Monika Wiłkość

Association analysis of brain-derived neurotrophic factor gene polymorphisms in asthmatic children.

Brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been described to modulate airway hyper‐responsiveness and inflammation and was involved in late allergic reaction in asthma and higher levels of circulating BDNF were present in allergic asthmatics. In BDNF gene, Val66Met and C‐270T polymorphisms were described. There were, however, very few studies analyzing BDNF gene polymorphisms in asthma. The aim of this study was to analyze the possible relationship between these two polymorphisms in the BDNF gene and asthma. Fifty‐six pediatric asthmatic patients were analyzed, aged from 6 to 18. The diagnosis of atopic asthma was based on clinical manifestation, lung function test and increased immunoglobulin E level, and/or positive skin prick tests. The control group consisted of 109 healthy subjects. The polymorphisms were genotyped with the use of polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism method. We did not observe an association of Val/Met polymorphism and the presence of asthma. However, we observed that Val allele is much more frequent in the male group of asthmatic patients (p = 0.06). For −270C/T polymorphism, we found significant differences between asthmatic patients and the control group (p = 0.041 for genotypes and p = 0.005 for alleles). The results may suggest a relationship between the BDNF gene and asthma and male gender of asthmatic children.

Association analysis of tyrosine kinase FYN gene polymorphisms in asthmatic children.

Background: FYN is nonreceptor tyrosine kinase that represents the earliest detectable signaling response after antigen-activated inflammatory cells. Studies in animal models of allergic asthma have shown that inhibitors of tyrosine kinases exert an anti-inflammatory effect. In the FYN gene, several polymorphisms have been described. There have, however, been no studies analyzing the impact of FYN gene polymorphisms on the course and severity of asthma. The aim of this study was to analyze the possible relationship between three polymorphisms (–93A/G, Intron10+37C/T and Ex12+894T/G) in the FYN gene and asthma. Methods: We analyzed 120 pediatric asthmatic patients aged from 6 to 18 years. The diagnosis of allergic asthma was based on clinical manifestation, lung function test and positive skin prick tests and/or an increased IgE level. The control group consisted of 187 healthy subjects. The polymorphisms were genotyped with use of the PCR-RFLP method. Results: We observed an association of the –93A/G polymorphism and the presence of asthma (p = 0.014 for genotypes and p = 0.019 for alleles) and in the subgroup of 55 patients with severe asthma (p = 0.042 for genotypes and p = 0.021 for alleles). We also found an association of the Ex12+894T/G polymorphism in the whole group analyzed (p = 0.067 for genotypes and p = 0.024 for alleles), but not in the subgroup with severe asthma. For the Intron10+37T/C polymorphism, we did not find a significant difference between the whole group of asthmatic patients and the control group nor between the subgroup with severe asthma and the control group. In the linkage disequilibrium analysis, we observed a modest linkage between –93A/G and Intron10+37T/C polymorphisms (lod = 18.7, D’ = 0.62, 95% CI: 0.51–0.71, r2 = 0.29); however, it was not strong enough to generate any haplotypes. Conclusions: The results may suggest a relationship between the FYN polymorphisms and allergic asthma.

A systemic literature review of neuroimaging studies in women with breast cancer treated with adjuvant chemotherapy

Chemotherapy-induced cognitive deficits in patients with breast cancer, predominantly in attention and verbal memory, have been observed in numerous studies. These neuropsychological findings are corroborated by the results of neuroimaging studies. The aim of this paper was to survey the reports on cerebral structural and functional alterations in women with breast cancer treated with chemotherapy (CTx). First, we discuss the host-related and disease-related mechanisms underlying cognitive impairment after CTx. We point out the direct and indirect neurotoxic effect of cytostatics, which may cause: a damage to neurons or glial cells, changes in neurotransmitter levels, deregulation of the immune system and/or cytokine release. Second, we focus on the results of neuroimaging studies on brain structure and function that revealed decreased: density of grey matter, integrity of white matter and volume of multiple brain regions, as well as their lower activation during cognitive task performance. Finally, we concentrate on compensatory mechanisms, which activate additional brain areas or neural connection to reach the premorbid cognitive efficiency.

MEASURING THE CHRONOTYPE IN POLISH POPULATION

Chronotype is an attribute connected with an individual, preferred pattern of circadian activity on the continuum of morningness-eveningness. It mirrors the inter-individual differences in the course of circadian rhythms [1, 2]. The studies indicate its connections with sleep-wake cycle, i.e.: time of sleep onset, wake up time and duration of sleep [3, 4]. Two methods of describing human chronotypes are considered in this paper: a subjective – questionnaire method and an objective method – actigraphy that measures the gross motor activity. The aim of the study was to assess the relation between results of Polish adaptation of Horne and Ostberg Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire [5] and circadian activity measured with actigraphs in order to compare and evaluate the usefulness of both methods in chronotype related studies. Also, the purpose was to assess the relation between chronotype and socio-demographic factors such as sex, age and education in Polish population. The research group included 150 healthy volunteers of genders, 75 women and 75 men. The age of the respondents fell between 19 and 60 years old (34.25±12.13 EX±SD). The obtained results confirmed the usefulness of actigraphy in chronotype related studies. Also they confirmed modulation of chronotype with age and revealed differences in circadian activity between men and women.

Verbal memory in breast cancer patients treated with chemotherapy with doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide

Memory is one of the crucial human cognitive functions, and deficits in memory processes may lead to difficulties in everyday functioning. The aim of this study was to analyse the effect of anthracycline-based adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) used in breast cancer treatment on verbal memory and learning. We also evaluated the relationship between verbal memory and psychological, somatic and socio-demographic factors. The study was carried out on a group of 31 women with early breast cancer treated with adjuvant chemotherapy and 30 healthy controls. The patients underwent neuropsychological assessment using the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test at three time points: before chemotherapy, mid-chemotherapy and post-chemotherapy. The examination in the controls was conducted at the same time intervals. We found an association between AC-schema chemotherapy and deficits in delayed memory. A deterioration in performance after treatment was observed in 19% of patients. The results showed no deterioration of immediate memory or the verbal learning process. Moreover, a positive relationship was shown between the level of education, physical fitness and the functioning of verbal memory. The results of the study also indicate that age and hormonal status are factors that may increase the possibility of deficits in verbal memory after AC-schema chemotherapy.

Verbal fluency in research conducted with PET technique under conditions of extended cognitive activation with the use of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) tracer

OBJECTIVES Functional neuroimaging of the brain is a widely used method to study cognitive functions. The aim of this study was to compare the activity of the brain during performance of the tasks of phonemic and semantic fluency with the paced-overt technique in terms of prolonged activation of the brain. METHODS The study included 17 patients aged 20-40 years who were treated in the past for Hodgkinslymphoma, now in remission. Due to the type of task, the subjectswere divided into two groups. Nine people performed the phonemic fluency task, and eight semantic. Due to the disease, all subjects were subject to neuropsychological diagnosis. The diagnosis of any cognitive impairment was an exclusion criterion. Neuroimaging was performed using PET technique with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) tracer. RESULTS Performance of a verbal fluency test, regardless of the version of the task, was associated with greater activity of the left hemisphere of the brain. The most involved areas compared with other areas of key importance for the performance of verbal fluency tasks were frontal lobes. An increased activity of parietal structures was also shown. CONCLUSIONS The study did not reveal differences in brain activity depending on the type of task. Performing the test in both phonemic and semantic form for a long time, in terms of increased cognitive control resulting from the test procedure, could result in significant advantage of prefrontal lobe activityin both types of tasks and made it impossible to observe the processes specific to each of them.

A serious game – a new training addressing particularly prospective memory in the elderly

Abstract A training in the form of a computer game that aims at improving five cognitive functions in the elderly has been developed: visuospatial memory, attention, memory for prose, working memory and prospective memory. It was devised as a collaboration among the Department of Cognitive Psychology in Warsaw, Department of Individual Differences Psychology in Bydgoszcz, Faculty of Physics, Astronomy and Applied Computer Science – Game Academy in Cracow, and Department of Human Psychology and Department of Psychiatry of Ludwik Rydygier Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz. This software is an example of the so-called serious games. To the best of our knowledge it is the first one to focus particularly on prospective memory. This is the first report concerning the present training, which is currently being elaborated. The next step in its development will be testing its validity.