Regular physical activity increases glutathione peroxidase activity in adolescents with Down syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: The present study was designed to determine the influence of a 12-week exercise program on the activity of erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase (GPX) in adolescents with Down syndrome. DESIGN: An interventional study with before-after comparison. SETTING: Sport Medicine School, University of Cadiz (Andalusia, Spain). PATIENTS: Thirty-one male adolescents (16.3+/-1.1) with Down syndrome. None of them suffered acute medical problems at that moment and had not taken part in any physical activity program in the last 6 months. INTERVENTION: A 12-week training program with 3 days per week, consisting of warm up (15 min) followed by a main part (20 to 35 min) at a work intensity of 60% to 75% of peak heart rate (HRmax=194.5-[0.56xage]) and by a cool-down period (10 min). MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENT: Erythrocyte activity of GPX. RESULTS: Preexercise and postexercise GPX activity in adolescents with Down syndrome were 24.8+/-3.1 [23.1 to 26.5] U/g hemoglobin and 29.3+/-2.9 [28.1 to 30.5] U/g hemoglobin, respectively. When compared with baseline values it was increased significantly (24.8+/-3.1 vs. 29.3+/-2.9; P=0.011). CONCLUSION: Regular exercise increased significantly GPX activity. Further studies are required to assess the behavior of other antioxidant enzymes to highlight potential benefits of regular exercise in redox metabolism.     

Involvement of IL-1beta in acute stress-induced worsening of cerebral ischaemia in rats.

Stress is known to be one of the risk factors of stroke. Most of the knowledge on the effects of stress on cerebrovascular disease in humans is restricted to catecholamines and glucocorticoids effects on blood pressure and/or development of atherosclerosis. However, few experimental studies have examined the possible mechanisms by which stress may affect stroke outcome. We have used an acute stress protocol consisting of the exposure of male Fischer rats to an acute, single exposure immobilisation protocol (6 h) prior to permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO), and we have found that stress worsens behavioural and neurological outcomes and increased infarct size after MCAO. The possible regulatory role of the TNFalpha and IL-1beta was studied by looking at the release of these cytokines in brain. The results of the present study showed an increase in IL-1beta release in cerebral cortex after exposure to acute stress. Brain levels of IL-1beta are also higher in previously stressed MCAO rats than in MCAO animals without stress. Pharmacological blockade of IL-1beta with an antibody anti-IL-1beta led to a decrease in the infarct size as well as in neurological and behavioural deficits after MCAO. In summary, our results indicate that IL-1beta, but not TNFalpha, accounts at least partly for the worsening of MCAO consequences in brain of rats exposed to acute stress.     

Numerical method for weights adjustment in minimax multi‐model LQ‐control

The minimax linear quadratic problem, where ‘max’ is taken over a finite set of indices (models) and ‘min’ is taken over the set of admissible controls, is considered. The solution is obtained by the robust optimal control application. The control turns out to be a linear combination of the controls optimal for each individual model. This paper develops a numerical method for the optimal weights adjustment. An example shows a quick convergence of the proposed procedure. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Galea and subgalea graft for lip augmentation revision

In this paper we will review the results obtained during the last 2 years with the aponeurotic galea and subgalea for vermillion lip augmentation. The survey was carried out on 42 patients who displayed either an absence of or reduction in the vermillion of one or both lips or a senile lip. In all cases the surgical procedure introduced aponeurotic galea and subgalea in the space found between the orbicular lip muscle and the vestibular mucus, just behind the vermillion. All the operations were performed under local anaesthetic. The size of the aponeurotic galea fragment removed varied in length between 10 and 12 cms. and in width between 1 and 2 cms., using the following parameters for its dimensions: the previous volume of the lips, and the distance between the two buccal commissures when in the “smile position.”     

Analysis of the coxsackievirus B-adenovirus receptor gene in patients with myocarditis or dilated cardiomyopathy

Myocarditis and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) are common causes of morbidity and mortality in children and adults, most commonly due to infection with coxsackievirus B or adenovirus. Increased expression of the common human coxsackievirus B-adenovirus receptor (CAR) has been reported in patients with DCM. We investigated the CAR gene in patients with acquired or familial myocarditis/DCM for mutations/polymorphisms. Several polymorphisms or intronic substitutions, distant from the intron-exon boundaries, were identified but no mutations. Based upon these data it appears that CAR gene mutations are not a major host determinant in the development of myocarditis and DCM.     

Experimental infection of immunomodulated NOD/LtSz-SCID mice as a new model for Plasmodium falciparum erythrocytic stages

The main objective of this study was to determine whether a chemical immunomodulation protocol could reduce the resistance of NOD/LtSz-SCID mice to Plasmodium falciparum infection and provide an improved mouse model for screening the antimalarial activity of new compounds. This model was compared with the presently used immunodeficient Beige/Nude/Xid (BNX) mouse model, using the same protocol, in terms of percentage of infected mice, parasite development, leukocyte response and phagocytosis of P. falciparum infected cells in various organs. Our results show that the combination of the chemical immune modulation protocol with the genetic background of NOD/LtSz-SCID mice results in the development of long-lasting P. falciparum infection in a high percentage of mice. A comparison of the results obtained in the histological study for both mouse models suggests that the higher rate of success in NOD/LtSz-SCID mice could be related to the reduced macrophage recruitment developed in different tissues to remove the parasite from blood.     

Haplotype analysis of the BRCA2 9254delATCAT recurrent mutation in breast/ovarian cancer families from Spain

A frame-shift 9254del5 mutation was independently identified in 12 families, eleven of them with Spanish ancestors, in a BRCA2 screening performed in 841 breast and/or ovarian cancer families and in 339 women with breast cancer diagnosed before the age of 40 at different centers in France and Spain. We sought to analyze in detail the haplotype and founder effects of the 9254del5 and to estimate the time of origin of the mutation. Eight polymorphic microsatellite markers and two BRCA2 polymorphisms were used for the haplotype analyses. The markers were located flanking the BRCA2 gene spanning a region of 6.1 cM. Our results suggest that these families shared a common ancestry with BRCA2 9254del5, which is a founder mutation originating in the Northeast Spanish, with an estimated age of 92 (95% CI 56-141) generations.     

Recurrence of bronchioloalveolar carcinoma in donor lung after lung transplantation: microsatellite analysis demonstrates a recipient origin

Bronchioloalveolar carcinoma is a distinctive subtype of pulmonary adenocarcinoma, without effective therapy, although there have recently been some attempts to use lung transplantation. However, a high post-transplantation local recurrence rate is described with some controversy regarding the possible involved mechanisms, the main possibilities being the lymphatic spread and aerosolization. Presented herein is a case of a bilateral lung transplantation for a bilateral and pneumonic form of non-mucinous bronchioloalveolar carcinoma in a 43-year-old woman. The histological analysis of mediastinal lymph nodes during surgery did not show neoplastic cells. Thirty-five months after transplantation several nodular opacities in donor lungs were detected. Three pulmonary wedge resections were performed showing a non-mucinous bronchioloalveolar carcinoma with the same histological characteristics as the primary. Again, the mediastinal lymph nodes were tumor free. A complete microsatellites molecular analysis was performed to compare the primary and recurrent carcinoma using capillary electrophoresis, showing that the recurrent tumor was generated in a recipient cellular clone. The absence of lymph node metastasis and the molecular evidence of the recipient origin of the neoplasm supports the contamination of the new lungs at the time of implantation as being the reason for the high incidence of recurrence after lung transplantation in this kind of disease.