Effect of valproic acid on withdrawal therapy in patients with overuse of chronic daily headache medications.

Discontinuation of medication is the treatment of choice for patients with chronic daily headache (CDH) who overuse their medications. This treatment may be difficult due to increased headache severity observed in patients immediately after withdrawal. We retrospectively evaluated the efficacy of valproic acid therapy in 66 patients with overuse of CDH medication during withdrawal therapy. Patients were all withdrawn from medications and valproic acid started at 250 mg or 500 mg daily. Forty-two (63.6%) patients had decreased headache severity, including 27.3% objective responses in the first week. At the last visit in the 12th week, 50 patients were headache-free and only one patient had persistent headache. Fifteen patients withdrew from therapy due to side effects and lost to follow-up within this timeframe. Thus, low dose valproic acid appears to be safe and effective in the management of withdrawal therapy.     

Helicobacter pylori infection in haemodialysis patients and renal transplant recipients

Background. It is known that Helicobacter pylori (Hp) plays an important role in gastritis and peptic ulcer disease in the general population. Although dyspeptic complaints are frequent in haemodialysis (HD) patients and renal transplant recipients, there are few reports regarding the prevalence of Hp and its possible effects on this group of patients. This study was performed to examine the prevalence of Hp infection in patients on regular HD treatment and to detect its role in the pathogenesis of dyspepsia in this group of patients. Methods. Two hundred and one patients with dyspeptic complaints were included in the study. The groups consisted of 47 HD, 54 renal transplant recipients, and 100 non-renal disease patients. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopies were performed and gastric antral biopsies were obtained for urease test in all patients. Results. Twenty-eight (60%) of the 47 HD and 28 (70%) of the 54 RTR were positive for Hp. Sixty-four (64%) of the 100 patients with various gastrointestinal complaints and known to have no renal dysfunction were positive for Hp. The Hp prevalences among the three groups were not significantly different (P <0.05). The prevalence of Hp infection did not correlate with the haemodialysis duration nor the post-transplantation duration (P <0.05). There was no correlation between the prevalence of Hp infection and duration of haemodialysis therapy or time post-transplantation. Conclusion. These findings suggest that HD patients are not protected against Hp infection as the Hp prevalences are as high as that for the non-renal disease group. The increased dyspeptic complaints may be partly related to Hp infection.     

Lipoxygenase-3 (ALOXE3) and 12(R)-lipoxygenase (ALOX12B) are mutated in non-bullous congenital ichthyosiform erythroderma (NCIE) linked to chromosome 17p13.1.

We report the identification of mutations in lipoxygenase-3 (ALOXE3) and 12(R)-lipoxygenase (ALOX12B) genes in non-bullous congenital ichthyosiform erythroderma (NCIE) linked to chromosome 17. Linkage disequilibrium analysis of six families affected by NCIE permitted us to reduce a recently reported interval of 8.4 cM on chromosome 17p13.1 to a 600 kb region around the marker D17S1796, which contains LOX genes. LOX products have long been implicated in skin disorders. Two point mutations and one deletion were found in ALOXE3 and three point mutations were found in ALOX12B in these consanguineous families from the Mediterranean basin. ALOXE3 and ALOX12B are two genes which are physically linked and functionally related. They are separated by 38 kb, have one more exon than the other LOX genes and are mainly expressed in epithelial cells including keratinocytes. Although the main substrate(s) of the two enzymes is (are) still unknown, the products of ALOX12B obtained in experimental systems have been demonstrated to be of R-chirality. It seems likely that the product of one of these enzymes may be the substrate of the other, and that they belong to the same metabolic pathway.     

Carbamazepine-induced sperm disorders can be associated with the altered expressions of testicular KCNJ11/miR-let-7a and spermatozoal CFTR/miR-27a

Male infertility is a global health problem, and the underlying molecular mechanisms are not clearly known. Ion channels and microRNAs (miRNAs), known to function in many vital functions in cells, have been shown to play a significant role in male infertility through changes in their expressions. The study aimed to evaluate the alterations of testicular and/or spermatozoal potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily J member 11 (KCNJ11), Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), miR-let-7a and miR-27a expressions in carbamazepine-related male infertility. Here, we showed that carbamazepine reduced sperm motility, increased abnormal sperm morphology, and impaired hormonal balance as well as increased relative testis weight and decreased relative seminal vesicle weight. On the other hand, downregulated KCNJ11 and upregulated miR-let-7a expressions were determined in testis (p < .05). Also, downregulated KCNJ11 and upregulated CFTR and miR-27a expressions were found in spermatozoa (p < .05). Interestingly, altered testicular KCNJ11 and miR-let-7a expressions were correlated with decreased sperm motility and elevated sperm tail defect. Besides, spermatozoal CFTR and miR-27a expressions positively correlated with sperm tail defects. The results indicated a significant relationship between ion channel and/or miRNA expression alterations and impaired sperm parameters due to carbamazepine usage.     

Volunteers for biomedical research. Recruitment and screening of normal controls.

We examined the process of accruing healthy control subjects for biomedical research on brain function. Of 1670 responders to newspaper advertising, 23.1% were uninterested when learning more about the studies, and 50.9% of those remaining were found by structured telephone screening to meet exclusionary criteria for having a history of psychiatric, neurologic, or medical disease that might affect brain function. Of 312 volunteers passing the telephone screening who came to an in-person evaluation by a physician and agreed to participate, 49.7% were found to meet exclusionary criteria, and only 157 were admitted to the study. This underscores the importance of attending to the issue of screening and assessment of "normal volunteers." Alternative strategies should be considered for enriching the pool.     

Body mass index percentiles among adolescent girls living in Edirne, Turkey

BACKGROUND: Body mass index (BMI) is the simplest way to measure obesity; therefore, it is chosen by many authorities as a screening method for adolescent obesity. Body mass index is positively correlated with the complications of childhood and adolescent obesity, such as hypercholesterolemia, insulin resistance, hyper-tension and long-term development of cardiovascular diseases. The aim of the present study was to produce percentile curves for bodyweight, height and BMI in a representative sample of adolescent girls living in urban and rural areas of Edirne, Turkey, and to compare these percentile curves with curves from other countries. METHODS: The present study was a cross-sectional study, including a representative sample of 1687 adolescent girls from rural and urban areas of Edirne, who were evaluated between May and July 2001. Bodyweight and height were measured using standard procedures. Body mass index (kg/m2) was calculated as the ratio of bodyweight to body height squared. Smoothed percentiles for these variables were calculated using polynominal regression models. Crude weight, height and BMI percentile values, as well as smoothed percentile curves are presented. RESULTS: Body mass index, weight and height reference curves for adolescent girls were produced. When we compared the BMI values of subjects in the present study with those of other countries, 85th and 95th percentiles of BMI in the present study were found to be generally lower than those for other ethnicities. CONCLUSION: Our findings show ethnic differences in BMI among adolescent girls. It will be usefull for each country to produce its own BMI percentiles.     

Renal functional reserve in insulin dependent diabetic children

Abstract Background: Microalbuminuria has been shown to be predictive for clinical diabetic nephropathy. Renal functional reserve (RFR), as a response to protein loading in a short period of time, is a parameter to assess the ability of kidneys to increase the glomerular filtration rate (GFR). The aim of this study was to predict the early phase of diabetic nephropathy by measuring urinary albumin level and RFR capacity in patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM).
Methods: Twenty-two patients with IDDM were studied: 11 with a disease duration of less than 5 years (group 1) and 11 with a disease duration of more than 5 years (group 2). As the control group, 15 healthy children (group 3) were included in the study. At the beginning of the study, glucose was measured and the urinary albumin/creatinine ratio was calculated. Average glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA₁c) over 1 year was determined. After protein loading (red meat containing 2 g/kg of protein), the creatinine clearance was calculated at each hour for a duration of 4 h. The RFR was accepted as the peak percentage increase in GFR over the baseline value.
Results: Although metabolic control in group 2 was better, the RFR in group 2 was significantly lower than in group 1 (P < 0.05). Urinary microalbumin levels between the groups did not differ (P < 0.05). In two patients in whom microalbuminuria was detected, the RFR was much lower.
Conclusions: Detecting lower RFR levels in patients with normal urinary albumin excretion, as well as in patients with microalbuminuria, may support the idea that the RFR capacity is more sensitive than microalbuminuria in assessing the early phase of diabetic nephropathy.     

Studying striate cortex neurons in behaving monkeys: benefits of image stabilization

Responses of single cells in the striate cortex of a behaving monkey were studied while the eye movements of fixation were monitored with high precision. Receptive fields of cortical neurons moved in space with the eye. When the eye position signal was used to stabilize the image on the retina, response rates were more vigorous and more reliable. When the image was not stabilized, the estimates of receptive field activating areas were influenced (usually inflated) in unpredictable ways. With stabilization, small receptive fields can be studied and powerful surround interactions become apparent.     

Intensity coding and luxotonic activity in the ground squirrel lateral geniculate nucleus

The responses of contrast-sensitive cells in the ground squirrel LGN were studied. In most cells the response to an on-off stimulus was comprised of two components: a sustained on and a transient on-off. The sustained component amplitude was a power function of the light intensity and disappeared altogether at low temperature while the transient component was insensitive to the light intensity and to a drop in temperature. These cells were also luxotonic; they increased their average firing rate when the intensity of a steady stimulus was increased. The possible relation of the luxotonic activity to the diurnal nature of the ground squirrel is discussed.