Add Bilingualism to the Mix: L2 Proficiency Modulates the Effect of Cognitive Reserve Proxies on Executive Performance in Healthy Aging.

We investigated the contribution of bilingual experience to the development of cognitive reserve (CR) when compared with other, traditionally more researched, CR proxies, in a sample of cognitively healthy senior (60 +) bilingual speakers. Participants performed in an online study where, in addition to a wide inventory of factors known to promote CR, we assessed several factors related to their second language (L2) use. In addition, participants' inhibitory executive control was measured via the Flanker Task. We used Structural Equation Modeling to derive a latent composite measure of CR informed by traditional CR proxies (i.e., occupational complexity, marital status, current and retrospective socio-economic status, physical exercise, perceived positive support, maximal educational attainment, frequency of leisure activities and extent of social network). We examined whether bilingualism may act as a mediator of the effects of such proxies on cognitive performance therefore assessing the unique contribution of dual language use to CR. First, our analyses revealed facilitatory effects of both L2 age of acquisition and L2 proficiency on the executive performance. Second, our analyses confirmed the moderating role of bilingual experience on the relationship between other factors known to promote CR and cognitive integrity, revealing a strong contribution by bilingualism to CR development. Our findings provide further support to the notion that bilingualism plays an important role in mitigating cognitive decline and promoting successful aging.

Impact of chronic wounds of various etiology on systemic profiles of key inflammatory cytokines, chemokines and growth factors, and their interplay.

BACKGROUND: Non-healing wounds are becoming a growing concern for public health as a result of their increasing prevalence in progressively aging societies. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this article is to evaluate the effects of wound etiology on a panel of circulating cytokines in patients with non-healing wounds of the lower extremities. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This prospective case-control study involved 104 individuals: healthy elderly people (n = 46) and patients with diabetes and/or cardiovascular disease (n = 58; among them 38 with chronic wounds of venous, ischemic or neurotrophic etiology). Selected serum cytokines - i.e. IL-1ß, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, FGF-2, G-CSF, GM-CSF, MCP-1, MIP-1α, TNF-α, VEGF-A, and PDGF-BB - were measured using the Luminex platform. RESULTS: Compared to healthy elderly people, presence of diabetes and/or cardiovascular disease was associated with elevated IL-6, IL-8, MCP-1 and G-CSF while non-healing wounds coexisted with the increase in the levels of all examined cytokines/growth factors except for G-CSF and GM-CSF. Among diseased elderly people, having wounds was associated with increased levels of IL-1ß, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, FGF-2, MIP-1α, PDGF-BB, and VEGF-A. Interleukin 1ß elevation was a sole independent predictor of chronic wounds with an odds ratio (OR) of 6.3. Cytokines in healthy seniors were loosely interrelated, while the levels of cytokines in diseased patients with wounds displayed a tight pattern of association. When stratified by their etiology, the association pattern for IL-6, IL-8, MCP-1, and VEGF-A was disrupted in neurotrophic wounds. CONCLUSIONS: The results presented herein may improve our understanding of the pathomechanisms which lead to chronic wounds and of the effects they exert on a systemic level, as well as providing potential targets for more effective therapies.

Use of ECDC PPS HAI&AU data to evaluate adherence to national guidelines for antimicrobial treatment of community-­acquired pneumonia

INTRODUCTION    Point prevalence surveys are widely described as a useful tool for evaluating antimicrobial policy and adherence to guidelines. OBJECTIVES    We aimed to investigate if data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) point prevalence survey of healthcare­associated infections and antimicrobial use (PPS HAI&AU) canbe used to evaluate adherence to national guidelines for the treatment of community­acquired pneumonia (CAP) and to analyze the quality of treatment regimens. PATIENTS AND METHODS    Data for 72 698 patients were collected in Poland between the years 2012 and 2015 according to the ECDC Protocol v.4.2. CAP was an indication for antimicrobial treatment in 3608patients. Patients hospitalized longer than 48 hours were excluded. A total of 667 patients met the inclusion criteria, and 79 regimens were recorded and evaluated as concordant or discordant with the guidelines. Afterwards, 7 experts scored the regimens from 1 to 5. The averages were calculated, and the results below 3.0 were considered as not optimal and those of 3.0 or higher-as optimal. Coherence of the experts' scores was evaluated. RESULTS    Of all patients, 153 (22.8%) were treated exactly according to the guidelines. Nineteen regimens (24.0%) were optimal but discordant with the guidelines; they were administered to 346 patients (51.9%). The remaining 50 regimens (63.3%) were evaluated as discordant and not optimal and were used in 169 patients(25.3%). The correlation results of the experts' scores were significant. CONCLUSIONS    ECDC PPS HAI&AU data can be efficiently used to assess adherence to guidelines. Despite low adherence (22.8%), almost 75% of patients received optimal antimicrobial treatments. Actions promoting the guidelines and time­series studies analyzing improvement of adherence should be considered.

Impact of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms of Base Excision Repair Genes on DNA Damage and Efficiency of DNA Repair in Recurrent Depression Disorder.

Elevated level of DNA damage was observed in patients with depression. Furthermore, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of base excision repair (BER) genes may modulate the risk of this disease. Therefore, the aim of this study was to delineate the association between DNA damage, DNA repair, the presence of polymorphic variants of BER genes, and occurrence of depression. The study was conducted on peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 43 patients diagnosed with depression and 59 controls without mental disorders. Comet assay was used to assess endogenous (oxidative) DNA damage and efficiency of DNA damage repair (DRE). TaqMan probes were employed to genotype 12 SNPs of BER genes. Endogenous DNA damage was higher in the patients than in the controls, but none of the SNPs affected its levels. DRE was significantly higher in the controls and was modulated by BER SNPs, particularly by c.977C>G-hOGG1, c.972G>C-MUTYH, c.2285T>C-PARP1, c.580C>T-XRCC1, c.1196A>G-XRCC1, c.444T>G-APEX1, c.-468T>G-APEX1, or c.*50C>T-LIG3. Our study suggests that both oxidative stress and disorders in DNA damage repair mechanisms contribute to elevated levels of DNA lesions observed in depression. Lower DRE can be partly attributed to the presence of specific SNP variants.

Substitution at IL1RN and deletion at SLC4A11 segregating with phenotype in familial keratoconus.

PURPOSE: Keratoconus (KTCN) is a thinning and anterior protrusion of the cornea that results in altered refractive powers and loss of visual acuity. Despite numerous studies, the reasons for development and progression of KTCN remain unknown. Genetic studies have led to identification of several loci linked with KTCN, including a locus in one multigenerational Ecuadorian family. The purpose of this study was to identify sequence variants in candidate genes segregating with the KTCN phenotype in another Ecuadorian family. METHODS: Nonparametric linkage analysis was performed in Ecuadorian family KTCN-019. Candidate genes IL1A, IL1B, IL1RN, and SLC4A11 were selected and examined in this family by direct sequencing of all exons, promoters, and intron-exon junctions. RESULTS: Two novel suggestive loci were identified in 2q13-q14.3 and 20p13-p12.2. Screening of the candidate genes revealed 66 sequence variants, including five novel variants, in both coding and noncoding regions. The substitution c.214+242C > T in the IL1RN gene was observed in all affected individuals and three apparently unaffected family members. The novel deletion of 54 nucleotides in position c.2558+149_2558+203 in SLC4A11 was observed in all patients but one, as well as two healthy individuals and one person with an unknown phenotype. CONCLUSIONS: The analyses of selected genes have led to identification of numerous sequence variants in the examined Ecuadorian family. Both substitution c.214+242C > T in IL1RN and novel deletion c.2558+149_2558+203del54 in SLC4A11 were observed significantly more frequently in family members with KTCN (P = 0.004525 and P = 0.00761, respectively), suggesting involvement of these two genes in KTCN etiology in the studied family.