Childhood anxiety disorders in mothers and their children

This study examined the prevalence of separation anxiety disorder (SAD) and overanxious disorder (OAD) in the mothers of children diagnosed with SAD and/or OAD (n=64), and a control group of children who had psychiatric diagnoses other than anxiety or affective disorders (n=33). Results indicated that mothers of children with OAD had an increased prevalence (42%) of OAD themselves as children. Contrary to expectation, mothers of children with SAD did not show a higher rate of SAD than the other groups.This research was supported in part by research grant MH0054601 from the National Institute of Mental Health.     

Low plasma vitamin B12 is associated with lower BMD: the Framingham Osteoporosis Study.

Vitamin B12 is important to DNA synthesis and may affect bone formation. We examined the association between this vitamin and BMD in 2576 adults. Men with plasma B12 < 148 pM had significantly lower BMD at the hip, and women at the spine, relative to those with higher B12, and trends were similar for both at all sites. Low vitamin B12 may be a risk factor for low BMD. INTRODUCTION: Vitamin B12 is important to DNA synthesis and may affect bone formation. It has been linked to osteoblastic activity in clinical studies and cell culture. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We examined the relationship between plasma vitamin B12 status and BMD in 2576 adult participants in the Framingham Offspring Osteoporosis Study (1996-2001). BMD was measured by DXA at the hip and spine. Plasma vitamin B12 was measured by radioassay. Mean BMD measures were estimated for four categories of vitamin B12 concentration, based on commonly used cut-offs, using analysis of covariance, adjusted for age, BMI, physical activity score for the elderly (PASE), alcohol use, smoking status, total calcium and vitamin D intake, season of bone measurement, and for women, menopause status and current estrogen use. Further adjustment for protein intake and total homocysteine concentration was also performed. RESULTS: Both men and women with vitamin B12 concentrations <148 pM had lower average BMD than those with vitamin B12 above this cut-off. These differences were significant (p < 0.05) for men at most hip sites and for women at the spine. Significance remained after further adjustment for protein intake and plasma homocysteine. CONCLUSIONS: Vitamin B12 deficiency may be an important modifiable risk factor for osteoporosis.     

The significance of the arginine and arginase of tears in experimentally-induced herpes simplex corneae

Summary Experimental corneal herpes is always accompanied by the accumulation of arginine, the substrate of arginase, in tears, ensuring the multiplication of the herpes hominis virus. The main source of the large amount of arginine is the desquamating corneal epithelium, since after the epithelium of the cornea is abraded the arginine content of the tears again equals that of healthy tears.The low arginase content of rabbit tears can be supplemented by arginase applied as eyedrops, and this results in the cure of the herpetic process.     

Metabolic properties of 1,2-bisphosphoenolpyruvate

Summary 1,2-Bisphosphoenolpyruvate (bis-PEP), a new intermediate of carbohydrate metabolism, accumulates in the incubation medium of rat diaphragms. The metabolic properties of this intermediate have been studied. Bis-PEP is determined after isolation, by its radioactivity and the total phosphorus content. The production is stimulated by insulin. The addition of adrenalin and monoiodoacetate to media containing insulin causes a further increase in concentration of bis-PEP in the medium. When incubating with glucose labeled in the first or the sixth carbon atom, the dilution of the isotope incorporated into bis-PEP is different. The use of 1-¹⁴C-glucose gives rise to the production of bis-PEP with low specific activity; this dilution is counteracted by the addition of monoiodoacetate to the medium. The addition of non-radioactivedl-glyceraldehyde to the medium causes a doubling of the total amount accumulated and an approximately equal increase in isotope dilution. The addition of inert hydroxypyruvate decreases the dilution factor without increasing the total amount.When glycogen in the diaphragms is labeled by preliminary incubation with¹⁴C-glucose, labeled bis-PEP can be isolated from a second, non-radioactive medium.Anaerobiosis does not inhibit production.Assuming that in the intact diaphragm as in isolated systems the effect of monoiodoacetate is first and foremost on glyceraldehydedehyrogenase, it is suggested that the synthesis of bis-PEP takes place at a point above the formation of 1,3-diphosphoglycerate.