Confronting the next pandemic--workshop on lessons learned from potency testing of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza vaccines and considerations for future potency tests, Ottawa, Canada, July 27-29, 2010

Please cite this paper as: Hardy et al. (2011) Confronting the next pandemic—Workshop on lessons learned from potency testing of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza vaccines and considerations for future potency tests, Ottawa, Canada, July 27–29, 2010. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses 5(6), 438–442.     

The role of the left anterior temporal lobe in language processing revisited: Evidence from an individual with ATL resection

Various hypotheses about the role of the anterior temporal lobe (ATL) in language processing have been proposed. One hypothesis is that it binds the semantic/conceptual properties of words, functioning as a hub for linking modality-specific conceptual properties of objects. This hypothesis predicts that damage to ATL would give rise to impaired conceptual knowledge of all categories. A related school of hypotheses assumes that the left ATL is critical for lexical retrieval, with different sub-regions potentially important for different categories of items. We examined these hypotheses by studying a case of surgical resection of left ATL due to a low-grade glioma (LGG). Thorough language assessments performed four months after the operation revealed the following profile: the patient showed intact conceptual knowledge for all categories of items tested using both accuracy and response latency measures; he suffered from name retrieval deficits for proper names (people and place names) and artifacts (including tools), but showed no name retrieval difficulties for animate things. This pattern of results challenges both target hypotheses about the role of ATL in language processing tested here.     

A functional polymorphism in the SCN1A gene does not influence antiepileptic drug responsiveness in Italian patients with focal epilepsy

A splice site variation (c.603-91G>A or rs3812718) in the SCN1A gene has been claimed to influence efficacy and dose requirements of carbamazepine and phenytoin. We investigated the relationship between c.603-91G>A polymorphism and response to antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in 482 patients with drug-resistant and 401 patients with drug-responsive focal epilepsy. Most commonly used AEDs were carbamazepine and oxcarbazepine. The distribution of c.603-91G>A genotypes was similar among drug-resistant and drug-responsive subjects, both in the entire population and in the groups treated with carbamazepine or oxcarbazepine. There was no association between the c.603-91G>A genotype and dosages of carbamazepine or oxcarbazepine. These findings rule out a major role of the SCN1A polymorphism as a determinant of AED response.     

Leptin facilitates lordosis behavior through GnRH-1 and progestin receptors in estrogen-primed rats

Dose response curves for leptin facilitation of estrous behavior (lordosis and proceptivity) were made by infusing the peptide into the lateral ventricle (icv) of ovariectomized (ovx), ad libitum-fed rats injected 40 h previously with 5 μg of estradiol benzoate. Leptin doses of 1 and 3 μg produced significant lordosis quotient at 60 min post-injection, with maximal lordosis being displayed at 120 min. Yet the intensity of lordosis was weak, and a high incidence of rejection behaviors was found. Moreover, leptin did not induce significant proceptive behaviors at any dose. The leptin doses of 1 and 3 μg were selected for determining whether antide, a GnRH-1 receptor antagonist, or the progestin receptor antagonist RU486 could modify the lordosis response to leptin. Icv injection of either antide or RU486 1 h before leptin significantly depressed leptin facilitation of lordosis. The results suggest that leptin stimulates lordosis by releasing GnRH, which in turn activates GnRH-1 and progestin receptors. The physiological role of leptin in the control of estrous behavior remains to be determined.