Project description:BackgroundChildhood maltreatment (CM) plays an important role in the development of major depressive disorder (MDD). The aim of this study was to examine whether CM severity and type are associated with MDD-related brain alterations, and how they interact with sex and age.MethodsWithin the ENIGMA-MDD network, severity and subtypes of CM using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire were assessed and structural magnetic resonance imaging data from patients with MDD and healthy controls were analyzed in a mega-analysis comprising a total of 3872 participants aged between 13 and 89 years. Cortical thickness and surface area were extracted at each site using FreeSurfer.ResultsCM severity was associated with reduced cortical thickness in the banks of the superior temporal sulcus and supramarginal gyrus as well as with reduced surface area of the middle temporal lobe. Participants reporting both childhood neglect and abuse had a lower cortical thickness in the inferior parietal lobe, middle temporal lobe, and precuneus compared to participants not exposed to CM. In males only, regardless of diagnosis, CM severity was associated with higher cortical thickness of the rostral anterior cingulate cortex. Finally, a significant interaction between CM and age in predicting thickness was seen across several prefrontal, temporal, and temporo-parietal regions.ConclusionsSeverity and type of CM may impact cortical thickness and surface area. Importantly, CM may influence age-dependent brain maturation, particularly in regions related to the default mode network, perception, and theory of mind.
Project description:Repeated measures of various biomarkers provide opportunities for us to enhance understanding of many important clinical aspects of CKD, including patterns of disease progression, rates of kidney function decline under different risk factors, and the degree of heterogeneity in disease manifestations across patients. However, because of unique features, such as correlations across visits and time dependency, these data must be appropriately handled using longitudinal data analysis methods. We provide a general overview of the characteristics of data collected in cohort studies and compare appropriate statistical methods for the analysis of longitudinal exposures and outcomes. We use examples from the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort Study to illustrate these methods. More specifically, we model longitudinal kidney outcomes over annual clinical visits and assess the association with both baseline and longitudinal risk factors.
Project description:ObjectivesTo investigate how results of the association between education and weight change vary when weight change is defined and modelled in different ways.DesignLongitudinal cohort study.Participants60?404 men and women participating in the Social, Environmental and Economic Factors (SEEF) subcomponent of the 45 and Up Study-a population-based cohort study of people aged 45?years or older, residing in New South Wales, Australia.Outcome measuresThe main exposure was self-reported education, categorised into four groups. The outcome was annual weight change, based on change in self-reported weight between the 45 and Up Study baseline questionnaire and SEEF questionnaire (completed an average of 3.3?years later). Weight change was modelled in four different ways: absolute change (kg) modelled as (1) a continuous variable and (2) a categorical variable (loss, maintenance and gain), and relative (%) change modelled as (3) a continuous variable and (4) a categorical variable. Different cut-points for defining weight-change categories were also tested.ResultsWhen weight change was measured categorically, people with higher levels of education (compared with no school certificate) were less likely to lose or to gain weight. When weight change was measured as the average of a continuous measure, a null relationship between education and annual weight change was observed. No material differences in the education and weight-change relationship were found when comparing weight change defined as an absolute (kg) versus a relative (%) measure. Results of the logistic regression were sensitive to different cut-points for defining weight-change categories.ConclusionsUsing average weight change can obscure important directional relationship information and, where possible, categorical outcome measurements should be included in analyses.
Project description:BackgroundWhether egg consumption is associated with the risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) remains unsettled.ObjectivesWe evaluated the association between egg consumption and T2D risk in 3 large US prospective cohorts, and performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies.MethodsWe followed 82,750 women from the Nurses' Health Study (NHS; 1980-2012), 89,636 women from the NHS II (1991-2017), and 41,412 men from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS; 1986-2016) who were free of T2D, cardiovascular disease, and cancer at baseline. Egg consumption was assessed every 2-4 y using a validated FFQ. We used Cox proportional hazard models to estimate HRs and 95% CIs.ResultsDuring a total of 5,529,959 person-years of follow-up, we documented 20,514 incident cases of T2D in the NHS, NHS II, and HPFS. In the pooled multivariable model adjusted for updated BMI, lifestyle, and dietary confounders, a 1-egg/d increase was associated with a 14% (95% CI: 7%, 20%) higher T2D risk. In random-effects meta-analysis of 16 prospective cohort studies (589,559 participants; 41,248 incident T2D cases), for each 1 egg/d, the pooled RR of T2D was 1.07 (95% CI: 0.99, 1.15; I2 = 69.8%). There were, however, significant differences by geographic region (P for interaction = 0.01). Each 1 egg/d was associated with higher T2D risk among US studies (RR: 1.18; 95% CI: 1.10, 1.27; I2 = 51.3%), but not among European (RR: 0.99; 95% CI: 0.85, 1.15; I2 = 73.5%) or Asian (RR: 0.82; 95% CI: 0.62, 1.09; I2 = 59.1%) studies.ConclusionsResults from the updated meta-analysis show no overall association between moderate egg consumption and risk of T2D. Whether the heterogeneity of the associations among US, European, and Asian cohorts reflects differences in egg consumption habits warrants further investigation.This systematic review was registered at www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero as CRD42019127860.
Project description:In 2007, HIV treatment services were established in five main governorates out of twenty-two which resulted in low access to services and poor treatment outcomes. The main goal of this study was to evaluate and analyse the selected treatment outcomes of eight cohorts of PLHIV who were treated with cART during 2007-2014. The method used was a retrospective descriptive study of 1,703 PLHIV who initiated cART at five public health facilities. The results: Retention rate was less than 80%, male: female ratio 1.661, with a mean age of 35 years (±9.2?SD), 85% had been infected with HIV via heterosexual contact. 65% of patients presented with clinical stages 3 and 4, and 52% of them were initiated cART at a CD4 T-cell count ?200 cells/mm. 61% of cART included Tenofovir and Efavirenz. TB treatment started for 5% of PLHIV, and 22% developed HIV-related clinical manifestations after cART initiation. 67% of PLHIV had experienced cART substitution. The mean AIDS-mortality rate was 15% and the mean LTFU rate was 16%. Conclusion: Although cART showed effectiveness in public health, mobilization of resources and formulation of better health policies are important steps toward improving access to cART and achieving the desired treatment outcomes.
Project description:Molecular pathogenesis of posttransplant (PT) lymphoproliferative disorder, including the most prevalent diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), is largely unknown. We have recently showed that Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV)+ and EBV- PT-DLBCL are biologically different, but gene expression profile of the latter lymphoma is similar to that of immunocompetent (IC) DLBCL. To validate these findings on a genomic level, we performed array CGH analysis of 21 EBV+ and 6 EBV- PT-DLBCL, and 11 control IC-DLBCL. Genomic and transcriptomic data were subsequently integrated. Notably, EBV+ and EBV- PT-DLBCL revealed only one shared recurrent imbalance, while EBV- PT-DLBCL displayed at least 10 aberrations recurrent in IC-DLBCL, among others gain of 3/3q and 18q, and loss of 6q23/TNFAIP3 and 9p21/CDKN2A. EBV+ PT-DLBCL showed distinct aberrations, including the most prevalent gain/amplification of 9p24.1 targeting PDCD1LG2/PDL2. Significant differential representation/expression of 3p13/FOXP1 and 9p21/CDKNA2 in EBV+ PT-DLBCL when compared with EBV- PT-/IC-DLBCL, suggests that the oncogene FOXP1 and the tumor suppressor gene CDKNA2 are not implicated in pathogenesis of EBV+ PT-DLBCL. In summary, genomic profiling of PT-/IC-DLBCL confirmed biological distinctness of EBV+ and EBV- PT-DLBCL, and relationship between EBV- PT-DLBCL and IC-DLBCL. These findings support the hypothesis that EBV- PT-DLBCL are coincidental lymphomas in transplant recipients
Project description:This study explores the spatiotemporal variations of suicide across Australia from 1986 to 2005, discusses the reasons for dynamic changes, and considers future suicide research and prevention strategies.Suicide (1986-2005) and population data were obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. A series of analyses were conducted to examine the suicide pattern by sex, method and age group over time and geography.Differences in suicide rates across sex, age groups and suicide methods were found across geographical areas. Male suicides were mainly completed by hanging, firearms, gases and self-poisoning. Female suicides were primarily completed by hanging and self-poisoning. Suicide rates were higher in rural areas than in urban areas (capital cities and regional centres). Suicide rates by firearms were higher in rural areas than in urban areas, while the pattern for self-poisoning showed the reverse trend. Suicide rates had relatively stable trend for the total population and those aged between 15 and 54, while suicide decreased among 55?years and over during the study period. There was a decrease in suicides by firearms during the study period especially after 1996 when a new firearm control law was implemented, while suicide by hanging continued to increase. Areas with a high proportion of indigenous population (eg, northwest of Queensland and top north of the Northern Territory) had shown a substantial increase in suicide incidence after 1995.Suicide rates varied over time and space and across sexes, age groups and suicide methods. This study provides detailed patterns of suicide to inform suicide control and prevention strategies for specific subgroups and areas of high and increased risk.
Project description:Despite the widespread use of immunohistochemistry (IHC), there are no standardization guidelines that control for antibody probe variability. Here we describe the effect of variable antibody reagents in the assessment of cancer-related biomarkers by IHC.Estrogen receptor (ER), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) 1, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 3 (HER3) were evaluated by quantitative immunofluorescence. Correlations between ER clones 1D5, SP1, F10, and ER60c, and EGFR monoclonal 31G7, 2-18C9, H11, and 15F8, and polyclonal 2232 antibodies were assessed in 642 breast cancer patients. HER3 was measured by RTJ1, RTJ2, SGP1, M7297, RB-9211, and C-17 antibodies in 42 lung cancer patients. Survival analysis was done with the use of multiple cutoff points to reveal any prognostic classification.All ER antibodies were tightly correlated (Pearson's r(2) = 0.94-0.96; P < 0.0001) and western blotting confirmed their specificity in MCF-7 and BT474 cells. All EGFR antibodies but 2232 yielded specific results in western blotting; however, only 31G7 and 2-18C9 were strongly associated (Pearson's r(2) = 0.61; P < 0.0001). HER3 staining was nonspecific and nonreproducible. High EGFR-expressing patients had a worse prognosis when EGFR was measured with H11 or 31G7 (log rank P = 0.015 and P = 0.06). There was no statistically significant correlation between survival and EGFR detected by 2-18C9, 15F8, or polyclonal 2232 antibodies.Antibody validation is a critical analytic factor that regulates IHC readings in biomarker studies. Evaluation of IHC proficiency and quality control are key components toward IHC standardization.This work highlights the importance of IHC standardization and could result in the improvement of clinically relevant IHC protocols.
Project description:The deployment of proteomic analysis in clinical studies represents a significant opportunity to detect and validate biomarkers in translational medicine, improve disease understanding and provide baseline information on population health. However, comprehensive proteome studies usually employ nano-scale chromatography and often require several hours of analysis/sample. Here we describe a high throughput LC/MS/MS methodology using 1mm scale chromatography requiring only 15 min/sample, coupled to ion mobility-enabled mass spectrometry. The short run time effected a 6 – fold increase in productivity compared with nano-scale LC/MS. The method demonstrated excellent reproducibility with retention time CVs of less than 0.05 % and peak area reproducibility ranging from 5 – 15%. The 1mm system produced similar chromatographic peak capacity values as the miniaturized system, detecting 90% of the E.coli proteins identified by the 75µm LC/MS system. Application to the analysis of serum samples from a human prostate cancer study resulted in the identification of a total of 533 proteins revealing the differential expression of proteins linked to patients receiving hormone-radiotherapy or surgery.
Project description:White adipose tissue (WAT) thermogenic activity may play a role in whole-body energy balance and two of its main regulators are thought to be environmental temperature (Tenv) and exercise. Low Tenv may increase uncoupling protein one (UCP1; the main biomarker of thermogenic activity) in WAT to regulate body temperature. On the other hand, exercise may stimulate UCP1 in WAT, which is thought to alter body weight regulation. However, our understanding of the roles (if any) of Tenv and exercise in WAT thermogenic activity remains incomplete. Our aim was to examine the impacts of low Tenv and exercise on WAT thermogenic activity, which may alter energy homeostasis and body weight regulation. We conducted a series of four experimental studies, supported by two systematic reviews and meta-analyses. We found increased UCP1 mRNA (p = 0.03; but not protein level) in human WAT biopsy samples collected during the cold part of the year, a finding supported by a systematic review and meta-analysis (PROSPERO review protocol: CRD42019120116). Additional clinical trials (NCT04037371; NCT04037410) using Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography (PET/CT) revealed no impact of low Tenv on human WAT thermogenic activity (p > 0.05). Furthermore, we found no effects of exercise on UCP1 mRNA or protein levels (p > 0.05) in WAT biopsy samples from a human randomized controlled trial (Clinical trial: NCT04039685), a finding supported by systematic review and meta-analytic data (PROSPERO review protocol: CRD42019120213). Taken together, the present experimental and meta-analytic findings of UCP1 and SUVmax, demonstrate that cold and exercise may play insignificant roles in human WAT thermogenic activity. Abbreviations: WAT:White adipose tissue; Tenv: Environmental temperature; UCP1: Uncoupling protein one; BAT: Brown adipose tissue; BMI:Body mass index; mRNA: Messenger ribonucleic acid; RCT: Randomized controlled trial; WHR: Waist-to-hip ratio; PRISMA: Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses; PET/CT: Positron Emission Tomography and Computed Tomography; REE: Resting energy expenditure; 18F-FDG: F18 fludeoxyglucose; VO2peak:Peak oxygen consumption; 1RM: One repetition maximum; SUVmax: Maximum standardized uptake value; Std: Standardized mean difference.