Antagonists of growth hormone-releasing hormone receptor induce apoptosis specifically in retinoblastoma cells.

Retinoblastoma (RB) is the most common intraocular cancer in children worldwide. Current treatments mainly involve combinations of chemotherapies, cryotherapies, and laser-based therapies. Severe or late-stage disease may require enucleation or lead to fatality.

CROI 2016: Basic Science Review.

The 2016 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections continued to maintain balance in the representation of different areas of research related to HIV/AIDS. The basic science category encompasses research on viral reservoirs and HIV cure, on cellular factors regulating the interplay between virus and host, and on factors that influence viral pathogenicity. Basic research on factors that influence the interaction between the virus and the host cell continues to unearth surprises with the identification of a new host antiviral factor.

Barriers to Health Insurance Pre- and Post-Affordable Care Act Implementation in Providence, RI.

The impact of healthcare reform under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on individuals living in cities has not yet been quantified by local Departments of Health. This makes it difficult for safety net sources of healthcare, such as free clinics, to plan for the future. Therefore, members of Clinica Esperanza/Hope Clinic conducted a survey in predominantly Latino communities of South and West Providence, RI, using a convenience sample method (N = 206).

Validation of a New Metric for Assessing the Integration of Health Protection and Health Promotion in a Sample of Small- and Medium-Sized Employer Groups.

Objective: To conduct validation analyses for a new measure of the integration of worksite health protection and health promotion approaches developed in earlier research.

Methods: A survey of small- to medium-sized employers located in the United States was conducted between October 2013 and March 2014 (n = 111). Cronbach α coefficient was used to assess reliability, and Pearson correlation coefficients were used to assess convergent validity.

Organizational Characteristics Influence Implementation of Worksite Health Protection and Promotion Programs: Evidence From Smaller Businesses.

Objective: We explored associations between organizational factors (size, sector, leadership support, and organizational capacity) and implementation of occupational safety and health (OSH) and worksite health promotion (WHP) programs in smaller businesses.

Methods: We conducted a web-based survey of human resource managers of 117 smaller businesses (<750 employees) and analyzed factors associated with implementation of OSH and WHP among these sites using multivariate analyses.

Results: Implementation of OSH, but not WHP activities, was related to industry sector (P = 0.

CROI 2015: Basic Science Review.

The 2015 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) represents a forum that encompasses all facets of research on HIV/AIDS and its complications. CROI is a valuable venue for scientific and public health researchers, clinicians, policy makers, and community representatives to be updated on the latest advances in their specific areas of interest and beyond. CROI 2015 continued to surprise.

BRCA1 Circos: a visualisation resource for functional analysis of missense variants.

Background: Inactivating germline mutations in the tumour suppressor gene BRCA1 are associated with a significantly increased risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer. A large number (>1500) of unique BRCA1 variants have been identified in the population and can be classified as pathogenic, non-pathogenic or as variants of unknown significance (VUS). Many VUS are rare missense variants leading to single amino acid changes.

Role of myeloid cells in HIV-1-host interplay.

The AIDS research field has embarked on a bold mission to cure HIV-1-infected individuals of the virus. To do so, scientists are attempting to identify the reservoirs that support viral persistence in patients on therapy, to understand how viral persistence is regulated and to come up with strategies that interrupt viral persistence and that eliminate the viral reservoirs. Most of the attention regarding the cure of HIV-1 infection has focused on the CD4+ T cell reservoir.

Massage therapy research review.

Moderate pressure massage has contributed to many positive effects including increased weight gain in preterm infants, reduced pain in different syndromes including fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis, enhanced attentiveness, reduced depression and enhanced immune function (increased natural killer cells and natural killer cell activity).Surprisingly, these recent studies have not been reviewed, highlighting the need for the current review. When moderate and light pressure massage have been compared in laboratory studies, moderate pressure massage reduced depression, anxiety and heart rate, and it altered EEG patterns, as in a relaxation response.

Massage therapy plus topical analgesic is more effective than massage alone for hand arthritis pain.

Methods: 20 adults were randomly assigned to a massage therapy or a massage therapy plus a topical analgesic application group. Both groups received a weekly massage from a therapist and were taught self-massage (same procedure) to be done by each participant once daily over a four-week period.

Results: The massage plus topical analgesic group as compared to the massage group had greater improvement in hand function as measured by a digital hand exerciser following the first session and across the four-week period.

CROI 2014: Basic science review.

In the HIV basic science categories of the 2014 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, research examining obstacles to viral eradication continued to be a major component. This research encompassed areas of activity from the identification of where virus resides in individuals on suppressive antiretroviral therapy to studies aimed at eliminating long-lived viral reservoirs that persist in the face of therapy. In the area of antiviral restrictions, a number of presentations highlighted the ability of host factors to profoundly shape the interplay between virus and host and, in particular, how innate immune response opposes viral infection through the induction of antiviral restrictions.

Exosome secretion is enhanced by invadopodia and drives invasive behavior.

Unconventional secretion of exosome vesicles from multivesicular endosomes (MVEs) occurs across a broad set of systems and is reported to be upregulated in cancer, where it promotes aggressive behavior. However, regulatory control of exosome secretion is poorly understood. Using cancer cells, we identified specialized invasive actin structures called invadopodia as specific and critical docking and secretion sites for CD63- and Rab27a-positive MVEs.

Yoga and social support reduce prenatal depression, anxiety and cortisol.

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of yoga (physical activity) versus social support (verbal activity) on prenatal and postpartum depression. Ninety-two prenatally depressed women were randomly assigned to a yoga or a social support control group at 22 weeks gestation. The yoga group participated in a 20-min group session (only physical poses) once per week for 12 weeks.

Breastfeeding is negatively affected by prenatal depression and reduces postpartum depression.

Background: This prospective cohort study explored the effects of prenatal and postpartum depression on breastfeeding and the effect of breastfeeding on postpartum depression.

Method: The Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS) was administered to 145 women at the first, second and third trimester, and at the neonatal period and 3 months postpartum. Self-report exclusive breastfeeding since birth was collected at birth and at 3, 6 and 12 months postpartum.

Peer support and interpersonal psychotherapy groups experienced decreased prenatal depression, anxiety and cortisol.

Forty-four prenatally depressed women were randomly assigned to peer support or interpersonal psychotherapy groups at 22 weeks gestation. The peer support group participated in a 20-minute group session once per week for 12 weeks, and the interpersonal psychotherapy group met for one hour per week for 12 weeks. Assessments were conducted before and after the sessions at 22 and 34 weeks gestation.

CROI 2013: Basic science review.

The 20th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections was held in Atlanta, Georgia, and featured strong coverage in several basic science categories. Presentations on viral reservoir and cure research covered a variety of topics, including approaches to gauge viral reservoir size in patients on suppressive antiretroviral therapy, approaches to reactivate latently infected cells, and the role of residual replication in viral persistence under antiretroviral therapy. Research on viral restriction factors remains a strong feature of the conference, and presentations on the impact of viral restrictions on the establishment of viral reservoirs, as well as strategies that harness the antiviral potential of cellular restrictions, generated a lot of interest.

Tai chi/yoga reduces prenatal depression, anxiety and sleep disturbances.

Ninety-two prenatally depressed pregnant women were randomly assigned to a tai chi/yoga or a waitlist control group at an average of 22 weeks gestation. The tai chi/yoga group participated in a 20-min group session per week for 12 weeks. At the end of the treatment period the tai chi/yoga group had lower summary depression (CES-D) scores, as well as lower negative affect and somatic/vegetative symptoms subscale scores on the CES-D, lower anxiety (STAI) scores and lower sleep disturbances scores.

Prenatal exercise research.

In this review of recent research on prenatal exercise, studies from several different countries suggest that only approximately 40% of pregnant women exercise, even though about 92% are encouraged by their physicians to exercise, albeit with some 69% of the women being advised to limit their exercise. A moderate exercise regime reputedly increases infant birthweight to within the normal range, but only if exercise is decreased in late pregnancy. Lower intensity exercise such as water aerobics has decreased low back pain more than land-based physical exercise.

Review of basic science advances in HIV.

The Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) is held annually to provide a forum for scientists to hear the most recent advances in the field of HIV and AIDS research. Although the conference has a primary mission to showcase advances in the prevention and management of HIV-1 infection and opportunistic infections (in particular, tuberculosis and hepatitis C virus [HCV]), there continues to be a strong basic research component. Research on cellular factors that influence the interplay between the virus and the host cell, and especially, cellular factors that antagonize viral replication, had the greatest presence at the conference.

Exercise research on children and adolescents.

This paper is a review of studies published during the last several years on exercise effects on overweight, growth, chronic illnesses, depression and anxiety in children and adolescents. Although the lion's share of the research involves aerobic exercise, studies on yoga and tai chi are also reviewed. Following exercise, body mass index and lipid profiles have improved in overweight children, and those with asthma, diabetes and depression have also benefited from exercise.

Prenatal Cocaine Exposure and Motor Performance at 4 Months.

Objective: The relation between prenatal cocaine exposure and quality of movement was studied at 4 mo using the Posture and Fine Motor Assessment of Infants (PFMAI-I).

Method: Posture and fine motor scores of 4-month-old infants exposed to cocaine in utero ( = 370) were compared with an unexposed group ( = 533) within the context of gestational age, medical and demographic characteristics, and level of prenatal substance exposure using the PFMAI-I.

Results: Infants prenatally exposed to cocaine had significantly lower posture scores than infants in the unexposed group.