Fatty acid status in early life in low-income countries--overview of the situation, policy and research priorities.

Fat intake may be low in low-income countries and little information is available on its composition in terms of (n-3) and (n-6) fatty acids (FA). As a result, long chain poly-unsaturated fatty acid (LCPUFA) status is a concern, especially in settings where fish intake is low and/or common sources of fat have a low alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and high linoleic acid (LA) content. High LA levels, as found for instance in sunflower, safflower, corn, peanut and soy oils, may inhibit the conversion of ALA into its LC-PUFA derivatives.

Plasma level of soluble urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor as a predictor of disease severity and case fatality in patients with bacteraemia: a prospective cohort study.

Objectives: Urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) is expressed on a variety of different immune cells and vascular endothelial cells during inflammation. Previous studies indicate that a high plasma concentration of the soluble form of the receptor (suPAR) predicts poor outcome in infectious diseases.

Design: A prospective cohort study.

Late-life coronary heart disease mortality of Finnish war veterans in the TAMRISK study, a 28-year follow-up.

Background: Wartime stress has been associated with increased late-life mortality of all causes of death. We evaluated whether wounded Finnish World War II veterans who were alive at the age of 55 have increased long-term coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality.

Methods: Health survey data were recorded in 1980 from 667 men, aged 55 years.

Prevalence of norovirus GII-4 antibodies in Finnish children.

Noroviruses (NoVs) are the second most common cause of viral gastroenteritis after rotavirus in children. NoV genotype GII-4 has emerged as the major type not only in outbreaks of NoV gastroenteritis but also endemic gastroenteritis among infants and young children worldwide. Using baculovirus-insect cell system virus-like particles (VLPs) of NoV genotype GII-4 and an uncommon genotype GII-12 were produced.

Correlation between bullying and clinical depression in adolescent patients.

A literature review of the associations between involvement in bullying and depression is presented. Many studies have demonstrated a concurrent association between involvement in bullying and depression in adolescent population samples. Not only victims but also bullies display increased risk of depression, although not all studies have confirmed this for the bullies.

Smoking and the outcome of infection.

Smoking has substantial local and systemic adverse effects on the immune system, respiratory tract and skin and soft tissues. Smokers are at increased risk of invasive pneumococcal disease, pneumonia, periodontitis, surgical infections, tuberculosis, influenza and meningococcal disease. The results of several studies indicate that smokers with periodontitis or tuberculosis suffer more severe disease.

Effect of repeated treatment of pregnant women with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine and azithromycin on preterm delivery in Malawi: a randomized controlled trial.

Preterm delivery, which is associated with infections during pregnancy, is common in sub-Saharan Africa. We enrolled 1,320 pregnant women into a randomized, controlled trial in Malawi to study whether preterm delivery and low birth weight (LBW) incidence can be reduced by intermittent preventive treatment of maternal malaria and reproductive tract infections. The participants received either sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) twice (controls), monthly SP, or monthly SP and two doses of azithromycin (AZI-SP).

Comparison of real-time PCR and microscopy for malaria parasite detection in Malawian pregnant women.

Background: New diagnostic tools for malaria are required owing to the changing epidemiology of malaria, particularly among pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa. Real-time PCR assays targeting Plasmodium falciparum lactate dehydrogenase (pfldh) gene may facilitate the identification of a high proportion of pregnant women with a P. falciparum parasitaemia below the threshold of microscopy.

Rotavirus gastroenteritis in Finnish children in 2006-2008, at the introduction of rotavirus vaccination.

Rotaviruses (RV) are major causative agents of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) requiring hospitalization in children; RV hospitalizations may be largely eliminated by universal mass vaccination with RV vaccine. We conducted a hospital-based prospective survey of AGE in children over 2 RV epidemic seasons, from 2006 to 2008, when the coverage of RV vaccination in Finland increased to 35% of the birth cohort. RVs were detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

A comparison of methods for purification and concentration of norovirus GII-4 capsid virus-like particles.

Noroviruses (NoVs) are one of the leading causes of acute gastroenteritis worldwide. NoV GII-4 VP1 protein was expressed in a recombinant baculovirus system using Sf9 insect cells. Several methods for purification and concentration of virus-like particles (VLPs) were evaluated.

Levels of asymmetrical dimethylarginine are predictive of brachial artery flow-mediated dilation 6 years later. The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study.

Aim: Plasma asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) is a novel risk factor for atherosclerosis and has been observed to associate with endothelial function in cross-section studies. In the present study our aim was to investigate whether plasma ADMA levels are predictive of brachial artery endothelial function in a prospective setting.

Methods And Results: Using ultrasound we measured brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD) both in 2001 and 2007 in 1808 healthy subjects aged 24-39 years at baseline.

A high circulating copy number of HHV-6 due to chromosomal integration in a child with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

We report a case of a 3.5-year-old female with a very high copy number of human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) detected by PCR in blood during acute lymphoblastic leukemia induction therapy. The patient was unsuccessfully treated with antiviral drugs.

Efficacy of the pentavalent rotavirus vaccine, RotaTeq®, in Finnish infants up to 3 years of age: the Finnish Extension Study.

Rotavirus Efficacy and Safety Trial (REST) enrolled nearly 70,000 infants, of whom more than 23,000 were from Finland. REST determined the efficacy of the pentavalent rotavirus vaccine (RV5) against rotavirus-related hospitalisations and emergency department (ED) visits in the first year after vaccination. Finnish infants initially in REST transitioned into the Finnish Extension Study (FES), where they were followed for rotavirus-related hospitalisations and ED visits through their second year of life and beyond.

Norovirus gastroenteritis in young children receiving human rotavirus vaccine.

We explored whether human rotavirus vaccine had any efficacy against norovirus (NV)-associated gastroenteritis in young children. In an efficacy trial of rotavirus vaccine, 405 infants were immunized with a human rotavirus vaccine or placebo at a ratio of 2:1, and prospectively followed for acute gastroenteritis (AGE) from approximately 2 months to 2 y of age. Multiplex real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (Mrt RT-PCR) assays were used for detection and quantitation of NVs of genogroup I (GI) and genogroup II (GII) in stool specimens.

Safety and immunogenicity of a booster dose of the 10-valent pneumococcal nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae protein D conjugate vaccine coadministered with measles-mumps-rubella-varicella vaccine in children aged 12 to 16 months.

Background: A booster dose of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine may be administered at the same age as measles-mumps-rubella-varicella (MMRV) vaccination. This study examined the safety, reactogenicity, and immunogenicity of a booster dose of the 10-valent pneumococcal nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae protein D conjugate vaccine (PHiD-CV) when coadministered with MMRV vaccine.

Methods: In this open, controlled study, 325 healthy children aged 12 to 14 months were randomized to 1 of 3 groups: the first group (N = 110) received PHiD-CV and MMRV vaccine followed 6 to 8 weeks later by MMRV and DTPa-HBV-IPV/Hib vaccines; the second group (N = 101) received DTPa-HBV-IPV/Hib and MMRV vaccines followed 6 to 8 weeks later by PHiD-CV and MMRV vaccine; the third group (N = 114) received PHiD-CV and DTPa-HBV-IPV/Hib vaccine during 1 vaccination visit.

Sustained efficacy of the pentavalent rotavirus vaccine, RV5, up to 3.1 years following the last dose of vaccine.

Background: Rotavirus gastroenteritis (RVGE) is a common cause of childhood hospitalizations and emergency department (ED) visits. In the Rotavirus Efficacy and Safety Trial (REST), the pentavalent rotavirus vaccine (RV5) significantly reduced RVGE-associated hospitalizations and ED visits for up to 2 years following the last vaccine dose. This study evaluated whether RV5 remained efficacious beyond 2 years.

Aurothiomalate inhibits cyclooxygenase 2, matrix metalloproteinase 3, and interleukin-6 expression in chondrocytes by increasing MAPK phosphatase 1 expression and decreasing p38 phosphorylation: MAPK phosphatase 1 as a novel target for antirheumatic drugs.

Objective: Aurothiomalate is a disease-modifying antirheumatic drug that suppresses inflammation and retards cartilage degradation and bone erosion in arthritis. The molecular mechanisms of action of aurothiomalate are not known in detail. MAPK pathways are major signaling pathways in inflammation that regulate the production of many inflammatory and destructive factors in arthritis.

Mixed viral infections causing acute gastroenteritis in children in a waterborne outbreak.

We examined stool specimens for viral pathogens from 50 children referred to hospital due to acute gastroenteritis (AGE) resulting from consuming drinking water contaminated with sewage in a Finnish community using PCR methods. Rotavirus was detected in 33 (66%), human calicivirus in 31 (62%), and both in 40% of cases. Of the caliciviruses, 20/31 (65%) were noroviruses and 11 (35%) sapoviruses.

Interactions of functional apolipoprotein E gene promoter polymorphisms with smoking on aortic atherosclerosis.

Background: Apolipoprotein E gene (APOE) interacts with environmental factors in defining risk for atherosclerosis. We studied whether the APOE epsilon2/epsilon3/epsilon4 genotype or APOE promoter polymorphisms -219G/T and +113G/C might interact with smoking on the development of fatty streaks. We also studied the previously unknown effects of +113G/C on transcriptional activity.

Aichi virus infection in children with acute gastroenteritis in Finland.

Aichi virus has been proposed as a novel causative agent of acute gastroenteritis. In addition to several Asian countries, South America and Africa, Aichi virus has also recently been found in Europe. Our objective was to study the causative role of Aichi virus in children with acute gastroenteritis in Finland.

An open-label, randomized, multicenter study of the safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of quadrivalent human papillomavirus (types 6/11/16/18) vaccine given concomitantly with diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, and poliomyelitis vaccine in healthy adolescents 11 to 17 years of age.

Background: GARDASIL/SILGARD is a quadrivalent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine with activity against HPV 6/11/16/18. In many countries, GARDASIL is recommended for routine use among adolescents at the same age as other vaccines. In this study, we evaluated the immunogenicity and safety of GARDASIL administered concomitantly with REPEVAX (diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis, and poliomyelitis vaccine).

Inhibition of protein kinase Cdelta reduces tristetraprolin expression by destabilizing its mRNA in activated macrophages.

Tristetraprolin (TTP) binds to AU-rich elements within the mRNAs of several inflammatory genes and causes destabilization of the target mRNAs. The protein kinase C (PKC) pathway represents a major signalling system in inflammation and PKCdelta is one of the key isoenzymes in the regulation of inflammatory processes. In the present study, we investigated the role of PKCdelta in the regulation of the expression of tristetraprolin in activated macrophages by using the PKCdelta inhibitor, rottlerin, and by downregulating PKCdelta expression by using PKCdelta siRNA.

RotaTeq, a pentavalent rotavirus vaccine: efficacy and safety among infants in Europe.

A pentavalent human-bovine reassortant oral rotavirus vaccine, RotaTeq, was evaluated among nearly 70,000 infants in the Rotavirus Efficacy and Safety Trial (REST), of which 30,523 were from Europe. All infants were followed for serious adverse events as well as hospitalizations and emergency department (ED) visits. All adverse events, health care utilization, and RVGE regardless of severity were evaluated in the clinical efficacy cohort (N=2686) in Finland.