Effects of consumption of contaminated feed with 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) on the rat tibia: analysis by Raman spectroscopy and mechanical properties

Lasers in Medical Science - Studies reported the harmful effects of 2,4-D on body tissues, provoking changes in the anatomy and physiology of the kidneys, liver, and testicles. Thus, the objective...     

Novel Compounds Identified by Structure-Based Prion Disease Drug Discovery Using In Silico Screening Delay the Progression of an Illness in Prion-Infected Mice

The accumulation of abnormal prion protein (PrP^Sc) produced by the structure conversion of PrP (PrP^C) in the brain induces prion disease. Although the conversion process of the protein is still not fully elucidated, it has been known that the intramolecular chemical bridging in the most fragile pocket of PrP, known as the “hot spot,” stabilizes the structure of PrP^C and inhibits the conversion process. Using our original structure-based drug discovery algorithm, we identified the low molecular weight compounds that predicted binding to the hot spot. NPR-130 and NPR-162 strongly bound to recombinant PrP in vitro, and fragment molecular orbital (FMO) analysis indicated that the high affinity of those candidates to the PrP is largely dependent on nonpolar interactions, such as van der Waals interactions. Those NPRs showed not only significant reduction of the PrP^Sc levels but also remarkable decrease of the number of aggresomes in persistently prion-infected cells. Intriguingly, treatment with those candidate compounds significantly prolonged the survival period of prion-infected mice and suppressed prion disease-specific pathological damage, such as vacuole degeneration, PrP^Sc accumulation, microgliosis, and astrogliosis in the brain, suggesting their possible clinical use. Our results indicate that in silico drug discovery using NUDE/DEGIMA may be widely useful to identify candidate compounds that effectively stabilize the protein.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13311-020-00903-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Primary tuberculous nasal polypi—A case report

Primary tuberculous pathology in nasolpolypi is a rare condition. A case of bilateral ethmoidal polypi with tubercular lesion diagnosed on histopathologlcal examination is being reported and the available relevant literature has been reviewed.     

糖化血清蛋白测定对糖尿病监控临床意义的探讨

目的：对临床确诊糖尿病患同时测定血清葡萄糖(Glu)及糖化血清蛋白(GSP)的含量，观察二的关系，以及糖化血清蛋白水平对于评价近期(2—3周)糖尿病患血糖在体内变化的临床意义进行了观察。方法：血清葡萄糖、糖化血清蛋白测定均采用酶法测定。结果：178例糖尿病患Glu、GSP均正常3l例占17．4％；Glu、GSP均增高107例占60．1％；Glu正常、GSP增高15例占8．43％；Glu增高、GSP正常25例占14％。结论：糖化血清蛋白的含量不受即时血糖的影响，二的变化不成比例性，对评价糖尿病患2～3周病情的控制是一项灵敏可靠的指标，尤其对于住院病人的治疗与监控有一定的意义。     

Somatosensory and spinal evoked potentials in patients with cervical syringomyelia.

We recorded somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) from the skin surface and spinal evoked potentials (SpEP) from the posterior epidural space after median nerve stimulation in 11 patients with cervical syringomyelia. We compared SEPs with SpEP to assess the possible feasibility of using these techniques to localize the offending lesion. SEP abnormalities were present on one or both sides of 7 patients (9 of 22 upper limbs; 41%). The abnormal SEP pattern was the attenuation or loss of N13, which was of little value for delineating the lesion. In patients with abnormal SEPs, three types of abnormal SpEPs were noted. In the Type A abnormality (three limbs), potentials were attenuated in all cervical segments, suggesting that the syrinx itself had enlarged to involve the posterior column. In Type B (two limbs), there was reduced amplitude or absent upper cervical potentials, probably a result of the accompanying tonsilar herniation. Finally, the Type C (four limbs) abnormality was a mixture of Type A and B abnormalities in that the attenuated cervical potentials were again affected in the most upper cervical segment. We concluded that SpEP revealed various kinds of involvement of the dorsal column pathway in the syringomyelic patients, a finding not expressed with conventional SEPs.