Dual inhibition of cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase enzymes by human cerebrospinal fluid

Thromboxane A₂ (TXA₂) formed in damaged brain tissue and after thromboembolism and subarachnoid haemorrhage is responsible for cerebral vasospasm. In the present study, we examined the effect of human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) on the production of thromboxane-A₂ (TXA₂) and 12-hydroxy-eicosatetraenoic acid (12-HETE) by human blood platelets. CSF was drawn by lumbar puncture from normal healthy volunteers (n = 17) and samples judged to be normal after routine examination in the clinical laboratories and were used fresh. We found that CSF inhibited the production of TXA₂ and 12-HETE by blood platelets incubated with C¹⁴ labelled arachidonic acid (AA) in a concentration-related manner. Further biochemical analysis using proteolytic enzymes, gel filtration and membrane partition chromatography showed that the inhibitory activity was peptidic in nature and associated with a peptide of low molecular weight (1,400 Da). This study is the first to demonstrate that human CSF contains a dual inhibitor of cyclooxygenase (COX) and lipoxygenase enzymes in CSF.     

Antimicrobial and antileishmanial activities of hypocrellins A and B

Hypocrellins A and B were evaluated for in vitro antimicrobial and antileishmanial activities. Hypocrellin A exhibited promising activity against Candida albicans and moderate activity against Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant S. aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Mycobacterium intracellulare. Hypocrellin B showed weak antimicrobial activities. Hypocrellin A exhibited potent antileishmanial activity, while hypocrellin B was only moderately active. These results of promising antifungal and antileishmanial activity of hypocrellin A may be useful for further structure-activity relationship and in vivo studies.     

Clinico-radiological spectrum of reversible splenial lesions in children

Recently, many cases of children presenting reversible splenial lesions during febrile illness (RESLEF) have been reported; however, their overall clinico-radiological features are unclear.     

Use of a curved-array transducer to reduce interobserver variation in sonographic measurement of thyroid volume in healthy adults

PURPOSE: Sonographic calculation of thyroid volume is used in the diagnosis and follow-up of thyroid diseases. Since the calculated volume of thyroid lobes is highly influenced by the longest (ie, craniocaudal) diameter, we examined whether using a curved-array transducer as opposed to a linear-array transducer to measure the craniocaudal diameter would reduce interobserver variation. METHODS: Three sonographers with different levels of expertise each used a 5-12-MHz linear-array transducer and a 2-5-MHz curved-array transducer to measure the craniocaudal diameter of both thyroid lobes of 25 healthy volunteers. On the basis of these measurements, thyroid lobe volumes were calculated. Single-factor analysis of variance was used to evaluate the interobserver variations between the measurements made by all 3 observers as well as between measurements taken by pairs of observers. A p value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: Using the linear-array transducer to measure the craniocaudal diameter resulted in significant interobserver variation in thyroid volume calculation (p = 0.02), whereas using the convex-array transducer did not. Using either transducer resulted in a highly significant interobserver variation in measurements of the craniocaudal diameter, although the variation was far more pronounced for measurements made with the linear-array transducer (p = 0.0005) than for those made with the curved-array transducer (p = 0.04). For both transducers, the interobserver variations were most pronounced between the most and the least experienced sonographers. CONCLUSIONS: To avoid significant interobserver variation in calculating thyroid lobe volume, we recommend using a curved-array transducer to measure the craniocaudal diameter of the thyroid lobes.     

The diagnostic effectiveness of an initial transvaginal scan in detecting ectopic pregnancy

BACKGROUND: To determine the effectiveness of an initial transvaginal ultrasound scan (TVS) in the detection of ectopic pregnancy in consecutive women attending an early pregnancy unit (EPU). METHODS: This was a prospective observational study. Unselected women attending a dedicated EPU underwent a TVS. Women were classified as having an intrauterine pregnancy (IUP), ectopic pregnancy or pregnancy of unknown location (PUL). Women with a PUL were followed up until the final location of the pregnancy was determined. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the initial TVS in the diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy were calculated. RESULTS: During a one-year study period, 5318 consecutive women attended the EPU. Outcome data were available for 5240 (98.5%) women. Of these, the initial TVS showed an IUP in 4693 (89.6%) cases and an ectopic pregnancy in 91 (1.7%) cases. The remaining 456 (8.7%) women were classified as PUL, and of these 31 (6.8%) were subsequently found to have ectopic pregnancies. The overall sensitivity of the initial TVS in the diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy was 73.9% (95% CI: 65.1-81.6) with a specificity of 99.9% (95% CI: 99.8-100), a PPV of 96.7% (95% CI: 90.7-99.3) and an NPV of 99.4% (95% CI: 99.2-99.6). CONCLUSIONS: In unselected women attending an EPU, pregnancy location can be diagnosed accurately in over 90% of all pregnancies and in 73.9% of ectopic pregnancies with a single TVS.     

Association Patterns of Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase Gene (NOS3) Variant Glu298Asp with Blood Pressure and Serum Lipid Levels in Subjects with Coronary Artery Disease from Pakistan

Nitric oxide is an important antiatherosclerotic agent. The main determinant of nitric oxide levels is enzyme nitric oxide synthase encoded by the NOS3 gene, the common variants in this gene may be responsible for variations in plasma enzyme levels. The association of NOS3 variants with coronary artery disease (CAD) varies in different ethnicities. The current study aimed to determine the association of NOS3 Glu298Asp (rs1799983) with CAD and blood lipid levels in Pakistani subjects. Six hundred thirty‐six samples (412 cases, 224 controls) were genotyped by TaqMan allelic discrimination assay and serum total cholesterol, and High Density Lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL‐C)/Low Density Lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL‐C) and triglycerides were measured. The genotype frequency was Glu/Glu = 64.6%, Glu/Asp = 30.1%, and Asp/Asp = 5.3% in cases, and Glu/Glu = 68.8%, Glu/Asp = 26.7%, and Asp/Asp = 4.5% in controls. The Asp298 (T) frequency was not significantly higher in cases than controls (20.4% vs 17.9%, P = 0.28) and risk allele was not associated with CAD (OR 1.15 (0.86–1.54), P = 0.33) and the tested lipid traits but had a strong association with blood pressure (for systolic and diastolic P = 1.9×10^?–56 and 4×10^?–40, respectively). In conclusion, although Glu298Asp did not show association with CAD and lipid profile in the studied cohort, it may exert its effect through blood pressure; however, the mechanism of this effect needs to be explored in the future.