Semen and hormonal parameters in men with chronic hepatitis C infection

Male patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection (n = 57) demonstrated a statistically significant decrease in semen volume, sperm count, and progressive sperm motility and a statistically significant increase in abnormal sperm morphology compared with healthy controls (n = 40). The duration of the HCV infection was negatively correlated with semen volume and sperm motility where the HCV RNA viral load was negatively correlated with sperm count and sperm motility. Chronic HCV patients had statistically significantly lower total serum testosterone and higher serum E(2) and prolactin levels compared with healthy controls.     

Pediatric patients receiving ABO-incompatible living related liver transplantation exhibit higher serum transforming growth factor-��1, interferon-�� and interleukin-2 levels

Background

ABO-incompatible liver transplantation (LTx) is becoming more common in response to the paucity of liver allografts. Several studies have expressed concern about the effect of ABO compatibility on graft survival.

Purpose

To evaluate the differences in serum cytokine levels between ABO-incompatible (ABO-i) and ABO-compatible (ABO-c; includes ABO-compatible and identical) pediatric LTx recipients during regular outpatient follow-up. Note that, in the field of organ transplantation, transplants are categorized as incompatible, compatible or identical; accordingly, these are the terms we use in the paper.

Materials and methods

A clinical outpatient study measuring serum transforming growth factor (TGF)-??1, interferon (IFN)-??, interleukin (IL)-2 and IL-10 in 43 living related liver transplantation (LRLT) recipients, of whom 36 received ABO-c LRLT (34 were ABO-identical and 2 were non-identical) and 7 ABO-i LRLT. Serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase, glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, alkaline phosphatase, lactate dehydrogenase and bilirubin were measured as part of the patients?? regular follow-up visits.

Results

There were no differences between the ABO-c and ABO-i groups in terms of recipient??s age [mean 12.6 vs. 11.1?years (y)], post-LTx duration (mean 7.3 vs. 7.3?y), donor??s age (mean 35.5 vs. 34.6?y), body weight (28.9?±?2.9 vs. 27.9?±?6.9?kg), or gender (19 female and 17 male vs. 4 female and 3 male). Serum TGF-??1, IFN-?? and IL-2 were significantly higher in the ABO-i group than in the ABO-c group. IL-10, however, did not differ between the two groups. There was a tendency toward higher ??GTP levels in the ABO-i group, but this difference did not reach significance.

Conclusion

ABO-incompatible LRLTx patients have higher serum TGF-??1, IFN-?? and IL-2 levels as measured at regular outpatient visits. As a result, they face a higher risk of T-helper 1 cell polarization, which could make graft rejection more likely.     

Oxidative stress after living related liver transplantation subsides with time in pediatric patients

Background

Oxidative stress has been suspected to influence graft survival and prognosis in pediatric recipients of living related liver transplantation (LRLT).

Purpose

We determined the oxidative status of pediatric LRLT recipients during their regular outpatient follow-up visits, and looked for a relationship between oxidative status and post-liver transplantation (post-LTx) duration.

Patients

The study included 43 patients (20 males and 23 females) between the ages of 1.6 and 25.1?years (median 10.7?years) who had undergone LRLT from 5?months to 17.5?years (median 7?years) prior to the study, between the ages of 1.2 and 14.4?years (median 3.5?years).

Methods

Serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (GPT), glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT), gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (??-GTP), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), direct bilirubin and choline-esterase were measured as part of the patients?? regular follow-up visits. Serum total hydroperoxide (TH) and biological antioxidative potential (BAP) were measured using the free radical analytic system which requires 20???l of serum and 10?min of processing time for each sample. Oxidative stress index (OSI) was calculated as the ratio of TH to BAP.

Results

Serum OSI correlated positively with serum levels of GOT, GPT, LDH, ALP, ??-GTP and direct bilirubin. Serum OSI, TH, LDH, ALP and GOT correlated negatively with post-LTx duration. Serum BAP correlated positively with post-LTx duration. Serum TH correlated positively with serum GOT and ??-GTP, but negatively with serum BAP.

Conclusions

(1) The OSI, which can be calculated based on data acquired through a simple outpatient procedure, can serve as an index of our patients?? laboratory results and oxidative status. (2) The LRLT recipients in our study were at risk for oxidative stress early in the post-operative period, but this risk subsided with time.     

Elevated inflammatory mediators and pulmonary hypertension after applying an extracorporeal circuit in a neonatal sepsis model

Purpose  

We aimed to study the changes in cytokines, oxidative mediators, and pulmonary blood pressure in a neonatal sepsis model when applying an extracorporeal circuit (ECC).     

Dynamic nature of the proximal AZFc region of the human Y chromosome: multiple independent deletion and duplication events revealed by microsatellite analysis

The human Y chromosome shows frequent structural variants, some of which are selectively neutral, while others cause impaired fertility due to the loss of spermatogenic genes. The large-scale use of multiple Y-chromosomal microsatellites in forensic and population genetic studies can reveal such variants, through the absence or duplication of specific markers in haplotypes. We describe Y chromosomes in apparently normal males carrying null and duplicated alleles at the microsatellite DYS448, which lies in the proximal part of the azoospermia factor c (AZFc) region, important in spermatogenesis, and made up of "ampliconic" repeats that act as substrates for nonallelic homologous recombination (NAHR). Physical mapping in 26 DYS448 deletion chromosomes reveals that only three cases belong to a previously described class, representing independent occurrences of an approximately 1.5-Mb deletion mediated by recombination between the b1 and b3 repeat units. The remainder belong to five novel classes; none appears to be mediated through homologous recombination, and all remove some genes, but are likely to be compatible with normal fertility. A combination of deletion analysis with binary-marker and microsatellite haplotyping shows that the 26 deletions represent nine independent events. Nine DYS448 duplication chromosomes can be explained by four independent events. Some lineages have risen to high frequency in particular populations, in particular a deletion within haplogroup (hg) C(*)(xC3a,C3c) found in 18 Asian males. The nonrandom phylogenetic distribution of duplication and deletion events suggests possible structural predisposition to such mutations in hgs C and G.     

Oxidative and carbonyl stress in pregnant women with obstructive sleep apnea

Sleep and Breathing - Pregnant women are particularly susceptible to sleep-disordered breathing. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in pregnancy is associated with poor pregnancy and fetal outcomes....     

Mentha pulegium L. (Pennyroyal,Lamiaceae) Extracts Impose Abortion or Fetal-Mediated Toxicity in Pregnant Rats; Evidenced by the Modulation of Pregnancy Hormones,MiR-520, MiR-146a,TIMP-1 and MMP-9 Protein Expressions,Inflammatory State,Certain Related Signaling Pathways,and Metabolite Profiling via UPLC-ESI-TOF-MS

Pregnant women usually turn to natural products to relieve pregnancy-related ailments which might pose health risks. Mentha pulegium L. (MP, Lamiaceae) is a common insect repellent, and the present work validates its abortifacient capacity, targeting morphological anomalies, biological, and behavioral consequences, compared to misoprostol. The study also includes untargeted metabolite profiling of MP extract and fractions thereof viz. methylene chloride (MecH), ethyl acetate (EtOAc), butanol (But), and the remaining liquor (Rem. Aq.) by UPLC-ESI-MS-TOF, to unravel the constituents provoking abortion. Administration of MP extract/fractions, for three days starting from day 15th of gestation, affected fetal development by disrupting the uterine and placental tissues, or even caused pregnancy termination. These effects also entailed biochemical changes where they decreased progesterone and increased estradiol serum levels, modulated placental gene expressions of both MiR-(146a and 520), decreased uterine MMP-9, and up-regulated TIMP-1 protein expression, and empathized inflammatory responses (TNF-α, IL-1β). In addition, these alterations affected the brain''s GFAP, BDNF, and 5-HT content and some of the behavioral parameters escorted by the open field test. All these incidences were also perceived in the misoprostol-treated group. A total of 128 metabolites were identified in the alcoholic extract of MP, including hydroxycinnamates, flavonoid conjugates, quinones, iridoids, and terpenes. MP extract was successful in terminating the pregnancy with minimal behavioral abnormalities and low toxicity margins.     

Serum Fetuin-A: A Novel Potential Link Between Post-adolescent Acne and Insulin Resistance

BackgroundPost-adolescent acne is acne in patients aged older than 25 years. It is more common in women, suggesting an underlying hormonal imbalance. It has been postulated that insulin resistance (IR) may play a role in pathogenesis.ObjectiveTo explore the relationship between fetuin-A, IR, and post-adolescent acne.MethodsSerum fetuin-A levels were assessed using an ELISA technique in 50 female patients with post-adolescent acne and 50 healthy controls, and IR was calculated using the Homeostasis Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance Index (HOMA-IR).ResultsStudied patients had significantly higher HOMA-IR indices and serum fetuin-A levels than control subjects (P=0.001 and <0.001, respectively) and they were significantly increased in patients with severe lesions (P<0.001).ConclusionWe found that IR was more significantly prevalent among studied patients, especially those with more severe acne grades, and that could be attributed to higher serum fetuin-A levels. Fetuin -A might be a predictor for acne severity and associated metabolic comorbid conditions, such as IR. However, further large-scale studies will be needed.     

Delineating the phenotype of PNPLA8-related mitochondriopathies

Pathogenic variants in PNPLA8 have been described either with congenital onset displaying congenital microcephaly, early onset epileptic encephalopathy and early lethality or childhood neurodegeneration with progressive microcephaly. Moreover, a phenotype comprising adulthood onset cerebellar ataxia and peripheral neuropathy was also reported. To our knowledge, only six patients with biallelic variants in PNPLA8 have been reported so far. Here, we report the clinical and molecular characterizations of three additional patients in whom exome sequencing identified a loss of function variant (c.1231C>T, p.Arg411Ter) in Family I and a missense variant (c.1559T>A, p.Val520Asp) in Family II in PNPLA8. Patient 1 presented with the congenital form of the disease while Patients 2 and 3 showed progressive microcephaly, infantile onset seizures, progressive cortical atrophy, white matter loss, bilateral degeneration of basal ganglia, and cystic encephalomalacia. Therefore, our results add the infantile onset as a new distinct phenotype of the disease and suggest that the site of the variant rather than its type is strongly correlated with the disease onset. In addition, these conditions demonstrate some overlapping features representing a spectrum with clinical features always aligning with different age of onset.     

Herpetic Whitlow of the Hand in Infants

Introduction  Herpetic whitlows in infants are rare. Previous authors only reported individual case reports. We present a case series of six infants. Materials and Methods  This is a retrospective study of six cases of herpetic whitlows in infants seen by the senior author (MMA) over the past 23 years (1995–2017 inclusive). The following data were collected: age, sex, digit involved in the hand, mode of transmission, time of presentation to the author, clinical appearance, presence of secondary bacterial infection, presence of other lesions outside the hand, method of diagnosis, treatment, and outcome. Results  All six infants initially presented with classic multiple vesicles of the digital pulp. In all cases, there was a history of active herpes labialis in the mother. Incision and drainage or deroofing of the vesicles (for diagnostic purposes) resulted in secondary bacterial infection. Conclusion  The current report is the first series in the literature on herpetic whitlows in infants. We stress on the mode of transmission (from the mother) and establishing the diagnosis clinically. In these cases, no need for obtaining viral cultures or polymerase chain reaction; and no medications are required. Once the vesicles are disrupted, secondary bacterial infection is frequent and a combination of oral acyclovir and intravenous antibiotics will be required.