Correlates of Sexuality in Men and Women Aged 52–90 Years Attending a University Medical Health Service in Colombia

IntroductionLimited information is available regarding sexuality among Colombian adults aged 50 years and older.AimTo assess demographic or health characteristics associated with sexuality measures among middle‐ and older‐aged men and women.MethodsCross‐sectional face‐to‐face interviews were conducted with retired persons from a university ambulatory medical care setting. Data on sexuality were obtained along with data on their demographic, emotional intimacy, practice of religion, medical conditions, and functional health measures. There were 136 participants.Main Outcome MeasuresAppropriateness of sex, sexual desire, importance of sex, masturbation, and sexual intercourse.ResultsFifty‐seven percent of the participants were over 65 years of age, 52% were female, and 66% reported being married; 67% indicated sex is appropriate, 58% reported having sexual desire, 45% considered sex very important in their lives, 54% reported one or more instances of sexual intercourse, and 16% reported masturbating within the last year. In multivariate analyses, importance of sex and sexual intercourse decreased by age. Women had decreased odds ratios (0.20 to 0.33) for sexuality measures compared with men with the exception of appropriateness of sex. Married persons had increased odds ratios (3.06 to 9.45) for importance of sex, appropriateness of sex, and sexual intercourse compared with those of the same age who reported being unmarried. Other factors associated with some particular sexuality measures were emotional intimacy, religious practice, medical conditions, and functional health measures. There were significant mediation effects for appropriateness of sex on the relationship between sexual desire and sexual intercourse, and for importance of sex on the relationship between appropriateness of sex and sexual intercourse.ConclusionsMen and married persons had higher rates of most sexuality measures compared with women or their unmarried counterparts. These differences were greater at older ages (≥65) for all sexuality measures except sexual intercourse. Arias‐Castillo L, Ceballos‐Osorio J, Ochoa JJ, and Reyes‐Ortiz CA. Correlates of sexuality in men and women aged 52–90 years attending a university medical health service in Colombia.     

CYP2C8 *3 and *4 define CYP2C8 phenotype: An approach with the substrate cinitapride

Cinitapride is a gastrointestinal prokinetic drug, prescribed for the treatment of functional dyspepsia, and as an adjuvant therapy for gastroesophageal reflux disease. In this study, we aimed to explore the impact of relevant variants in CYP3A4 and CYP2C8 and other pharmacogenes, along with demographic characteristics, on cinitapride pharmacokinetics and safety; and to evaluate the impact of CYP2C8 alleles on the enzyme''s function. Twenty‐five healthy volunteers participating in a bioequivalence clinical trial consented to participate in the study. Participants were genotyped for 56 variants in 19 genes, including cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes (e.g., CYP2C8 or CYP3A4) or transporters (e.g., SLC or ABC), among others. CYP2C8*3 carriers showed a reduction in AUC of 42% and C_max of 35% compared to *1/*1 subjects (p = 0.003 and p = 0.011, respectively). *4 allele carriers showed a 45% increase in AUC and 63% in C_max compared to *1/*1 subjects, although these differences did not reach statistical significance. CYP2C8*3 and *4 alleles may be used to infer the following pharmacogenetic phenotypes: ultrarapid (UM) (*3/*3), rapid (RM) (*1/*3), normal (NM) (*1/*1), intermediate (IM) (*1/*4), and poor (PM) metabolizers (*4/*4). In this study, we properly characterized RMs, NMs, and IMs; however, additional studies are required to properly characterize UMs and PMs. These findings should be relevant with respect to cinitapride, but also to numerous CYP2C8 substrates such as imatinib, loperamide, montelukast, ibuprofen, paclitaxel, pioglitazone, repaglinide, or rosiglitazone.     

Disparities in Caregivers’ Experiences at the Dentist With Their Young Child

ObjectiveTo understand the experiences of diverse families when taking their young children to the dentist and to document their prevalence.MethodsAn exploratory sequential design was used. First, 4 focus groups (N = 33) comprised of low-income female caregivers of children under 6 years of age were conducted in English and Spanish. Discussions centered around facilitators and barriers to taking children to the dentist. Themes derived from the groups were then used to create a survey that was given to 1184 caregivers in English, Spanish, or Vietnamese.ResultsThematic coding of focus groups found little support for typically reported barriers to pediatric oral health care utilization (eg, transportation, cost, knowledge); instead, caregivers reported negative experiences (eg, restraint, separation) as barriers. In the surveys, 66% of caregivers reported being separated from their children, 25% reported that their children were restrained (53.7% for cleanings), 26% of children were given sedating medication for cleanings, and 22% of the caregivers reported experiences that made them not want to return to the dentist. The prevalence of these experiences differed significantly among Latino, Asian, and Caucasian families and for annual incomes under or above $50,000.ConclusionsFamilies with lower incomes and/or from ethnic and linguistic minority groups were more likely to report negative experiences at the dentist than higher income and Caucasian families. These data document the high prevalence of negative experiences and suggest ethnic, financial, and linguistic disparities in the quality of experiences. More research is needed on the role of dentists in facilitating or hindering oral health care utilization among diverse families.     

Endemic Skunk amdoparvovirus in free‐ranging striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis) in California

The genus Amdoparvovirus includes the newly discovered skunk amdoparvovirus and the well‐characterized Aleutian disease virus which causes significant health impacts in farmed mink worldwide. In 2010–2013, an outbreak of fatal amdoparvovirus‐associated disease was documented in free‐ranging striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis) from the San Francisco Bay Area of California. To characterize the geographic distribution, earliest occurrence and abundance of this virus, as well as possible impacts on sympatric mustelids of conservation concern, we tested blood samples from skunks throughout California and fishers (Pekania pennanti) from northern California for amdoparvovirus DNA. Amdoparvovirus DNA was detected in 64.8% of sampled skunks (140/216), and test‐positive skunks were distributed widely throughout the state, from as far north as Humboldt County and south to San Diego County. The first test‐positive skunks were detected from 2004, prior to the 2010–2013 outbreak. No significant spatial or temporal clustering of infection was detected. Although healthy and clinically ill animals tested positive for amdoparvovirus DNA, histopathologic evaluation of a subset from clinically ill skunks indicated that positive PCR results were associated with pneumonia as well as there being more than one inflammatory type lesion. None of 38 fishers were PCR‐positive. Given the widespread geographic distribution and lack of a clear epizootic centre, our results suggest the presence of an endemic skunk‐associated amdoparvovirus strain or species. However, if the virus is not host‐specific, skunks’ ubiquitous presence across rural and urban habitats may pose a risk to susceptible domestic and wild species including mustelids of conservation concern such as fishers and Pacific martens (Martes caurina).     

Ceramides promote apoptosis for virus-infected lymphoma cells through induction of ceramide synthases and viral lytic gene expression

Kaposi''s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is the etiologic agent for several human cancers including primary effusion lymphoma (PEL), a rapidly progressive malignancy arising preferentially in immunocompromised patients. With conventional chemotherapy, PEL continues to portend high mortality, dictating the development of novel therapeutic strategies. Sphingosine kinase 2 (SphK2) represents a key gatekeeper for sphingolipid metabolism, responsible for conversion of ceramides to sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P). We have previously demonstrated that targeting SphK2 using a novel selective inhibitor, ABC294640, leads to intracellular accumulation of ceramides and induces apoptosis for KSHV-infected PEL cells, while suppressing tumor progression in vivo. In the current study, we sought to determine whether specific ceramide/dh-ceramide species and related ceramide synthases (CerS) impact viability for KSHV-infected PEL cells during targeting of SphK2. We found that several specific ceramide and dihydro(dh)-ceramide species and their associated CerS reduce PEL survival and tumor expansion in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, we found that dhC16-Cer induces PEL apoptosis in part through activation of KSHV lytic gene expression. These data further implicate bioactive sphingolipids in regulation of PEL survival, and provide justification for future studies evaluating clinically relevant ceramide analogs or mimetics for their potential as therapeutic agents for PEL.