Comparison of Marker Intervals and Number of Sib Pairs Used for Linkage Analysis on Simulated Nuclear Family Data

Using a two‐stage global scan design, we analyzed general population replicates 1 and 42 of the Genetic Analysis Workshop (GAW) 12 simulated data set using three methods: revisited Haseman‐Elston (HER), maximum likelihood variance estimation (ML), and variance components (VC). Three marker densities, 5‐, 10‐, and 15‐cM intervals, were examined in the first‐stage scan. We found that the 10‐cM interval appears to be the most cost‐effective approach in genotyping without sacrificing power when using a first stage significance level of 0.01. Subsequently, we performed the second‐stage scan at 1‐cM intervals for those putative positive regions identified in the first‐stage scan at a significance level of 0.01. We also compared the power to detect linkage using different numbers of sib pairs for a genome‐wide scan at a 10‐cM interval and found that power decreases nonlinearly as the number of sib pairs decreases. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Alcohol and drug use following traumatic brain injury: A prospective study

Primary objectives: To establish pre-morbid alcohol and drug use in persons with TBI, relative to controls, investigate how patterns of substance use change over time following TBI and identify factors associated with heavy post-injury substance use.

Methods and procedures: The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification test (AUDIT) and Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST) was completed by 121 hospital inpatients with TBI, documenting pre-injury alcohol and drug use, and 133 demographically similar controls. Participants with TBI completed these measures and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) again 1 and 2 years post-injury and 76 also completed them at 3 years.

Results: Participants with TBI showed similar levels of drug and alcohol use to controls pre-injury, with 31.4% of the TBI group and 29.3% of controls drinking at hazardous levels. Alcohol and drug use declined in the first year post-injury, but increased by 2 years post-injury, with only 21.4% of participants with TBI reporting abstinence from alcohol and 25.4% drinking at hazardous levels. Only 9% showed a drug problem, but 24% had returned to some drug use. Those showing heavy alcohol use post-injury were young, male and heavy drinkers pre-injury. Drug and alcohol use was similar at 3 years post-injury.

Conclusions: More active intervention is needed to reduce alcohol and drug use following TBI.     

Everyday memory following traumatic brain injury

Residual memory deficits may represent a problem to the everyday functioning of a large number of people, including those who have sustained traumatic brain injury (TBI). The present exploratory study sought to investigate the interrelationships between subjective memory reports, performance on traditional memory tests, and performance on tests of prospective memory. These interrelationships were contrasted between a group of 24 adults who had sustained TBI and a group of 24 matched control subjects. Prospective memory was hypothesized to be indicative of everyday memory functioning. The results provided preliminary evidence that prospective memory tests are sensitive to TBIrelated neurological impairment and, in comparison to traditional tests, may be better indicators of functional memory capacity. This pattern was particularly true for control subjects, possibly because TBI subjects had difficulties in evaluating their memory functioning.     

Simple Method for Detection of Penicillinase-Producing Neisseria gonorrhoeae

A simple, reliable, and economical method for detection of penicillinase-producing Neisseria gonorrhoeae using a penicillin disk and a penicillin-sensitive organism is described.     

ApoAI deficiency results in marked reductions in plasma cholesterol but no alterations in amyloid-beta pathology in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease-like cerebral amyloidosis

Epidemiological studies suggest links between cholesterol metabolism and Alzheimer's disease (AD), with hypercholesterolemia associated with increased AD risk, and use of cholesterol-lowering drugs associated with decreased risk. Animal models using cholesterol-modifying dietary or pharmacological interventions demonstrate similar findings. Proposed mechanisms include effects of cholesterol on the metabolism of amyloid-beta (Abeta), the protein that deposits in AD brain. To investigate the effect of genetic alterations in plasma cholesterol on Abeta pathology, we crossed the PDAPP transgenic mouse model of AD-like cerebral amyloidosis to apolipoprotein AI-null mice that have markedly reduced plasma cholesterol levels due to a virtual absence of high density lipoproteins, the primary lipoprotein in mice. Interestingly and in contrast to models using non-physiological high fat diets or cholesterol-lowering drugs to modify plasma cholesterol, we observed no differences in Abeta pathology in PDAPP mice of the various apoAI genotypes despite robust differences in plasma cholesterol levels between the groups. Absence of apoAI also resulted in reductions in brain but not cerebrospinal fluid cholesterol, but had no effect on brain apolipoprotein E levels. These and other data suggest that it is perhaps the level of brain apolipoprotein E, not cholesterol per se, that plays a primary role in brain Abeta metabolism.     

Increased central adiposity is associated with pro-inflammatory immunoglobulin G N-glycans

Background

Increased body fat may be associated with an increased risk of developing an underlying pro-inflammatory state, thus leading to greater risk of developing certain chronic conditions. Immunoglobulin G has the ability to exert both anti- and pro-inflammatory effects, and the N-glycosylation of the fragment crystallisable portion is involved in mediating this process. Body mass index, a rudimentary yet gold standard indication for body fat, has been shown to be associated with agalactosylated immunoglobulin G N-glycans.