H3K27M-mutant diffuse midline gliomas should be further molecularly stratified: an integrated analysis of 669 patients

Journal of Neuro-Oncology - H3K27M-mutated diffuse midline gliomas (H3-DMGs) are aggressive tumors with a fatal outcome. This study integrating individual patient data (IPD) from published studies...     

Status epilepticus in children: etiology, clinical features, and outcome

Between August 1984 and September 1986, data were gathered prospectively on 114 episodes of convulsive status epilepticus, defined as seizure duration longer than 30 minutes, affecting 97 children. Status epilepticus was symptomatic in 72% (chronic 59%, acute 13%) and idiopathic or febrile in 28%. We identified precipitating factors in 63% of episodes. The most common factors were inadequate blood levels of anticonvulsants (32 of 60 episodes in children with prior seizures) and febrile illnesses, excluding meningitis or encephalitis (38 of 114 episodes). There was an elevated peripheral white blood cell count in 60%, acidosis with a pH of less than 7.0 in 12.5%, and cerebrospinal fluid pleocytosis not due to meningitis or encephalitis in 8 of 64 episodes. Eight children died, three with severe pre-existing brain damage, two with meningitis, and two with a poorly defined encephalopathy. Eighteen children developed a new neurologic deficit. Outcome was associated with the etiology and duration of status epilepticus, with age at the time of status a minor factor. A permanent deficit occurred in only five children with idiopathic or febrile status epilepticus.     

A risk profile of elite Australian athletes who use illicit drugs

Much of the literature investigating the relationship between sports participation and substance use has focused upon student populations, with little focus being given to athletes who participate at elite levels. Identifying why some athletes may be at a greater risk for substance use can help in the design and implementation of prevention initiatives. Data for the current study was from 1684 self-complete surveys with elite Australian athletes. Eight percent (n = 134) of the sample reported the use of at least one of the six illicit drugs under investigation (ecstasy, cannabis, cocaine, meth/amphetamine, ketamine and GHB) in the past year. Having been offered or having had the opportunity to use illicit drugs in the past year, knowing other athletes who use drugs and identifying as a ‘full-time athlete’ were significant predictors of past-year illicit drug use, while having completed secondary education or a post-school qualification was associated with a lower likelihood of past-year illicit drug use. Athletes are part of a sportsnet that includes family, coaches, support staff and other athletes, and these relationships may encourage the use, supply and demand for drugs. The current findings suggest that relationships with some of those in the sportsnet may play an important role when understanding illicit drug use among elite athletes. As education appears to be associated with a lower likelihood of illicit drug use among this group, initiatives should encourage athletes to engage in off-field pursuits which may also help prepare them for life after sport.     

Urban neighborhoods, chronic stress, gender and depression

Using multilevel analysis we find that residents of "stressed" neighborhoods have higher levels of depression than residents of less "stressed" neighborhoods. Data for individuals are from two cycles of the Canadian Community Health Survey, a national probability sample of 56,428 adults living in 25 Census Metropolitan Areas in Canada, with linked information about the respondents' census tracts. Depression is measured with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale Short Form and is based on a cutoff of 4+ symptoms. Factor analysis of census tract characteristics identified two measures of neighborhood chronic stress--residential mobility and material deprivation--and two measures of population structure--ethnic diversity and dependency. After adjustment for individual-level gender, age, education, marital and visible minority status and neighborhood-level ethnic diversity and dependency, a significant contextual effect of neighborhood chronic stress survives. As such, the daily stress of living in a neighborhood where residential mobility and material deprivation prevail is associated with depression. Since gender frames access to personal and social resources, we explored the possibility that women might be more reactive to chronic stressors manifested in higher risk of depression. However, we did not find random variation in depression by gender across neighborhoods.     

Effect of reduced dietary protein intake on hepatic and plasma essential fatty acid concentrations in the adult female rat: effect of pregnancy and consequences for accumulation of arachidonic and docosahexaenoic acids in fetal liver and brain

During pregnancy, the accumulation of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) in fetal tissues places a substantial demand upon maternal lipid metabolism. As lipid metabolism is intimately linked to aspects of protein metabolism, a reduced protein intake in pregnancy may impair activities of enzymes and transport proteins responsible for supplying LCPUFA to the fetus, thereby compromising fetal development. We have investigated the effect of reduced protein intake on LCPUFA status in the non-pregnant rat and in the pregnant rat, and in fetus at day 20 of gestation. Female rats (n 5 per group) were either mated and fed the control diet (180 g protein/kg) or low-protein diet (90 g protein/kg, LPD) diet throughout pregnancy, or fed the control diet or LPD for 20 d (non-pregnant animals). The fatty acid compositions of maternal liver and plasma, and fetal liver and brain were determined by GC. Feeding the LPD did not lead to any gross changes either in adult or fetal growth, or in total lipid concentrations in adult rat liver. However, the LPD was associated specifically with lower liver (42.6 %) and plasma (19.4 %) phosphatidylcholine (PC), and plasma triacylglycerol (28.6 %) docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) concentrations in pregnant rats and reduced fetal brain PC- (26.1 %) and phosphatidylethanolamine- (25.6 %) DHA concentrations. Together, these results show that variations in maternal dietary protein consumption alter DHA status in pregnancy and modify DHA accumulation into the fetal brain. The present results suggest that lower maternal protein intakes reduce delivery of DHA from the mother to the fetus, which may impair development and function of the fetal brain.     

Sensitivity of respiratory virus culture when screening with R-mix fresh cells

Use of R-Mix Fresh Cells has been shown to be a rapid and sensitive method for the detection and identification of respiratory viruses. We prospectively evaluated the impact of incorporation of R-Mix shell vials on the sensitivity and time to detection of seven respiratory viruses recovered in a comprehensive culture during the course of an entire respiratory season in a high-volume clinical laboratory. In this study, R-Mix shell vials were used as part of the culture of 3803 respiratory specimens. A total of 428 respiratory viruses were recovered. Staining of R-Mix vials after overnight incubation allowed initial detection of 274 of 279 influenza viruses, 33 of 38 parainfluenza viruses, 35 of 51 adenoviruses, and 52 of 60 respiratory syncytial viruses (RSVs). The time to reporting of all positive cultures after in-lab specimen receipt was 2.9 days on average and those initially detected in R-Mix cells were reported in 2.3 days on average. A combination of direct fluorescent-antibody (DFA) staining and virus culture was performed on a subset of 711 respiratory specimens. Of 152 viruses identified, 57 were observed only with DFA testing (55 RSV and 2 influenza A viruses) and 31 were recovered only in cell culture. After overnight incubation, R-Mix cells detected 87.1% of respiratory viruses not observed by DFA testing and 96.9% of viruses positive by both methods. The sensitivities of DFA testing and R-Mix cells for identification of influenza viruses were 70.5% and 96.7%, respectively. The R-Mix method detected influenza virus in 18 samples that were negative by DFA testing.