Oral health among student veterans: Effects on mental and physical health.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore differences in oral health among students by military service status in postsecondary settings. Participants: Secondary data were obtained from the American College Health Association's 2011-2014 National College Health Assessment II. Method: Demographic characteristics of the study sample were explored by calculating frequencies and percentages by military service status. Research questions were explored with maximum likelihood multiple logistic regression. Results: Service member and veteran students are at greater risk for neglecting health behaviors associated with positive oral health, including that they were less likely to get dental exams and that those who deployed in the past were the least likely to be practicing good oral health. Conclusions: The results suggest that improving oral health will contribute to improving health and mental health outcomes in this population, and provide important information for health specialists working with service members and veterans on college campuses.

Survey of Hand and Upper Extremity Injuries Among Rock Climbers.

BACKGROUND: Rock climbing first evolved as a sport in the late 18th century. With its growing popularity, the number of rock climbing-related injuries has potential to increase, spurring a rise in the number of articles associated with it. Despite the available literature, there remains a paucity of information about upper extremity injuries sustained by rock climbers, and no studies to date have focused on gender-specific injuries. METHODS: A 24-question online survey was distributed to rock climbers about upper extremity injuries sustained during rock climbing. Statistical analysis was used to study association between participants' demographics and injuries. RESULTS: A total of 397 participants responded to the survey. Mean age was 32.5 years with males comprising 85%. No significant differences in demographics or climbing behaviors were found between males and females. Ninety percent of participants reported sustaining an upper extremity injury. Fingers were the most common injury followed by shoulder/arm and elbow/forearm. Our study found females to be more likely to report a rock climbing-related injury, and more likely to undergo surgery for it. CONCLUSION: Female rock climbers were significantly more likely to report a shoulder/upper arm injury and were also more likely to report undergoing surgery compared with males, where these differences were not due to age or climbing behaviors. Further investigation is warranted into the association between shoulder injuries and female athletes to determine how the gender differences relate to extent of injury as well as health service utilization behaviors.

Nuclear uptake of an amino-terminal fragment of apolipoprotein E4 promotes cell death and localizes within microglia of the Alzheimer's disease brain.

Although harboring the apolipoprotein E4 (APOE4) allele is a well known risk factor in Alzheimer's disease (AD), the mechanism by which it contributes to disease risk remains elusive. To investigate the role of proteolysis of apoE4 as a potential mechanism, we designed and characterized a site-directed cleavage antibody directed at position D151 of the mature form of apoE4 and E3. Characterization of this antibody indicated a high specificity for detecting synthesized recombinant proteins corresponding to the amino acid sequences 1-151 of apoE3 and E4 that would generate the 17 kDa (p17) fragment. In addition, this antibody also detected a ~17 kDa amino-terminal fragment of apoE4 following incubation with collagenase and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), but did not react with full-length apoE4. Application of this amino-terminal apoE cleavage-fragment (nApoECFp17) antibody, revealed nuclear labeling within glial cells and labeling of a subset of neurofibrillary tangles in the human AD brain. A quantitative analysis indicated that roughly 80% of labeled nuclei were microglia. To confirm these findings, cultured BV2 microglia cells were incubated with the amino-terminal fragment of apoE4 corresponding to the cleavage site at D151. The results indicated efficient uptake of this fragment and trafficking to the nucleus that also resulted in significant cell death. In contrast, a similarly designed apoE3 fragment showed no toxicity and primarily localized within the cytoplasm. These data suggest a novel cleavage event by which apoE4 is cleaved by the extracellular proteases, collagenase and MMP-9, generating an amino-terminal fragment that is then taken up by microglia, traffics to the nucleus and promotes cell death. Collectively, these findings provide important mechanistic insights into the mechanism by which harboring the APOE4 allele may elevate dementia risk observed in AD.

fMRI language dominance and FDG-PET hypometabolism.

BACKGROUND: Atypical language dominance is common in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy. We examined the association of left temporal hypometabolism with laterality of fMRI activation in a language task in a cross-sectional study. METHODS: Thirty patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (mean age 32.4 ± 11.0 years [range 18-55]; epilepsy onset 15.3 ± 11.3 years [range 0.8-40]; 22 left focus, 8 right focus) had (18)fluoro-deoxyglucose (FDG)-PET using noninvasive cardiac input function. After MRI-based partial volume correction, regional glucose metabolism (CMRglc) was measured and asymmetry index, AI = 2(l - R)/(L + R), calculated. fMRI language dominance was assessed with an auditory definition decision paradigm at 3 T. fMRI data were analyzed in SPM2 using regions of interest from Wake Forest PickAtlas (Wernicke area [WA], inferior frontal gyrus [IFG], middle frontal gyrus [MFG]) and bootstrap laterality index, LI = (l - R/L + R). RESULTS: Nineteen patients had ipsilateral temporal hypometabolism; 3 of 4 patients with atypical language had abnormal FDG-PET. Increasing left midtemporal hypometabolism correlated with decreased MFG LI (r = -0.41, p < 0.05) and showed trends with WA LI (r = -0.37, p = 0.055) and IFG LI (r = -0.31, p = 0.099); these relationships became more significant after controlling for age at onset. Increasing hypometabolism was associated with fewer activated voxels in WA ipsilateral to the focus and more activated voxels contralaterally, but overall, activation amount in left WA was similar to subjects without left temporal hypometabolism (t = -1.39, p > 0.10). CONCLUSIONS: We did not find evidence of impaired blood oxygenation level-dependent response in hypometabolic cortex. Regional hypometabolism appears to be a marker for the temporal lobe dysfunction that leads to displacement of language function.

Decreased GABA-A binding on FMZ-PET in succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase deficiency.

OBJECTIVE: Succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase (SSADH) deficiency is an autosomal recessive disorder of GABA metabolism characterized by elevated levels of GABA and gamma-hydroxybutyric acid. Clinical findings include intellectual impairment, hypotonia, hyporeflexia, hallucinations, autistic behaviors, and seizures. Autoradiographic labeling and slice electrophysiology studies in the murine model demonstrate use-dependent downregulation of GABA(A) receptors. We studied GABA(A) receptor activity in human SSADH deficiency utilizing [(11)C]-flumazenil (FMZ)-PET. METHODS: FMZ binding was measured in 7 patients, 10 unaffected parents, and 8 healthy controls. Data analysis was performed using a reference region compartmental model, with time-activity curve from pons as the input function. Relative parametric binding potential (BP(ND)) was derived, with MRI-based pixel by pixel partial volume correction, in regions of interest drawn on coregistered MRI. RESULTS: In amygdala, hippocampus, cerebellar vermis, frontal, parietal, and occipital cortex, patients with SSADH deficiency had significant reductions in FMZ BP(ND) compared to parents and controls. Mean cortical values were 6.96 +/- 0.79 (controls), 6.89 +/- 0.71 (parents), and 4.88 +/- 0.77 (patients) (F ratio 16.1; p < 0.001). There were no differences between controls and parents in any cortical region. CONCLUSIONS: Succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase (SSADH) deficient patients show widespread reduction in BZPR binding on [(11)C]-flumazenil-PET. Our results suggest that high endogenous brain GABA levels in SSADH deficiency downregulate GABA(A)-BZPR binding site availability. This finding suggests a potential mechanism for neurologic dysfunction in a serious neurodevelopmental disorder, and suggests that PET may be useful to translate studies in animal models to human disease.

Spatial visualization of DNA in solution.

An image analysis method is presented which allows for the reconstruction of the three-dimensional path of filamentous objects from two of their projections. Starting with stereo pairs, this method is used to trace the trajectory of DNA molecules embedded in vitreous ice and leads to a faithful representation of their three-dimensional shape in solution. This computer-aided reconstruction is superior to the subjective three-dimensional impression generated by observation of stereo pairs of micrographs because it enables one to look at the reconstructed molecules from any chosen direction and distance and allows quantitative analysis such as determination of distances, curvature, persistence length, and writhe of DNA molecules in solution.