Wake Forest University

About: Wake Forest University is a education organization based out in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Diabetes mellitus. The organization has 21499 authors who have published 48731 publications receiving 2246027 citations. The organization is also known as: Wake Forest College.

Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and the Incidence of Acute Viral Respiratory Tract Infections in Healthy Adults

Abstract: Background Declining serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D seen in the fall and winter as distance increases from the equator may be a factor in the seasonal increased prevalence of influenza and other viral infections. This study was done to determine if serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations correlated with the incidence of acute viral respiratory tract infections.

Pain Processing in Four Regions of Human Cingulate Cortex Localized with Co‐registered PET and MR Imaging

Abstract: Neurosurgical and positron emission tomography (PET) human studies and animal electrophysiological studies show that part of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is nociceptive. Since the contribution of the ACC to pain processing is poorly understood, this study employed PET and magnetic resonance (MR) image co-registration in grouped and individual cases to locate regions of altered relative regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF). Seven right-handed, neurologically intact males were subjects; each received neuropsychological and pain threshold testing. Subjects were scanned during infusion of H2[15O]: four randomized scans during innocuous heat stimulation to the back of the left hand and four scans during noxious but bearable heat to the same place. The averaged rCBF values during innocuous stimuli were subtracted from those during noxious stimuli and statistical parametric maps (SPMs) for the group were computed to identify regions of altered relative rCBF. Finally, single-subject PET images of elevated and reduced rCBF were co-registered with MR images and projected onto reconstructions of the medial surface of the hemisphere. The SPM analysis of the group showed one site with elevated rCBF in the midcingulate cortex and one in the perigenual cortex predominantly contralateral to the side of stimulation. There were bilateral sites of reduced rCBF in the cingulofrontal transitional cortex and in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). Co-registered PET and MR images for individuals showed that only one case had a single, large region of elevated rCBF, while the others had a number of smaller regions. Six cases had at least one significant elevation of rCBF in the right hemisphere that primarily involved area 24b'; five of these cases also had an elevation in area 32', while the seventh case had elevated rCBF in these areas in the left hemisphere. The rostral site of elevated rCBF in the group was at the border of areas 24/24' and areas 32/32' although most cases had a site of elevation more rostral in the perigenual cingulate cortex. The ACC site of reduced rCBF was in areas 8 and 32 and that in the PCC included much of areas 29/30 in the callosal sulcus, areas 23b and 31 on the cingulate gyral surface and parietal area 7m. The localization of relative rCBF changes suggests different roles for the cingulate cortex in pain processing: (i) elevated rCBF in area 24' may be involved in response selection like nocifensive reflex inhibition; (ii) activation of the perigenual cortex may participate in affective responses to noxious stimuli like suffering associated with pain; and (iii) reduced rCBF in areas 8 and 32 may enhance pain perception in the perigenual cortex, while that in the PCC may disengage visually guided processes.

The Peer Context of Adolescent Substance Use: Findings from Social Network Analysis

Abstract: To examine the peer context of adolescent substance use, social network analysis was used to measure three domains of attributes of peer networks: social embeddedness, social status, and social proximity to substance users. The sample was a panel of 5,104 sixth, seventh, and eighth graders in three public school systems surveyed every 6 months for five assessments. Hierarchical generalized linear models showed that adolescents less embedded in the network, with greater status, and with closer social proximity to peer substance users were more likely to use substances. Also, adolescents in less dense networks and networks with higher smoking prevalence were more likely to smoke and use marijuana. Results establish the utility of social network analysis for measuring peer context and indicate that conventionality of relationships—having friends in the network, being liked but not too well liked, and having fewer friends who use substances—is most beneficial.

Glucose levels and risk of dementia

Abstract: BackgroundDiabetes is a risk factor for dementia. It is unknown whether higher glucose levels increase the risk of dementia in people without diabetes. MethodsWe used 35,264 clinical measurements of glucose levels and 10,208 measurements of glycated hemoglobin levels from 2067 participants without dementia to examine the relationship between glucose levels and the risk of dementia. Participants were from the Adult Changes in Thought study and included 839 men and 1228 women whose mean age at baseline was 76 years; 232 participants had diabetes, and 1835 did not. We fit Cox regression models, stratified according to diabetes status and adjusted for age, sex, study cohort, educational level, level of exercise, blood pressure, and status with respect to coronary and cerebrovascular diseases, atrial fibrillation, smoking, and treatment for hypertension. ResultsDuring a median follow-up of 6.8 years, dementia developed in 524 participants (74 with diabetes and 450 without). Among participants without diabetes,...