The progression from obesity to type 2 diabetes in Alström syndrome

Bettini V, Maffei P, Pagano C, Romano S, Milan G, Favaretto F, Marshall JD, Paisey R, Scolari F, Greggio NA, Tosetto I, Naggert JK, Sicolo N, Vettor R. The progression from obesity to type 2 diabetes in Alström syndrome. Background: Alström syndrome (ALMS) is a rare autosomal recessive monogenic disease associated with obesity, hyperinsulinemia, and alterations of glucose metabolism that often lead to the development of type 2 diabetes at a young age. Objective: To study the relationship between weight and metabolism in a group of ALMS patients and matched controls. Research design and methods: Fifteen ALMS patients (eight males, seven females; aged 3–51) were compared in a cross‐sectional study with an age‐ and weight‐matched control population. Anthropometric parameters, fat mass, glucose and insulin secretion in basal and dynamic oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) conditions were measured. Furthermore, anthropometric and body composition data were obtained from an international group of 27 ALMS patients (13 males, 14 females, age range: 4–29 yr). Results: In ALMS we observed an inverse correlation between age and standard deviation scores for height, weight, and body mass index. The OGTT glycemic curves of ALMS subjects were similar to those of age‐matched controls, whereas insulin response was clearly greater. In ALMS individuals the insulin response showed a reduction with age. We documented pathologic values of the derived indices homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA‐IR), insulin sensitivity index, HOMA%β‐cell and insulinogenic index in ALMS, but unlike the insulin‐resistance indices, the β‐cell function indices showed a significant reduction with age. Conclusions: In ALMS the progression from the early onset obesity toward the impaired fasting glucose or impaired glucose tolerance and overt diabetes is mostly because of a progressive failure of β‐cell insulin secretion without any further worsening of insulin resistance with age, even in the presence of weight reduction.     

Bright light therapy protects women from circadian rhythm desynchronization during chemotherapy for breast cancer

Circadian rhythms (CRs) are commonly disrupted in women undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer (BC). Bright light improves and strengthens CRs in other populations. This randomized controlled study examined the effect of morning administration of bright light therapy on CRs in women undergoing chemotherapy for BC. It was hypothesized that women receiving bright light therapy would exhibit more robust rhythms than women exposed to dim light. Thirty-nine women newly diagnosed with BC and scheduled for chemotherapy were randomized into 2 groups: bright white light (BWL) or dim red light (DRL). Women were instructed to use the light box every morning for 30 min during their first 4 cycles of chemotherapy. Wrist actigraphy was recorded at 5 time points: prior to chemotherapy (baseline), Cycle-1 treatment week (C1TW), Cycle-1 recovery week (C1RW), Cycle-4 treatment week (C4TW), and Cycle-4 recovery week (C4RW). There was a Group × Time interaction at C4TW compared to baseline such that the DRL group showed significant deterioration in the mean of the activity rhythm (mesor) and amplitude, whereas the BWL group exhibited a significant increase in both mesor and amplitude. The DRL group also exhibited significant deterioration in overall rhythm robustness at C1TW, C4TW, and C4RW. Women in the BWL group also showed significant decreases in overall rhythm robustness at C1TW and C4TW, but returned to baseline levels at both recovery weeks. The results suggest that morning administration of bright light may protect women from experiencing CR deterioration during chemotherapy.     

Characterization of a recombinant canine coronavirus with a distinct receptor-binding (S1) domain

Canine alphacoronaviruses (CCoV) exist in two serotypes, type I and II, both of which can cause severe gastroenteritis. Here, we characterize a canine alphacoronavirus, designated CCoV-A76, first isolated in 1976. Serological studies show that CCoV-A76 is distinct from other CCoVs, such as the prototype CCoV-1-71. Efficient replication of CCoV-A76 is restricted to canine cell lines, in contrast to the prototypical type II strain CCoV-1-71 that more efficiently replicates in feline cells. CCoV-A76 can use canine aminopeptidase N (cAPN) receptor for infection of cells, but was unable to use feline APN (fAPN). In contrast, CCoV-1-71 can utilize both. Genomic analysis shows that CCoV-A76 possesses a distinct spike, which is the result of a recombination between type I and type II CCoV, that occurred between the N- and C-terminal domains (NTD and C-domain) of the S1 subunit. These data suggest that CCoV-A76 represents a recombinant coronavirus form, with distinct host cell tropism.     

The influence of color on emotional perception of natural scenes

Is color a critical factor when processing the emotional content of natural scenes? Under challenging perceptual conditions, such as when pictures are briefly presented, color might facilitate scene segmentation and/or function as a semantic cue via association with scene‐relevant concepts (e.g., red and blood/injury). To clarify the influence of color on affective picture perception, we compared the late positive potentials (LPP) to color versus grayscale pictures, presented for very brief (24 ms) and longer (6 s) exposure durations. Results indicated that removing color information had no effect on the affective modulation of the LPP, regardless of exposure duration. These findings imply that the recognition of the emotional content of scenes, even when presented very briefly, does not critically rely on color information.