Maternal infection during pregnancy and the risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in the offspring: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The effects of maternal infection during pregnancy on the risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the offspring are unclear, and no overview is available. METHODS: We searched the PubMed and EMBASE databases for relevant studies and performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature. RESULTS: We found that that maternal infection during pregnancy was associated with a small increase in the risk of ADHD (OR 1.25, 95% CI 1.09, 1.44, P < 0.0001; I2 = 92.9%, p < 0.0001) in the offspring. In subgroup analyses, the association remained for maternal genitourinary (GU) infection (OR, 1.19, 1.12, 1.27, P < 0.001; I2 = 0%; p = 0.517). However, there was no significant association when we pooled data from siblings from other pregnancies (OR = 1.06, 95% CI, 0.99-1.13, P = 0.084; I2 = 0%; p = 0.859), implying that the association was due to confounding. CONCLUSIONS: The statistically significant association between maternal infection during pregnancy and ADHD in the offspring can be partially explained by unmeasured confounding.

Positive psychological intervention for anxiety, depression and coping in subjects addicted to online games.

BACKGROUND: Addiction to online games is not uncommon. The patients usually refuse to take medications and present with affective symptoms such as anxiety, depression and negative coping styles. Psychological intervention based on positive psychology is a promising treatment for such patients. AIM: To evaluate the effect of positive psychological intervention on anxiety, depression and coping in people addicted to online games. METHODS: This self-controlled study included 89 people addicted to online games, who received treatment at Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Hangzhou, China in 2019. The Hamilton Anxiety Scale, Hamilton Depression Scale and Trait Coping Style Questionnaire were administered to evaluate the anxiety, depression and coping style among these people. Psychological intervention based on positive psychology was provided for 6 wk followed by another evaluation. The results were compared against those from the previous evaluation. RESULTS: After 6 wk of psychological intervention, 89 people achieved a significant improvement in the Hamilton Anxiety Scale and Hamilton Depression Scale-24 scales. The score for positive coping style in Trait Coping Style Questionnaire was significantly improved, while that of the negative coping style decreased significantly (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Psychological intervention based on positive psychology alleviated affective symptoms, such as anxiety and depression, in subjects addicted to online games. Psychological intervention corrected negative coping style, thereby improving mental health.

Exposure to general anaesthesia in childhood and the subsequent risk of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: A meta-analysis of cohort studies.

BACKGROUND: The evidence for a relationship between general anaesthesia induced in childhood and the risk of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in later life is inconsistent. We systematically assessed whether such an association existed. METHODS: We searched the PubMed and EMBASE databases for relevant cohort studies. Relative risks (RRs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to determine the relationship between induction of childhood general anaesthesia and the risk of ADHD in later life. RESULTS: Seven studies (eight publications) on developmental outcomes after the induction of childhood general anaesthesia met our inclusion criteria but not our exclusion criteria. Repeat childhood general anaesthesia (RR = 1.84, 95 CI% 1.14-2.97; P < 0.001; I2 = 74.8 %), but not one-off general anaesthesia (RR = 1.09, 95 CI% 0.93-1.27; P = 0.301; I2 = 0%), was associated with an increased risk of ADHD in later life. The association was evident only when the total general anaesthesia exposure exceeded 90 min. CONCLUSIONS: Our meta-analysis indicated that the effect of general anaesthesia on the risk of ADHD is dose- or duration-dependent.

TDAG51 in the anterior temporal neocortex of patients with intractable epilepsy.

TDAG51 (T cell death-associated gene 51) is an apoptosis-associated protein. Our aim was to investigate TDAG51 expression in the anterior temporal neocortex of patients with intractable epilepsy (IE), and then to discuss the possible role of TDAG51 in IE. Tissue samples from the anterior temporal neocortex of 33 patients who had surgery for IE were used to detect TDAG51 expression by immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, and Western blotting. We compared these tissues with nine histologically normal anterior temporal lobes from intracranial hypertension patients who had decompression procedures. TDAG51 was mainly expressed in the cytoplasm of neurons and glial cells. TDAG51 in IE was significantly higher than that in the controls. These findings were consistently observed using Western blotting, immunofluorescence, and immunohistochemistry techniques. TDAG51 in patients with IE was significantly higher when compared with levels in the controls. This finding suggests TDAG51 is consistent with a possible role of this gene in the evolution of the pathology in IE.

Echinoderm microtubule-associated protein -like protein 5 in anterior temporal neocortex of patients with intractable epilepsy.

OBJECTIVES: EMAP-like Protein 5 (EML5) is a new echinoderm microtubule-associated protein that is expressed in the central nervous system. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression profile of EML5 in the anterior temporal neocortex of patients presenting with intractable epilepsy (IE). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Western blot assays were performed to determine EML5 expression in 36 surgically resected anterior temporal neocortices of patients with IE and eight control tissues. Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence were employed to explore protein expression in IE. RESULTS: EML5 was highly expressed in both neurons and glial cells of the anterior temporal neocortex of IE patients, whereas only low levels of EML5 were detected in control brain tissues. Western blotting showed an enhanced expression of EML5 protein in the anterior temporal neocortex of IE (optical density (OD) = 1.8030 ± 0.1335/1.1852 ± 0.2253, P<0.05) compared with normal control tissues. CONCLUSION: The results demonstrate that highly expressed EML5 in the neurons and glial cells of the cortex of patients with epilepsy is associated with microtubular dysfunction after frequent and recurrent seizures.

[Studies on anti-hyperglycemic effect and its mechanism of Dendrobium candidum].

OBJECTIVE: To study the anti-hyperglycemic effect and its mechanism of Dendrobium candidum (DC). METHOD: Normal mice, adrenaline-induced hyperglycemic mice, streptozotocin-induced diabetic (STZ-DM) rats were used. The mechanisms of the anti-hyperglycemic action were studied with radio-immunoassay, immunohistochemical HRP-SPA stain, etc. RESULT: DC could not obviously decrease the serum glucose concentrations and insulin levels in normal mice. It could increase serum insulin levels and decrease serum glucagons concentrations in STZ-DM rats. The results of immunohistochemical stain demonstrated that the number of islet beta cells was increased and that of islet a cells was decreased in STZ-DM rats. It could also decrease the serum glucose concentrations and increase liver glucogen contents in adrenaline-induced hyperglycemic mice. CONCLUSION: DC has obvious anti-hyperglycemic effects in adrenaline-induced hyperglycemic mice and STZ-DM rats. Its mechanisms are stimulating the secretion of insulin from beta cells and inhibiting the secretion of glucagons from a cells, and it can probably decrease the decomposition of liver glucogen and increase the synthesis of liver glucogen.

Is intractable epilepsy a tauopathy?

Tau exists in neuronal axons and glial cells of the central nervous system and contributes to the maintenance of the unique cell morphology. It functions in axon elongation, cell polarity formation and microtubule stabilization. Aggregates and hyper-phosphorylated tau proteins are classical components of neurofibrillary lesions in numerous neurodegenerative disorders, which are called "tauopathies". Recent studies have demonstrated that tau-associated genes and proteins and tau phosphorylation were abnormal in intractable epilepsy. Therefore, the discovery of the dysfunctional tau in intractable epilepsy opens a new window in the study of central tauopathy.

Upregulated expression of postsynaptic density-93 and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors subunits 2B mRNA in temporal lobe tissue of epilepsy.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression of PSD-93 mRNA and NR2B mRNA in the brain tissue from the patients with epilepsy so as to explore the possible mechanisms of the pathogenesis of the epilepsy. METHODS: Fifty-six patients with epilepsy were divided into intractable epilepsy (IE) and non-intractable epilepsy (NIE) groups. cDNA microarrays prepared from the brain tissues obtained from these two groups were scanned and comparison to those from the non-epileptogenic control (C) was made. Expression level of PSD-93mRNA and NR2BmRNA were examined by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (GAPDH gene, internal control). Expression ratio (target gene/GAPDH) was used to evaluate each gene relative expression level. RESULTS: The cDNA microarray analysis showed that the expression of PSD-93 mRNA related to the function of NMDAR-NO signal transduction pathway was significantly higher in epilepsy patients than those in the controlled group. The results of RT-PCR were consistent with those of the cDNA microarrays. The relative expression ratio of PSD-93 in patients with non-epileptogenic control, NIE, and IE was 0.159, 0.368, and 0.341, respectively. Correspondingly, that of NR2B was 0.198, 0.738, and 0.903, respectively. The expressions of PSD-93 and NR2B in the NIE and IE were significantly higher than those of control, respectively (P<0.05). However, there was no significantly difference the expression of PSD-93 between NIE and IE. (P>0.05), neither do that of NR2B (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The upregulated expressions of PSD-93 mRNA and NR2BmRNA may be involved in the pathogenesis of epilepsy.

HSPBAP1 is found extensively in the anterior temporal neocortex of patients with intractable epilepsy.

Heat Shock Protein BAP1 (heat shock 27-kDa-associated protein 1, HSPBAP1) inhibits the function of heat shock protein 27, which has a neuroprotective effect during experimentally induced epileptic neuropathology. In our study, fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, western blot were used to test the levels of HSPBAP1 mRNA and protein in surgical samples of the anterior temporal neocortex of patients with intractable epilepsy (IE) and normal controls samples. HSPBAP1 mRNA was abnormally expressed in the anterior temporal neocortex of patients with IE. Moreover, HSPBAP1 was found extensively in the cytoplasm of neurons and glial cells in all epilepsy specimens. Western blot showed a clear immunoreactive band of HSPBAP1 in IE specimens whereas it was absent in control specimens. The expression of HSPBAP1 mRNA and protein in the anterior temporal neocortex from patients with IE may play a role in the development of epileptic seizures in patients with cell loss in this brain region. Additional studies will be required to elucidate the mechanism by which HSPBAP1 affects brain function in IE.

Decreased expression of thyroid receptor-associated protein 220 in temporal lobe tissue of patients with refractory epilepsy.

PURPOSE: TRAP220 (thyroid hormone receptor-associated protein) functions as a coactivator for nuclear receptors and stimulates transcription by recruiting the TRAP mediator complex to hormone responsive promoter regions. Thus, TRAP220 enhances the function of thyroid/steroid hormone receptors such as thyroid hormone and oestrogen receptors. This study investigated the expression of TRAP220 mRNA and protein level in epileptic brains comparing with human control. METHODS: We examined the expression of TRAP220 mRNA and protein levels in temporal lobes from patients with chronic pharmacoresistant epilepsy who have undergone surgery. RESULTS: Expression of TRAP220 mRNA and protein was shown to be decreased significantly in the temporal cortex of the patients with epilepsy. CONCLUSIONS: Our work showed that a decrease in TRAP220 mRNA and protein levels may be involved in the pathophysiology of epilepsy and may be associated with impairment of the brain caused by frequent seizures.

[Construction of a dual-promoter DNA expression plasmid pCN-SSIE harboring gene encoding SBR of Streptococcus mutans and verification of its immunogenicity as DNA vaccine].

PURPOSE: To construct a dual-promoter expression plasmid that harbors the target gene encoding SBR of Streptococcus mutans and can be applied as DNA vaccine especially suitable for using attenuated Salmonella as delivery vector to elicit effective mucosal immune responses because of its advantage of possessing dual-promoter. METHODS: Genes encoding SBR and green fluorescence protein gene (EGFP) were amplified by PCR and inserted to the proper sites of vector pCMVnir. Then IRES sequence was inserted between the genes coding for SBR and EGFP. Furthermore, a DNA fragment encoding tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) signal peptide was fused to the 5' end of target gene. Thereby, construction of the dual-promoter expression plasmid pCN-SSIE was completed and then the plasmid was analyzed with DNA sequencing and endonuclearase digestion mapping. The expressions of SBR protein by attenuated Salmonella SL3261 and CHO cell transformed or transfected by the plasmid were tested respectively. Finally, BALB/c mice were immunized through injecting intramuscularly with plasmid pCN-SSIE and anti-SBR specific IgG in serum was tested. RESULTS: Both DNA sequencing and endonuclearase digestion mapping showed that the construction of pCN-SSIE was successful with its open reading frame being correct. The expressions of SBR protein in transformed attenuated Salmonella SL3261 and transfected CHO were detected, and anti-SBR specific IgG levels in serum of immunized mice were markedly higher than the control. CONCLUSION: The construction of the dual-promoter expression plasmid pCN-SSIE was successful and the plasmid can express in prokaryocyte and eukaryocyte and elicit dramatic immune response when applied as DNA vaccine in experimental animal.