Overall, our results suggest a competition model in which affective significance signals from the amygdala may constitute a key modulatory factor determining the neural fate of visual stimuli. In addition, it appears that such competitive advantage is only evident when sufficient processing resources are available to process the affective stimulus. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Background/Aims: Blood pressure ( BP) during childhood is
an established predictor of adult BP, which in turn predicts mortality in the event of cardiovascular disease. Reference data for systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) BP are not available for Hungarian children (aged 11-14 years). The aim was to make up for this deficit. Methods: Analyses were performed on 14,504 Hungarian children aged 11-16 years. All measurements were made with a validated, automated device. Criteria described by international Selleck Ro 61-8048 guidelines were used. Results:
The 50th, 90th and 95th percentile BP values were defined by dividing the participating population into age-, Mdivi1 gender- and height-specific subgroups. The SBP increased linearly with age to an apparent plateau at around the age of 15-16 years in both girls and boys, and there were similar increases in DBP and mean arterial pressure. Both the SBP and DBP revealed highly significant correlations in both genders with weight (SBP: r = 0.452, p < 0.01; DBP: r = 0.340, p < 0.01), height (SBP: r = 0.314, p < 0.01; DBP: r = 0.245, p < 0.01) and body mass index (SBP: r = 0.407, p < 0.01; DBP: r = 0.294, p < 0.01). Conclusion: The present study provides reference data on SBP and DBP, facilitating the diagnosis of essential hypertension in the 11- to 16-year age group. Copyright
(C) 2008 S. Karger AG, Protein kinase N1 Basel.”
“Structural alterations of the basal ganglia occur in patients with Huntington’s disease (HD). The aim of this exploratory study was to assess auditory processing mechanisms by functional MRI (fMRI) in patients with premanifest (pHD) and manifest HD to gain more insight in possible alterations in basal ganglia-thalamic circuits. Sixteen HD and 18 pHD as well as corresponding age- and gender-matched controls were included. The pHD group was divided into two subgroups close (cpHD; <10 years) and farpHD (fcHP; >10 years), according to their estimated age of disease onset (eAO). Tone perception and processing were visualized by 3 T fMRI by employing repeated tone stimulation through digitally generated pulsed (v = 5 Hz) 800-Hz sine tones. We found altered activation in basal ganglia-thalamic circuits in HD and/or pHD compared to controls. (i) The cpHD group presented predominantly down-regulated processes compared to fpHD and HD. (ii) HD presented stronger bilateral activation of the putamen and (iii) fpHD presented stronger bilateral activation of the thalamus and also right caudatum.