X Chromosome Contribution to the Genetic Architecture of Primary Biliary Cholangitis.

Background & Aims: Genome-wide association studies in primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) have failed to find X chromosome (chrX) variants associated with the disease. Here, we specifically explore the chrX contribution to PBC, a sexually dimorphic complex autoimmune disease.

Methods: We performed a chrX-wide association study, including genotype data from 5 genome-wide association studies (from Italy, United Kingdom, Canada, China, and Japan; 5244 case patients and 11,875 control individuals).

End-stage renal disease and survival in people with diabetes: a national database linkage study.

Background: Increasing prevalence of diabetes worldwide is projected to lead to an increase in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) requiring renal replacement therapy (RRT).

Aim: To provide contemporary estimates of the prevalence of ESRD and requirement for RRT among people with diabetes in a nationwide study and to report associated survival.

Methods: Data were extracted and linked from three national databases: Scottish Renal Registry, Scottish Care Initiative-Diabetes Collaboration and National Records of Scotland death data.

Vitamin D3 supplementation has no effect on conventional cardiovascular risk factors: a parallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled RCT.

Context: Observational studies show an association between low vitamin D status assessed by circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D and cardiovascular events and mortality. Data from randomized controlled trials are limited.

Objective: The aim of this study was to test whether daily doses of vitamin D(3) at 400 or 1000 IU/d for 1 yr affected conventional markers of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk.

An audit of the contraception service offered to teenagers attending Scottish genitourinary medicine clinics in 2007.

An audit of contraception service offered to teenagers attending Scottish genitourinary (GU) medicine clinics in 2007 was carried out by collecting data from each main clinic of 11 Scottish health boards. The case notes of 579 women aged under 18 years were reviewed. In 553 (95.

Tracking down chlamydia infection in primary care.

Chlamydia is the most commonly diagnosed bacterial STI in this country. Sexually active people under 20 are the group most likely to have a positive result if tested. Infection is usually asymptomatic.

Multimodal group rehabilitation compared to usual care for patients with chronic neck pain: a pilot study.

The aim of this pilot randomised controlled trial (RCT) was to compare multimodal group rehabilitation to usual care physiotherapy for patients with chronic neck pain (CNP). Participants (n=14) were randomly assigned to one of two interventions, multimodal group rehabilitation or usual care physiotherapy. Multimodal group rehabilitation involved stability, strengthening and proprioceptive exercises along with an educational programme.

Experiences of older women increasing fruit and vegetable intake.

Many studies have investigated diet in relation to disease and other aspects of health, although there is little information for health professionals on conveying practical ways for people to improve dietary intakes. There is thought to be a positive link between bone health and fruit and vegetable intake. This paper reports on the experiences of older women increasing their fruit and vegetable intake while participating in a randomized controlled trial to assess the influence of fruit and vegetables on bone health.

Automatic detection of retinal anatomy to assist diabetic retinopathy screening.

Screening programmes for diabetic retinopathy are being introduced in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. These require large numbers of retinal images to be manually graded for the presence of disease. Automation of image grading would have a number of benefits.

Long- and short-haul travel by air: issues for people with diabetes on insulin.

Objective: To determine what problems are experienced by people with diabetes mellitus traveling abroad using insulin, whether appropriate and consistent advice is available to them, and if necessary, how this advice could be improved or enhanced.

Design: Census study by self-administered questionnaire of patients with diabetes who use insulin attending an outpatient clinic.

Setting: Grampian Diabetes Centre, Woolmanhill Hospital, Aberdeen.

An oral fluid test for syphilis.

We have developed a time-resolved fluorescence immunoassay to detect antibodies to Treponema pallidum recombinant antigens in oral fluid specimens. Using an 'Oracol' swab, oral fluid was collected from 34 subjects with a serological diagnosis of syphilis and 97 seronegative controls. Using a cut-off of three standard deviations over control mean, the sensitivity and specificity of the assay in all subjects with positive syphilis serology was 76.

Axial BMD, change in BMD and bone turnover do not predict breast cancer incidence in early postmenopausal women.

Previous studies have indicated a relationship between bone mineral density and the incidence of breast cancer in middle-aged and elderly women, with women with higher BMD being at significant increased risk. We investigated whether there was such a relationship in younger women who were perimenopausal or in their early postmenopausal years. As part of a population-screening program for osteoporosis, 5,119 women aged between 45 and 54 years were scanned between 1990-1994 at the Osteoporosis Research Unit.

Predicting erosive disease in rheumatoid arthritis. A longitudinal study of changes in bone density using digital X-ray radiogrammetry: a pilot study.

Objective: Periarticular osteoporosis is one of the first radiological signs of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Osteoporosis is now quantified using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), although it was originally assessed by radiogrammetry. A new updated system of radiogrammetry has been developed: digitized X-ray radiogrammetry (DXR).

Effect of pregnancy on bone mineral density and biochemical markers of bone turnover in a patient with juvenile idiopathic osteoporosis.

Juvenile idiopathic osteoporosis (JIO) is rare, presenting with vertebral fractures in the immediate prepubertal years; however, recovery is normally observed. We report the case of a 19-year-old pregnant woman previously diagnosed with JIO. She experienced three vertebral fractures in the third trimester of pregnancy.

Nutritional influences on bone mineral density: a cross-sectional study in premenopausal women.

The association between current and past dietary intake and bone mineral density (BMD) was investigated in 994 healthy premenopausal women aged 45-49 y. BMD was measured with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Dietary intake was assessed with a food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ).

Appendicular measurements in screening women for low axial bone mineral density.

Assessment of bone density at hip, spine, radius and calcaneus can predict fracture risk. This paper examines whether women with low bone mineral density (BMD) at the hip and spine can be identified by radial or calcaneal BMD assessment, thus enabling pre-selection of such women for further investigation. BMD in the lumbar spine (LS), femoral neck (FN), trochanter (FT) and Ward's area (FW) was measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA).