Bulletin No. 1, 2015

News in Brief  39  Research Unveiling Genome of Dust Mite The Faculty of Medicine of CUHK, together with the Shenzhen University School of Medicine and the State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease in Guangzhou, has made a ground-breaking discovery about the draft genome of Dermatophagoides (D.) farinae (one of several dust mite species) and the microbiota components inside their gut, casting new light on the diagnosis of and interventions in inhalant allergies. The joint research team, led by Prof. Tsui Kwok-wing Stephen (1st right), School of Biomedical Sciences, discovered eight novel allergens from the D. farinae genome. Besides, varieties of bacteria which have not been reported as dust mite-related were detected in the body and gut of D. farinae , in particular, the Enterobacter. These residential bacteria inside D. farinae are potential allergens that induce inhalant allergy after they are excreted. It is very probable that this discovery will become a new trend in allergy study. Dream-enacting Behaviour, Depression, and Neurodegeneration A study jointly conducted by CUHK and Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital on the relationship between rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder (RBD), depression and neurodegeneration revealed that patients with comorbid RBD and depression may suffer from early phase of neurodegeneration. Early diagnosis is essential for monitoring and treatment of neurodegeneration. Twenty-nine subjects including cases of comorbid RBD and depression, subjec t s with depression only and healthy subjects, with a mean age of 47, were recruited for clinical, polysomnographic assessment and neuroimaging studies. None of them suffered from any clinical sign of Parkinson’s disease. However, patients with comorbid RBD and depression had a significantly lower 10–30% dopamine neural transmission than the control group. They also had impaired olfactory function. The findings indicated a distinct possibility that the development of the RBD problems among depressive patients may represent an early phase of neurodegeneration instead of a merely antidepressant-induced condition.