Nicotinic receptors as CNS targets for Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease is a debilitating neurodegenerative movement disorder characterized by damage to the nigrostriatal dopaminergic system. Current therapies are symptomatic only and may be accompanied by serious side effects. There is therefore a continual search for novel compounds for the treatment of Parkinson's disease symptoms, as well as to reduce or halt disease progression. Nicotine administration has been reported to improve motor deficits that arise with nigrostriatal damage in parkinsonian animals and in Parkinson's disease. In addition, nicotine protects against nigrostriatal damage in experimental models, findings that have led to the suggestion that the reduced incidence of Parkinson's disease in smokers may be due to the nicotine in tobacco. Altogether, these observations suggest that nicotine treatment may be beneficial in Parkinson's disease. Nicotine interacts with multiple nicotinic receptor (nAChR) subtypes in the peripheral and central nervous system, as well as in skeletal muscle. Work to identify the subtypes affected in Parkinson's disease is therefore critical for the development of targeted therapies. Results show that striatal alpha6beta2-containing nAChRs are particularly susceptible to nigrostriatal damage, with a decline in receptor levels that closely parallels losses in striatal dopamine. In contrast, alpha4beta2-containing nAChRs are decreased to a much smaller extent under the same conditions. These observations suggest that development of nAChR agonists or antagonists targeted to alpha6beta2-containing nAChRs may represent a particularly relevant target for Parkinson's disease therapeutics.     

Effects of stress on parental care are sexually dimorphic in prairie voles

The effects of stress on parental care are poorly understood, especially in biparental species where males also display care. Data from previous studies in prairie voles, as well as parallels with pair-bonding behavior, suggest the hypothesis that a stressful experience might facilitate parental care in males but not in females. In the present study, male and female prairie voles were exposed to either a 3-min swim stressor or no stressor; 45 min later each animal was tested in a parental care paradigm. Following the parental care test, blood samples were collected and assayed for corticosterone (CORT). After the stressor males, but not females, showed significant changes in parental behavior including significantly more time in kyphosis (arched-back huddling), and a tendency to spend more time licking and grooming pups. In males, CORT levels measured following the parental care test were inversely related to licking and grooming but positively correlated with retrievals. These findings support earlier studies suggesting that the neuroendocrine substrates of parental behavior, as well as the effects of stressors, are sexually dimorphic in this species.     

中学生盐酸曲马多滥用者父母教养方式与主观幸福感的相关研究

目的了解中学生盐酸曲马多滥用者的父母教养方式与主观幸福感的状况,并探讨父母教养方式对中学生盐酸曲马多滥用者主观幸福感的影响。方法采用父母教养方式评定量表,总体幸福感量表对121名中学生盐酸曲马多滥用者进行评定。结果中学生盐酸曲马多滥用者在主观幸福感和父母教养方式上存在显著性别差异;回归分析表明,父母亲的情感温暖、理解和母亲的偏爱被试者对中学生盐酸曲马多滥用者的主观幸福感有重要积极影响,而父亲的严厉惩罚,拒绝否认对中学生盐酸曲马多滥用者的主观幸福感有消极的影响。结论中学生盐酸曲马多滥用者的父母教养方式与主观幸福感在性别上具有显著差异,父母教养方式对其主观幸福感有显著影响。     

父母教养方式对离异家庭与完整家庭射击射箭运动员成绩的不同影响

目的探讨父母教养方式对不同家庭环境运动员成绩的不同影响。方法用《父母教养方式评价量表》测评上海市射击射箭中心27名运动员,记录并计算运动员近3年的考核成绩和比赛成绩的平均值,分别作为平时成绩和比赛成绩。结果 1运动员父母惩罚严厉及父亲拒绝否认与运动员比赛成绩和平时成绩均有显著负相关(r=-0.394,-0.417,-0.391,-0.429,-0.444,-0.464;P0.05);2完整家庭的运动员比赛成绩显著高于离异家庭的运动员(t=2.694,P0.05);3完整家庭运动员的平时成绩与比赛成绩均与父母教养方式无显著相关,离异家庭运动员父亲情感温暖与平时成绩有显著正相关(r=0.737;P0.05),父母的惩罚严厉及父亲拒绝否认则与比赛成绩有显著负相关(r=-0.794,-0.765,-0.725;P0.05)。结论离异家庭的运动员父母教养方式对运动成绩的影响远大于完整家庭运动员的影响。     

Perceived parental reactions and peer respect as predictors of adolescent cigarette smoking and alcohol use

Cigarette smoking and alcohol use contribute substantially to the global burden of morbidity and premature mortality. Most use begins during adolescence, often with experimentation taking place between 11 and 15 years of age. This study examined the importance of perceived parental reactions to, and peer respect for, cigarette smoking and alcohol use. Particular attention was given to the relative importance of these variables compared with the more widely examined influences of perceived parental and peer support. Our final models explained 44% of the variance in cigarette smoking and 46% in alcohol use. Most of the explained variance in both cigarette smoking and alcohol use was accounted for by only three variables: peer use, perceived parental reaction to use, and perceived respect from peers if using. Our findings indicate that perceived parental reaction to use and peer respect for use may be important contributors to adolescent cigarette smoking and alcohol use.     

CONTROL OF ANGIOGENESIS BY INHIBITOR OF PHOSPHOLIPASE A2

Objective To investigate the potential effects of angiogenic process by secretory phospholipase A2 (sPLA2) inhibitor-HyPE (linking N-derivatized phosphatidyl-ethanolamine to hyaluronie acid) on human bone marrow endothelial cell line (HBME-1). Methods In order to examine the suppressing effects of HyPE on HBME-1 proliferation, migration, and capillary-like tube formation, HBME-1 were activated by angiogenic factor, specifically by basic fibroblast growth factor (b-FGF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and oncostatin M (OSM) (at a final concentration of 25, 20, and 2.5ng/mL, respectively), then HBME-1 proliferation, migration, and tube formation were studied in the absence or presence of HyPE. HBME-1 tube formation was specially analyzed in fibrin gel. Results HyPE effectively inhibited HBME-1 proliferation and migration as a dose-dependent manner,whatever HBME-1 were grown in the control culture medium or stimulated with b-FGF, VEGF, or OSM. In fibrin, the formations of HBME-1 derived tube-like structures were enhanced by all angiogenic factors, but these were strongly suppressed by HyPE. Conclusions The results support the involvement of sPLA2 in angiogenesis. It is proposed that sPLA2 inhibitor introduces a novel approach in the control of cancer development.     

Environmental influences on childhood obesity: ethnic and cultural influences in context

Ethnicity is associated with differences in food-related beliefs, preferences, and behaviors, and cultural influences may contribute to the higher than average risk of obesity among children and youth in U.S. ethnic minority populations. However, cultural attitudes and beliefs are not the only potential source of ethnic variation in childhood obesity prevalence and should not be studied in isolation. Demographic, socio-structural, and environmental variables must also be considered. Available evidence indicates ethnic differences along several pathways that may increase risks of obesity development during gestation, infancy, childhood and adolescence. These include above-average prevalence of obesity in adult females and of maternal diabetes during pregnancy, parental attitudes and practices that may lead to overfeeding children, above-average levels of consumption of certain high calorie foods and beverages, and inadequate physical activity. Environments with lower than average neighborhood availability of healthful foods and higher than average availability of fast food restaurants, along with exposure to ethnically targeted food marketing may contribute to reliance on high calorie foods and beverages, and these foods may be socially and culturally valued. Attitudes about and environmental contexts for physical activity are also relevant. Increasingly, it is acknowledged that individual behaviors and lifestyles, e.g. food choices or child feeding practices, are responsive to the ecological contexts in which they are practiced. Focusing attention on the fluid interactions of cultural influences with contextual factors, of recognized importance for the study of childhood undernutrition, can also lead to further understanding of how to address ethnic disparities in childhood obesity.     

Developmental plasticity of human reproductive development: effects of early family environment in modern-day France

In a first study, we investigated how the absence of a father and the presence of a stepfather during early childhood affected physiological and behavioral traits related to reproductive development (such as age of menarche, age of first sexual intercourse and number of sexual partners) in a large sample set of male and female French university students. We evaluated which ages were sensitive to modifications in the family composition and found that menarche occurred earlier when the father was absent, particularly when the child was between 0 and 5 years of age. Father absence during early adolescence was associated with a younger age at first sexual intercourse and an increased number of sexual partners, for both sexes. The presence of a stepfather during this period further advanced the age of first sexual intercourse. We also measured testosterone levels in both sexes and analyzed their association with parental separation, and found that young women with separated parents had significantly higher afternoon levels of testosterone. In a second study, we analyzed direct fitness measures (such as number of children and grandchildren) in a large sample of French workers and found that parental separation during childhood was not associated with fitness variation. We discuss whether the reproductive outcomes of individuals having experienced modifications in the early family environment are the expression of costs or adaptive strategies.     

Two Japanese cases of epileptic encephalopathy associated with an FGF12 mutation

A heterozygous mutation in the fibroblast growth factor 12 (FGF12) gene, which elevates the voltage dependence of neuronal sodium channel fast inactivation, was recently identified in some patients with epileptic encephalopathy. Here we report 1 Japanese patient diagnosed with early infantile epileptic encephalopathy (EIEE) and another diagnosed with epilepsy of infancy with migrating focal seizures (EIMFS). These 2 patients had an identical heterozygous missense mutation [c.341G>A:p.(Arg114His)] in FGF12 , which was identified with whole-exome sequencing. This mutation is identical to previously reported mutations in cases with early onset epileptic encephalopathy. One of our cases exhibited EIMFS, and this case responded to phenytoin and high-dose phenobarbital (PB). FGF12-related epileptic encephalopathy may exhibit diverse phenotypes and may respond to sodium channel blockers or high-dose PB.