Development of Dietary Patterns Spanning Infancy and Toddlerhood: Relation to Body Size,Composition and Metabolic Risk Markers at Three Years

Little is known about the development of dietary patterns during toddlerhood and the relation to growth and health. The study objective was to characterise the development of dietary patterns from 9–36 mo of age and investigate the association to body size, body composition and metabolic risk markers at 36 mo. Food records were filled out at 9, 18 and 36 mo of age (n = 229). Dietary patterns were identified by principal component analysis (PCA). Three dietary patterns were identified: Transition Food, Healthy Food and Traditional Food. The course of development in dietary patterns from 9–36 mo indicated tracking for a relatively large group of participants in the three patterns. Transition Food and Healthy Food were associated with some of the investigated outcomes. Children with lower adherence to the Transition Food pattern than average at 18 and 36 mo irrespectively of intake at 9 mo had higher BMI z-scores at 36 mo. Similar trend was identified for higher fat mass indices. Children with lower adherence to the Healthy Food pattern than average at all three ages compared to children with higher adherence to the Healthy Food pattern at the first two registrations, 9 and 18 mo had higher total cholesterol and LDL. Hence, this could represent undesirable development of dietary patterns in toddlers. In conclusion, development of dietary patterns can be exploratory characterised by PCA and related to potential cardiovascular risk markers in toddlers even within a relatively homogeneous population with a high socioeconomic status. The tracking of dietary patterns from 9 mo of age indicates a need for early and sustained promotion of healthy diets.     

Long‐term perspectives on posttraumatic growth in disaster survivors

Findings on posttraumatic growth (PTG) and distress have not been consistent. This study examines the relationship in a very long‐term perspective. The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory was completed by 46 survivors from a single disaster 27 years posttrauma. Posttraumatic stress was measured by the Impact of Event Scale (IES) immediately after the event, and after 1, 5, and 27 years. In the final follow‐up, general mental health was also assessed. Strong positive associations were found between PTG and concurrent posttraumatic stress. Although weaker associations were found for the past, concurrent problems in general mental health clearly coexisted with PTG decades after a disaster, yet mediated by IES.     

Effects of erythropoietin on posttraumatic place learning in fimbria-fornix transected rats after a 30-day postoperative pause

Human recombinant erythropoietin (EPO) has been shown to exert neuroprotective effects following both vascular and mechanical brain injury. Previously, we showed that behavioral symptoms associated with mechanical lesions of the hippocampus are nearly abolished due to EPO treatment. In these studies, the EPO administration took place simultaneously with the infliction of brain injury and the rehabilitation training started 6-7 days postoperatively. In the present study, we tested whether the therapeutic effect of EPO on the acquisition of an allocentric eight-arm radial maze spatial task also manifests itself if the rehabilitative training is postponed. Postoperatively, the animals were left without any specific stimulation for 30 days. The current results show an improved behavioral performance of the EPO-treated lesioned group relative to the saline-treated lesioned group, and confirm EPO's therapeutic effect even in case of postponed rehabilitation. However, compared to the control group, the EPO-treated lesioned group demonstrated an impaired task acquisition. All subjects eventually recovered functionally. Subsequently, the animals were given behavioral challenges during which the cue constellation in the room was changed. The challenges revealed that, although the EPO-treated lesion group had achieved the same level of task proficiency as the control group, the cognitive mechanisms mediating the task performance in the EPO-treated lesion group (as well as in the saline-treated lesion group) were dissimilar from those mediating the task in the control group. Both the EPO-treated and the saline-treated lesion group demonstrated an increased dependency on the original cue configuration.     

Combined Analyses of 20 Common Obesity Susceptibility Variants

OBJECTIVE

Genome-wide association studies and linkage studies have identified 20 validated genetic variants associated with obesity and/or related phenotypes. The variants are common, and they individually exhibit small-to-modest effect sizes.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

In this study we investigate the combined effect of these variants and their ability to discriminate between normal weight and overweight/obese individuals. We applied receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves, and estimated the area under the ROC curve (AUC) as a measure of the discriminatory ability. The analyses were performed cross-sectionally in the population-based Inter99 cohort where 1,725 normal weight, 1,519 overweight, and 681 obese individuals were successfully genotyped for all 20 variants.

RESULTS

When combining all variants, the 10% of the study participants who carried more than 22 risk-alleles showed a significant increase in probability of being both overweight with an odds ratio of 2.00 (1.47–2.72), P = 4.0 × 10⁻⁵, and obese with an OR of 2.62 (1.76–3.92), P = 6.4 × 10⁻⁷, compared with the 10% of the study participants who carried less than 14 risk-alleles. Discrimination ability for overweight and obesity, using the 20 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), was determined to AUCs of 0.53 and 0.58, respectively. When combining SNP data with conventional nongenetic risk factors of obesity, the discrimination ability increased to 0.64 for overweight and 0.69 for obesity. The latter is significantly higher (P < 0.001) than for the nongenetic factors alone (AUC = 0.67).

CONCLUSIONS

The discriminative value of the 20 validated common obesity variants is at present time sparse and too weak for clinical utility, however, they add to increase the discrimination ability of conventional nongenetic risk factors.The prevalence of obesity is increasing rapidly in all parts of the world. The primary cause of the current epidemic development is likely an unhealthy lifestyle, especially high calorie intake and insufficient physical activity. However, studies have established that the pathogenesis of obesity also includes a genetic component predisposing some individuals to gain more weight from a sedentary lifestyle (1–3). Until 2007 none of the suggested susceptibility variants for common obesity were convincingly validated. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have, however, with an agnostic approach changed the success of identifying common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), modifying the risk for common complex diseases including obesity. FTO was the first well-replicated obesity susceptibility locus to be identified through GWAS (4) and moreover has been identified in other independent studies (5–7).Subsequently, variants downstream of MC4R (8,9) were identified in meta-analyses of GWAS, and linkage peaks in PCSK1 were re-sequenced identifying two coding variants reaching the genome-wide significance threshold (10). A second wave of GWAS of obesity have recently identified 15 additional loci: TMEM18, SH2B1, KCTD15, NEGR1 (11,12), SEC16B, SFRS10, BDNF, FAIM2, BAT2 (11), GNPDA2, MTCH2 (12), NCP1, MAF, PTER, and PRL (13).Individually all of these common variants exert small-to-modest effect sizes, however, whether the combined effect of the 20 variants increases in an additive manner has not been elucidated. So far the combined ability of nine obesity variants to discriminate obese individuals from lean individuals has been reported (14). In the present study, we estimate the discriminative value of 20 SNPs in the 18 newly identified obesity loci in a Danish population-based cohort both separately and in combination with conventional nongenetic risk factors of obesity. We also examine whether the 20 obesity-related variants exhibit additive combined effects or whether synergistic effects caused by gene-gene interactions are present.     

Tumor radioimmunolocalization in nude mice by mono- and divalent- single-chain Fv antiplacental alkaline phosphatase antibodies

One single-chain Fv antibody fragment (scFv) and a new recombinant covalently linked dimeric scFv antibody (sc(Fv)(2)) against placental alkaline phosphatase (PLAP) were investigated for selective tumor targeting. The biological behavior of these new antibodies was compared to that of the original native antibody, H7 MAb. The sc(Fv)(2)) antibody displayed convincing tumor localization properties with a rapid excretion pattern comparable to the scFv, but with a longer retention time in the tumor, and higher tumor-to-nontumor ratio (27:1), compared to the scFv (15:1), at 48 hours. For the sc(Fv)(2) antibody, more than 50% of the remaining activity in the mouse was present in the tumor between 24 and 48 hours after the injection. With this antibody, scintigraphic visualization of the tumor was also possible 1 week after the injection. It is concluded that this sc(Fv)(2) antibody fragment, with two binding sites, displays properties suitable for in vivo targeting of PLAP expressing tumors.     

Synaptic Density and Glucose Consumption in Patients with Lewy Body Diseases: An [11C]UCB-J and [18F]FDG PET Study

Background

Patients with Lewy body diseases exhibit variable degrees of cortical and subcortical hypometabolism. However, the underlying causes behind this progressive hypometabolism remain unresolved. Generalized synaptic degeneration may be one key contributor.

Objective

The objective of this study was to investigate whether local cortical synaptic loss is proportionally linked to the magnitude of hypometabolism in Lewy body disease.

Method

Using in vivo positron emission tomography (PET) we investigated cerebral glucose metabolism and quantified the density of cerebral synapses, as measured with [¹⁸F]fluorodeoxyglucose ([¹⁸F]FDG) PET and [¹¹C]UCB-J, respectively. Volumes-of-interest were defined on magnetic resonance T1 scans and regional standard uptake value ratios-1 values were obtained for 14 pre-selected brain regions. Between-group comparisons were conducted at voxel-level.

Results

We observed regional differences in both synaptic density and cerebral glucose consumption in our cohorts of non-demented and demented patients with Parkinson's disease or dementia with Lewy bodies compared to healthy subjects. Additionally, voxel-wise comparisons showed a clear difference in cortical regions between demented patients and controls for both tracers. Importantly, our findings strongly suggested that the magnitude of reduced glucose uptake exceeded the magnitude of reduced cortical synaptic density.

Conclusion

Here, we investigated the relationship between in vivo glucose uptake and the magnitude of synaptic density as measured using [¹⁸F]FDG PET and [¹¹C]UCB-J PET in Lewy body patients. The magnitude of reduced [¹⁸F]FDG uptake was greater than the corresponding decline in [¹¹C]UCB-J binding. Therefore, the progressive hypometabolism seen in Lewy body disorders cannot be fully explained by generalized synaptic degeneration. © 2023 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.     

Occupational Performance Coaching in Assisted Living

Abstract

Aims: Occupational performance coaching (OPC) helps people reengage in personally valued occupations despite physical or cognitive challenges. We explored the potential of OPC in the context of assisted living. Methods: An instrumental case study was used. A student occupational therapist provided OPC to one resident in one assisted living facility. Interviews with the resident, a family member, and the Health and Wellness Director, and the student’s journal notes were analyzed to explore the experience of OPC and determine critical considerations for OPC in this environment. Results: Positive effects were noted for the resident and the residence. Critical considerations for OPC in this environment included an increased facilitation role for the coach, and the importance of an appreciation of potential stress for family and contributions by residence staff. Conclusions: OPC is feasible and potentially effective in assisted living with greater consideration of family needs and staff involvement.