OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the association between the synaptosomal-associated protein 25 kDa (SNAP-25) genotype and performance on the continuous performance test (CPT) in Korean children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). METHODS: Eighty-seven children with ADHD (mean age, 9.23±1.99 years) participated in this study. Omission errors, commission errors, reaction time, and reaction time variability on the CPT were analyzed. The single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs3746544 (1065 T>G) of SNAP-25 was genotyped to examine the association with CPT performance. RESULTS: We found significantly more omission errors on the CPT among children with the TT genotype of SNAP-25 (t=2.56, p=0.012) after correcting for multiple testing. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest the possible involvement of the SNAP-25 1065 T>G polymorphism in the inattention phenotype in children with ADHD. Further studies with more refined neuropsychological measures and much larger sample sizes are needed to confirm our findings.
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity* ; Child* ; Genotype ; Humans ; Phenotype ; Reaction Time ; Sample Size ; Synaptosomal-Associated Protein 25

PURPOSE: Many end-of-life care studies are based on the assumption that there is a shared definition of language concerning the stage of cancer. However, studies suggest that patients and their families often misperceive patients' cancer stages and prognoses. Discrimination between advanced cancer and terminal cancer is important because the treatment goals are different. In this study, we evaluated the understanding of the definition of advanced versus terminal cancer of the general population and determined associated socio-demographic factors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 2,000 persons from the general population were systematically recruited. We used a clinical vignette of a hypothetical advanced breast cancer patient, but whose cancer was not considered terminal. After presenting the brief history of the case, we asked respondents to choose the correct cancer stage from a choice of early, advanced, terminal stage, and don't know. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was performed to determine sociodemographic factors associated with the correct response, as defined in terms of medical context. RESULTS: Only 411 respondents (20.6%) chose "advanced," while most respondents (74.5%) chose "terminal stage" as the stage of the hypothetical patient, and a small proportion of respondents chose "early stage" (0.7%) or "don't know" (4.4%). Multinomial logistic regression analysis found no consistent or strong predictor. CONCLUSION: A large proportion of the general population could not differentiate advanced cancer from terminal cancer. Continuous effort is required in order to establish common and shared definitions of the different cancer stages and to increase understanding of cancer staging for the general population.
Breast Neoplasms ; Data Collection ; Delivery of Health Care* ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Neoplasm Staging ; Prognosis

The protective effects of baicalein, one of the flavonoids in Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, were evaluated against 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-induced neuronal damage in mice and cultured human neuroblastoma cells. Nigrostriatal damage was induced by stereotaxically injecting 6-OHDA into the right striatum. Baicalein was administered intraperitoneally 30 min before and 90 min after lesion induction. Animals received a further daily injection of baicalein for 3 consecutive days. Two weeks after 6-OHDA injection, contralateral rotational asymmetry was observed by apomorphine challenge in lesioned mice. Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunohistochemistry revealed a significant loss of terminals in lesioned striatum and the reduction of the numbers of TH-positive cell in the ipsilateral substantia nigra (SN). In addition, the levels of dopamine (DA) and DA metabolites were reduced and lipid peroxidation was increased in lesioned striatum. However, baicalein treatment reduced apomorphine-induced rotational behavior in 6-OHDA-lesioned mice, and increased TH immunoreactivity in the striatum and SN, and DA levels in lesioned striatum. Lipid peroxidation induced by 6-OHDA was also inhibited by baicalein treatment. Furthermore, when SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells were treated with baicalein, 6-OHDA-induced cytotoxicity and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production were significantly reduced. These results indicate that baicalein effectively protects 6-OHDA-induced neuronal damage through antioxidant action.
Animals ; Apomorphine ; Dopamine ; Flavonoids ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Lipid Peroxidation ; Mice ; Neuroblastoma ; Neurons* ; Oxidative Stress* ; Oxidopamine ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; Scutellaria baicalensis ; Substantia Nigra ; Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase

The effects of fetal mesencephalic cell grafts on the restoration of nigrostriatal dopaminergic function were studied in the intrastriatal 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rats. Four weeks after lesioning, transplantation of ventral mesencephalic cells from embryonic day 14 fetuses showed the number of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) positive cells and fiber outgrowth in the grafted striatum, and significantly ameliorated symptomatic motor behavior of the animals, as determined by apomorphine-induced rotation. Furthermore, in substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc), the numbers of TH cells and fibers were markedly restored. Dopamine content of ipsilateral SNc was close to that of contralateral SNc (91.9 9.8%) in the transplanted animals, while the ratio was approximately 32% in sham-grafted animals. These results indicate that grafted cells restored the activity for the dopaminergic neurons located in SNc, although they were transplanted into striatum. In addition, we showed that the implanted fetal cells expressed high level of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), suggesting that the transplanted fetal cells might serve as a dopamine producer and a reservoir of neurotrophic factors. These results may be helpful in consideration of the therapeutic transplantation at early stage of PD.
Animals ; Dopamine ; Dopaminergic Neurons ; Fetus ; Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor ; Nerve Growth Factors ; Oxidopamine ; Parkinson Disease ; Rats* ; Substantia Nigra ; Transplantation ; Transplants* ; Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase

3-Nitropropionic acid (3-NP) inhibits electron transport in mitochondria, leading to a metabolic failure. In order to elucidate the mechanism underlying this toxicity, we examined a few biochemical changes possibly involved in the process, such as metabolic inhibition, generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), DNA strand breakage, and activation of Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). Exposure of SK-N-BE (2) C neuroblastoma cells to 3-NP for 48 h caused actual cell death, while inhibition of mitochondrial function was readily observed when exposed for 24 h to low concentrations (0.2~2 mM) of 3-NP. The earliest biochemical change detected with low concentration of 3-NP was an accumulation of ROS (4 h after 3-NP exposure) followed by degradation of DNA. PARP activation by damaged DNA was also detectable, but at a later time. The accumulation of ROS and DNA strand breakage were suppressed by the addition of glutathione or N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), which also partially restored mitochondrial function and cell viability. In addition, inhibition of PARP also reduced the 3-NP-induced DNA strand breakage and cytotoxicity. These results suggest that oxidative stress and activation of PARP are the major factors in 3-NP-induced cytotoxicity, and that the inhibition of these factors may be useful in protecting neuroblastoma cells from 3-NP-induced toxicity.
Acetylcysteine ; Cell Death ; Cell Survival ; DNA ; DNA Damage ; Electron Transport ; Glutathione ; Humans* ; Mitochondria ; Neuroblastoma* ; Oxidative Stress* ; Reactive Oxygen Species

Abstinence from prolonged psychostimulant use prompts stimulant withdrawal syndrome. Molecular adaptations within the dorsal striatum have been considered the main hallmark of stimulant abstinence. Here we explored striatal miRNA-target interaction and its impact on circulating miRNA marker as well as behavioral dysfunctions in methamphetamine (MA) abstinence. We conducted miRNA sequencing and profiling in the nonhuman primate model of MA abstinence, followed by miRNA qPCR, LC-MS/MS proteomics, immunoassays, and behavior tests in mice. In nonhuman primates, MA abstinence triggered a lasting upregulation of miR-137 in the dorsal striatum but a simultaneous downregulation of circulating miR-137. In mice, aberrant increase in striatal miR-137-dependent inhibition of SYNCRIP essentially mediated the MA abstinence-induced reduction of circulating miR-137. Pathway modeling through experimental deduction illustrated that the MA abstinence-mediated downregulation of circulating miR-137 was caused by reduction of SYNCRIP-dependent miRNA sorting into the exosomes in the dorsal striatum. Furthermore, diminished SYNCRIP in the dorsal striatum was necessary for MA abstinence-induced behavioral bias towards egocentric spatial learning. Taken together, our data revealed circulating miR-137 as a potential blood-based marker that could reflect MA abstinence-dependent changes in striatal miR-137/SYNCRIP axis, and striatal SYNCRIP as a potential therapeutic target for striatum-associated cognitive dysfunction by MA withdrawal syndrome.