The relationship between cholesterol level and Alzheimer's disease-associated APP proteolysis/Aβ metabolism.

Globally, Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent neurodegenerative disease in the elderly population, the hallmark of which is amyloid β (Aβ) peptide. Energy metabolism and AD pathogenesis are believed to influence one another. Different cholesterol levels are thought to influence various steps in neurotoxic Aβ generation, including amyloid precursor protein (APP) proteolysis and the corresponding activities of α-, β-, and γ-secretases.

Tackling the health impacts of climate change in the twenty-first century.

The turn of the twenty-first century has borne witness to the seemingly relentless march of climate change, with global mean temperatures and sea levels projected to rise significantly in the near future. Despite considerable improvements in healthcare, mortality rates and life expectancy worldwide over the past few decades, there is increasing evidence postulating the potentially adverse impacts of environmental alterations on health in more ways than one. These not only involve direct and indirect climatic-related health impacts, but also those modulated by human aspects.

A Modification of Laparoscopic Type C1 Hysterectomy to Reduce Postoperative Bladder Dysfunction: A Retrospective Study.

Objective: To investigate the feasibility of a modified type C1 hysterectomy, using the deep uterine vein (DUV) and its branches as an anatomical landmark, to reduce postoperative bladder dysfunction in cervical cancer patients.

Methods: One hundred fifty-two stage IA2-IIB cervical cancer patients were enrolled to undergo a laparoscopic hysterectomy. According to the operation methods, 93 or 59 of the patients were assigned to a type C1 hysterectomy (group 1), using the DUV and its branches as an anatomical landmark, and a type C2 hysterectomy (group 2), respectively.

Imatinib for the treatment of hypereosinophilic syndromes.

Hypereosinophilic syndromes (HES) encompass a group of disorders defined by sustained peripheral blood hypereosinophilia >1500/mm and evidence of eosinophilia-associated organ impairment. Approximately 10% of HES patients may harbor a cryptic deletion on chromosome 4 leading to formation of the FIP1L1-PDGFRA (F/P) fusion gene; these patients are diagnosed as F/P-mutated myeloid/lymphoid neoplasms with eosinophilia (MLN-eo). Areas covered: This review discusses the results of IM treatment in HES depending on mutation status.

Central Corneal Thickness of Healthy Lowlanders at High Altitude: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Purpose: Central corneal thickness, a marker of corneal hydration and metabolism, was reported to increase at high elevations. This study aimed to assess the effect of chronic high-altitude exposure on the central corneal thickness of healthy lowlanders with unoperated corneas, and determine if a relationship exists between exposure time and corneal edema formation.

Materials And Methods: The PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and Airiti Library databases were searched up to 2017 January 31 for prospective cohort studies performed above 2500 m in healthy lowlanders with measurements of the central corneal thickness.

Addiction Vulnerability: Exploring Relationships Among Cigarette Smoking, Substance Misuse, and Early Psychosis.

Objective: Smoking rates in adolescents at risk for psychosis are significantly greater than in those who are not at risk. Recent research suggests that cigarette smoking in adolescence may be a potential marker of transition to psychosis, although the exact relationship between the two remains unclear. Our aim was to examine whether tobacco smoking is a potential marker of transition to psychosis or subsequent episodes of psychosis, independently of other substance use, or alternatively whether smoking is essentially a general marker of later mental illness episodes.

Phenelzine reduces the oxidative damage induced by peroxynitrite in plasma lipids and proteins.

Peroxynitrite is a reactive nitrogen species produced in the intravascular compartment from superoxide anion and nitric oxide. Peroxynitrite destroys blood plasma proteins and membranes of red blood cells and of platelets. This explains why excessive production of peroxynitrite contributes to diseases and to ageing.

Digital Storytelling: Families' Search for Meaning after Child Death.

Bereaved families that collectively make meaning of their grief experiences often function better than those that do not, yet most social work bereavement interventions target individuals rather than family units. In this article, authors describe an innovative social work intervention that employs digital storytelling. This is a narrative technique that combines photography, music, and spoken word to help families bereaved by child death make meaning of their loss and envision a future without their deceased child.

Mass media exposure and modern contraceptive use among married West African adolescents.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine whether family planning (FP) messaging is reaching married adolescent women in West Africa, and whether such messaging is associated with increased contraceptive use.

Materials And Methods: We utilised data from the 2010 Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) for Burkina Faso and Senegal (women 15-49; N = 17,067 and N = 15,688, respectively). We used chi-square tests to evaluate whether FP messaging exposure (via TV, radio, and/or print) differed according to socio-demographic characteristics.

Lactation Advice through Texting Can Help: An Analysis of Intensity of Engagement via Two-Way Text Messaging.

Rates of breastfeeding initiation and duration among women who attend the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) are dramatically lower than nonparticipants. Innovative solutions are needed to improve breastfeeding rates in this population. The Lactation Advice through Texting Can Help (LATCH) study was one such approach, designed to augment and reinforce the WIC breastfeeding peer counseling process.

Establishing the critical role of peripheral blood vessel colonisation by Neisseria meningitidis in invasive meningococcal disease.

In this issue of Virulence, Capel and colleagues describe the use of a unique humanised mouse model to elucidate specific interactions between Neisseria meningitidis and human endothelial cells during blood-borne infection in vivo. Here, a number of the key findings from their study and their implications for our understanding of invasive meningococcal disease are explored.

Pharmacotherapy options for managing chemotherapy-induced peripheral neurotoxicity.

Introduction: Prevention and treatment of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neurotoxicity (CIPN) are clinically-relevant unmet needs. Despite extensive efforts at the preclinical and clinical levels, no effective pharmacological interventions are available, and this unsatisfactory situation reflects a combination of methodological issues and a lack of effectiveness of the tested drugs.

Areas Covered: This non-systematic, but unbiased review is based on published papers available in PubMed and screened using the broad search string [chemotherapy (and) neuropathy (and) treatment] to analyze the reported data.

Open book exams: A potential solution to the "full curriculum"?

In this Personal View article, as curriculum designers, we consider whether there is a place for open book exams in Medical School curricula. Specifically, at a time when medical teachers complain about the difficulties of delivering a full curriculum, we propose that open book assessment approaches may help to free up the curriculum as learners become less reliant on memorizing facts. Moreover deeper learning of higher level outcomes can be achieved and more authentic assessment approaches undertaken.

Taking a prebiotic approach to early immunomodulation for allergy prevention.

With increasing focus on nutritional strategies to counter the rising global burden of allergic disease, there has been a particular focus on prebiotic nutrients that are selectively utilized by host microorganisms to confer potential immunomodulatory benefits for disease prevention. Areas covered: In this review we examine maternal and infant dietary sources of prebiotics with a particular focus on non-digestible oligosaccharides, which undergo microbial fermentation by commensal gut bacteria to produce short chain fatty acids (SCFA). We summarize the major proposed health benefits of SCFA in early life immune development, together with the current evidence for maternal and/or infant prebiotic consumption in abrogating the risk of early childhood allergic diseases.

A systematic review of targeted agents for non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: advanced-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is characterized by having limited treatment options and thus a poor prognosis. However, new treatment options, in the form of targeted agents (TA), have emerged during recent years. This systematic review aims to provide an overview of the accessible literature in PubMed evaluating TA used on NSCLC patients, and the resulting survival outcomes.

The effect of antidepressant medications in the management of heart failure on outcomes: mortality, cardiovascular function and depression - a systematic review.

Objective: Depression is associated with increased morbidity, mortality and hospital readmission in patients with heart failure (HF). This systematic review aimed to compile studies examining whether the use of antidepressants could improve outcome in patients with HF and concomitant depression.

Methods: The electronic libraries Embase, OVID MEDLINE(R) and PsychInfo were used to search the following terms 'heart failure' AND 'anti-depressants'; 'heart failure' AND 'TCA' OR 'SSRI' OR 'SNRI'.

Acute lateral ankle sprain to chronic ankle instability: a pathway of dysfunction.

Lateral ankle sprains (LAS) have been reported as one of the most common musculoskeletal injuries observed in sports and in individuals who are recreationally active. Approximately 40% of individuals who sustain a LAS develop a condition known as chronic ankle instability (CAI). Years of research has identified numerous impairments associated with CAI such as decreases in range of motion (ROM), strength, postural control, and altered movement patterns during functional activities when compared to individuals with no LAS history.

The use and discontinuation of hormone replacement therapy in women in South China.

Objective: The use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) started later in China than in European countries. The purpose of the present study was to investigate HRT patterns and reasons for the initiation and discontinuation of HRT among women in South China.

Methods: A telephone survey about menopausal status, the use of HRT, reasons for HRT discontinuation and duration of HRT treatment was conducted in 2014.

Pregnancy associated plasma protein-A as a prognostic biomarker of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular events in patients presenting with chest pain: a systematic review.

Aim: Novel biomarkers have been proposed for identification of patients at greater risk of future adverse events among those presenting with chest pain. In this review, we aim to elucidate the ability of pregnancy associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) to predict mortality and other cardiovascular events in this patient population.

Methods: A literature search of the electronic databases Medline, Scopus, Cochrane Library and ClinicalTrials.

Cereal fibre intake in Australia: a cross-sectional analysis of the 2011-12 National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey.

Extensive evidence supports health benefits of cereal fibre, however globally no national intake data exists. This study aimed to determine estimates of intake and food sources of cereal fibre, and relationships to dietary fibre intake in an Australian sample population. A cereal fibre database was applied to dietary intake data from the 2011-12 National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (n = 12,153).

Compassion-Focused Therapy as an Intervention for Adult Survivors of Sexual Abuse.

Child sexual abuse can have long-term negative impacts across psychological, physical, and interpersonal domains. Some of the common issues for survivors of sexual abuse include shame and self-blame, attachment-based difficulties, avoidant coping strategies, and reduced capacity for self-compassion. Compassion-focused therapy is a transdiagnostic intervention that specifically responds to these concerns.