiological and pathophysiological context.

Altered hypothalamic DNA methylation and stress-induced hyperactivity following early life stress.

Exposure to early life stress (ELS) during childhood or prenatally increases the risk of future psychiatric disorders. The effect of stress exposure during the neonatal period is less well understood. In preterm infants, exposure to invasive procedures is associated with altered brain development and future stress responses suggesting that the neonatal period could be a key time for the programming of mental health.

Impact and effectiveness of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine on population incidence of vaccine and non-vaccine serotype invasive pneumococcal disease in Blantyre, Malawi, 2006-18: prospective observational time-series and case-control studies.

Background: The population impact of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) depends on direct and indirect protection. Following Malawi's introduction of the 13-valent PCV (PCV13) in 2011, we examined its impact on vaccine and non-vaccine serotype invasive pneumococcal disease among vaccine-eligible-age and vaccine-ineligible-age children and adults.

Methods: We did a prospective observational time-series analysis and a case-control study.

Evaluation of Pneumococcal Serotyping of Nasopharyngeal-Carriage Isolates by Latex Agglutination, Whole-Genome Sequencing (PneumoCaT), and DNA Microarray in a High-Pneumococcal-Carriage-Prevalence Population in Malawi.

Accurate assessment of the serotype distribution associated with pneumococcal colonization and disease is essential for evaluating and formulating pneumococcal vaccines and for informing vaccine policy. For this reason, we evaluated the concordance between pneumococcal serotyping results by latex agglutination, whole-genome sequencing (WGS) with PneumoCaT, and DNA microarray for samples from community carriage surveillance in Blantyre, Malawi. Nasopharyngeal swabs were collected according to WHO recommendations between 2015 and 2017 by using stratified random sampling among study populations.

A radiomics-clinical nomogram for preoperative prediction of IDH1 mutation in primary glioblastoma multiforme.

Aim: To develop and validate an individualised radiomics-clinical nomogram for the prediction of the isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) mutation status in primary glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) based on radiomics features and clinical variables.

Materials And Methods: In a retrospective study, preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images were obtained of 122 patients with primary glioblastoma (development cohort = 101; validation cohort = 21). Radiomics features were extracted from total tumour based on the post-contrast high-resolution three-dimensional (3D) T1-weighted MRI images.

Influenza-like illness is associated with high pneumococcal carriage density in Malawian children.

Background: High pneumococcal carriage density is a risk factor for invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) and transmission, but factors that increase pneumococcal carriage density are still unclear.

Methods: We undertook a cross-sectional study to evaluate the microbial composition, cytokine levels and pneumococcal carriage densities in samples from children presenting with an influenza-like illness (ILI) and asymptomatic healthy controls (HC).

Results: The proportion of children harbouring viral organisms (Relative risk (RR) 1.

ENDOCRINOLOGY IN THE TIME OF COVID-19: Remodelling diabetes services and emerging innovation.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a major international emergency leading to unprecedented medical, economic and societal challenges. Countries around the globe are facing challenges with diabetes care and are similarly adapting care delivery, with local cultural nuances. People with diabetes suffer disproportionately from acute COVID-19 with higher rates of serious complications and death.

High residual carriage of vaccine-serotype Streptococcus pneumoniae after introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in Malawi.

There are concerns that pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) in sub-Saharan Africa sub-optimally interrupt Streptococcus pneumoniae vaccine-serotype (VT) carriage and transmission. Here we assess PCV carriage using rolling, prospective nasopharyngeal carriage surveys between 2015 and 2018, 3.6-7.

Determinants of high residual post-PCV13 pneumococcal vaccine-type carriage in Blantyre, Malawi: a modelling study.

Background: In November 2011, Malawi introduced the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) into the routine infant schedule. Four to 7 years after introduction (2015-2018), rolling prospective nasopharyngeal carriage surveys were performed in the city of Blantyre. Carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae vaccine serotypes (VT) remained higher than reported in high-income countries, and impact was asymmetric across age groups.