Common DNA methylation alterations in multiple brain regions in autism.

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are increasingly common neurodevelopmental disorders defined clinically by a triad of features including impairment in social interaction, impairment in communication in social situations and restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests, with considerable phenotypic heterogeneity among individuals. Although heritability estimates for ASD are high, conventional genetic-based efforts to identify genes involved in ASD have yielded only few reproducible candidate genes that account for only a small proportion of ASDs. There is mounting evidence to suggest environmental and epigenetic factors play a stronger role in the etiology of ASD than previously thought. To begin to understand the contribution of epigenetics to ASD, we have examined DNA methylation (DNAm) in a pilot study of postmortem brain tissue from 19 autism cases and 21 unrelated controls, among three brain regions including dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, temporal cortex and cerebellum. We measured over 485,000 CpG loci across a diverse set of functionally relevant genomic regions using the Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip and identified four genome-wide significant differentially methylated regions (DMRs) using a bump hunting approach and a permutation-based multiple testing correction method. We replicated 3/4 DMRs identified in our genome-wide screen in a different set of samples and across different brain regions. The DMRs identified in this study represent suggestive evidence for commonly altered methylation sites in ASD and provide several promising new candidate genes.

Computer mouse use predicts acute pain but not prolonged or chronic pain in the neck and shoulder.

BACKGROUND: Computer use may have an adverse effect on musculoskeletal outcomes. This study assessed the risk of neck and shoulder pain associated with objectively recorded professional computer use. METHODS: A computer programme was used to collect data on mouse and keyboard usage and weekly reports of neck and shoulder pain among 2146 technical assistants. Questionnaires were also completed at baseline and at 12 months. The three outcome measures were: (1) acute pain (measured as weekly pain); (2) prolonged pain (no or minor pain in the neck and shoulder region over four consecutive weeks followed by three consecutive weeks with a high pain score); and (3) chronic pain (reported pain or discomfort lasting more than 30 days and "quite a lot of trouble" during the past 12 months). RESULTS: Risk for acute neck pain and shoulder pain increased linearly by 4% and 10%, respectively, for each quartile increase in weekly mouse usage time. Mouse and keyboard usage time did not predict the onset of prolonged or chronic pain in the neck or shoulder. Women had higher risks for neck and shoulder pain. Number of keystrokes and mouse clicks, length of the average activity period, and micro-pauses did not influence reports of acute or prolonged pain. A few psychosocial factors predicted the risk of prolonged pain. CONCLUSIONS: Most computer workers have no or minor neck and shoulder pain, few experience prolonged pain, and even fewer, chronic neck and shoulder pain. Moreover, there seems to be no relationship between computer use and prolonged and chronic neck and shoulder pain.

The Danish National Birth Cohort--its background, structure and aim.

BACKGROUND: It is well known that the time from conception to early childhood has importance for health conditions that reach into later stages of life. Recent research supports this view, and diseases such as cardiovascular morbidity, cancer, mental illnesses, asthma, and allergy may all have component causes that act early in life. Exposures in this period, which influence fetal growth, cell divisions, and organ functioning, may have long-lasting impact on health and disease susceptibility. METHODS: To investigate these issues the Danish National Birth Cohort (Better health for mother and child) was established. A large cohort of pregnant women with long-term follow-up of the offspring was the obvious choice because many of the exposures of interest cannot be reconstructed with sufficient validity back in time. The study needs to be large, and it is aimed to recruit 100,000 women early in pregnancy, and to continue follow-up for decades. The Nordic countries are better suited for this kind of research than most other countries because of their population-based registers on diseases, demography and social conditions, linkable at the individual level by means of the unique ID-number given to all citizens. Exposure information is mainly collected by computer-assisted telephone interviews with the women twice during pregnancy and when their children are six and 18 months old. Participants are also asked to fill in a self-administered food frequency questionnaire in mid-pregnancy. Furthermore, a biological bank has been set up with blood taken from the mother twice during pregnancy and blood from the umbilical cord taken shortly after birth. Data collection started in 1996 and the project covered all regions in Denmark in 1999. By August 2000. a total of 60,000 pregnant women had been recruited to the study. It is expected that a large number of gene-environmental hypotheses need to be based on case-control analyses within a cohort like this.

Academic and scientific misconduct: issues for nursing educators.

The public attention to issues of academic and research misconduct requires that all faculty and students become familiar with the policy and procedural areas and roles of various officials in handling allegations of misconduct. Although the incidence of such misconduct seems to be small, issues of reporting, adjudication, rehabilitation, and deterrence are important to all with concern about the integrity of academic processes. Many issues concerning the management of allegations of academic or research misconduct remain unresolved. Examples include the definition of misconduct, provision for (or lack of) anonymity, the role of the whistleblower, the burden of proof, the statute of limitations, the nature and application of sanctions, and the processes of rehabilitation.

Amikacin treatment of Pseudomonas-caused corneal ulcer.

A Pseudomonas-caused corneal ulcer developed in a 44-year-old man with severe facial and upper torso thermal burns while in the hospital burn unit. The infecting strain was resistant to most antibiotics, including gentamicin sulfate and tobramycin sulfate. Treatment with topical and parenteral amikacin sulfate resulted in rapid healing. To our knowledge, there have been no reports of the use of amikacin for corneal ulcer. The successful healing in this case suggests that the use of amikacin should be considered in the treatment of corneal ulceration when it is suspected that the pathogen is a Pseudomonas strain resistant to gentamicin and other commonly used antibiotics.

Genetic isolation of adoptees.

The purpose of this paper is to alert pediatric ophthalmologists to problems of rendering genetic counseling to adoptees at-risk for genetic disease. All states have statutes that provide for secrecy of adoption records. These records are maintained by adoption agencies, county courts, and state registrar. In most cases, the counseling clinician must file a lawsuit to reach the parents of an at-risk adoptee. An administrative procedure is proposed to allow access to certain adoption information for the purposes of genetic counseling and offer of treatment.

Genetic counseling for adoptees at risk for specific inherited disorders.

We present 5 cases in which family history showed that a child given up for adoption some years earlier was at 50% risk for inheritance of Huntington disease, myotonic dystrophy, myotonic dystrophy, Fabry disease, von Willebrand disease, and Waardenburg syndrome, respectively. In all cases, the biological mothers (the probands) requested that the genetic counseling provided for them and their children be shared with the adoptive family. The decision whether or not to seek out the adoptee was based upon explicit assessment of the potential benefits and potential difficulties involved in contacting the adoptive family and attempting to provide genetic counseling. We have formulated some recommendations for dealing with other families with similar separation of relatives by adoption on the basis of these experiences.