Early antenatal sonographic diagnosis of conjoined syncephalus-craniothoraco-omphalopagus twins. Case report.

The paper describes the prenatal ultrasonographic diagnosis of conjoined syncephalus-craniothoraco-omphalopagus twins at 13 weeks' gestation. The mother, after genetic counseling, decided to interrupt the pregnancy. The fetal karyotype, the maternal serum and amniotic fluid alpha-fetoprotein levels were normal. The diagnosis was confirmed by pathologic examination of the fetus after termination of pregnancy.     

Chorionic villus sampling by rigid forceps: experience with 300 cases at risk for thalassemia major

In this article we report the results of chorionic villus sampling by a biopsy forceps inserted via the cervix under ultrasonic guidance in 300 pregnancies at risk for thalassemia major. A sufficient amount of chorionic villi for deoxyribonucleic acid analysis by oligonucleotide hybridization was obtained in all cases tested but one, with a success rate of 99.7%. The percentage of fetal loss, expressed as proportion of continuing pregnancies, was 4.8%. To verify the results, we carried out amniocyte deoxyribonucleic acid analysis in all the continuing pregnancies for the first 100 cases and in those in which trophoblast deoxyribonucleic acid analysis showed the heterozygous state for beta-thalassemia for the second 200 cases. At the beginning we had two cases of decidual contamination in such an amount to cause misdiagnosis. Successively more careful elimination of decidual tissue from villi avoided avoided this pitfall. These results indicate that chorionic villus sampling by a rigid forceps is a reliable and relatively safe method for fetal diagnosis of genetic diseases by deoxyribonucleic acid analysis.     

A gravity-assisted approach to the management of urinary diversion: 99mTc-MAG3 diuresis renography with F + 10(sp) method

Annals of Nuclear Medicine - Radical cystectomy with permanent urinary diversion is the gold standard treatment for invasive muscle bladder cancer. Hydronephrosis is common in these patients, but...     

Synthesis and biological study of acridine-based imidazolium salts

A new series of acridine based imidazolium salts was synthesized and evaluated for in vitro cytotoxicity against human cancer cell lines by an MTT assay. The synthesis applied a coupling of imidazoles with 9-chloroacridines, which originated from an Ullmann condensation of a 2-chloro-benzoic acid with an aniline. The target compounds were obtained in high yields. The DPPH assay indicated considerable antioxidant activity for target compounds with simple and short alkyl chains on the imidazole, while increasing chain length and the introduction of an additional π-electron system in most cases reduced the activity. All compounds exhibited low biotoxicity against non-cancerous cell lines, whereas a few compounds showed promising anticancer activity. Unlike for the reference drugs Tamoxifen and Paclitaxel, the anticancer activity of acridine imidazolium ions is specific for only selected cancer types. Reasonable fluorescent behaviour of the products provide potential for visualization of the distribution of active drugs in tissue.

A series of acridine-based imidazolium salts was synthesized and studied on cytotoxicity against human cancer cell lines.     

IgG Against Dengue Virus in Healthy Blood Donors,Zanzibar, Tanzania

We conducted a seroprevalence survey among 500 healthy adult donors at Zanzibar National Blood Transfusion Services. Dengue virus IgG seroprevalence was 50.6% and independently associated with age and urban residence. These data will aid in building a surveillance, preparedness, and response plan for dengue virus infections in the Zanzibar Archipelago.Key words: dengue, seroprevalence, Zanzibar, viruses, vector-borne infections     

Theiler’s virus infection provokes the overexpression of genes coding for the chemokine Ip10 (CXCL10) in SJL/J murine astrocytes,which can be inhibited by modulators of estrogen receptors

Theiler’s murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV) induces demyelination in susceptible strains of mice (SJL/J) through an immunopathological process that is mediated by CD4⁺ Th1 T cell. These T cells are chemoattracted to the central nervous system by chemokines. Hence, in this study, we focused on the production of the chemokine “interferon-gamma-inducible protein 10 kDa,” or IP-10/CXCL10, by cultured SJL/J mouse astrocytes infected with the BeAn strain of TMEV and its capacity to attract activated T cells. The analysis of the whole murine genome by DNA hybridization with cRNAs from mock- and TMEV-infected cultures revealed the upregulation of six sequences that potentially encode for CXCL10. This increased CXCL10 expression was validated by PCR and qPCR. The presence of this chemokine was further demonstrated by enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA). Significantly, astrocytes from BALB/c mice, a strain resistant to demyelination, did not produce CXCL10. The secreted CXCL10 was biologically active, inducing chemoattraction of activated lymphocytes. The inflammatory cytokines, IL-1α, IFN-γ, and TNF-α, were strong inducers of CXCL10 in astrocytes. Serum from TMEV-infected SJL/J but not BALB/c mice contains CXCL10, the levels of which peak at the onset of the clinical disease. Finally, this in vitro inflammation model was fully inhibited by 17β-estradiol and four selective estrogen receptor modulators, as demonstrated by ELISA and qPCR.