Previous studies have indicated phenotypical differences in glutamic acid decarboxylase 65 autoantibodies (GADA) found in type 1 diabetes (T1D) patients, individuals at risk of developing T1D and stiff-person syndrome (SPS) patients. In a Phase II trial using aluminium-formulated GAD(65) (GAD-alum) as an immunomodulator in T1D, several patients responded with high GADA titres after treatment, ...

OBJECTIVE To detect the apoptosis-related Bax and Bcl-2 gene expression and apoptotic cell death in the amygdala region in the single-prolonged stress (SPS) rats. METHODS A total of 100 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into a normal control group and SPS groups of 1d, 4d, 7d, and 14d. The expression of Bax and Bcl-2 was detected using immunohistochemistry and Western Blotting; TUNEL-sta...

Serine proteases (SPs) and serine protease homologs (SPHs) constitute the second largest family of genes in the Drosophila melanogaster genome. Eighty-four SPs comprise less than 300 amino acid residues, and a significant portion of them are probably digestive enzymes. Some larger SPs may contain one or more regions important for protein-protein interactions, including clip domains, low-density...

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a stress-related mental disorder caused by traumatic experience. Single-prolonged stress (SPS) is one of the animal models proposed for PTSD. Rats exposed to SPS showed enhanced inhibition of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which has been reliably reproduced in patients with PTSD. Mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) and glucocorticoid receptor ...

OBJECTIVE To determine the nature of inaccuracies likely to occur when standardized patients (SPs) are used to measure physician behaviour and to evaluate the potential impact of these inaccuracies on estimates of physician performance. DESIGN Secondary analysis from a randomized controlled trial. SETTING Family physicians' offices. STUDY PARTICIPANTS Eighteen individuals, each portraying...

Soy sauce (Shoyu) is a traditional Japanese fermented seasoning and is available worldwide. We investigated the effects of Shoyu polysaccharides (SPS) prepared from soy sauce on hyperlipidemia in vitro and in vivo. First, SPS inhibited pancreatic lipase. Second, in experiments with animals, it was found that SPS reduced serum triacylglycerol (TG) elevation induced by high-fat diets. Third, in a...

Our goal was to train simulated patients (SPs) to respond appropriately to questions about family history from medical students in simulated medical interviews. To this end, we carried out a survey of 91 SPs and 76 4th-year medical students to investigate their notions of what constitutes a family. All of the SPs and students surveyed deemed parents and children living together to be members of...

Background Glycine receptor alpha-1 subunit (GlyRα1)-immunoglobulin G (IgG) is diagnostic of stiff-person syndrome (SPS) spectrum but has been reported detectable in other neurologic diseases for which significance is less certain. Methods To assess GlyRα1-IgGs as biomarkers of SPS spectrum among patients and controls, specimens were tested using cell-based assays (binding [4°C] and modulatin...