Polymorphisms of the endothelial nitric oxide synthase gene in ovarian cancer

OBJECTIVE: The free radical nitric oxide is known to be critically involved in ovarian carcinogenesis by inducing apoptosis and by mediating various cytostatic and cytotoxic effects, but also by promoting growth, invasion, and metastasis. METHODS: We investigated two polymorphisms (exon 7 Glu298Asp and a 27-bp repeat in intron 4) of the gene encoding endothelial nitric oxide synthase (Nos3) in 130 patients with ovarian cancer, 26 patients with borderline ovarian cancer, and 133 healthy age-matched Caucasian women using PCR and pyrosequencing, respectively. RESULTS: Genotypes and allelic frequencies did not differ between patients with ovarian cancer and controls. Within the ovarian cancer group, however, the presence of at least one mutant allele of intron 4 was associated with advanced tumor stage and positive lymph node involvement, but not with tumor grading. The presence of the mutant allele of exon 7 was not associated with the investigated clinicopathological parameters. No correlation with patients' overall and disease-free survival was ascertained. CONCLUSIONS: We are the first to report on Nos3 polymorphisms in ovarian cancer. Allelic variation within intron 4 of Nos3 is associated with an advanced tumor stage and positive lymph node involvement in ovarian cancer.     

New mothers' knowledge and attitudes about perinatal human immunodeficiency virus infection

OBJECTIVES: To assess new mothers' attitudes toward perinatal human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing, their knowledge about perinatal HIV, and their trust of government and scientists. METHODS: In a cross-sectional survey of 1362 postpartum women at four United States locations in 1997, a standardized interview was administered to new mothers 24-48 hours postpartum to determine their HIV test acceptance, attitudes, and knowledge. RESULTS: Seventy-five percent of women who were offered HIV tests reported being tested. Although 95% of women were aware of perinatal HIV transmission, only 60% knew that HIV can be transmitted through breast-feeding, and only 51% knew of medication to prevent perinatal transmission. Eighty-four percent of women thought that all pregnant women should be tested for HIV, and 60% thought that prenatal HIV testing should be legally mandated. Twenty percent of women indicated mistrust of government and scientists regarding origins of HIV and potential cures for AIDS. Knowledge about perinatal transmission was unrelated to receipt of prenatal HIV tests. When other factors were controlled for, mistrust was not significantly associated with getting tested. CONCLUSION: Incomplete knowledge of prevention of perinatal HIV transmission and mistrust were prevalent among new mothers. Knowledge deficits or mistrust did not appear to reduce reported prenatal test rates, but our data suggest that future public health efforts need to educate women about methods of preventing perinatal HIV transmission and at enhancing their trust in the public health system.     

Auditory-evoked potentials and selective attention: different ways of information processing in cannabis users and controls

The present study tested the hypothesis that chronic cannabis use leads to persistent attentional dysfunctions and that age of onset of cannabis use is a potential predictor of impaired test performance and information processing. Brain event-related potentials (ERPs) during a complex auditory selective attention task were recorded from 21 cannabis users divided into two groups according to age of onset and from 13 controls comparable with respect to age, IQ and educational background. Participants were instructed to detect target tones of a particular location, pitch and duration from a total sample of random frequencies. The study reveals that the latency of the greatest negative peak of ERPs (200 and 300 ms) to target tones was shorter in controls, while there was no clear difference between target and non-target within cannabis users. In addition, users displayed a reduced P3 to target tones. This was more pronounced in early-onset cannabis users. These data suggest that chronic cannabis use relates to different types of information processing under conditions of selective attention. There is some evidence that users employed different strategies of attention allocation. The results are discussed with respect to possible underlying mechanisms and clinical implications.     

Chlamydia trachomatis major outer membrane protein variants escape neutralization by both monoclonal antibodies and human immune sera.

We have identified two families of novel Chlamydia trachomatis isolates with amino acid changes within the major outer membrane protein (MOMP) variable domains: one family of Da, D*, and D- and one family of Ia and I-. In order to determine whether these MOMP variants can escape antibody neutralization of infectivity, we tested both the D and I prototype strains and the variants in a complement-independent in vitro neutralization assay. We found that variants can indeed escape neutralization by both monoclonal antibodies and polyclonal human immune sera that neutralize the prototype strain.     

Specialty Supplements and Prostate Cancer Risk in the VITamins And Lifestyle (VITAL) Cohort

Although there is evidence from studies of prostate cancer cell lines and rodent models that several supplements may have antiinflammatory, antioxidant, or other anticancer properties, few epidemiologic studies have examined the association between nonvitamin, nonmineral, “specialty” supplement use and prostate cancer risk. Participants, 50–76 yr, were 35,239 male members of the VITamins and Lifestyle (VITAL) cohort who were residents of western Washington state, and who completed an extensive baseline questionnaire in 2000–2002. Participants responded about their frequency (days/wk) and duration (yr) of specialty supplement uses. 1,602 incident invasive prostate cancers were obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results registry. Multivariate-adjusted hazards ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were estimated by Cox proportional hazards models. Any use of grapeseed supplements was associated with a 41% (HR 0.59, 95% CI: 0.40–0.86) reduced risk of total prostate cancer. There were no associations for use of chondroitin, coenzyme Q10, fish oil, garlic, ginkgo biloba, ginseng, glucosamine, or saw palmetto. Grapeseed may be a potential chemopreventive agent; however, as current evidence is limited, it should not yet be promoted for prevention of prostate cancer.     

Functional foods for health promotion: microbes and healthExtended abstracts from the 11th Annual Conference on Functional Foods for Health Promotion, April 2008

The extended abstracts in this report are based on presentations from the 11^th Special Conference on Functional Foods for Health Promotion, cosponsored by the Technical Committee on Food Components for Health Promotion of the North American Branch of the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI NA) and the American Society for Nutrition (ASN) at the Experimental Biology (EB) meeting in April 2008. Evidence that foods and their components offer health benefits beyond basic nutrition continues to captivate the interest of scientific communities, federal agencies, and the general public. The theme of the 2008 special conference was "Microbes and Health". It began with a general introduction and overview of how diet or dietary components can influence microbial growth and, ultimately, disease risk and overall health. Subsequent presentations provided fundamental information about how the food supply can set the landscape for gene expression in microbes and, ultimately, their influence on health (with some comments on how microbes might contribute to the obesity epidemic), child health and infections, role of microbes in cancer prevention, and effects of foods and their bioactive constituents as modifiers of microbes in the oral cavity.