Enhancement of excitability and inhibitory processes in hippocampal dentate gyrus by noradrenaline: a pharmacological study in awake, freely moving rats.

Idazoxan (IDA), an alpha 2 receptor antagonist which increases firing rate of noradrenergic neurons in the locus coeruleus (LC) and release of noradrenaline (NA) in target structures, was used to study the neuromodulatory effects of NA in the hippocampus in awake rats. After IDA the population spike in the dentate gyrus (DG), evoked by a single pulse to the perforant path, was greatly enhanced with no effect of the drug on excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs). Paired pulses with short interpulse intervals (25-30 ms) produced inhibition of the response to the second pulse which was increased by IDA. This drug effect was independent of its effect on the amplitude of the first spike, since the increase in inhibition was seen at stimulation intensities which did not increase the response amplitude to the initial pulse. Thus both excitability and inhibitory processes can be enhanced in the same population of neurons by an alpha 2 adrenoceptor antagonist.     

Quality of mobility measures among individuals with acquired brain injury: an umbrella review

Quality of Life Research - While several mobility measures exist, there is large variability across measures in how mobility is conceptualized, the source of information and the measurement...     

Clinical utility of PTSD,resilience, sleep,and blast as risk factors to predict poor neurobehavioral functioning following traumatic brain injury: A longitudinal study in U.S. military service members

Quality of Life Research - This study examined the clinical utility of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), low resilience, poor sleep, and lifetime blast exposure as risk factors for predicting...     

Three-Year Follow-Up of the POIBA Intervention on Childhood Obesity: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Childhood obesity has increased worldwide over the past four decades. This quasi-experimental study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a multicomponent and multilevel school-based intervention (POIBA) at 3 years of follow-up. The nutrition intervention focused on food groups, food pyramid, nutrients, portions, and balanced menus. In total, 3624 children participated in the study. Anthropometric measurements and information on food frequency and behavior, physical activity, and daily screen use were collected in the intervention (IG) and comparison group (CG). Positive unadjusted changes toward adherence to recommendations were found for water, meat, sweets, and fried potato consumption, proper breakfast, not having dinner in front of the TV, out-of-school physical activity, and daily screen use. Three scores were used to calculate the proportion of children making more than one change to improve healthy habits regarding physical activity (global Activity score), nutrition (global Nutrition score), and both (global score). Students exposed to the intervention had a significantly better global Activity score (16.2% IG vs. 11.9% CG; p = 0.012) and Global score (63.9% IG vs. 58.5% CG; p = 0.025). Intervention effects on obesity incidence at 3-year follow-up lost significance but maintained the positive trend. In conclusion, school-based interventions including a family component could be useful to address the childhood obesity problem.     

Sexualisierte Gewalt in der Erfahrung Jugendlicher: Ergebnisse einer repräsentativen Befragung

Bundesgesundheitsblatt - Gesundheitsforschung - Gesundheitsschutz - Seit 1998 erhebt die Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung (BZgA) im Rahmen ihrer Repräsentativbefragung...     

A Systematic Review of Job Loss Prevention Interventions for Persons with Inflammatory Arthritis

Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation - Purpose To present an overview of the evidence of the effect of job loss prevention interventions, aiming to improve work ability and decrease absenteeism...     

Is prevention of suicide worth less? A comparison of the value per statistical life

The European Journal of Health Economics - This paper compares the value per statistical life (VSL) in the context of suicide prevention to that of prevention of traffic fatalities. We conducted...     

Towards compatibility of EUnetHTA JCA methodology and German HTA: a systematic comparison and recommendations from an industry perspective

The European Journal of Health Economics - The transferability of the EU joint clinical assessment (JCA) reports for pharmaceuticals for the German benefit assessment was evaluated by...     

The impact on quality of life of diet restrictions and disease symptoms associated with phenylketonuria: a time trade-off and discrete choice experiment study

The European Journal of Health Economics - Phenylketonuria (PKU) is a metabolic disorder leading to a deficiency in the metabolism of phenylalanine (Phe). Elevated Phe levels in the blood, tissue...     

Infection by CagA-Positive Helicobacter pylori Strains and Bone Fragility: A Prospective Cohort Study

Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection is a common and persistent disorder acting as a major cofactor for the development of upper gastrointestinal diseases and several extraintestinal disorders including osteoporosis. However, no prospective study assessed the effects of HP on bone health and fracture risk. We performed a HP screening in a population-based cohort of 1149 adults followed prospectively for up to 11 years. The presence of HP infection was assessed by serologic testing for serum antibodies to HP and the cytotoxin associated gene-A (CagA). The prevalence of HP infection did not differ among individuals with normal bone mineral density (BMD), osteoporosis, and osteopenia. However, HP infection by CagA-positive strains was significantly increased in osteoporotic (30%) and osteopenic (26%) patients respect to subjects with normal BMD (21%). Moreover, anti-CagA antibody levels were significantly and negatively associated with lumbar and femoral BMD. Consistent with these associations, patients affected by CagA-positive strains had a more than fivefold increased risk to sustain a clinical vertebral fracture (HR 5.27; 95% CI, 2.23–12.63; p < .0001) and a double risk to sustain a nonvertebral incident fracture (HR 2.09; 95% CI, 1.27–2.46; p < .005). Reduced estrogen and ghrelin levels, together with an impaired bone turnover balance after the meal were also observed in carriers of CagA-positive HP infection. HP infection by strains expressing CagA may be considered a risk factor for osteoporosis and fractures. Further studies are required to clarify in more detail the underlying pathogenetic mechanisms of this association. © 2020 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR).