PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

Susanna Moskau

Publications and source records attributed to Susanna Moskau.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Homocysteine and carotid intima-media thickness in a german population: lack of clinical relevance.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Common carotid artery intima-media thickness (CCA IMT) is a predictor of stroke. This study aimed to analyze whether homocysteine (Hcys) metabolism influences CCA IMT. METHODS: We analyzed the association of personal, clinical, and biochemical data (multivariate analysis) and of 9 polymorphisms involved in Hcys metabolism (ANOVA) with CCA IMT in 714 individuals of 187 families. RESULTS: CCA IMT was significantly predicted by age, sex, creatinine levels, lipoprotein(a) levels, pack-years of smoking, the presence of hypertension, and the presence of diabetes mellitus but not by Hcys levels. Homozygosity for the T allele of the polymorphism methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase c.677C>T was significantly associated with higher Hcys levels but not with a higher CCA IMT. CONCLUSIONS: These data do not support the thesis that elevated Hcys levels are causally involved in cerebrovascular disease.

Aged↗
PubMed2006

Restricted ocular exploration does not seem to explain simultanagnosia.

One major function of parietal cortex is to direct our attention towards salient stimuli. The present data suggest that it also plays an important role in visual gestalt perception. Patients with simultanagnosia following lesions in this area are not able to extract the meaning of a visual scene whereas being perfectly able to recognise individual objects of this scene. We tested two patients with simultanagnosia with hierarchical Navon figures combined with eye movements recordings. The patients' performance allowed us to compare directly the scan paths in trials in which the global letter shape was recognised with trials in which the global letter shape was not recognised. We did not find any obvious differences in the eye movement pattern related to the two perceptual situations. The two patients did not show a significant problem in shifting their eyes (and thus possibly also their attentional focus) to all aspects of the complex visual stimulus when attempting to bind together the different elements of spatially distributed information. The results demonstrate that restricted ocular exploration cannot be the reason for the patients' inability to recognise the global shape of stimuli. Our data rather suggest a role of parietal cortex in visual gestalt perception that is beyond its role of directing attention towards relevant objects.

Agnosia↗
PubMed2006

The methionine synthase polymorphism c.2756A>G alters susceptibility to glioblastoma multiforme.

Genetic polymorphisms of methionine metabolism, in particular methionine synthase (MTR) c.2756A>G (D919G) and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) c.677C>T (A222V), have been associated with various human cancers. We investigated MTR c.2756A>G, MTHFR c.677C>T, and a third polymorphism, transcobalamin 2 c.776C>G (P259R), for a potential association with the formation of glioblastoma multiforme. The MTR c.2756G allele was significantly underrepresented among 328 glioblastoma multiforme patients of Caucasian origin when compared with 400 population controls [patients AA/AG/GG: 0.72/0.26/0.02 and controls AA/AG/GG: 0.57/0.38/0.05, degrees of freedom = 2; chi(2) = 17.86 (Pearson); P < 0.001]. No association between glioblastoma multiforme and the two other polymorphisms was observed.

5-Methyltetrahydrofolate-Homocysteine S-Methyltran↗
PubMed2004

Heritability of carotid artery atherosclerotic lesions: an ultrasound study in 154 families.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Ultrasound examination of the carotid arteries yields several quantitative measures that may serve as intermediate phenotypes in genetic studies. This study was undertaken to compare the heritabilities of 3 ultrasound measures: intima-media thickness (IMT), plaque score, and maximal stenosis. METHODS: We studied 565 individuals from 154 families ascertained by an affected parent with carotid artery atherosclerosis. IMT, plaque score, and maximal stenosis of the carotid arteries were examined by B-mode ultrasound and analyzed quantitatively. Heritability estimates were obtained by variance component analysis as implemented in the program SOLAR (sequential oligogenic linkage analysis routines). Covariates were age, sex, weight, height, body mass index (BMI), arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, amount of nicotine consumed, and plasma levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, LDL/HDL ratio, lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)], triglycerides, factor VIII, factor XIII, fibrinogen, and von Willebrand factor (vWF). RESULTS: After accounting for the covariables age, sex, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and Lp(a), heritability of IMT was estimated as h2=0.61+/-0.17 (P=0.001). Variation of plaque score was influenced by age, sex, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterolemia, amount of nicotine consumed, factor VIII, and vWF. When these were considered, no significant heritability could be detected. Heritability of stenosis was estimated as h2=0.47+/-0.07 (P=0.006), with age, sex, BMI, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, amount of nicotine consumed, and LDL/HDL ratio as covariates. CONCLUSIONS: Among the 3 ultrasound measures studied, IMT had the highest heritability. IMT was strongly influenced by genetic determinants other than those influencing known risk factors. This makes IMT a promising candidate for use as an intermediate phenotype in genetic studies aiming to identify novel genes for atherosclerosis.

Adolescent↗