Assessment of intracellular cytokines and regulatory cells in patients with autoimmune diseases and primary immunodeficiencies — Novel tool for diagnostics and patient follow-up

Serum and intracytoplasmic cytokines are mandatory in host defense against microbes, but also play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases by initiating and perpetuating various cellular and humoral autoimmune processes.     

Changes in miRNA expression in sera and correlation to duration of disease in patients with multifocal mucosal lichen planus

J Oral Pathol Med (2012) 41 : 86–89 Background: Mucosal lichen planus is a severe variant of lichen planus, Lichen planus (LP), which in many ways affect patients’ lives. The aetiology is not fully understood, and there is no treatment clearing the disease once and for all. Oral LP has by the WHO been classified as a precancerous lesion. Micro‐RNAs, miRNAs, are non‐coding, small single‐stranded RNAs involved in biological processes like apoptosis, proliferation, differentiation, metastasis, angiogenesis and immune response. Methods and Results: In sera from 30 patients with multifocal mucosal LP, 15 miRNAs were identified as significantly differentially expressed compared with controls. The three most up‐regulated miRNAs are all connected to oral squamous cell carcinoma or epithelial carcinoma in general. Discussion: Even if no specific LP‐associated miRNA profile was found, data clearly indicate that miRNAs could play a role in the earlier phases of lichen planus.     

Together and alone a study of interactions between toddlers and childcare providers during mealtime in Norwegian childcare centres

The study investigated the quality of interactions between childcare providers and toddlers during a lunch in childcare centres. Meals in childcare centres are semi-structured adult-led situations where the children not only eat, but are also provided with opportunities for implicit learning and interactions. Participants were 13 toddlers aged about 18 months in 11 different childcare centres in a Norwegian municipality. Video recordings were analysed for organization and structure, relational climate and childcare provider–child interactions, weighting provider sensitivity, language support and facilitated exploration. Findings indicated good quality regarding the organization of meals and relational climate in about half of the centres. Sensitivity, language support and facilitated exploration showed low quality across the different centres and are a cause for concern. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

Spatially matched in vivo and ex vivo MR metabolic profiles of prostate cancer – investigation of a correlation with Gleason score

MR metabolic profiling of the prostate is promising as an additional diagnostic approach to separate indolent from aggressive prostate cancer. The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between the Gleason score and the metabolic biomarker (choline + creatine + spermine)/citrate (CCS/C) measured by ex vivo high‐resolution magic angle spinning MRS (HR‐MAS MRS) and in vivo MRSI, and to evaluate the correlation between in vivo‐ and ex vivo‐measured metabolite ratios from spatially matched prostate regions. Patients (n = 13) underwent in vivo MRSI prior to radical prostatectomy. A prostate tissue slice was snap‐frozen shortly after surgery and the locations of tissue samples (n = 40) collected for ex vivo HR‐MAS were matched to in vivo MRSI voxels (n = 40). In vivo MRSI was performed on a 3T clinical MR system and ex vivo HR‐MAS on a 14.1T magnet. Relative metabolite concentrations were calculated by LCModel fitting of in vivo spectra and by peak integration of ex vivo spectra. Spearman's rank correlations (ρ) between CCS/C from in vivo and ex vivo MR spectra, and with their corresponding Gleason score, were calculated. There was a strong positive correlation between the Gleason score and CCS/C measured both in vivo and ex vivo (ρ = 0.77 and ρ = 0.69, respectively; p < 0.001), and between in vivo and ex vivo metabolite ratios from spatially matched regions (ρ = 0.67, p < 0.001). Our data indicate that MR metabolic profiling is a potentially useful tool for the assessment of cancer aggressiveness. Moreover, the good correlation between in vivo‐ and ex vivo‐measured CCS/C demonstrates that our method is able to bridge MRSI and HR‐MAS molecular analysis. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Does the Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management programme improve child–teacher relationships in childcare centres? A 1-year universal intervention in a Norwegian community sample

European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry - The Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management (IY TCM) programme has shown promise in reducing behaviour problems among high-risk children in...