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Behavioral Sciences (Basel, Switzerland) Aug 2017The Inventory Déjà Vu Experiences Assessment (IDEA) is the only screening instrument proposed to evaluate the Déjà vu (DV) experience. Here, we intended to validate...
Validation Study of Italian Version of Inventory for Déjà Vu Experiences Assessment (I-IDEA): A Screening Tool to Detect Déjà Vu Phenomenon in Italian Healthy Individuals.
The Inventory Déjà Vu Experiences Assessment (IDEA) is the only screening instrument proposed to evaluate the Déjà vu (DV) experience. Here, we intended to validate the Italian version of IDEA (I-IDEA) and at the same time to investigate the incidence and subjective qualities of the DV phenomenon in healthy Italian adult individuals on basis of an Italian multicentre observational study. In this study, we report normative data on the I-IDEA, collected on a sample of 542 Italian healthy subjects aging between 18-70 years (average age: 40) with a formal educational from 1-19 years. From September 2013 to March 2016, we recruited 542 healthy volunteers from 10 outpatient neurological clinics in Italy. All participants (i.e., family members of neurological patients enrolled, medical students, physicians) had no neurological or psychiatric illness and gave their informed consent to participate in the study. All subjects enrolled self-administered the questionnaire and they were able to complete I-IDEA test without any support. In total, 396 (73%) of the 542 healthy controls experienced the DV phenomenon. The frequency of DV was inversely related to age as well as to derealisation, jamais vu, precognitive dreams, depersonalization, paranormal activity, remembering dreams, travel frequency, and daydreams (all < 0.012). The Italian version of IDEA maintains good properties, thus confirming that this instrument is reliable for detecting and characterising the DV phenomenon.
PubMed: 28783090
DOI: 10.3390/bs7030050 -
Journal of Ayub Medical College,... 2017Pakistan has been ranked highest and appears worst in stillbirths' rate according to the recent global estimates. Reasons could be manifold; socio-cultural, health...
Pakistan has been ranked highest and appears worst in stillbirths' rate according to the recent global estimates. Reasons could be manifold; socio-cultural, health system related country specific, and some of these of course déjà vu, i.e., the biomedical causes. Yet, a fresh stocktaking is necessary to understand the complex phenomenon in a country, awfully affected by this menace. Maternal, neonatal and child health program needs to be informed and geared up toward addressing the actual reasons behind this heavy toll of stillbirths in Pakistan. Maternal health indicators would never be improved, if the issue of stillbirths is not stalled at the earliest. Besides known medical reasons, this account attempts to document the health systems related factors, and more so the social determinants behind the whole scenario, so that appropriate and customized interventions could be suggested, developed and implemented. This paper will be a piece of evidence for policy corridors, program managers, development partners, non-governmental organizations, public health institutions, students, and researchers to enhance their understanding of a major public health problem, and to recognize the strengths and opportunities in the health system of Pakistan to cope with this challenge.
Topics: Female; Humans; Maternal Health; Maternal Health Services; Pakistan; Pregnancy; Public Health; Stillbirth
PubMed: 28712202
DOI: No ID Found -
Tumour Biology : the Journal of the... Jun 2017From the application of Coley's toxin in the early 1900s to the present clinical trials using immune checkpoint regulatory inhibitors, the history of cancer... (Review)
Review
From the application of Coley's toxin in the early 1900s to the present clinical trials using immune checkpoint regulatory inhibitors, the history of cancer immunotherapy has consisted of extremely high levels of enthusiasm after anecdotal case reports of enormous success, followed by decreasing levels of enthusiasm as the results of controlled clinical trials are available. In this review, this pattern will be documented for the various immunotherapeutic approaches over the years. The sole exception being vaccination against cancer causing viruses, which have already prevented thousands of cancers. We can only hope that the present high level of enthusiasm for the use of immune stimulation by removal of blocks to cancer immunity will be more productive than the incremental improvements using previous immunotherapies.
Topics: Cancer Vaccines; Genes, cdc; Humans; Immunotherapy; Neoplasms
PubMed: 28639883
DOI: 10.1177/1010428317707764 -
Neurology Jul 2017To improve phenotype definition in genetic studies of epilepsy, we assessed the familial aggregation of focal seizure types and of specific seizure symptoms within the...
OBJECTIVE
To improve phenotype definition in genetic studies of epilepsy, we assessed the familial aggregation of focal seizure types and of specific seizure symptoms within the focal epilepsies in families from the Epilepsy Phenome/Genome Project.
METHODS
We studied 302 individuals with nonacquired focal epilepsy from 149 families. Familial aggregation was assessed by logistic regression analysis of relatives' traits (dependent variable) by probands' traits (independent variable), estimating the odds ratio for each symptom in a relative given presence vs absence of the symptom in the proband.
RESULTS
In families containing multiple individuals with nonacquired focal epilepsy, we found significant evidence for familial aggregation of ictal motor, autonomic, psychic, and aphasic symptoms. Within these categories, ictal whole body posturing, diaphoresis, dyspnea, fear/anxiety, and déjà vu/jamais vu showed significant familial aggregation. Focal seizure type aggregated as well, including complex partial, simple partial, and secondarily generalized tonic-clonic seizures.
CONCLUSION
Our results provide insight into genotype-phenotype correlation in the nonacquired focal epilepsies and a framework for identifying subgroups of patients likely to share susceptibility genes.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Child; Child, Preschool; Epilepsies, Partial; Female; Genotype; Humans; Infant; Lennox Gastaut Syndrome; Male; Malformations of Cortical Development; Middle Aged; Nuclear Family; Pedigree; Phenotype; Spasms, Infantile; Young Adult
PubMed: 28566546
DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000004052 -
Hypertension (Dallas, Tex. : 1979) Jun 2017
Topics: Humans; Renin-Angiotensin System
PubMed: 28396531
DOI: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.117.09167 -
The Milbank Quarterly Jun 2017
Topics: Drug Approval; Drug Industry; History, 19th Century; History, 20th Century; History, 21st Century; Humans; Politics; United States; United States Food and Drug Administration
PubMed: 28378412
DOI: 10.1111/1468-0009.12252 -
Epilepsy & Behavior : E&B Mar 2017To describe the clinical phenotype of 7 families with Autosomal Dominant Lateral Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (ADLTE) related to Reelin (RELN) mutations comparing the data...
OBJECTIVE
To describe the clinical phenotype of 7 families with Autosomal Dominant Lateral Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (ADLTE) related to Reelin (RELN) mutations comparing the data with those observed in 12 LGI1-mutated pedigrees belonging to our series.
METHODS
Out of 40 Italian families with ADLTE, collected by epileptologists participating in a collaborative study of the Commission for Genetics of the Italian League against Epilepsy encompassing a 14-year period (2000-2014), 7 (17.5%) were found to harbor heterozygous RELN mutations. The whole series also included 12 (30%) LGI1 mutated families and 21 (52.5%) non-mutated pedigrees. The clinical, neurophysiological, and neuroradiological findings of RELN and LGI1 mutated families were analyzed.
RESULTS
Out of 28 affected individuals belonging to 7 RELN mutated families, 24 had sufficient clinical data available for the study. In these patients, the epilepsy onset occurred at a mean age of 20years, with focal seizures characterized by auditory auras in about 71% of the cases, associated in one-third of patients with aphasia, visual disturbances or other less common symptoms (vertigo or déjà-vu). Tonic-clonic seizures were reported by almost all patients (88%), preceded by typical aura in 67% of cases. Seizures were precipitated by environmental noises in 8% of patients and were completely or almost completely controlled by antiepileptic treatment in the vast majority of cases (96%). The interictal EEG recordings showed epileptiform abnormalities or focal slow waves in 80% of patients, localized over the temporal regions, with marked left predominance and conventional 1,5T MRI scans were not contributory. By comparing these findings with those observed in families with LGI1 mutations, we did not observe significant differences except for a higher rate of left-sided EEG abnormalities in the RELN group.
SIGNIFICANCE
Heterozygous RELN mutations cause a typical ADLTE syndrome, indistinguishable from that associated with LGI1 mutations.
Topics: Adult; Cell Adhesion Molecules, Neuronal; Epilepsy, Frontal Lobe; Extracellular Matrix Proteins; Female; Humans; Italy; Male; Mutation; Nerve Tissue Proteins; Pedigree; Phenotype; Reelin Protein; Serine Endopeptidases; Sleep Wake Disorders; Young Adult
PubMed: 28142128
DOI: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2016.12.003 -
BMC Pediatrics Jan 2017In Bo district, rural Sierra Leone, we assessed the burden of the 2014 Ebola outbreak on under-five consultations at a primary health center and the quality of care for... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study
Offering general pediatric care during the hard times of the 2014 Ebola outbreak: looking back at how many came and how well they fared at a Médecins Sans Frontières referral hospital in rural Sierra Leone.
BACKGROUND
In Bo district, rural Sierra Leone, we assessed the burden of the 2014 Ebola outbreak on under-five consultations at a primary health center and the quality of care for under-15 children at a Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) referral hospital.
METHODS
Retrospective cohort study, comparing a period before (May-October 2013) and during the same period of the Ebola outbreak (2014). Health worker infections occurred at the outbreak peak (October 2014), resulting in hospital closure due to fear of occupational-risk of contracting Ebola. Standardized hospital exit outcomes and case fatality were used to assess quality of care until closure.
RESULTS
A total of 13,658 children under-five, were seen at the primary health center during 2013 compared to 8761 in 2014; a consultation decline of 36%. Of 6497 children seen in the hospital emergency room, during the outbreak, patients coming from within hospital catchment area declined with 38% and there were significantly more self-referrals (80% vs. 61%, P < 0.001). During Ebola, 23 children were dead on arrival and the proportion of children in severe clinical status (requiring urgent attention) was higher (74% during Ebola vs. 65% before, P < 0.001). Of 5,223 children with available hospital outcomes, unfavorable outcomes (combination of deaths and abandoned) were less than 15% during both periods, which is within the maximum acceptable in-house threshold set by MSF. Case fatality for severe malaria and lower respiratory tract infections (n = 3752) were similar (≤15%).
CONCLUSIONS
Valuable and good quality pediatric care was being provided in the pediatric hospital during the 2014 Ebola outbreak, but could not be sustained because of hospital closure. Health facility and health worker safety should be tackled as a universal requirement to try to avoid a déjà-vu.
Topics: Adolescent; Child; Child, Preschool; Disease Outbreaks; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Male; Referral and Consultation; Retrospective Studies; Rural Population; Sierra Leone; Survival Rate
PubMed: 28122533
DOI: 10.1186/s12887-017-0786-z -
Current Biology : CB Dec 2016Two independent studies converge on similar causes for olfactory loss-of-function mutants in evolutionary transitions to scentless flowers. This molecular déjà vu may...
Two independent studies converge on similar causes for olfactory loss-of-function mutants in evolutionary transitions to scentless flowers. This molecular déjà vu may reflect selection to minimize negative pleiotropy in a complex biosynthetic pathway.
Topics: Animals; Biological Evolution; Flowers; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Mutation; Odorants; Plant Physiological Phenomena; Plants; Pollination; Selection, Genetic
PubMed: 27997840
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.10.058 -
The EMBO Journal Dec 2016Twenty‐five years ago, in August 1991, I spent a couple of afternoons at Los Alamos National Laboratory writing some simple software that enabled a small group of...
Twenty‐five years ago, in August 1991, I spent a couple of afternoons at Los Alamos National Laboratory writing some simple software that enabled a small group of physicists to share drafts of their articles via automated email transactions with a central repository. Within a few years, the site migrated to the nascent WorldWideWeb as arXiv.org, and experienced both expansion in coverage and heavy growth in usage that continues to this day. In 1998, I gave a talk to a group of biologists—including David Lipman, Pat Brown, and Michael Eisen—at a meeting at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) to describe the sharing of articles “pre‐publication” by physicists. The talk was met with some enthusiasm and prompted the “e‐biomed” proposal in the following spring by then NIH director Harold Varmus. He encouraged the creation of an NIH‐run electronic archive for all biomedical research articles, including both a preprint server and an archive of published peer‐reviewed articles, which generated significant discussion.
PubMed: 27760783
DOI: 10.15252/embj.201695531