Possible association between maternal recurrent orofacial herpes in pregnancy and a lower rate of preterm birth

Objective.?To study the possible association between orofacial herpes during pregnancy and pregnancy complications including preterm birth and low birth weight, since the results of previous studies are inconsistent.

Method.?The population-based large data set of the Hungarian Case-Control Surveillance System of Congenital Abnormalities was used; pregnancies in mothers with and without recurrent orofacial herpes were compared.

Results.?Of 38 151 newborn infants, 572 (1.5%) had mothers with recurrent orofacial herpes during pregnancy, while 37 577 had mothers with no orofacial herpes. Pregnant women with recurrent orofacial herpes had a higher prevalence of severe nausea and vomiting, threatened preterm delivery, and placental disorders but a lower prevalence of preeclampsia. Mothers with recurrent orofacial herpes during pregnancy also had a somewhat longer (0.4 weeks) gestation (adjusted t = 2.7; p = 0.006) and an obviously lower proportion of preterm births (3.5% vs. 9.3%; adjusted POR with 95% CI = 0.42, 0.27–0.65). However, there was no significant difference in the mean birth weight and rate of low birth weight infants between the two study groups.

Conclusion.?Recurrent orofacial herpes during pregnancy is associated with a smaller proportion of preterm births.     

Plasma Homocysteine Levels, The Prevalence of Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase Gene C677T Polymorphism and Macrovascular Disorders in Systemic Sclerosis: Risk Factors for Accelerated Macrovascular Damage?

The purpose of this study was to investigate plasma homocysteine (Hcy) levels in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and to study the association between plasma Hcy, C677T polymorphism of 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR), and the clinical manifestations in SSc. Associations of Hcy level, C677T MTHFR polymorphism, and macrovascular diseases were investigated in 152 patients with SSc and 58 controls. No significant differences in Hcy levels and MTHFR genotypes were found in SSc patients compared to controls or in SSc patients with limited cutaneous compared to diffuse disease. Significantly higher Hcy concentration was observed in patients with macroangiopathy/thromboembolic events compared to patients without such clinical manifestations (p?<?0.05). There was significant correlation between age and macrovascular disorders, between Hcy level and the disease duration (r?=?0.164; p?<?0.05). Seventy-one percent of patients with macrovascular disorders had MTHFR polymorphism. In addition, 45% of patients with hyperhomocysteinemia had pulmonary hypertension. The presence of MTHFR C677T mutation influences the incidence of macrovascular abnormalities in SSc patients. Elevated Hcy levels may be associated with disease duration and the evolution of macrovascular disorders and pulmonary hypertension in SSc.     

Ocadaic Acid Retains Caveolae in Multicaveolar Clusters

Caveola-mediated endocytosis exists parallel to other forms of endocytosis. Being ligand-triggered, caveolar endocytosis provides a more selective and highly regulated way for uptake of specified substances. Internalized caveolae accumulate in intermediate organelles called caveosomes. It is still debated whether caveosomes are independent organelles or the downstream caveosomes interact with the classical endocytotic compartments. In our work caveola internalization was stimulated with a serine/threonine phosphatase (PP1 and PP2A) inhibitor (ocadaic acid—OA). To find out whether caveolar clusters are really independent organelles or they are still connected to the cell surface we used an electron dense surface marker, ruthenium red (Ru red). Since we were especially interested in the fate of caveolar clusters, the cells were treated with OA for longer time. Stimulating caveola-mediated endocytosis, OA treatment resulted in a significant increase in the number of caveolar cluster. Most of these clusters were found Ru red positive indicating that they were still conneted to the cell surface. Our double labeling experiments on ultrathin frozen sections clearly showed that in OA-treated cells caveolae are not transported to late endosomes instead they are accumulted in large multicaveolar clusters. We think that PP2A can be one of the key components to regulate the fusion of various endocytotic compartments and /or the trafficking along the microtubules.     

Cadmium-induced oxidative stress and antioxidative mechanisms in germinating Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L.) seeds

Cadmium, known as a non-essential heavy metal, can cause oxidative stress in plants. In this study we tried to find out whether oxidative changes could be measured in the early stages of ontogenesis in Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L.) seeds exposed to Cd stress. Cadmium-caused oxidative stress and antioxidative responses were investigated with respect to both time- and concentration-dependence. Parameters that were measured were follows: total antioxidant capacity (ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP)), glutathione (GSH) content, level of lipid peroxidation (LP), total protein content, and glutathione-S-transferase (GST, EC 2.5.1.18) activity. Seeds were germinated in vitro at 0, 50, 100 and 200 mg/L Cd concentrations in dark for 12, 24, 48 and 96 h. Oxidative stress occurred in the seeds due to Cd treatment, the level of LP was high at the beginning of the germination at all concentrations used, but it attenuated later on. FRAP showed concentration-dependent increase during 24 h, but it decreased later on. GSH content was also elevated by increasing concentrations of Cd, which referred to the activity of non-enzymatic antioxidant system. The GST activity induced with germination only after 24 h at the highest Cd concentration. The results show that FRAP is a suitable parameter with which to assess the antioxidant capacity of heavy metal-stressed germinating seeds.     

Preliminary experiences with sentinel lymph node detection in cases of vulvar malignancy

Lymph node status is the most important prognostic factor in vulvar malignancy. The aim of this pilot study was to explore the clinical significance of radionuclide lymphoscintigraphy in the management of vulvar neoplasms. Eight patients with squamous cell carcinoma and two patients with malignant melanoma of the vulva were studied with 100 MBq technetium-99m nanocolloid (Sentiscint, OSSKI, Budapest) 1 day before surgery. The location of the sentinel lymph node was checked by a single-head gamma camera-computer system (MB 9200, Mediso, Budapest). Vulvectomy with bilateral inguinofemoral lymphadenectomy was performed in each case. At lymphadenectomy, the sentinel lymph node was separately removed and histologically studied. Three of the ten patients had positive sentinel lymph nodes (micrometastasis). Five months later one of them had local recurrence of the vulvar cancer, and another had inguinal recurrence of the tumour 6 months postoperatively; the third patient was operated on only recently. Our preliminary results are impressive and suggest that lymphoscintigraphy is an easy and reliable method for detection of the sentinel lymph node in vulvar malignancy.     

Brain Iron and Zinc Contents of German Patients with Alzheimer Disease

Our first project aimed to determine the average values of Fe and Zn in normal German human brain (5 individuals, 10 brain parts). Determinations were carried out by instrumental neutron activation analysis in Berlin. Quality control measurements were performed using National Institute of Standard Technology standard reference materials. The present results show non-homogeneous distribution of Fe and Zn in normal human brain. Our second goal was to study the possible elemental concentration changes in German patients with Alzheimer disease (5 subjects, 10 brain regions). Fe and Zn values are found to be significantly changed in some AD brain regions compared to the controls. Another object of this work was to extend the method for the determination of elemental concentration not only in whole brain samples (high fat content) but - applying two types of solvent extraction - in lipid fraction and in brain tissue without lipid.