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At least 1,063 records · Page 59Linked to original sources
PubMed2003

Amphibian and mammal somatic-cell cloning: different species, common results?

Since the production of Dolly the sheep cloning methods for somatic cells have been thoroughly described and are becoming routine. However, the rate at which live clones are produced remains low in all mammalian species tested so far. Remarkably, irrespective of the cloning protocol or the donor-cell type, all clones display common abnormalities, particularly in the placenta. The process is also complicated by early mortality of somatic-cell clones and the founder mammalian clone, Dolly the sheep, died in February 2003 aged six years. Based on published data and on our own experience, our view is that mammalian somatic-cell cloning and the pioneer nuclear-transfer data from amphibians have much in common. We suggest that the only way to improve nuclear reprogramming is to modify the chromatin structure of somatic cells before nuclear transfer, to provide the oocyte with a chromosomal structure that is more compatible with the natural reprogramming machinery of the oocyte.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Integration and expression of Bluetongue VP2 gene in somatic embryos of peanut through particle bombardment method.

After pre-culture and treatment of osmosis, zygotic embryos of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) were transformed via particle bombardment with a plasmid containing a Bluetongue VP2 gene (BTVP2) comprising neutralizing epitopes. Selection for Kanamycin resistant calluses and somatic embryos was initiated at 12th day post-bombardment on medium containing 25 mg/L Kanamycin. Under continuous selection, 12.38% Kanamycin resistant plantlets were regenerated from bombarded somatic embryos. The presence and integration of BTVP2 DNA in regenerated Kanamycin resistant plants were confirmed by southern hybridization assay using non-radioactive Digoxiginin BTVP2 probe. Beta-glucuronidase (GUS) enzyme activity was detected in transgenic somatic embryos but not from control, non-transformed embryos. The expression of the BTVP2 protein was confirmed through RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) using the RNA isolated from the transgenic callus employing BTVP2-specific primers. The production of transgenic peanut was mainly focused on evaluating a newly improved somatic embryogenesis regeneration system as well as the gene transfer method and to produce the Bluetongue outer coat protein that comprises the neutralizing epitopes.

Arachis↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The attribution of somatic symptoms in psychiatric outpatients.

The attribution of common somatic symptoms was investigated in 100 psychiatric outpatients. Subjects who were more depressed and alexithymic as measured by the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) tended to endorse a psychological attribution for somatic complaints. Somatosensory amplification, anxiety, and inability to express and report specific feelings predicted psychological attribution. The data support the role of alexithymia in somatization and further explain a possible role of psychological attribution of somatic symptoms in the underrecognition of physical disorders in psychiatric patients.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Nonpsychotic thought disorder: objective clinical identification of somatization and antisocial personality in language patterns.

This report describes a new method of using language patterns to identify somatization and antisocial personality (ASPD) disorders in clinical practice. A set of definitions describing characteristic speech patterns was developed to identify "nonpsychotic thought disorder" (NPTD). Speech patterns of subjects with somatization disorder and/or ASPD were compared with those of controls. Blind raters assessed audiotaped samples of speech obtained through open-ended interviews for instances of elements of NPTD. Women with somatization or ASPD had significantly more NPTD speech responses than controls, and women with both disorders showed the greatest amount. Antisocial men did not demonstrate more NPTD than controls, nor was somatization in men associated with NPTD. Clinical attention to speech patterns in patients may help alert clinicians to these disorders in women and serve as indicators for screening for these disorders. More study is needed to develop psychometric properties of the instruments on larger samples, and to identify speech indicators of personality disorder in men. It is likely that other personality disorders, e.g., borderline personality disorder, can be identified through speech patterns, and they deserve study with these methods.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Evidence for the negative cooperativity of the two active sites within bovine somatic angiotensin-converting enzyme.

The somatic isoform of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) consists of two homologous domains (N- and C-domains), each bearing a catalytic site. We have used the two-domain ACE form and its individual domains to compare characteristics of different domains and to probe mutual functioning of the two active sites within a bovine ACE molecule. The substrate Cbz-Phe-His-Leu (N-carbobenzoxy-L-phenylalanyl-L-histidyl-L-leucine; from the panel of seven) was hydrolyzed faster by the N-domain, the substrates FA-Phe-Gly-Gly (N-(3-[2-furyl]acryloyl)-L-phenylalanyl-glycyl-glycine) and Hip-His-Leu (N-benzoyl-glycyl-L-histidyl-L-leucine) were hydrolyzed by both domains with equal rates, while other substrates were preferentially hydrolyzed by the C-domain. The inhibitor captopril ((2S)-1-(3-mercapto-2-methylpropionyl)-L-proline) bound to the N-domain more effectively than to the C-domain, whereas lisinopril ((S)-N(alpha)-(1-carboxy-3-phenylpropyl)-L-lysyl-L-proline) bound to equal extent with all ACE forms. However, active site titration with lisinopril assayed by hydrolysis of FA-Phe-Gly-Gly revealed that 1 mol of inhibitor/mol of enzyme abolished the activity of either two-domain or single-domain ACE forms, indicating that a single active site functions in bovine somatic ACE. Neither of the k(cat) values obtained for somatic enzyme was the sum of k(cat) values for individual domains, but in every case the value of the catalytic constant of the hydrolysis of the substrate by the two-domain ACE represented the mean quantity of the values of the corresponding catalytic constants obtained for single-domain forms. The results indicate that the two active sites within bovine somatic ACE exhibit strong negative cooperativity.

Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors↗
PubMed2001

Absence of deleted in azoospermia (DAZ) genes in spermatozoa of infertile men with somatic DAZ deletions.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the presence or absence of the deleted in azoospermia (DAZ) gene clusters in the Y-bearing spermatozoa in semen of severely oligozoospermic men or in testicular biopsy samples of azoospermic men with somatic DAZ deletions. DESIGN: Prospective study. SETTING: Academic hospital. PATIENT(S): Nineteen patients attending our clinics for therapeutic intracytoplasmic injection of sperm. INTERVENTION(S): Peripheral blood lymphocytes were used to obtain somatic DNA for analysis using the polymerase chain reaction. Analysis of chromosomes X and Y and the detection of the DAZ gene clusters were carried out with the fluorescence in situ hybridization technique in spermatozoa remaining after intracytoplasmic sperm injection. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Presence or absence of the DAZ gene clusters in matched somatic DNA and Y-bearing spermatozoa. RESULT(S): Seven patients appeared to have a somatic DAZ deletion. Three-color fluorescence in situ hybridization showed that all Y-bearing spermatozoa examined from these men carried the same deletion. CONCLUSION(S): The DAZ deletions present in the seven men would all have been transmitted if they had fathered sons through artificial fertilization techniques using the sperm cells examined in this study.

DNA↗
PubMed2000

Somatic growth and otolith growth in juveniles of a small subtropical flatfish, the fringed flounder, Etropus crossotus.

A growth experiment was conducted with juvenile fringed flounder (Etropus crossotus) from North Inlet (South Carolina, USA) to provide information on the growth of a small, shortlived flatfish with a subtropical and tropical distribution. The fringed flounder has a maximum life span of 1.5 y and its long spawning period from March through October complicates the determination of growth rates based on length frequency data. Otoliths of juveniles with a standard length (SL) 23.1-53.0 mm were marked with Alizarin complexone and the fish were held in the laboratory for 66 days at 14, 20, 24 and 29 degrees C while being fed ad libitum. The mean somatic growth increased with temperature from 0.1 mm SL day(-1) at 14 degrees C to 0.4 mm SL day(-1) at both 24 and 29 degrees C. The maximum observed somatic growth rate was 0.7 mm SL day(1) at 29 degrees C. The number of micro-increments formed in otoliths was not significantly different from the expected value, validating formation of one increment per day. The significant relationship between increment width and somatic growth rate can be used to estimate somatic growth rates of individual wild fish based on daily increment information in their otoliths.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1988

Functional somatic complaints in adolescents: relationship to negative life events, self-concept, and family characteristics.

While recurrent somatic complaints are commonly encountered in children and adolescents, occult organic disease is rarely found in patients with these complaints. Recent studies have confirmed the clinical impression that a relationship exists between functional somatic complaints and negative life events in adolescents. Our goal was to investigate additional psychosocial characteristics that may be associated with functional complaints. One hundred fifteen adolescents coming for the first time to an adolescent medicine clinic completed standard measures of negative life events, psychophysiologic symptoms, self-esteem, peer social comparison, and family functioning before an independent evaluation by a physician. Patients with functional somatic complaints (chest pain, recurrent abdominal pain, limb pain, and hyperventilation syndrome) reported significantly more negative life events, lower self-esteem, more psychophysiologic symptoms and a lower self-evaluation than did patients coming for physical examination or routine health maintenance. Functional somatic complaints in adolescents may be associated with poor psychosocial adjustment and reaction to negative life events. In addition to ruling out organic disease, physicians dealing with these patients should evaluate other areas, including stressful life events, peer relations, and self-esteem.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Conversion and somatization disorders; dissociative symptoms and other characteristics.

OBJECTIVE: There is a difference in classification of conversion disorder in ICD-10 and DSM-IV. Conversion disorder is included in dissociative disorders in ICD-10. In view of this, we aimed to clarify this discrepancy in the classification of this diagnosis. METHODS: We assessed 87 patients with conversion disorder and 71 patients with somatization disorder for sociodemographic characteristics, suicide ideation, psychiatric symptoms and dissociative symptoms using the Patient Information Form, the Dissociative Experience Scale (DES), the Symptom Check List (SCL-90-R) and the Suicide Ideation Scale. RESULTS: The number of the high school graduates, singles and students with conversion disorders was higher than the number of patients with the same characteristics who have somatization disorder. In conversion disorder, the SCL-90-R total score and the score in paranoid ideation, psychoticism subgroups were higher than the scores in somatization disorders. There were no statistical differences in suicide ideation and the total score of dissociative symptoms between the two disorders. The number of patients whose total DES score of 30 and above was higher in conversion disorders. DISCUSSION: As a result of this present study, we concluded that to enlighten the concepts of conversion, further somatization and dissociation studies are necessary.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Do general practitioners believe that their older patients physical symptoms are somatized?

OBJECTIVE: To establish general practitioner (GP) ratings of the origins of their older patients' physical symptoms, and to test the hypothesis that those older patients rated as somatizing would have similar clinical characteristics to those found in studies of younger attenders. METHODS: A prospective study among older primary care attenders in two UK practices. All were rated for psychiatric disorder, physical illness, frequency of attendance and demographics. GPs rated degree of somatization on a 5-point scale. RESULTS: Almost three quarters of attenders were considered to have some psychological component to physical presentations, with 13.3% rated as primarily or entirely psychological. Frequent attendance, female gender and antidepressant prescription were associated with high somatization ratings, but depressive disorder was not. CONCLUSION: GPs consider somatization to be an important cause of physical presentations among older patients, especially among female frequent attenders.

Age Distribution↗
PubMed2004

What can we learn from a cross-national study of somatic distress?

OBJECTIVE: To examine the extent of cross-national variations in the rates and correlates of somatic distress and determine whether this can be ascribed to cultural differences. METHODS: A two-stage survey in primary care across 15 sites in 14 countries. Screening with the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) was followed with detailed diagnostic assessment with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Self-rating of overall health and evaluation of disability days were also conducted (N = 5438). Twelve months later, 3204 of the patients completed follow-up interviews. RESULTS: Somatic distress (different definitions of somatization and of hypochondriasis as well as persistent pain disorder) varied in its occurrence across sites. However, other than elevated rates in Latin America, variation tends to be complex and does not lend itself to a neat cultural explanation. The nature of patient-doctor relationship is related to this variation. CONCLUSION: Cross-national differences occur in somatic distress. The pattern of these differences does not follow clear cultural lines even though the role of culture cannot be excluded.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Inducing somatic meiosis-like reduction at high frequency by caffeine in root-tip cells of Vicia faba.

Germinated seeds of Vicia faba were treated in caffeine solutions of different concentration for different durations to establish the inducing system of somatic meiosis-like reduction. The highest frequency of somatic meiosis-like reduction could reach up to 54.0% by treating the root tips in 70 mmol/l caffeine solution for 2 h and restoring for 24 h. Two types of somatic meiosis-like reduction were observed. One was reductional grouping, in which the chromosomes in a cell usually separated into two groups, and the role of spindle fibers did not show. The other type was somatic meiosis, which was analogous to meiosis presenting in gametogenesis, and chromosome pairing and chiasmata were visualized.

Caffeine↗
PubMed1998

Atypical background somatic mutant frequencies at the HPRT locus in children and adults with Down syndrome.

People with Down syndrome are 10-30 fold more likely to develop leukemia than the normal population. To date, little is known regarding the molecular mechanisms underlying this phenomenon. We have previously demonstrated that the spontaneous somatic mutant frequency (Mf) at a reporter gene, hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase (HPRT), from a normal population showed a strict age dependency with an exponential increase in Mf from birth to late adolescents with a subsequent linear 2-5% increase per year in adults. In this study, we compared HPRT Mf in children and adults with Down syndrome using the HPRT T-cell cloning assay. We determined the Mf at the HPRT locus in 27 subjects with Down syndrome from ages 6 months to 53.4 years. Results demonstrated that background somatic Mf at the HPRT locus in children and adults with Down syndrome are not dependent on age as seen in a normal control population. Results also show that adults with Down syndrome have a significantly lower Mf than normal adults, and that children with Down syndrome have a significantly higher Mf than normal children, although the latter appears to be due to a decreased cloning efficiency (CE). These observations demonstrate that the frequency of spontaneous somatic mutations in children and adults with Down syndrome are atypical compared to normal controls, and suggest that the genetic mechanisms associated with background somatic mutational events in children and adults with Down syndrome may be different.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Pre- and postsynaptic properties of somatic and dendritic inhibition in dentate gyrus.

We compared somatic and dendritic inhibition in paired recordings from two classes of anatomically identified interneurons and granule cells of the dentate gyrus. Inhibitory postsynaptic current (IPSC) amplitude and decay were remarkably similar at somatic and dendritic synapses. Slower IPSC rise times and longer latencies at dendritic synapses were consistent with their distal location, without requiring differences in postsynaptic gamma-aminobutyric acid type A (GABA(A)) receptor properties. In contrast, higher transmission failure rate and greater paired-pulse depression at dendritic synapses suggest that somatic and dendritic inhibition differ in presynaptic properties. Cholinergic input has been suggested to modulate hippocampal rhythmicity as well as episodic memory function. We therefore tested the effects of acetylcholine (ACh) on paired IPSCs and on spontaneous synaptic activity in interneurons and granule cells. We found no effect of ACh on paired IPSCs; however, spontaneous IPSCs recorded in granule cells were enhanced in amplitude and frequency. ACh potentiated spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic potentials (sEPSPs) and induced spiking in both types of interneuron, and preferentially increased sEPSP frequency in dendritic interneurons. Our findings suggest that patterns of activity in the two classes of interneurons, coupled with differences in their presynaptic properties, are likely to determine the roles of somatic and dendritic inhibition in network function.

Acetylcholine↗
PubMed2002

Decision-making and addiction (part I): impaired activation of somatic states in substance dependent individuals when pondering decisions with negative future consequences.

Some substance dependent individuals (SDI) suffer from a decision-making impairment akin to that seen in neurological patients with lesions of the ventromedial (VM) prefrontal cortex. The somatic-marker hypothesis posits that decision-making is a process that depends on emotion and that deficits in emotional signaling will lead to poor decision-making. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that SDI who perform disadvantageously on a decision-making instrument, the gambling task (GT), have a deficit in the somatic signals that help guide their decision in the advantageous direction. Since deficits in decision-making/somatic markers can also result from dysfunctional amygdala, we asked indirectly (i.e. via tests sensitive to VM or amygdala dysfunction) whether such a deficit in SDI is restricted to VM dysfunction or includes the amygdala. Using the GT, and skin conductance response (SCR) as an index of somatic state activation, we studied groups of SDI (n=46), normal controls (n=49), and VM patients (n=10). A subgroup of SDI showed defective performance on the GT coupled with impaired anticipatory SCR, but normal SCR to punishment, and normal acquisition of conditioned SCR to an aversive loud sound. This supports the hypothesis that the poor decision-making in some SDI is associated with defective somatic state activation that is linked to a dysfunctional VM cortex. Thus, the dysfunctional VM cortex underlying the "myopia" for the future in some SDI may be one of the principle mechanisms underlying the transition from casual substance taking to compulsive and uncontrollable behavior.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Somatization disorder in patients with chronic fatigue.

One hundred adults with a chief complaint of chronic fatigue were evaluated in an outpatient setting to determine a possible association with somatization disorder. Somatization disorder was diagnosed in 15 patients. Eight functional somatic symptoms were reported more frequently by these patients: pain in extremities, joint paint, chest pain, other pain, shortness of breath, blurred vision, muscle weakness, and sexual indifference (p less than 0.001). Current mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and psychoactive substance use disorders were less common in patients with somatization disorders than in patients without this diagnosis (p less than 0.01).

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Anxiety, depression, and somatization in DSM-III hypochondriasis.

To assess the severity of distress and of somatization in hypochondriasis, the authors administered several validated self-rating scales of depression, anxiety, somatic symptoms, and anger/hostility to 21 psychiatric outpatients with the DSM-III diagnosis of hypochondriasis and to matched groups of other nonpsychotic psychiatric patients, family practice patients, and employees. Anxiety and somatic symptoms were highest in hypochondriacal patients; depression and anger/hostility did not differ from those of other psychiatric patients but were higher than in the other groups. The findings do not support the theory that hypochondriasis is a defense against anxiety or that it is a masked depression or depressive equivalent. The findings are consistent with the view that the interaction of severe anxiety and severe somatic symptoms is a common feature of the psychopathology of hypochondriasis.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Somatic complaints in childhood tic disorders.

Twenty-six children diagnosed with chronic tic disorders (18 with Gilles de la Tourette syndrome and 8 with chronic motor tic disorder) were studied for unexplained physical complaints. Compared to normal controls, an excess of somatic complaints was found in the tic disorders group; this was similar to an excess of somatic complaints in a mixed psychiatric clinic group. Medication produced no significant effect on somatic complaints for patients in the tic and psychiatric clinic groups. Within the tic disorders group, no significant correlation was found between the increased somatic complaints and the severity of anxiety, dysphoria, or movement disorder.

Adolescent↗