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Statistical Trend (statistical + trend)
Selected AbstractsHER-2 overexpression (3+) in patients with squamous cell esophageal carcinoma correlates with poorer survivalDISEASES OF THE ESOPHAGUS, Issue 4 2006M. Dreilich SUMMARY., The incidence of esophageal carcinoma is increasing worldwide. In Sweden, approximately 400 patients are diagnosed each year. The present study retrospectively investigates survival in 97 patients with esophageal carcinoma in regard to their HER-2 status as examined by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and chromogen in situ hybridization (CISH). Sixty-eight patients had localised disease and 29 patients had advanced disease. Seventy patients had squamous cell carcinoma, and nine of these patients (13%) had HER-2 overexpression (3+). Eight (30%) of 27 adenocarcinoma patients overexpressed (3+) HER-2. In patients overexpressing (3+) HER-2 a statistical trend towards poorer survival was observed (P = 0.057). In squamous cell carcinoma patients, HER-2 overexpression (3+) correlated with poorer survival (P = 0.035), whereas in adenocarcinoma patients, HER-2 status (3+) did not. HER-2 amplification according to CISH was present in five (two squamous cell carcinomas and three adenocarcinomas) out of 17 HER-2 overexpressing (3+) tumours. In conclusion, HER-2 overexpression (3+) seems to be associated with poorer survival in esophageal carcinomas, especially in patients with squamous cell esophageal carcinoma. [source] Evolution of striatal degeneration in McLeod syndromeEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY, Issue 4 2010P. O. Valko Background and purpose:, McLeod neuroacanthocytosis syndrome (MLS) is an X-linked multisystem disorder with CNS manifestations resembling Huntington disease. Neuroimaging studies revealed striatal atrophy with predominance of the caudate nucleus. Our previous cross-sectional MRI study showed an association of volume loss in the caudate nucleus and putamen with the disease duration. Methods:, In the present study, we examined three brothers with genetically confirmed diagnosis of MLS using an observer-independent and fully automated subcortical segmentation procedure to measure striatal volumes. Results:, In a cross-sectional comparison with 20 healthy age-matched control men, the volumes of the caudate nucleus of the three patients were significantly smaller as confirmed by z -score transformations. On an individual basis, volumes in the two more severely affected and older patients were smaller than in the less affected younger brother. Longitudinal MRI-based measurements over 7 years demonstrated a statistical trend towards significant decreased caudate volumes in McLeod patients. Conclusions:, Our findings indicate that structural MRI combined with fully automated computational morphometric analyses represents an objective and observer-independent imaging tool for the representation of progressive striatal degeneration in MLS and might be a valuable methodology for cross-sectional as well as longitudinally volumetric studies in other rare neurodegenerative diseases, even on individual patients. [source] Multi-Step Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Analogues of Insulin Secretagogue (2S,3R,4S)-4-HydroxyisoleucineEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY, Issue 1 2009Kaïss Aouadi Abstract A series of stereochemically defined analogues of (2S,3R,4S)-4-hydroxyisoleucine and related ,-hydroxy acids have been prepared by multi-step routes from D -glucose, whereas ketolization between TBDMS-protected hydroxypropanone and ethyl isocyanoacetate led to racemic analogues. Bioassays showed that of eight newly synthesized compounds, two of them presented an interesting statistical trend to increase glucose-induced insulin secretion when tested in isolated rat pancreatic islets in the presence of 8.3 mM glucose and at a concentration of 200 ,M, which has previously been shown to be effective for (2S,3R,4S)-4-hydroxyisoleucine.(© Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2009) [source] A preliminary examination of the intergenerational continuity of maternal psychopathic featuresAGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR, Issue 1 2007Bryan R. Loney Abstract The study provided a preliminary test of the intergenerational continuity of maternal psychopathic features in a non-referred elementary aged sample of children. Consistent with dominant etiological models and recent behavioral genetics research, a direct association was expected between maternal and child affective features of psychopathy (i.e., callous,unemotional or CU traits). Potential mediators representative of alternative transmission mechanisms were assessed including parenting dysfunction, parental hostility/interpersonal insensitivity, and child impulsivity. Behavioral features of psychopathy were also assessed and were predicted to bear weaker and more indirect parent,child associations. A mixed sex sample of 83 children accompanied by a biological mother were administered a multi-informant rating-scale battery including separate parent (i.e., Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale) and child (i.e., Antisocial Process Screening Device) measures of psychopathy. Consistent with prediction, a significant association was documented between maternal and child CU traits (r=.22). Additionally, a slightly weaker association and statistical trend (r=.21) was observed in the relation between maternal and child interpersonal features of the psychopathy construct. Contrary to prediction, all documented associations were fully mediated by parental hostility and parenting dysfunction. Given the preliminary nature of study findings, implications for developmental modeling and future intergenerational continuity research are discussed. Aggr. Behav. 33:14,25, 2007. © 2006 Wiley-Liss; Inc. [source] Mortality association of enhanced CD44v6 expression is not mediated through occult lymphatic spread in stage II colorectal cancerJOURNAL OF GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY, Issue 9 2000Gerard Clarke Abstract Background and Aims: In the absence of other metastatic disease, the presence of lymph node metastasis remains the most important determinant of survival in colorectal cancer (CRC). Cluster designation 44 variant 6 (CD44v6) over-expression is associated with worse outcome in all stages of CRC. The CD44v6 is believed to confer metastatic potential through its facilitation of migration, extravasation and proliferation, although the specific means by which it conveys an adverse prognosis in CRC is unknown. The aim of the present study was to determine if CD44v6 over-expression in Stage II CRC subjects was associated with the presence of lymph node micrometastases. Methods: We assessed tumour CD44v6 expression in 43 randomly sampled subjects who had resections for Stage II CRC between 1984 and 1991 by using immunohistochemistry. Micrometastases were sought in corresponding lymph node (LN) sections using keratin immunohistochemistry. Results: There was a statistical trend between tumour CD44v6 over-expression and mortality (P = 0.09) and a significant relationship between LN cytokeratins and mortality (P = 0.01). There was no association between the detection of LN cytokeratins and tumour CD44v6 over-expression. Conclusion: We conclude that the adverse survival effect of CD44v6 over-expression is not mediated though lymphatic spread and postulate that it may therefore facilitate haematogenous metastasis. [source] Findings Across Subgroups Regarding the Level of Response to Alcohol as a Risk Factor for Alcohol Use Disorders: A College Population of Women and LatinosALCOHOLISM, Issue 10 2004Marc A. Schuckit Background: The rates of alcohol dependence, a genetically influenced disorder, are increased among Latino men in the United States and are lower among women across ethnic groups. These analyses explored whether the differential rate of alcohol use disorders (AUDs) might reflect one genetically influenced phenotype related to alcoholism risk: the low level of response (LR) to alcohol. Methods: A questionnaire was mailed to students at two universities to identify drinking but not alcohol-dependent 18- to 29-year-old men and women who had a parent with alcohol dependence. Subjects were subsequently screened with a validated semistructured interview to corroborate the personal and family histories, and they participated in a challenge with alcohol 0.75 ml/kg for women and 0.90 ml/kg for men. LRs to alcohol were determined and compared between genders and between Latino versus Caucasian/Anglo subjects. Results: The data revealed no consistent significant differences between genders regarding either subjective feelings of intoxication or alcohol-induced changes in body sway. A similar lack of differential between groups was observed when Latino and Caucasian/Anglo subjects were compared. However, there was at least a statistical trend for interactions when gender, ethnicity, and time were considered together; there was some evidence for a higher LR in Latina women. Perhaps reflecting the different weights and doses of alcohol used, men demonstrated higher breath alcohol concentrations, but no differences in these values were noted between Latino and Anglo populations. Conclusions: The results indicate that the LR to alcohol is not likely to explain differences in rates of AUDs between genders or these two ethnic groups overall. The possibility that a higher LR might be seen for the subgroup with the lowest AUD rate,Latina women,will require replication in larger samples of well matched groups before definitive conclusions can be drawn. [source] Stress Hormone Dysregulation at Rest and After Serotonergic Stimulation Among Alcohol-Dependent Men With Extended Abstinence and ControlsALCOHOLISM, Issue 5 2001Robert M. Anthenelli Background: Alcohol dependence has been associated with long-lasting alterations in limbic-hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (LHPA) axis and serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine [5-HT]) function. Other conditions that are associated with alcoholism (cigarette smoking and antisocial personality disorder [ASPD]) have been linked with disturbances in these interrelated systems. We evaluated the stress hormone response to 5-HTergic stimulation in alcohol-dependent men with extended abstinence (average abstinence duration, 4.3 months) and controls to determine the relative contributions of alcoholism, cigarette smoking, and ASPD on baseline and provoked plasma cortisol and adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH) concentrations. Methods: One hundred nine alcohol-abstinent men with alcohol dependence (62%), habitual smoking (70%), and ASPD (43%) received d,l-fenfluramine (100 mg po) in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial. The group of recovering alcohol-dependent individuals included abstinent primary alcohol-dependent men and alcohol-dependent men with ASPD, whereas the group of non-alcohol-dependent men comprised healthy controls and non-alcohol-dependent men with ASPD. Plasma cortisol and ACTH levels were obtained at AM baseline and at half-hour intervals after drug administration. Subjective ratings of drug response and physiological measures were also obtained at baseline and every 30 min. Results: Abstinent alcohol-dependent men had significantly lower (approximately 20%) AM baseline plasma cortisol concentrations than non-alcohol-dependent men on both challenge days; however, no differences between the groups were observed with regard to resting AM plasma ACTH levels. After adjusting for these baseline differences, recovering alcohol-dependent men (area under curve = 35.6 ± 37.4 [,g/dl] × min) had a twofold greater cortisol response to fenfluramine than non-alcohol-dependent men (area under curve = 17.5 ± 32.5 [,g/dl] × min) (F= 5.1;df= 1,105;p < 0.03). The elevated cortisol response, which occurred primarily along the descending limb of the response curve, was paralleled by a nonsignificant statistical trend for alcohol-dependent men to also exhibit a greater ACTH response to fenfluramine at the 210-min (p < 0.07) and 240-min (p < 0.09) time points as compared with non-alcohol-dependent men. Cigarette smoking and ASPD did not affect hormonal responses, nor could the groups' subjective ratings and physiological measures be distinguished. Conclusions: Alcohol-dependent men with extended abstinence differed from age- and race-matched non-alcohol-dependent men in resting AM and fenfluramine-induced plasma cortisol levels. This dysfunction in glucocorticoid homeostatic mechanisms was associated with alcoholism and not with smoking or ASPD. We also observed a nonsignificant statistical trend for plasma ACTH levels to be elevated among alcohol-dependent men along the descending limb of the response curve. Alcohol-dependent men seemed to have inherited or acquired damage to 5-HT-regulated LHPA axis function, the precise mechanisms and sites of which remain to be determined. [source] Plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 gene polymorphisms and mirtazapine responses in Koreans with major depressionASIA-PACIFIC PSYCHIATRY, Issue 3 2009Hun Soo Chang PhD Abstract Introduction: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is involved in the pathophysiology of mental disorders and in the mechanism of action of antidepressant medications. The mature form of BDNF is derived from proBDNF through tissue type plasminogen activator (tPA) and the plasminogen system in the brain, which is regulated by an endogenous inhibitor, plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI). Therefore, PAI may be involved in the development of major depressive disorder (MDD) and its response to antidepressant treatment. The present study determined the relationship between the 4G/5G polymorphism in the PAI1 gene and the clinical outcome of mirtazapine treatment in 271 Korean MDD patients. Methods: We tested the association between the polymorphism and response to mirtazapine treatment or percentage decrease of the 21-item Hamilton Depression Rating (HAMD21) scores using multiple logistic and linear regression analysis. Results: PAI1 4G/5G genotypes and allele distributions were comparable between responders and non-responders during the treatment period. Similarly, linear regression showed no association between genotypes or alleles and the percentage decline in total HAMD21 with mirtazapine treatment. In the analysis of symptomatic subscores, the percentage decline in the psychic anxiety and delusion scores after 4 weeks of mirtazapine treatment showed a statistical trend to a difference among genotypes, although it was not statistically significance. Discussion: In this first pharmacogenetics study of the PAI1 4G/5G polymorphism and mirtazapine treatment response, our results do not support the hypothesis that this polymorphism is involved in the therapeutic response to mirtazapine. [source] Substance use disorders among adolescents with bipolar spectrum disordersBIPOLAR DISORDERS, Issue 4 2008Benjamin I Goldstein Objective:, We set out to examine the prevalence and correlates of substance use disorders (SUD) in a large sample of adolescents with bipolar disorder (BP). Methods:, Subjects were 249 adolescents ages 12 to 17 years old who fulfilled DSM-IV criteria for bipolar I disorder [(BPI), n = 154], or bipolar II disorder [(BPII), n = 25], or operationalized criteria for BP not otherwise specified [(BP NOS), n = 70], via the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Aged Children (K-SADS). As part of the multi-site Course and Outcome of Bipolar Youth study, demographic, clinical, and family history variables were measured via intake clinical interview with the subject and a parent/guardian. Results:, The lifetime prevalence of SUD among adolescents with BP was 16% (40/249). Results from univariate analyses indicated that subjects with, as compared to without, SUD were significantly less likely to be living with both biological parents, and that there was significantly greater lifetime prevalence of physical abuse, sexual abuse, suicide attempts, conduct disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder among subjects with SUD. Subjects with SUD reported significantly greater 12-month prevalence of trouble with police, and females with SUD reported significantly greater 12-month prevalence of pregnancy and abortion. Significant predictors of SUD in a logistic regression model included living with both biological parents (lower prevalence), conduct disorder and suicide attempts (increased prevalence). In logistic regression analyses controlling for demographic differences and conduct disorder, SUD remained significantly associated with trouble with police, whereas the association of SUD with pregnancy and abortion was reduced to a statistical trend. The prevalence of SUD was not significantly different among child- versus adolescent-onset BP subjects. Conclusions:, SUD among adolescents with BP is associated with profound hazards including suicide attempts, trouble with police, and teenage pregnancy and abortion. [source] In vivo IL-10 and TGF-, production by PBMC from long-term kidney transplant recipients with excellent graft function: a possible feedback mechanism participating in immunological stabilityCLINICAL TRANSPLANTATION, Issue 2 2004Josefina Alberú Abstract:, Background:, Interleukin-10 (IL-10) and transforming growth factor-, (TGF-,) are Th2-derived multifunctional cytokines that exhibit potent immunoregulatory and anti-inflammatory properties which might prolong graft survival. The aim of this study was to explore whether spontaneous production of IL-10 and TGF-, by blood mononuclear cells correlates with excellent long-term graft function. Methods:, A cross-sectional study was carried out in 32 kidney transplant recipients, without albuminuria, treated with azathioprine and prednisone. Spontaneous IL-10 and TGF-, were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in supernatants from 24 h cultured unstimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Both cytokines were also determined in 10 healthy kidney donors. Results:, There was no correlation between IL-10 or TGF-, with any variable tested, namely age, SCr, histocompatibility, and post-transplant follow-up. In vivo IL-10 production displayed a statistical trend to be higher in transplant recipients than in controls (362.3 ± 465, range 12.5,1929.3 pg/ml, and 189 ± 170, range 4.17,485.7 pg/ml, respectively; p = 0.08), whereas no difference was observed in TGF-, among the same groups (134.7 ± 79.2, range 68,421 pg/ml, and 121.4 ± 25.8, range 75,151 pg/ml, respectively). Interestingly, a statistically significant inverse correlation was observed between IL-10 and TGF-, in kidney transplant recipients (p = 0.03). Conclusions:, The higher IL-10 production observed in long-term kidney transplant recipients supports the notion that this cytokine contributes in decreasing allogenic immune responses and allows prolongation of allograft survival. The balance between TGF-, and IL-10 may be of paramount importance in graft acceptance. [source] Short-term effects of coping skills training in school-age children with type 1 diabetesPEDIATRIC DIABETES, Issue 3pt2 2008Jodie M Ambrosino Objective:, Little is known about the use of psychosocial interventions in children younger than adolescence with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and their parents. We report preliminary short-term outcomes of a randomized controlled trial of coping skills training (CST) compared with group education (GE) in school-aged children with T1D and their parents. Methods:, One hundred and eleven children (range = 8,12 yr) with T1D for at least 6 months (3.71 ± 2.91 yr) were randomized to CST (55.6% female (F); 81.5% white (W)) or GE (69.7% F; 90.9% W). Children and parents (n = 87) who completed the intervention, baseline, 1- and 3-month data are included. Children completed measures of self-efficacy, coping, and quality of life; parents completed measures of family functioning (adaptability and cohesion), diabetes-related conflict, parent depression, and parent coping. Metabolic control was assessed with glycosylated hemoglobin A1c. Mixed-model repeated measures anova was used to analyze the data. Results:, CST and GE group composition was generally comparable. Children had good psychosocial adaptation and metabolic status. CST parents reported significantly more improvement in family adaptability compared with GE parents, and a trend was seen indicating that CST children showed greater improvement in life satisfaction than GE children. Effect sizes for this short-term follow-up period were small, but group participants were receptive to the intervention and reported positive gains. Conclusions:, In these preliminary results, CST and GE were more similar than different across multiple measure of psychosocial adaptation, although CST showed promising statistical trends for more adaptive family functioning and greater life satisfaction. Longer term follow-up is underway. [source] MACROECONOMETRIC MODELLING WITH A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE,THE MANCHESTER SCHOOL, Issue 2006M. HASHEM PESARAN This paper provides a synthesis and further development of a global modelling approach introduced in Pesaran et al. (Journal of Business and Economic Statistics, Vol. 22 (2004), pp. 129,162), where country-specific models in the form of VARX* structures are estimated relating a vector of domestic variables, xit, to their foreign counterparts, , and then consistently combined to form a global vector autoregression. It is shown that the VARX* models can be derived as the solution to a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model where overidentifying long-run theoretical relations can be tested and imposed if acceptable. This gives the system a transparent long-run theoretical structure. Similarly, short-run overidentifying theoretical restrictions can be tested and imposed if accepted. Alternatively, if one has less confidence in the short-run theory the dynamics can be left unrestricted. The assumption of the weak exogeneity of the foreign variables for the long-run parameters can be tested, where variables can be interpreted as proxies for regional and global factors. Rather than using deviations from ad hoc statistical trends, the equilibrium values of the variables reflecting the long-run theory embodied in the model can be calculated. The paper also provides some new results on the relative importance of external shocks for the UK and the Euro area economies. [source] | ||||||||||