MTHFR c.677C>T polymorphism as an independent predictor of peak bone mass in Danish men--results from the Odense Androgen Study

The MTHFR c.677C>T polymorphism has been shown to have significant effects on skeletal health in middle-aged to elderly women and men. Despite an accumulating amount of data on MTHFR genetics and the association between homocysteine levels and fracture, it remains unknown if MTHFR c.677C>T genotype affects bone mineral accretion in youth or bone loss in adulthood. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine the effects of this common allelic polymorphism on peak bone mass and bone turnover. We performed MTHFR genotyping in 780 healthy Danish men, aged 20 to 29 years, participating in the Odense Androgen Study. BMD at the spine, hip and whole-body was measured using a Hologic QDR-4500 densitometer. Genotype frequencies were compatible with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Spine BMD was significantly associated with genotype, with a decrease in BMD of 0.20 SD for each copy of the T-allele. Effects were independent of age, BMI, smoking and serum levels of vitamin D and IGF-I. Associations with BMD of the hip and whole body were short of statistical significance. MTHFR genotype showed no association with the bone turnover markers 1-CTP, bone specific alkaline phosphatase or osteocalcin. In conclusion, significant skeletal effects of this common polymorphism were present at the lumbar spine in men at the age of 25 years.     

RADIOLOGIC EVALUATION OF PROPHYLAXIS IN SEVERE HAEMOPHILIA

ABSTRACT. Pettersson, H., Nilsson, I. M., Hedner, U., Noréhn, K. and Ahlberg, Å. (Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Coagulation Laboratory and Department of Orthopedics, University of Lund, Malmö General Hospital, Malmö, Sweden). Radiologic evaluation of prophylaxis in severe haemophilia. Acta Paediatr Scand, 70:565,.–The effect of prophylactic treatment of severe haemophilia A and B was evaluated with a recently described radiologic score system for assessing the severity of arthropathy. The severity of the arthropathy was assessed in 50 patients with severe haemophilia receiving prophylaxis with factor VIII or IX (25–30 units factor VIII or IX/kg bodyweight at 4–7 day intervals), and in 9 in whom the condition was complicated by inhibitors and who were thus not receiving prophylaxis. The score values found in a recent investigation of the natural course of haemophilia served as controls in the evaluation of the effect of the prophylaxis. In the group with severe haemophilia receiving prophylaxis changes appeared only exceptionally in joints not affected already before the prophylaxis, and the course of the arthropathy and its severity according to age did not vary to any noteworthy extent from that in the control group with moderate haemophilia. In the cases complicated by inhibitors the joints were most often worse than those in the control group with severe haemophilia. It is concluded that prophylaxis has a considerable effect on the course of the arthropathy and the prophylaxis should be instituted at an early stage of the disease, when the joints are still unaffected.     

Prevalence of risk factors for fractures and use of DXA scanning in Danish women. A regional population-based study

Summary  

To determine the relationship between risk factors and use of DXA scans. Our study showed a relatively high use of DXA in low-risk women and the relatively low coverage in women with multiple risk factors. Moreover, distance to DXA clinics, age, and socio-economic factors are associated with the use of DXA.     

Effects of COLIA1 polymorphisms and haplotypes on perimenopausal bone mass, postmenopausal bone loss and fracture risk

Summary  

One thousand seven hundred seventeen perimenopausal women from the Danish Osteoporosis Prevention Study were genotyped for the −1997G/T, −1663indelT and +1245G/T polymorphisms in the COLIA1 gen. We found that the −1997T allele and a haplotype containing it were associated with reduced bone mineral density (BMD) and increased bone turnover at menopause and after 10 years of follow-up.     

Triple-combination antiviral drug for pandemic H1N1 influenza virus infection in critically ill patients on mechanical ventilation

A recent in vitro study showed that the three compounds of antiviral drugs with different mechanisms of action (amantadine, ribavirin, and oseltamivir) could result in synergistic antiviral activity against influenza virus. However, no clinical studies have evaluated the efficacy and safety of combination antiviral therapy in patients with severe influenza illness. A total of 245 adult patients who were critically ill with confirmed pandemic influenza A/H1N1 2009 (pH1N1) virus infection and were admitted to one of the intensive care units of 28 hospitals in Korea were reviewed. Patients who required ventilator support and received either triple-combination antiviral drug (TCAD) therapy or oseltamivir monotherapy were analyzed. A total of 127 patients were included in our analysis. Among them, 24 patients received TCAD therapy, and 103 patients received oseltamivir monotherapy. The 14-day mortality was 17% in the TCAD group and 35% in the oseltamivir group (P = 0.08), and the 90-day mortality was 46% in the TCAD group and 59% in the oseltamivir group (P = 0.23). None of the toxicities attributable to antiviral drugs occurred in either group of our study, including hemolytic anemia and hepatic toxicities related to the use of ribavirin. Logistic regression analysis indicated that the odds ratio for the association of TCAD with 90-day mortality was 0.58 (95% confidence interval, 0.24 to 1.42; P = 0.24). Although this study was retrospective and did not provide virologic outcomes, our results suggest that the treatment outcome of the triple combination of amantadine, ribavirin, and oseltamivir was comparable to that of oseltamivir monotherapy.     

Anticancer activity of essential oils and their chemical components - a review

Essential oils are widely used in pharmaceutical, sanitary, cosmetic, agriculture and food industries for their bactericidal, virucidal, fungicidal, antiparasitical and insecticidal properties. Their anticancer activity is well documented. Over a hundred essential oils from more than twenty plant families have been tested on more than twenty types of cancers in last past ten years. This review is focused on the activity of essential oils and their components on various types of cancers. For some of them the mechanisms involved in their anticancer activities have been carried out.