“Finding a Space for Me Outside the Stereotypes”: Community Engagement in Policy and Research to Foster Canadian Racialised Immigrant Women’s Mental Health and Well-Being

Racialised immigrant women face many challenges with resettlement with potential impacts on their mental health and well-being. Recent community-based research (CBR) and associated knowledge translation/exchange (KTE) activities with racialised immigrant women in Toronto, Canada, suggest that activism can promote their mental health and well-being. In this paper, the researchers describe community engagement processes in the CBR that included a stakeholder Think Tank with communities, researchers and service providers in settlement and mental health sectors to create an action plan based on the research. Using a feminist post-colonial lens to analyse the Think Tank data yielded research, policy and program strategies aligned with principles such as building on individuals’ and communities’ strengths and foregrounding gender and racialisation in strategies that can enhance racialised immigrant women’s capacities to take action and overcome barriers. Research, policy and program implications for comprehensive strategies that support health equity, thereby promoting their mental health and well-being, are considered.     

Incidence,survival, pathology,and genetics of adult Latino Americans with glioblastoma

Latino Americans are a rapidly growing ethnic group in the United States but studies of glioblastoma in this population are limited. We have evaluated characteristics of 21,184 glioblastoma patients from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program of the National Cancer Institute. This SEER data from 2001 to 2011 draws from 28% of the U.S. population. Latinos have a lower incidence of GBM and present slightly younger than non-Latino Whites. Cubans present at an older age than other Latino sub-populations. Latinos have a higher incidence of giant cell glioblastoma than non-Latino Whites while the incidence of gliosarcoma is similar. Despite lower rates of radiation therapy and greater rates of sub-total resection than non-Latino Whites, Latinos have better 1 and 5 year survival rates. SEER does not record chemotherapy data. Survivals of Latino sub-populations are similar with each other. Age, extent of resection, and the use of radiation therapy are associated with improved survival but none of these variables are sufficient in a multivariate analysis to explain the improved survival of Latinos relative to non-Latino Whites. As molecular data is not available in SEER records, we studied the MGMT and IDH status of 571 patients from a UCLA database. MGMT methylation and IDH1 mutation rates are not statistically significantly different between non-Latino Whites and Latinos. For UCLA patients with available information, chemotherapy and radiation rates are similar for non-Latino White and Latino patients, but the latter have lower rates of gross total resection and present at a younger age.     

The Epidemiology of Gender Dysphoria in Iran: The First Nationwide Study

Archives of Sexual Behavior - Gender dysphoria (GD) is defined as a persistent and distressful incongruence between one’s gender identity and one’s at-birth-assigned sex. Sex...     

A dominant-negative p65 PAK peptide inhibits angiogenesis

PAK1 is a protein kinase downstream of the small GTPases Rac and Cdc42 that previous work has implicated in endothelial cell migration via modulation of cell contraction. The first proline-rich region of PAK that binds to an SH3 domain from the adapter protein NCK was responsible for these dominant-negative effects. To test the role of PAK in angiogenesis, we prepared a peptide in which the proline-rich region was fused to the polybasic sequence from the HIV Tat protein to facilitate entry into cells. We show that the short peptide selectively binds NCK, whereas a mutant peptide does not. Treatment of cells with the PAK peptide but not the control peptide disrupts localization of PAK. This peptide specifically inhibited endothelial cell migration and contractility similarly to full-length dominant-negative PAK. In an in vitro tube-forming assay, the PAK peptide specifically blocked formation of multicellular networks. In an in vivo chick chorioallantoic membrane assay, the PAK peptide specifically blocked angiogenesis. These results, therefore, suggest a role for PAK in angiogenesis.     

Cultural Identity and Experiences of Prejudice and Discrimination of Afghan and Iranian Immigrant Youth

In culturally diverse and immigrant receiving societies, immigrant youth can be subject to prejudice and discrimination. Such experiences can impact on immigrant youth’s cultural identity and influence their psychosocial outcomes. This paper presents findings of a study that examined cultural identity and experiences of prejudice and discrimination among Afghan (N = 9) and Iranian (N = 17) immigrant youth in Canada. The study had a prospective, comparative, longitudinal qualitative design. Data was gathered through focus groups, interviews, journals and field logs. Four main themes emerged on participants’ experiences of prejudice and discrimination: (a) societal factors influencing prejudice; (b) personal experiences of discrimination; (c) fear of disclosure and silenced cultural identity; and (d) resiliency and strength of cultural identity. Drawing from Rosenberg’s (Conceiving the self, Basic Books, New York, 1979) self-concept framework and Romero and Roberts (J. Adolesc., 21:641–656, 1998) distinction between prejudice and discrimination, results indicated that youth’s extant and presenting cultural identity were affected. Inclusive policies and practices are needed to promote youth integration in multicultural and immigrant receiving settings.

Attenuation of neuroinflammation and Alzheimer's disease pathology by liver x receptors

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an age-dependent neurodegenerative disease that causes progressive cognitive impairment. The initiation and progression of AD has been linked to cholesterol metabolism and inflammation, processes that can be modulated by liver x receptors (LXRs). We show here that endogenous LXR signaling impacts the development of AD-related pathology. Genetic loss of either Lxralpha or Lxrbeta in APP/PS1 transgenic mice results in increased amyloid plaque load. LXRs regulate basal and inducible expression of key cholesterol homeostatic genes in the brain and act as potent inhibitors of inflammatory gene expression. Ligand activation of LXRs attenuates the inflammatory response of primary mixed glial cultures to fibrillar amyloid beta peptide (fAbeta) in a receptor-dependent manner. Furthermore, LXRs promote the capacity of microglia to maintain fAbeta-stimulated phagocytosis in the setting of inflammation. These results identify endogenous LXR signaling as an important determinant of AD pathogenesis in mice. We propose that LXRs may be tractable targets for the treatment of AD due to their ability to modulate both lipid metabolic and inflammatory gene expression in the brain.