Panhypopituitarism as first manifestation of a lung cancer

Pituitary metastases of solid tumours are infrequent, specially as a first manifestation. When they happen, they are usually due to breast or lung cancer and are asymptomatic or produce diabetes insipidus. It is very strange that they produce hormonal deficiency. We present a case report of a bronchogenic adenocarcinoma in a 65-year-old man which began with panhypopituitarism, diabetes insipidus and visual alterations. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a large sellar mass, with clivus infiltration and invading the right cavernous sinus. The biopsy result was adenocarcinoma metastases from lung cancer.     

Antioxidative and anti-inflammatory effects of repaglinide in plasma of diabetic animals.

Oxidative stress, defined as an imbalance between the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidant defense, is considered to be an important pathogenic factor in diabetes mellitus and its complications. In diabetic state, ROS might also be implicated in promoting a state of systemic inflammation. Recently, it was demonstrated that antioxidant therapy could be used to stop the initiation and propagation of this inflammatory response. Repaglinide is a new oral antidiabetic agent with a possible antioxidant activity. Therefore, in the present study, a possible therapeutic value of repaglinide in ameliorating the oxidative and inflammatory processes was tested in diabetic animals. In the study, the levels of total antioxidant status (TAS), ascorbic acid (AA), protein carbonyl groups (PCG) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were determined in plasma of diabetic rabbits after 4 and 8 weeks of repaglinide treatment (1mg daily). Ex vivo analysis revealed that there were significant differences in these markers between hyperglycemic and control animals (P<0.05). Some of these parameters were ameliorated by repaglinide treatment. In diabetic rabbits treated with repaglinide, protein oxidation was diminished by 17.8% after 8 weeks of experiment. The level of AA in plasma of diabetic treated animals was higher than in non-treated diabetic groups (by 9.4 and 22.6% after 4 and 8 weeks, respectively). In diabetic treated animals, the TAS level was also significantly increased (by 23.6 and 16.7%). However, in diabetic rabbits, repaglinide did not affect the concentration of IL-6.     

Embolization of nonvariceal portosystemic collaterals in transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunts

Percutaneous embolization of large portosystemic collaterals was performed in three patients following placement of a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt in order to improve hepatopetal portal flow. Improved hepatic portal perfusion was achieved in these cases, thereby theoretically reducing the risk of chronic hepatic encephalopathy.     

Distinct mechanisms of splicing regulation in vivo by the Drosophila protein Sex-lethal

The protein Sex-lethal (SXL) controls pre-mRNA splicing of two genes involved in Drosophila sex determination: transformer (tra) and the Sxl gene itself. Previous in vitro results indicated that SXL antagonizes the general splicing factor U2AF⁶⁵ to regulate splicing of tra. In this report, we have used transgenic flies expressing chimeric proteins between SXL and the effector domain of U2AF⁶⁵ to study the mechanisms of splicing regulation by SXL in vivo. Conferring U2AF activity to SXL relieves its inhibitory activity on tra splicing but not on Sxl splicing. Therefore, antagonizing U2AF⁶⁵ can explain tra splicing regulation both in vitro and in vivo, but this mechanism cannot explain splicing regulation of Sxl pre-mRNA. These results are a direct proof that Sxl, the master regulatory gene in sex determination, has multiple and separable activities in the regulation of pre-mRNA splicing.     

Prospective study of antigenemia,plasma viremia and lymphocytic viremia in HIV-infected hemophiliacs

A total of 186 blood samples from 24 HIV-1 seropositive hemophiliac patients, monitored every four months for 29 months, were investigated for the presence of viral antigen in plasma. In addition, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were cultured for HIV-1, using normal PBMC as a target for replication. Antigenemia was detected in 51 % of the patients and from PBMC in 87.5 % of the patients. The incidence of HIV isolation in asymptomatic patients (42.8 %) was similar to that found in symptomatic patients (51.4 %). Patients with opportunistic infections had a higher incidence of lymphocytic viremia (p<0.05). Plasma viremia was closely associated (p<0.05) with low CD4+ counts and infection progression. The persistence of antigenemia was also a marker of a poor clinical course. In treated patients, plasma viremia was the marker that better correlated with the clinical course, and it did not appear during the first nine months of therapy. Zidovudine doses of >500 mg/day significantly lowered the appearance of antigenemia and lymphocytic viremia (p<0.05).     

Congenital healed cleft lip

Congenital “healed” cleft lip (CHCL) is an unusual anomaly including a paramedian “scar” of the upper lip, which appears as if a typical cleft lip has been corrected in utero. The CHCL is frequently associated with an ipsilateral notch in the vermilion, and “collapsed” nostril. Twenty-five CHCL cases are presented, eighteen of which were an isolated malformation found among the 3,950,715 births examined in two similar birth defect registries: ECEMC in Spain and ECLAMC in Latin America. Like open cleft lip, of which it seems to be a variant, CHCL is most frequently seen among males (14/18 isolated cases), it preferentially affects the left side (10/18 cases), and it segregated together with cleft lip in one family. The five CHCL cases with other congenital anomalies included: two cases with hydrocephalus, two VACTERL associations, and one atypical oblique facial cleft infant with single umbilical artery. CHCL may result from a defective fusion of the frontonasal and maxillary processes (before week 7 of embryonic life), or from a spontaneously repaired open cleft lip, later on. In either way, these cases heal with a visible scar, and the pre-occurrence of CHCL in two families suggests a familial predisposition to this phenomenon. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.