How the harm of drugs and their availability affect brain reactions to drug cues: a meta-analysis of 64 neuroimaging activation studies.

Visual drug cues are powerful triggers of craving in drug abusers contributing to enduring addiction. According to previous qualitative reviews, the response of the orbitofrontal cortex to such cues is sensitive to whether subjects are seeking treatment. Here we re-evaluate this proposal and assessed whether the nature of the drug matters. To this end, we performed a quantitative meta-analysis of 64 neuroimaging studies on drug-cue reactivity across legal (nicotine, alcohol) or illegal substances (cocaine, heroin). We used the ALE algorithm and a hierarchical clustering analysis followed by a cluster composition statistical analysis to assess the association of brain clusters with the nature of the substance, treatment status, and their interaction. Visual drug cues activate the mesocorticolimbic system and more so in abusers of illegal substances, suggesting that the illegal substances considered induce a deeper sensitization of the reward circuitry. Treatment status had a different modulatory role for legal and illegal substance abusers in anterior cingulate and orbitofrontal areas involved in inter-temporal decision making. The class of the substance and the treatment status are crucial and interacting factors that modulate the neural reactivity to drug cues. The orbitofrontal cortex is not sensitive to the treatment status per se, rather to the interaction of these factors. We discuss that these varying effects might be mediated by internal predispositions such as the intention to quit from drugs and external contingencies such as the daily life environmental availability of the drugs, the ease of getting them and the time frame of potential reward through drug consumption.

Hungry brains: A meta-analytical review of brain activation imaging studies on food perception and appetite in obese individuals.

The dysregulation of food intake in chronic obesity has been explained by different theories. To assess their explanatory power, we meta-analyzed 22 brain-activation imaging studies. We found that obese individuals exhibit hyper-responsivity of the brain regions involved in taste and reward for food-related stimuli. Consistent with a Reward Surfeit Hypothesis, obese individuals exhibit a ventral striatum hyper-responsivity in response to pure tastes, particularly when fasting. Furthermore, we found that obese subjects display more frequent ventral striatal activation for visual food cues when satiated: this continued processing within the reward system, together with the aforementioned evidence, is compatible with the Incentive Sensitization Theory. On the other hand, we did not find univocal evidence in favor of a Reward Deficit Hypothesis nor for a systematic deficit of inhibitory cognitive control. We conclude that the available brain activation data on the dysregulated food intake and food-related behavior in chronic obesity can be best framed within an Incentive Sensitization Theory. Implications of these findings for a brain-based therapy of obesity are briefly discussed.

Loratadine-pseudoephedrine in children with allergic rhinitis, a controlled double-blind trial.

AIMS: To conduct a randomized placebo controlled double-blind crossover trial in order to evaluate a loratadine-pseudoephedrine combination (L + PS) in children with seasonal allergic rhinitis. METHODS: Forty children (15 males; 25 females), aged 3-15 years, were included in this study. They were randomized to receive L + PS (0.2 mg kg[-1] body weight-2.4 mg kg[-1] body weight respectively) or placebo (PLA) for 14 days. After 7 days of washout, patients were shifted to the other treatment for a further 14 days. Nasal symptoms (sneezing/itching, congestion, nasal dripping) and signs (turbinal swelling, retronasal drainage), rated on a scale ranging from: 1. absent to 5. very intense, and their sum or mean total symptom score (MTSS) were used as efficacy measurement. RESULTS: Significant relief was observed; post-treatment MTSS difference and its percent change were respectively; L + PS = -4.29; 95% CI: -3.64 and -4.94 (27.8%), and PLA = -1.63; 95% CI: -0.95 and -2.31 (10.7%) (P < 0.001 baseline vs endpoint and between treatments). Furthermore, L + PS and PLA significantly modified symptoms, but only L + PS significantly modified signs. No clinical changes were observed during the trial; only one patient showed slight transient insomnia when receiving L + PS. CONCLUSIONS: It is concluded that L + PS is useful and well tolerated in children with seasonal allergic rhinitis. However, elements such as placebo effect must be taken into account for planning future trials.

Risk factors for hepatotoxicity induced by antituberculosis drugs.

To evaluate the risk factors involved in antituberculosis treatment-induced hepatotoxicity. In a retrospective study we analyzed the rate of drug-induced hepatotoxicity in a sample of 456 patients. Patients received a combination of drugs including isoniazid, rifampin, pirazinamide and streptomycin or ethambutol. The association among hepatotoxicity and several risk factors (age, sex, alcoholism and HIV infection) was studied by univariate methods, stratified analysis and the multiple logistic regression model. Signs of liver injury were found in 9.86% of the treated patients. In the logistic model, the adjusted odds ratios (OR) and significance were found as follows: a) for alcoholism, OR = 17.31 (95% CI: 6.35-47.16), p < 0.001; b) for HIV infection, OR = 3.23 (95% CI: 1.47-7.11), p = 0.003 and c) for female sex, OR = 2.44 (95% CI: 1.22-4.86), p = 0.011. Age was not significantly associated with hepatotoxicity. Alcoholism, HIV infection and female sex were associated with an increased risk of hepatotoxicity in this study.

[Spanish migration to Argentina as seen through "Partes Consulares" 1910. An exercise in regional typology]. / Las migraciones espanolas a la Argentina desde la perspectiva de los Partes Consulares (1910). Un ejercicio de tipologia regional.

PIP: "By using the shipping lists contained in Argentine immigration files, it is possible to analyze Spanish immigration in Argentina [in the early twentieth century] by province of origin. In this case, the provinces of Pontevedra, Salamanca and Vizcaya are considered, and three different typologies are presented, showing differences in age structure, family status, occupation and previous migratory experience. The implications for the formulation of European typologies are suggested." (EXCERPT)^ieng

[Argentine migration policy and movements of the European population (1876-1925)]. / Politicas migratorias argentinas y flujo de poblacion europea (1876-1925).

PIP: This work examines changes in Argentine migration policy from 1876-1925 and the relationship between public policy and population movements. Promoting immigration from Europe as proposed in article 25 of the Argentine constitution of 1853 was 1 of the most enduring objectives of Argentina's leadership. When Law of Immigration and Colonization (Law 817) was passed by the Chamber of Senators in 1876, the flow of immigration was at its lowest point in 8 years. Many of the provisions of Law 817 had already been put into practice occasionally or systematically, but the intent to use the law to attract a far greater number of immigrants and to select qualities seen as desirable were novel elements and the principal motives of the legislation. The unstated aim of reducing the preponderance of Italian immigration from about 2/3 was not immediately achieved. Argentina's immigration policy and actions were in competition with those of other Latin American countries and with the US. Information offices for prospective immigrants were opened in the 1880s in Paris, London, Brussels, Berlin, Vienna, Bern, and New York, and in 1887 legislation was passed permitting subsidized passages on a large scale. The continued predominance of Italian immigration demonstrated the limits of government policy influence, even when large sums of money were invested. The informal network of Italian immigrants already in Argentina and the activities of interested shipping companies on the other hand played major roles in maintaining Italian immigration. The total number of immigrants and the diversity of national origins were increased by the subsidized passages, but in 1891 the combination of a financial crisis and an end to subsidized passages decisively reduced the total flow. Changes occurred in the 1890s in regional flows within countries and in the occupational composition of immigrants from agricultors to day laborers, unskilled workers, and artisans. By about 1910 the conservative elements in Argentina's ruling elite began to favor a more restrictive and more controlled immigration with Italians now viewed as desirable because of their affinity for Latin culture and their hard work. The growing influx of Russian Jews and of Syrians and Lebanese raised concerns about their eventual assimilation. After World War I, the trend toward greater restrictiveness was reflected in several legislative initiatives and in administrative changes. The main determinants appear to have been the desire to avoid social conflict and admission of agitators, economic crisis, and the example of other countries with increasingly restrictive immigration policies.^ieng

[The Italian migration chain: some thoughts on aspects of the Argentine case]. / Las cadenas migratorias italianas: algunas reflexiones a la luz del caso argentino.

PIP: The author first discusses past studies of Italian migration chains by researchers Price and MacDonald in the United States and Australia in order to better explain the findings of the numerous and more recent surveys of Italian migrants living in Argentina. These studies constitute a further enrichment of the theories about the mechanisms of migration chain, including mediation and exploitation of the migrant flow. The Italian migration chain, even though it plays a fundamental role in the Argentinian case, offers some remarkable differences such as 1) The lack of entry restrictions for migrants, 2) an easier process of adaptation and integration into Argentinian society, 3) a strong community organization in the Plata region, and 4) a wider inner diversification of the Italian community. All these elements lead to the conclusion that a less powerful "padrone" system and a stronger and more autonomous kinship chain are present in Argentina than in some other receiving countries. The author also ponders whether chain migrations are more propitious than other types and recognizes the value of this type of investigation in planning courses of action.^ieng