Evidence is growing for the long-term effects of environmental factors during early-life on later disease susceptibility. It is believed that epigenetic mechanisms (changes in gene function not mediated by DNA sequence alteration), particularly DNA methylation, play a role in these processes. This paper reviews the current state of knowledge of the involvement of C1 metabolism and methyl donors...

Across western Europe and eastern North America, rates of acid deposition are falling in response to reductions in atmospheric S emissions (1, 2), and the water-quality of acidified surface waters is beginning to improve (1, 3). To aid in the management of S emissions, biogeochemical models designed to predict socalled “critical acid loads” (4), are now being used to predict the degree of water...

159 W ith new antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) released at a rate of nearly 1 per year for the past decade, clinicians have been blessed with—and occasionally confused by—a growing list of medical treatment options for the child with epilepsy. The AEDs added since 1993 include: felbamate, gabapentin, lamotrigine, topiramate, tiagabine, oxcarbazepine, levetiracetam, and zonisamide. These new drugs hav...

Alcohol addiction is a social problem and a relatively common disease of western countries like Europe and the USA. From 20 to 40 % of subjects admitted to hospitals have alcohol-related problems1 and in elderly people alcohol-related disorders represent as frequent a reason for hospitalization as myocardial infarction2. Among the diseases related to alcoholism, nutritional disorders remain one...

The intermediate and advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are frequently associated with weight loss (WL), but WL may even precede the onset of cognitive symptoms. This review focuses on the possible aetiologic and temporal relationships between AD and WL. When WL occurs some years before any signs of cognitive impairment, it may be a risk factor for dementia due to deficiency of several...

Granulin (GRN) mutations have been identified in familial frontotemporal lobar degeneration patients with ubiquitin pathology. GRN transcript haploinsufficiency is proposed as a disease mechanism that leads to the loss of functional progranulin (PGRN) protein. Thus, these mutations are strongly involved in frontotemporal lobar degeneration pathogenesis. Moreover, recent findings indicate that G...

Across western Europe and eastern North America, rates of acid deposition are falling in response to reductions in atmospheric S emissions (1, 2), and the water-quality of acidified surface waters is beginning to improve (1, 3). To aid in the management of S emissions, biogeochemical models designed to predict socalled “critical acid loads” (4), are now being used to predict the degree of water...