Two Cases of Herpes Zoster Following Varicella Vaccination in Immunocompetent Young Children:One Case Caused by Vaccine-Strain

Herpes zoster (HZ) has been reported in immunocompetent children who received the varicella vaccine. In vaccinated children, HZ can be caused by vaccine-strain or by wild-type varicella-zoster virus (VZV). Like wild-type VZV, varicella vaccine virus can establish latency and reactivate as HZ. We report two cases of HZ in otherwise healthy 16- and 14-month-old boys who received varicella vaccine at 12 months of age. They presented with a vesicular rash on their upper extremities three to four months after varicella vaccination. In one case, a swab was obtained by abrading skin vesicles and VZV was detected in skin specimens by polymerase chain reaction. The VZV open-reading frame 62 was sequenced and single nucleotide polymorphism analysis confirmed that the virus from skin specimen was vaccinestrain. This is the first HZ case following varicella vaccination confirmed to be caused by vaccine-strain VZV in the immunocompetent children in Korea. Pediatricians should be aware of the potential for varicella vaccine virus reactivation in vaccinated young children.

Association between Skipping Breakfast and Overweight in Korean Adolescents: Analysis of the 13th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey / 계명의대학술지

In Korea, skipping breakfast is of concern as an unhealthy dietary habit. While the relationship between skipping breakfast and overweight and obesity has been established in children and adolescents in Europe, studies on this topic in Korean adolescents are scarce. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and skipping breakfast in Korean adolescents. Data from the 13th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (2017) were analyzed. This anonymous, self-administered online questionnaire examined health behaviors including smoking, drinking, obesity, eating habits, sleep duration, and physical activity in Korean youth. Questions included those on general characteristics, such as economic status, parental education level, etc. This study included data from 56,933 adolescents aged 12–18 years. Skipping breakfast was defined as consuming breakfast fewer than five times per week. BMI, health behaviors, and general characteristics were compared between the breakfast-skipping and control groups. The skipping-breakfast and control groups comprised 25,836 (45.4%) and 31,097 (54.6%) subjects, respectively. BMI was significantly higher in the breakfast-skipping group than that in the control group (21.6 ± 3.24 kg/m2 vs. 21.4 ± 3.26 kg/m2, p < 0.001). Among the normal-weight and overweight groups, 44.9% and 47.3% skipped breakfast, respectively (p < 0.001). After adjusting for health behaviors and general characteristics, the risk of overweight was higher in those who skipped breakfast than that in the control group (odds ratio; 1.125, 95% confidence interval; 1.077–1.176).Skipping breakfast was related to overweight in Korean adolescents. Therefore, longitudinal research is needed to determine whether skipping breakfast is associated with overweight.

Association between Raising Grandchildren and Depression in Korean Adults

BACKGROUND: Several contradictory studies exist on the relationship between raising grandchildren and the grandparent's health. The present study identified the association between raising grandchildren and depression among Korean grandparents.METHODS: The wave 1 (2006) and wave 2 (2008) databases of the Korean longitudinal study on aging (KLoSA) were analyzed. T-test and chi-square test were used to compare the demographics and health condition variable between the two groups based on the presence or absence of raising grandchildren. Logistic regression analysis, including demographics and health conditions, was conducted to identify the relationship between depression and raising grandchildren. Depression was assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale (CES-D-10).RESULTS: In all, 4,784 participants (4,636: not raising grandchildren; 148: raising grandchildren) were examined. Significantly lower CES-D-10 scores (3.34 vs. 4.35, P<0.001), and therefore, lower depression (25% vs. 39.9%, P<0.001) was found among grandparents raising grandchildren than those who did not raise grandchildren. After adjusting the confounding variables through logistic regression analysis, the odds ratio of depression when raising grandchildren was 0.57 (95% confidence interval=0.37–0.89), which indicates significant relevance.CONCLUSION: The results show lower depressive symptoms among grandparents raising grandchildren. Even after adjusting the variables, the results presented a lower risk of depression among them.

Small molecules and Alzheimer's disease: misfolding, metabolism and imaging.

Small molecule interactions with amyloid proteins have had a huge impact in Alzheimer's disease (AD), especially in three specific areas: amyloid folding, metabolism and brain imaging. Amyloid plaque amelioration or prevention have, until recently, driven drug development, and only a few drugs have been advanced for use in AD. Amyloid proteins undergo misfolding and oligomerization via intermediates, eventually forming protease resistant amyloid fibrils. These fibrils accumulate to form the hallmark amyloid plaques and tangles of AD. Amyloid binding compounds can be grouped into three categories, those that: i) prevent or reverse misfolding, ii) halt misfolding or trap intermediates, and iii) accelerate the formation of stable and inert amyloid fibrils. Such compounds include hydralazine, glycosaminoglycans, curcumin, beta sheet breakers, catecholamines, and ATP. The versatility of amyloid binding compounds suggests that the amyloid structure may serve as a scaffold for the future development of sensors to detect such compounds. Metabolic dysfunction is one of the earliest pathological features of AD. In fact, AD is often referred to as type 3 diabetes due to the presence of insulin resistance in the brain. A recent study indicates that altering metabolism improves cognitive function. While metabolic reprogramming is one therapeutic avenue for AD, it is more widely used in some cancer therapies. FDA approved drugs such as metformin, dichloroacetic acid (DCA), and methylene blue can alter metabolism. These drugs can therefore be potentially applied in alleviating metabolic dysfunction in AD. Brain imaging has made enormous strides over the past decade, offering a new window to the mind. Recently, there has been remarkable development of compounds that have the ability to image both types of pathological amyloids: tau and amyloid beta. We have focused on the low cost, simple to use, near infrared fluorescence (NIRF) imaging probes for amyloid beta (Aß), with specific attention on recent developments to further improve contrast, specificity, and sensitivity. With advances in imaging technologies, such fluorescent imaging probes will open new diagnostic avenues.

Differential assembly of polypeptides of the light-harvesting 2 complex encoded by distinct operons during acclimation of Rhodobacter sphaeroides to low light intensity.

In order to obtain an improved understanding of the assembly of the bacterial photosynthetic apparatus, we have conducted a proteomic analysis of pigment-protein complexes isolated from the purple bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides undergoing acclimation to reduced incident light intensity. Photoheterotrophically growing cells were shifted from 1,100 to 100 W/m(2) and intracytoplasmic membrane (ICM) vesicles isolated over 24-h were subjected to clear native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Bands containing the LH2 and reaction center (RC)-LH1 complexes were excised and subjected to in-gel trypsin digestion followed by liquid chromatography (LC)-mass spectroscopy (MS)/MS. The results revealed that the LH2 band contained distinct levels of the LH2-α and -ß polypeptides encoded by the two puc operons. Polypeptide subunits encoded by the puc2AB operon predominated under high light and in the early stages of acclimation to low light, while after 24 h, the puc1BAC components were most abundant. Surprisingly, the Puc2A polypeptide containing a 251 residue C-terminal extension not present in Puc1A, was a protein of major abundance. A predominance of Puc2A components in the LH2 complex formed at high light intensity is followed by a >2.5-fold enrichment in Puc1B levels between 3 and 24 h of acclimation, accompanied by a nearly twofold decrease in Puc2A levels. This indicates that the puc1BAC operon is under more stringent light control, thought to reflect differences in the puc1 upstream regulatory region. In contrast, elevated levels of Puc2 polypeptides were seen 48 h after the gratuitous induction of ICM formation at low aeration in the dark, while after 24 h of acclimation to low light, an absence of alterations in Puc polypeptide distributions was observed in the upper LH2-enriched gel band, despite an approximate twofold increase in overall LH2 levels. This is consistent with the origin of this band from a pool of LH2 laid down early in development that is distinct from subsequently assembled LH2-only domains, forming the LH2 gel band.

Differential assembly of polypeptides of the light-harvesting 2 complex encoded by distinct operons during acclimation of Rhodobacter sphaeroides to low light intensity.

In order to obtain an improved understanding of the assembly of the bacterial photosynthetic apparatus, we have conducted a proteomic analysis of pigment-protein complexes isolated from the purple bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides undergoing acclimation to reduced incident light intensity. Photoheterotrophically growing cells were shifted from 1,100 to 100 W/m(2) and intracytoplasmic membrane (ICM) vesicles isolated over 24-h were subjected to clear native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Bands containing the LH2 and reaction center (RC)-LH1 complexes were excised and subjected to in-gel trypsin digestion followed by liquid chromatography (LC)-mass spectroscopy (MS)/MS. The results revealed that the LH2 band contained distinct levels of the LH2-α and -ß polypeptides encoded by the two puc operons. Polypeptide subunits encoded by the puc2AB operon predominated under high light and in the early stages of acclimation to low light, while after 24 h, the puc1BAC components were most abundant. Surprisingly, the Puc2A polypeptide containing a 251 residue C-terminal extension not present in Puc1A, was a protein of major abundance. A predominance of Puc2A components in the LH2 complex formed at high light intensity is followed by a >2.5-fold enrichment in Puc1B levels between 3 and 24 h of acclimation, accompanied by a nearly twofold decrease in Puc2A levels. This indicates that the puc1BAC operon is under more stringent light control, thought to reflect differences in the puc1 upstream regulatory region. In contrast, elevated levels of Puc2 polypeptides were seen 48 h after the gratuitous induction of ICM formation at low aeration in the dark, while after 24 h of acclimation to low light, an absence of alterations in Puc polypeptide distributions was observed in the upper LH2-enriched gel band, despite an approximate twofold increase in overall LH2 levels. This is consistent with the origin of this band from a pool of LH2 laid down early in development that is distinct from subsequently assembled LH2-only domains, forming the LH2 gel band.

Prevalence of antibody to cytomegalovirus by anticomplement immunofluorescence test in Korean children / 감염

No abstract available.