Aquaporin-2 (AQP2) Urinary Excretion and Assumption of Water with Different Mineral Content in Healthy Subjects

The aquaporin-2 (AQP2) plays a key role in AVP-induced absorption of water, and its urinary excretion is related to its function. We aimed to test if the assumption of water with different mineral content can modify the expression of AQP2, leading to a change in AQP2 urinary concentration, in 20 healthy young subjects. Each subject received an oral water load (LM or HM) of 250 mL/hour for four hours, and several variables were measured. Plasmatic osmolality after water assumption was significantly reduced with no differences after the low (LM) or the high mineral (HM) water load. Urinary osmolality and plasmatic vasopressin concentration were significantly reduced after an assumption of both kinds of water. However, serum vasopressin was lower after HM water assumption than after LM. AQP2 urinary excretion was significantly reduced after water assumption with respect to the basal level and it was lower after LM than after HM water assumption. The different mineral content of water was investigated as a factor contributing to the development of hypertension. Considering that AQP2 can play a role in pathogenesis of hypertension, our demonstration that AVP-mediated AQP2 urinary excretion is strictly influenced by the consumption of water with different mineral content suggests a new, interesting field of investigation related to the link between blood pressure alterations and nutritional habits.     

Parental Age and Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorders in a Finnish National Birth Cohort

Aim of the study was to examine the associations between parental age and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Data were based on the FIPS-A (Finnish Prenatal Study of Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorders), a case-control study with a total of 4,713 cases with childhood autism (n = 1,132), Asperger’s syndrome (n = 1,785) or other pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) (n = 1,796), which were ascertained from the Finnish Hospital Discharge Register. Controls were selected from the Finnish Medical Birth Register. Conditional logistic regression models were used for statistical analyses. Advanced paternal age (35–49 years) was associated with childhood autism in offspring, whereas advanced maternal age was associated with both Asperger’s syndrome and PDD in offspring (35 years or more and 40 years or more, respectively). Teenage motherhood (19 years or less) was associated with PDD in offspring. The main finding was that maternal and paternal ages were differentially associated with ASD subtypes. In addition to advanced parental age, teenage pregnancy seems to incur a risk for PDD in offspring.     

Transcranial direct current stimulation and cognitive training in the rehabilitation of Alzheimer disease: A case study

In the present study we tested the cognitive effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in a case of probable Alzheimer disease (AD). The patient (male, 60?years, mild AD) underwent two cycles of treatments, separated by 2?months. In the first cycle, active stimulation (10 sessions, 2?mA for 20?min; anode over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) was followed by computerised tasks (CTs) specifically chosen to engage the most impaired cognitive processes in the patient (tDCS+CT condition). In the second cycle, which was structured as the first, CTs were administered after placebo stimulation (sham+CT condition). Effects on cognitive performance were evaluated not only by the CTs, but also by neuropsychological tests assessing global cognitive functioning. Statistical analyses revealed that whereas the tDCS+CT condition had few effects on the CTs, it induced a stability of the patient's global cognitive functioning lasting approximately 3?months, which was not achieved when the patient underwent sham+CT condition. Therefore, the synergetic use of tDCS and CTs appeared to slow down the cognitive decline of our patient. This preliminary result, although in need of further confirmation, suggests the potentiality of tDCS as an adjuvant tool for cognitive rehabilitation in AD.     

Tau positron emission tomography,cerebrospinal fluid and plasma biomarkers of neurodegeneration,and neurocognitive testing: an exploratory study of participants with myotonic dystrophy type 1

Journal of Neurology - To investigate Tau pathology using multimodal biomarkers of neurodegeneration and neurocognition in participants with myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1). We recruited twelve...     

Mediterranean Diet and Hip Fracture in Swedish Men and Women

A Mediterranean diet, known to have beneficial effects on cardiovascular health, may also influence the risk of hip fracture although previous studies present discrepant results. We therefore aimed to determine whether the rate of hip fracture was associated with degree of adherence to a Mediterranean diet. We combined two Swedish cohort studies consisting of 37,903 men and 33,403 women (total n = 71,333, mean age 60 years) free of previous cardiovascular disease and cancer who answered a medical and a food‐frequency questionnaire in 1997. A modified Mediterranean diet score (mMED; range, 0 to 8 points) was created based on high consumption of fruits and vegetables, legumes and nuts, whole grains, fermented dairy products, fish, and olive/rapeseed oil, moderate intake of alcohol, and low intake of red and processed meat. Incident hip fractures between January 1, 1998, and December 31, 2012, were retrieved from the National Patient Register. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) adjusted for potential confounders were calculated using Cox proportional hazards regression. Differences in age at hip fracture were calculated using multivariable Laplace regression. During follow‐up, 3175 hip fractures occurred at a median age of 73.3 years. One unit increase in the mMED was associated with 6% lower hip fracture rate (adjusted HR = 0.94; 95% CI, 0.92 to 0.96) and with a 3‐month higher median age at hip fracture (50th percentile difference = 2.8 months; 95% CI, 1.4 to 4.2). Comparing the highest quintile of adherence to the mMED (6 to 8 points) with the lowest (0 to 2 points) conferred an adjusted HR of hip fracture of 0.78 (95% CI, 0.69 to 0.89) and a 12‐month higher median age of hip fracture (50th percentile difference = 11.6 months; 95% CI, 4.2 to 19.0). Results were similar in men and women. We conclude that higher adherence to a Mediterranean‐like diet is associated with lower risk of future hip fracture. © 2016 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.