Investigating the underlying mechanisms of the enactment effect: The role of action-object bindings in aiding immediate memory performance.

Previous research has established that enacted action-object phrases lead to superior immediate memory performance compared with purely verbal memory. In the current investigation, Experiment 1 examined how enactment separately affects immediate memory for actions and objects in 24 adults by presenting action-object phrases and asking participants to recall either the actions or the objects presented in correct serial order. The results showed that when employed at presentation, enactment led to superior recall performance compared with verbal repetition, but this effect was significant only for memory for actions and not objects. Enactment during immediate recall did not lead to better memory performance compared with verbal recall for either actions or objects. To examine whether the lack of an enactment at recall was due to the splitting of action-object phrases at retrieval, Experiment 2 (n = 24) examined memory for whole action-object phrases under enactment at recall. The results showed a typical enactment at recall benefit. Furthermore, a novel binding analysis suggested that enactment recall increased the likelihood of action features being remembered in a bound pair rather than alone. Together these findings suggest that action-object bindings play a crucial role in the manifestation of the enactment effect in immediate recall, especially when enactment is employed at the recall phase.

Lipoprotein particles in patients with pediatric Cushing disease and possible cardiovascular risks.

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular (CV) complications are the most significant cause of mortality in adults with Cushing disease (CD); little is known about CV risk factors in children with CD. Measurement of lipoprotein particles by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a novel technology to assess CV risk. The objective of the current study is to analyze the NMR lipid profile in pediatric CD patients before and 1 year after remission. METHODS: NMR lipid profile was obtained via the Vantera NMR analyzer, using frozen serum samples from 33 CD patients (mean age 13.8 ± 4.0 years) evaluated between 1997 and 2017 at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center (CC). RESULTS: GlycA (glycosylated acute-phase proteins), triglyceride-rich particles (TRLP medium and very small sizes), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particles (LDLP total and large size), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) particles (HDLP total, medium and small sizes), total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, GlycA inflammatory biomarker, and apolipoprotein B and apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1) concentrations showed statistically significant changes after remission of CD (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: In our study population, most of the lipid variables improved post-CD remission, with the exception of HDL and ApoA1, indicating that NMR lipoprotein profile may be a helpful tool in assessing the CV risk in pediatric patients with CD.

Pheochromocytoma in Children and Adolescents With Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Type 2B.

Context: Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2B (MEN2B) is characterized by early-onset medullary thyroid cancer in virtually all cases and a 50% lifetime risk of pheochromocytoma (PHEO) development. The literature on PHEO in patients with MEN2B is limited with most data being reported from adult studies that primarily address MEN2A. Objective: The aim of the current study is to describe PHEO development in a cohort of pediatric patients with MEN2B. Design: Retrospective chart review of patients with MEN2B evaluated at the National Institutes of Health in the period between July 2007 and February 2018. Results: A total of 38 patients were identified (21 males and 17 females). Mean age at MEN2B diagnosis was 10.6 ± 3.9 years. Eight patients (21%) developed PHEO in the course of follow-up to date, all of whom were sporadic cases with the classic M918T RET mutation. PHEO was diagnosed based on biochemical and/or imaging screening studies in five patients, whereas three patients presented with symptoms of excess catecholamines. PHEO was diagnosed at a mean age 15.2 ± 4.6 (range, 10 to 25) years and 4.0 ± 3.3 years after MEN2B diagnosis. Only one patient was diagnosed with PHEO as the initial manifestation of MEN2B after she presented with hypertension and secondary amenorrhea. Conclusion: Undiagnosed PHEO can be associated with substantial morbidity. Current American Thyroid Association guidelines recommend PHEO screening starting at age 11 for the high-/highest risk group. The youngest patient diagnosed with PHEO in our cohort was an asymptomatic 10-year-old, suggesting that PHEO development may begin before the screening-recommended age of 11, though remains clinically undetectable and thus the current screening guidelines seem appropriate.

Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Type 2B Presents Early in Childhood but Often Is Undiagnosed for Years.

We describe the presenting symptoms and signs of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2B in a cohort of children. Improved awareness of the early nonendocrine signs of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2B could lead to earlier diagnosis before the development of medullary thyroid cancer and possibly its metastasis.

Children with MEN1 gene mutations may present first (and at a young age) with Cushing disease.

OBJECTIVE: Cushing disease (CD) is a rare entity caused by ACTH-secreting pituitary tumours, leading to prolonged hypercortisolism. Most cases are sporadic but can rarely occur in the context of familial predisposition, due to germline mutations in genes such as MEN1, leading to multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1, MEN1. We have reported previously that CD can be the first and only presenting manifestation of MEN1. In this report, we describe a cohort of paediatric patients who presented with CD as the first manifestation of MEN1. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis of paediatric patients admitted to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center for evaluation of hypercortisolism, between 1997 and 2017. MEN1 was diagnosed on a clinical, familial and/or genetic basis. RESULTS: Of a total of 238 children with CD, six patients were subsequently diagnosed with MEN1, three males and three females with a mean age at diagnosis of CD at 13.4 ± 2.9 years. Five of the six patients had familial MEN1 and one patient was a sporadic case. Additional manifestations of MEN1 included primary hyperparathyroidism in three patients and hyperprolactinemia in two patients. DISCUSSION: This report describes a paediatric patient population with MEN1 in whom CD was the initial manifestation, confirming a previous observation that paediatric patients with MEN1 may present first with an ACTH-producing adenoma. Therefore, germline MEN1 mutations should be sought in paediatric CD and tested for when there is a suggestive family history and/or other manifestations.

Irreversible Primary Amenorrhea Secondary to Uterine Damage and Premature Ovarian Failure in 2 Patients with Ewing Sarcoma.

BACKGROUND: The long-term morbidity of childhood cancer survivors is an emerging field as more patients are now expected to live through adulthood. CASE: We describe 2 adolescent patients with permanent premature ovarian failure and failure of endometrium to respond to estrogen after they received a combination of chemotherapy and pelvic radiation for metastatic Ewing sarcoma. Both girls were prepubertal at diagnosis of Ewing sarcoma. Puberty was induced with high-dose estrogen and progesterone; however, none of the patients had withdrawal bleeding. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION: It is critical to counsel these patients that menstruation might not be possible even with hormone replacement therapy.

Genome-wide search for exonic variants affecting translational efficiency.

The search for expression quantitative trait loci has traditionally centred entirely on the process of transcription, whereas variants with effects on messenger RNA translation have not been systematically studied. Here we present a high-throughput approach for measuring translational cis-regulation in the human genome. Using ribosomal association as proxy for translational efficiency of polymorphic messenger RNAs, we test the ratio of polysomal/non-polysomal messenger RNA level as a quantitative trait for association with single nucleotide polymorphisms on the same messenger RNA transcript. We identify one important ribosomal distribution effect, from rs1131017 in the 5'-untranslated region of RPS26, that is in high linkage disequilibrium with the 12q13 locus for susceptibility to type 1 diabetes. The effect on translation is confirmed at the protein level by quantitative western blots, both ex vivo and after in vitro translation. Our results are a proof-of-principle that allelic effects on translation can be detected at a transcriptome-wide scale.

Effect of antiobesity medications in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Obesity is considered as a major health problem, as its prevalence continuously rises worldwide. One of the common health consequences of obesity is type 2 diabetes mellitus. Therefore, antiobesity management is a prerequisite in treating diabetic patients. Lifestyle modifications combined with pharmacological agents appear to be an effective approach. Sibutramine is a serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor, which acts centrally by promoting the feeling of satiety and decreasing caloric intake, thus resulting in weight loss. A potential association with cardiovascular side effects has been noted. Orlistat, a gastric and pancreatic lipase inhibitor, also achieves significant weight loss and improves glycaemic status, but it has gastrointestinal side effects. Rimonabant, the first endocannabinoid CB1 antagonist, is associated with weight reduction and it improves diabetic parameters; nevertheless, it is associated with psychiatric disorders; indeed, a recently conducted safety review led to the temporal suspension of its commercialization. The above-mentioned medications seem to be currently useful agents for treating obesity in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Other medications used for diabetes management, such as exenatide, liraglutide and pramlintide, have also shown body weight reduction. Ongoing research is needed to scrutinize the precise impact of these agents in the daily clinical practice of management of obesity in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

The kisspeptin (KiSS-1)/GPR54 system in cancer biology.

Kisspeptin (KiSS-1) gene, initially described as a melanoma metastasis suppressor gene, encodes a number of peptides (kp-54, kp-14, kp-13, kp-10), which are endogenous ligands to a G protein-coupled receptor, referred as hOT7T175 or AXOR12 or GPR54. So far intensive investigation has provided substantiate evidence supporting the role of KiSS-1/GPR54 system in cancer biology as well as in the regulation of the reproductive function and trophoblast invasion. The precise mechanism by which KiSS-1/GPR54 system is affecting cancer cell growth and metastasis includes complex endocrine, paracrine and autocrine actions. Nevertheless, the detail mechanism of such actions is still under intensive investigation. Herein we review the evidence which support the role of KiSS-1/GPR54 system in cancer biology.