Serum vitamin D metabolites are not related to growth rate,bone mineral content,or serum alkaline phosphatase in male puberty

Summary Twenty boys were followed during their puberty for about 2 years with examinations every third month. At each examination we determined serum concentrations of 25OHD₃, 1,25(OH)₂D₃, 24,25(OH)₂D₃, 25.26(OH)₂D₃,alkaline phosphatase (AP) and testosterone together with bone mineral content (BMC) at the distal forearm. Highly significant increases in both BMC (P<0.001), serum AP (P<0.001), and peak height velocity (PHV) followed the increase in serum testosterone. The boys were grouped according to time of maximal increase in BMC, AP, and PHV. The serum levels of the vitamin D metabolites were related to these points. No significant changes in any of the serum vitamin D metabolites were found. Thus vitamin D metabolism does not seem to be significantly influenced during the period of life when both the linear growth and bone mineralization is maximal.     

Epidemiology of Lyme borreliosis based on outpatient claims data of all people with statutory health insurance,Germany, 2019

IntroductionEvidence of nationwide and regional morbidity of Lyme borreliosis (LB) in Germany is lacking.AimsWe calculated the total number of incident LB cases in Germany in 2019, compared regional variations, investigated the extent of possible under-reporting in notification data and examined the association between high incidence areas and land cover composition.MethodsWe used outpatient claims data comprising information for people with statutory health insurance who visited a physician at least once between 2010 and 2019 in Germany (n = 71,411,504). The ICD-10 code A69.2 was used to identify incident LB patients. Spatial variations of LB were assessed by means of Global and Local Moran’s Index at district level. Notification data were obtained for nine federal states with mandatory notification from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).ResultsOf all insured, 128,177 were diagnosed with LB in 2019, corresponding to an incidence of 179 per 100,000 insured. The incidence varied across districts by a factor of 16 (range: 40–646 per 100,000). We identified four spatial clusters with high incidences. These clusters were associated with a significantly larger proportion of forests and agricultural areas than low incidence clusters. In 2019, 12,264 LB cases were reported to the RKI from nine federal states, while 69,623 patients with LB were found in claims data for those states. This difference varied considerably across districts.ConclusionsThese findings serve as a solid basis for regionally tailored population-based intervention programmes and can support modelling studies assessing the development of LB epidemiology under various climate change scenarios.     

Inflammatory Markers after Switching to a Dual Drug Regimen in HIV-Infected Subjects: A Two-Year Follow-Up

Objective: Immunadapt is a study evaluating the impact of combination antiretroviral treatment (cART) simplification on immune activation. We previously showed that switching to dual therapies could be associated six months later with macrophage activation. Followup continued up to 24 months after treatment simplification. Materials and Methods: Immunadapt is a prospective single arm study of successfully treated subjects simplifying cART from triple to dual regimens. Before cART change, at 6 months, and between 18 and 24 months following the switch, we measured IP-10, MCP-1, soluble CD14 (sCD14), soluble CD163 (sCD163), and lipopolysaccharide binding protein. Patients were stratified according to lower or greater likelihood of immune activation (CD4 nadir < 200, previous AIDS-defining event or very-low-level viremia during follow-up). Variables were compared using matched Wilcoxon tests. Results: From April 2019 to September 2021, 14 subjects were included (mean age 60 years, 12 men, 26 years since HIV infection, CD4 nadir 302 cells/mm³, 18 years on cART, 53 months on last cART). Twenty-one months following the switch, all but one subject maintained their viral load < 50 cp/mL. One subject had two viral blips. For the entire population, the sCD163 values increased significantly from baseline (+36%, p = 0.003) and from 6 months after the switch. The other markers did not change. After 6 months, the sCD163 increase was more pronounced in subjects with greater likelihood of immune activation (+53% vs. +19%, p = 0.026) Conclusions: cART simplification to dual therapy was associated with macrophage activation despite successful virological control after almost two years’ follow-up. This was more pronounced in those at risk of immune activation.     

A fragile site within the HPC1 region at 1q25.3 affecting RGS16, RGSL1, and RGSL2 in human breast carcinomas

Genomic alterations affecting chromosome arm 1q are considered to be an early event in breast carcinogenesis and are correlated with good prognosis for the patients. In the search for new breast cancer susceptibility genes, we focused on three genes from the Regulator of G protein Signaling family clustered on 1q25.3 within the HPC1 region. RGS16, RGSL2, and RGSL1 encode proteins interacting with G proteins and accelerating termination of the G protein signaling. To evaluate the implication of these genes in somatic breast cancer, we analyzed a 154-kb segment at 1q25.3 using allelic imbalance (AI) mapping. A panel of 222 patients diagnosed with primary breast cancer was analyzed using newly identified, intragenic short tandem repeats (STRs). A high rate of AI (>50%) was found across the region and led to the identification of internal chromosomal breakpoints. A detailed mapping of the breakpoints revealed intragenic microdeletions affecting the coding regions of RGSL2, RGSL1, and the regulatory region of RGS16. The promoter region of RGS16 was found to be methylated in 10% of the tumors. A decrease in the RGS16 expression was found in tumors with chromosomal breakpoints, AI, and aberrant methylation. We found a significant association between AI of RGSL2 and localized disease, which correlated with good prognosis for patients with breast cancer. In conclusion, we found the 1q25.3 region to be highly unstable in breast tumors comprising a cluster of chromosomal breakpoints, intragenic microdeletions, frequent allelic imbalance correlating with long metastasis-free survival, and RGS16 promoter methylation affecting the protein expression.     

Racial differences in corneocytes. A comparison between black, white and oriental skin.

It is well known that spontaneous desquamation and corneocyte size can reflect respectively stratum corneum cohesiveness and epidermal cell proliferation. The influence of skin pigmentation on these parameters has been investigated on the upper-outer arm of black, white and oriental volunteers, using the detergent scrub method. We found no difference between race in corneocyte surface area, a mean size of 900 microns 2 agreeing closely with that generally encountered in Whites on the upper-outer arm. By contrast, spontaneous desquamation is increased in black vis-à-vis white and oriental skin (factor 2.5, p less than 0.001). Taking into account the importance of the intercellular cement for the cohesion between corneocytes, racial differences in epidermal lipid composition should be investigated.