B-type natriuretic peptide and glycaemia: an emerging cardiometabolic pathway?

There is emerging evidence of cross-talk between the myocardium and systemic metabolic pathways. In particular, there is interest in the potential metabolic effects of A-type and B-type natriuretic peptides (ANP and BNP), produced in the myocardial tissue in response to ventricular stretch and cardiac overload. This commentary provides an overview of the evidence that natriuretic peptides promote lipolysis and enhance adiponectin production. In addition, we review new and existing evidence that BNP may directly improve glucose control, or else lower glucose indirectly via enhanced capillary permeability or greater renal excretion. Further investigation of the links between natriuretic peptide and glycaemia would seem important given the potential to reveal novel mechanisms to treat diabetes.     

Sensitivity of the Test of Memory and Learning to Attention and Memory Deficits in Children with ADHD

Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) exhibit a number of cognitive deficits. The current study compared patterns of attention, learning, and memory impairment on the Test of Memory and Learning (TOMAL) between 80 children with ADHD and 80 normal comparisons who were matched for age and gender. Results demonstrated that children with ADHD performed significantly worse than matched controls on the Attention/Concentration Index and the Sequential Recall Index. ROC analysis indicated that these two indexes had good classification accuracy with AUCs of.76 and.77 respectively. There were also group differences on the other index scores except the Associative Recall Index. Factor analysis of the ADHD sample extracted five factors, including an Attention factor that significantly correlated with performance on nonverbal memory tasks. Significant correlations between the TOMAL Index scores and tests of intelligence and visuomotor integration supported the convergent and discriminant validity of the test. These results provide support for the criterion validity of the TOMAL in assessing neurocognitive deficits in children with ADHD.     

Assessment of vaccine testing at three laboratories using the guinea pig model of tuberculosis

The guinea pig model of tuberculosis is used extensively in different locations to assess the efficacy of novel tuberculosis vaccines during pre-clinical development. Two key assays are used to measure protection against virulent challenge: a 30 day post-infection assessment of mycobacterial burden and long-term post-infection survival and pathology analysis. To determine the consistency and robustness of the guinea pig model for testing vaccines, a comparative assessment between three sites that are currently involved in testing tuberculosis vaccines from external providers was performed. Each site was asked to test two "subunit" type vaccines in their routine animal model as if testing vaccines from a provider. All sites performed a 30 day study, and one site also performed a long-term survival/pathology study. Despite some differences in experimental approach between the sites, such as the origin of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain and the type of aerosol exposure device used to infect the animals and the source of the guinea pigs, the data obtained between sites were consistent in regard to the ability of each "vaccine" tested to reduce the mycobacterial burden. The observations also showed that there was good concurrence between the results of short-term and long-term studies. This validation exercise means that efficacy data can be compared between sites.