Articles
Volume 11 (2013) - April 2013
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Editorial
Evolutionary medicine – the quest for a better understanding of health, disease and prevention Martin Brüne, Ze’ev Hochberg BMC Medicine 2013, 11:116 (29 April 2013) In an editorial to launch our article collection on Evolutionary Medicine, Martin Brüne and Ze’ev Hochberg discuss the relevance of evolutionary medicine in clinical research as a means of ultimately gaining deeper understanding about human diseases. |
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Review
Frank Rühli, Maciej Henneberg BMC Medicine 2013, 11:115 (29 April 2013) Frank Rühli and Maciej Henneberg review the microevolutionary changes in humans, and the impact this may have in treatment of diseases, understanding host-pathogen co-evolution, and the effect current clinical decisions may have on future generations. |
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Research article
Effects of breastfeeding on body composition and maturational tempo in the rat Yonatan Crispel, Oren Katz, Dafna Ben-Yosef, Ze'ev Hochberg BMC Medicine 2013, 11:114 (29 April 2013) Weaning from lactation at an early age leads to faster development and leaner, longer bodies in comparison to late-weaned rats, and these effects are transmitted through generations as early-weaned progeny reach sexual maturation at an earlier age. |
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Review
Evo-devo of human adolescence: beyond disease models of early puberty Ze'ev Hochberg, Jay Belsky BMC Medicine 2013, 11:113 (29 April 2013) Ze’ev Hochberg and Jay Belsky review the development of human adolescents from an endocrinological and social perspective, arguing that understanding the environmental impact on development will help inform further research. |
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Research article
Patricia Bruijning-Verhagen, Marie-Josée J Mangen, Mariet Felderhof, Nico G Hartwig, Marlies van Houten, Léon Winkel, Wouter J de Waal, Marc JM Bonten BMC Medicine 2013, 11:112 (26 April 2013) When compared with universal rotavirus (RV) vaccination, targeted vaccination of high-risk children is highly cost-effective in the Netherlands, suggesting that targeted strategies should be used to reduce RV hospitalizations in Europe. |
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Research article
Irene J Higginson, Catherine J Evans, Gunn Grande, Nancy Preston, Myfanwy Morgan, Paul McCrone, Penney Lewis, Peter Fayers, Richard Harding, Matthew Hotopf, Scott A Murray, Hamid Benalia, Marjolein Gysels, Morag Farquhar, Chris Todd, on behalf of MORECare BMC Medicine 2013, 11:111 (24 April 2013) Irene Higginson and colleagues present the MORECare statement, an evidence-based set of recommendations for improved research methods in end of life care, which aims to provide clear standards and guidance in this overlooked area of medicine. |
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Research article
Physical comorbidities in men with mood and anxiety disorders: a population-based study Livia Sanna, Amanda L Stuart, Julie A Pasco, Mark A Kotowicz, Michael Berk, Paolo Girardi, Sharon L Brennan, Lana J Williams BMC Medicine 2013, 11:110 (24 April 2013) Mood and anxiety disorders are associated with a range of physical comorbidities in men, and having these disorders increases the risk of high medical burden, providing further evidence for the link between mental and physical health. |
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Research article
Su-Jin Park, Birgit Sawitzki, Lan Kluwe, Victor F Mautner, Nikola Holtkamp, Andreas Kurtz BMC Medicine 2013, 11:109 (23 April 2013) Serum biomarkers identify neurofibromatosis type 1 patients at risk of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor development, and other markers discriminate between these patients and healthy controls, making them useful as diagnostic tools. |
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Research article
Lin Xu, Guy Freeman, Benjamin J Cowling, C Schooling BMC Medicine 2013, 11:108 (18 April 2013) Evidence from a systematic review and meta-analysis shows that testosterone therapy increases cardiovascular-related events in men, and the risk of this therapy is mainly evident in trials not funded by the pharmaceutical industry. |
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Correspondence
Shevin T Jacob, Matthew Lim, Patrick Banura, Satish Bhagwanjee, Julian Bion, Allen C Cheng, Hillary Cohen, Jeremy Farrar, Sandy Gove, Philip Hopewell, Christopher C Moore, Cathy Roth, T West BMC Medicine 2013, 11:107 (18 April 2013) Shevin Jacob et al. discuss the ‘Integrated Management of Adolescent and Adult Illness District Clinician Manual’ sepsis management guidelines for resource-limited settings, highlighting the importance of ensuring sepsis research is undertaken in such locations. |
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Research article
Yi-Chiung Hsu, Hsuan-Yu Chen, Shinsheng Yuan, Sung-Liang Yu, Chia-Hung Lin, Guani Wu, Pan-Chyr Yang, Ker-Chau Li BMC Medicine 2013, 11:106 (16 April 2013) A unique gene signature correlates with chemotherapy sensitivity in a panel of cell lines and predicts drug response and survival in patients with lung and breast cancer, so could be used in the clinic in a personalized approach to cancer treatment. |
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Research article
Jenny T van der Steen, Bregje D Onwuteaka-Philipsen, Dirk L Knol, Miel W Ribbe, Luc Deliens BMC Medicine 2013, 11:105 (11 April 2013) Caregivers’ awareness of dementia as a terminal disease is associated with better patient comfort, suggesting that educating the families of dementia sufferers is important to ensure appropriate planning is undertaken to improve the care of these patients. |
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Minireview
Advances in bladder cancer imaging Shaista Hafeez, Robert Huddart BMC Medicine 2013, 11:104 (10 April 2013) Shaista Hafeez and Robert Huddart discuss recent advances in bladder cancer imaging and review progress in functional imaging techniques which, upon further development and validation, may lead to tumor mapping and personalized patient therapies. |
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Research article
Cecily Morrison, Matthew Jones, Rachel Jones, Alain Vuylsteke BMC Medicine 2013, 11:103 (10 April 2013) Clinical information systems (CIS) are used in current healthcare policies to improve clinical processes; new evidence shows that redistribution of extra work, sufficient time, financial support and motivation are needed to deliver CIS efficiently in ICU. |
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Research article
Use of illicit and prescription drugs for cognitive or mood enhancement among surgeons Andreas G Franke, Christiana Bagusat, Pavel Dietz, Isabell Hoffmann, Perikles Simon, Rolf Ulrich, Klaus Lieb BMC Medicine 2013, 11:102 (9 April 2013) Surgeons show higher use of cognitive or mood enhancing drugs when surveyed with a higher level of anonymity and confidentiality; this drug use is associated with workload and stress suggesting the need for medical education on coping strategies. |
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Editorial
Novel pebbles in the mosaic of autoimmunity Carlo Perricone, Nancy Agmon-Levin, Yehuda Shoenfeld BMC Medicine 2013, 11:101 (4 April 2013) Yehuda Shoenfeld and colleagues launch our new article collection, Autoimmunity, with an editorial discussing the evolution of autoimmunity research and emerging concepts in the pathology of autoimmune diseases. |
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Review
Requirements for innate immune pathways in environmentally induced autoimmunity Kenneth Pollard, Dwight H Kono BMC Medicine 2013, 11:100 (4 April 2013) Kenneth Pollard and Dwight Kono review the immune pathways involved in idiopathic and environmentally induced autoimmunity, and highlight that further investigation is needed to understand the mechanistic pathways underlying this elusive condition. |
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Research article
Slow CCL2-dependent translocation of biopersistent particles from muscle to brain Zakir Khan, Christophe Combadière, François-Jérôme Authier, Valérie Itier, François Lux, Christopher Exley, Meriem Mahrouf-Yorgov, Xavier Decrouy, Philippe Moretto, Olivier Tillement, Romain K Gherardi, Josette Cadusseau BMC Medicine 2013, 11:99 (4 April 2013) Vaccine-derived aluminium and alum-particle fluorescent surrogates are well tolerated in mice, but are transported via monocyte lineage cells from muscle to the brain and spleen, where they accumulate, so higher doses of the adjuvant may be unsafe.
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Research article
Diana Carmona-Fernandes, Maria Santos, Helena Canhão, João Fonseca BMC Medicine 2013, 11:98 (4 April 2013) Anti-ribosomal P antibodies (anti-Rib-P) can identify patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with high specificity and positive predictive value, indicating that these antibodies could be used in the clinic to improve accuracy of SLE diagnosis. |
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Research article
Associations between selected immune-mediated diseases and tuberculosis: record-linkage studies Sreeram V Ramagopalan, Raph Goldacre, Andrew Skingsley, Chris Conlon, Michael J Goldacre BMC Medicine 2013, 11:97 (4 April 2013) An analysis of hospital admissions and death certificates across England reveals the risk of tuberculosis (TB) is significantly increased in patients with immune-mediated diseases, highlighting the need for TB screening in these patients. |
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Review
Phosphodiesterase 4-targeted treatments for autoimmune diseases Neal Kumar, Ari M Goldminz, Noori Kim, Alice B Gottlieb BMC Medicine 2013, 11:96 (4 April 2013) Phosphodiesterase (PDE) 4-targeted therapies are a promising option to treat a range of autoimmune diseases; Alice Gottlieb and colleagues review the development of PDE4 inhibitors for chronic conditions and discuss recent clinical trial data. |
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Review
Renal involvement in autoimmune connective tissue diseases Andreas Kronbichler, Gert Mayer BMC Medicine 2013, 11:95 (4 April 2013) Andreas Kronbichler and Gert Mayer discuss renal impairment in autoimmune connective tissue disorders (CTDs) caused by underlying disease or drug reactions, and explain how physicians should take kidney function into account when treating CTDs. |
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Commentary
Zahava Vadasz, Tharwat Haj, Aharon Kessel, Elias Toubi BMC Medicine 2013, 11:94 (4 April 2013) Elias Toubi and colleagues explore why autoimmunity is high in the elderly, and suggest that increased T-regulatory cells, which compensate for lower levels of thymic T-cells, may lead to a pro-inflammatory response, thereby increasing autoimmunity. |
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Review
Novel aspects of Sjögren’s syndrome in 2012 Angela Tincani, Laura Andreoli, Ilaria Cavazzana, Andrea Doria, Marta Favero, Maria-Giulia Fenini, Franco Franceschini, Andrea Lojacono, Giuseppe Nascimbeni, Amerigo Santoro, Francesco Semeraro, Paola Toniati, Yehuda Shoenfeld BMC Medicine 2013, 11:93 (4 April 2013) Angela Tincani and colleagues review the latest developments in Sjogren's Syndrome research and therapies, and highlight a possible link between Vitamin D levels and development of the disease. |
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Research article
Coagulopathy triggered autoimmunity: experimental antiphospholipid syndrome in factor V Leiden mice Aviva Katzav, Nikolaos C Grigoriadis, Tania Ebert, Olga Touloumi, Miri Blank, Chaim G Pick, Yehuda Shoenfeld, Joab Chapman BMC Medicine 2013, 11:92 (4 April 2013) Transgenic mice induced to develop antiphospholipid syndrome exhibit behavioral and cognitive dysfunction in correlation to the mutation allele load, indicating that the elevated circulating antibodies lead to neurodegeneration. |
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Commentary
Discoveries in the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric lupus erythematosus: consequences for therapy Takahisa Gono, Yasushi Kawaguchi, Hisashi Yamanaka BMC Medicine 2013, 11:91 (4 April 2013) Takahisa Gono and colleagues comment on a study in mice in which 16/6 idiotype (Id) antibody impairs memory, and argue antibody cross-reactivity could explain the diverse clinical features in SLE with the autoantibody targets as potential therapies. |
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Research article
Shaye Kivity, Aviva Katzav, Maria Arango, Moran Landau-Rabi, Yaron Zafrir, Nancy Agmon-Levin, Miri Blank, Juan-Manuel Anaya, Edna Mozes, Joab Chapman, Yehuda Shoenfeld BMC Medicine 2013, 11:90 (4 April 2013) Injection of 16/6 idiotype antibodies in brains of mice induces lupus symptoms, including cognitive impairment and brain inflammation, suggesting involvement of human anti-DNA antibody in cognitive decline and neuropsychiatric symptoms in lupus patients. |
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Research article
The thrombophilic network of autoantibodies in celiac disease Aaron Lerner, Nancy Agmon-Levin, Yinon Shapira, Boris Gilburd, Sandra Reuter, Idit Lavi, Yehuda Shoenfeld BMC Medicine 2013, 11:89 (4 April 2013) Autoantibodies against thrombogenic factors are present at higher levels in children with celiac disease compared with healthy controls, suggesting these antibodies could be a therapeutic target for thrombophilia in celiac patients. |
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Review
Biologic therapy for autoimmune diseases: an update Ziv Rosman, Yehuda Shoenfeld, Gisele Zandman-Goddard BMC Medicine 2013, 11:88 (4 April 2013) Gisele Zandman-Goddard and colleagues review the advantages and drawbacks of biologic therapies for autoimmune disease, and discuss the importance of having a range of drugs available to treat patients with severe or resistant disease. |
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Research article
Body mass index and incident coronary heart disease in women: a population-based prospective study Dexter Canoy, Benjamin J Cairns, Angela Balkwill, F Wright, Jane Green, Gillian Reeves, Valerie Beral, the Million Women Study Collaborators BMC Medicine 2013, 11:87 (2 April 2013) Coronary heart disease increases with BMI in over 1 million women and this risk is not confounded by age, smoking, physical activity, alcohol consumption and status, suggesting population changes in BMI will reduce the burden of disease. |
