Association of serum lipid parameters with the SCORAD index and onset of atopic dermatitis in children

BACKGROUND

The association between dyslipidemia and atopic dermatitis in children is unclear. This study investigated the association between dyslipidemia and atopic dermatitis in children by analysis of disease onset, risk factors, and disease severity.

METHODS

Subset I examined 7-year-old children in elementary school (n = 248), and Subset II was a retrospective long-term follow-up hospital-based study (n = 52 725) conducted from 1986 to 2016 that used propensity score matching. In the Subset I study, total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and triglycerides (TG) were determined, and the SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) index was determined. In the Subset II study, the time of atopic dermatitis onset was determined for asymptomatic subjects whose TC levels were below or above 170 mg/dL.

RESULTS

Our Subset I study indicated that children with atopic dermatitis (n = 69, 27.8%) had significantly higher levels of TC and TG, and that the SCORAD index had significant associations with high levels of TC and TG, and a low level of HDL-C. Our Subset II study (1722 with high TC and 6735 with normal TC after propensity score matching) indicated the high TC group had a greater hazard ratio (HR) for the onset of atopic dermatitis (consensus-based HR: 2.47; 95% CI: 1.23, 5.06, P = .012) during 5 years.

CONCLUSION

An abnormal blood lipid profile in children is associated with the presence of atopic dermatitis and the SCORAD index. The risk of atopic dermatitis onset was significantly greater with high levels of TC.

Serum vitamin D level is associated with smell dysfunction independently of aeroallergen sensitization, nasal obstruction, and the presence of allergic rhinitis in children

BACKGROUND

Smell dysfunction is highly prevalent worldwide and has adverse effects on quality of life. Smell loss in rhinitis subjects is mainly caused by mechanical obstruction of odorant transmission due to mucosal type 2 inflammation. We determined the association of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) levels with the severity of smell dysfunction in children.

METHODS

We measured the olfactory threshold score in a total of 518 children (10-12 years old, 264 boys) using the Sniffin' Sticks kit, and the children were divided into tertiles according to olfactory threshold score. We also assessed serum 25[OH]D level, common aeroallergen-specific immunoglobulin E, rhinitis severity with visual analog scale, and the Total Four Symptom Score, and pre- and post-decongestant nasal patency with acoustic rhinometry.

RESULTS

The children with 25(OH)D deficiency had significantly reduced mean olfactory threshold scores when compared to those with 25(OH)D levels of ≥20.0 ng/mL (6.56 ± 3.54 and 7.28 ± 3.87, respectively, P = .036). The proportion of loss of smell function and pre-decongestant nasal patency significantly associated with low 25(OH)D levels (chi-square trend test, P for trend = .007). Likewise, after adjustment for confounders, children with smell loss (third tertile) were significantly associated with low 25(OH)D level (aβ=-0.062, 95% CI=-0.064 to -0.060, P = .009) independent of aeroallergen sensitization, and a low pre-decongestant nasal patency.

CONCLUSIONS

25-Hydroxyvitamin D is significantly associated with smell dysfunction independent of aeroallergen sensitization, nasal obstruction, and the presence of allergic rhinitis. This finding may provide insight into the mechanisms involved in the development of olfactory dysfunction.

Characteristics of Brains in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Structure, Function and Connectivity across the Lifespan

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a highly prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired social communication and restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRBs). Over the past decade, neuroimaging studies have provided considerable insights underlying neurobiological mechanisms of ASD. In this review, we introduce recent findings from brain imaging studies to characterize the brains of ASD across the human lifespan. Results of structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) studies dealing with total brain volume, regional brain structure and cortical area are summarized. Using task-based functional MRI (fMRI), many studies have shown dysfunctional activation in critical areas of social communication and RRBs. We also describe several data to show abnormal connectivity in the ASD brains. Finally, we suggest the possible strategies to study ASD brains in the future.

Abnormal brain activity in social reward learning in children with autism spectrum disorder: an fMRI study

PURPOSE

We aimed to determine whether Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) would show neural abnormality of the social reward system using functional MRI (fMRI).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

27 ASDs and 12 typically developing controls (TDCs) participated in this study. The social reward task was developed, and all participants performed the task during fMRI scanning.

RESULTS

ASDs and TDCs with a social reward learning effect were selected on the basis of behavior data. We found significant differences in brain activation between the ASDs and TDCs showing a social reward learning effect. Compared with the TDCs, the ASDs showed reduced activity in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, right orbitofrontal cortex, right parietal lobe, and occipital lobe; however, they showed increased activity in the right parahippocampal gyrus and superior temporal gyrus.

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that there might be neural abnormality of the social reward learning system of ASDs. Although this study has several potential limitations, it presents novel findings in the different neural mechanisms of social reward learning in children with ASD and a possible useful biomarker of high-functioning ASDs.

Interferon gamma stimulates beta-secretase expression and sAPPbeta production in astrocytes

Neurons, but not astrocytes, are known as the major source of Abeta, because astrocytes express low levels of putative beta-secretase (BACE). Astrocytes near senile plaque cores show enhanced levels of BACE protein expression, however, suggesting that astrocytes can contribute to Abeta production under pathological conditions. To investigate factors that stimulate BACE protein expression in astrocytes, we tested the effects of interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) on BACE protein expression in U373MG astrocytoma cells and primary astrocyte cultures from Tg2576 mouse brains. BACE protein expression and sAPPbeta production were dramatically increased, without changes in holo APP levels, following IFN-gamma treatment in both cell types. AG490, which is a blocker of IFN-gamma-induced STAT signaling, decreased IFN-gamma-induced BACE protein expression and sAPPbeta production in a dose-dependent manner. These results show that astrocytes are capable of expressing BACE and producing sAPPbeta in response to certain stimulating factors, and IFN-gamma is one such factor.

mRNA expression of netrin-1, an axon guidance protein in chick and rat embryos

The guidance of axons to their targets in developing neurons is believed to be mediated by diffusible chemotropic factors secreted by target cells. In vertebrates, commissural axons pioneer a circumferential pathway to the floor plate at the ventral midline of the embryonic spinal cord. Floor plate cells secrete a diffusible factor called 'netrin', that promotes the outgrowth of axons in the embryonic chick brain. The cloning of cDNAs encoding netrin showed that it is homologous to UNC-6, a laminin-related protein which is required for the circumferential migration of cells and axons in Caenorhabditis elegans. The differential expression of the netrin-1 gene was examined by slot blot analysis in various chick embryonic tissues, especially in the embryonic brain at various developmental stages. The netrin-1 transcript was most strongly expressed in the brain at the early developmental stages of E3 to E7 that corresponds to the time of emergence and full generation of commissural axons in the chick brain. In order to study whether netrin-1 can act as a global cue to guide all circumferentially migrating axons in the CNS, the localization of netrin-1 mRNA expression in the rat embryos was examined by in situ hybridization. Netrin-1 mRNA was detected in the neuroepithelial cells of the ventral midline along the entire rostrocaudal axis of the E18 rat embryo. These results suggest that netrin-1 functions as a global guidance cue for ventrally directed circumferential migrations toward the midline at all axial levels where the floor plate is found.