Steroid conversion and prostaglandin production by chorionic and decidual cells in relation to term and preterm labour

The production of progesterone from pregnenolone, of cortisol from cortisone and of prostaglandin E (PGE) under basal and arachidonic acid-stimulated conditions was measured in cells dispersed from chorion and decidua. The cells were obtained after delivery from four groups of women: following spontaneous labour at term (38-42 weeks gestation), at elective caesarean section at term before the onset of labour, after induced labour at term, and after uncomplicated preterm (27-36 weeks) labour. Chorionic cells had a high progesterone output with relatively low cortisol and PGE production, whereas decidual cells had a high cortisol and PGE production rate. Free arachidonic acid stimulated PGE production in both decidual and chorionic cells. There were no significant differences in either steroid or PGE production among the four groups studied. These data suggest that steroid dehydrogenase activity in choriodecidual cells is not related to the mode of onset of labour and that the increased prostaglandin production in intrauterine tissues associated with parturition is due to enhanced availability of arachidonic acid.     

Ultrasound in obstetric decision making. How accurate are late ultrasound scans in gestational age and fetal weight assessment?

Gestational age determination based on obstetric dating criteria, early pregnancy ultrasound scans, Dubowitz examinations, and ultrasound scans performed shortly before delivery were reviewed for 69 preterm infants requiring neonatal intensive care. The last ultrasound scans underestimated gestational age by a median of 8 days, and by 2 weeks or more in 20 of the 69 cases, as opposed to best dating criteria. Ultrasonic fetal weight estimation was more accurate, but erred by more than 20% in 10% of cases. When obstetric decisions regarding preterm neonates must be made without prior information regarding gestational age, late ultrasound findings must be applied with extreme care.     

Reactive oxygen species: a breath of life or death?

New insights into cancer cell-specific biological pathways are urgently needed to promote development of rationally targeted therapeutics. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and their role in cancer cell response to growth factor signaling and hypoxia are emerging as verdant areas of exploration on the road to discovering cancer's Achilles heel. One of the distinguishing and near-universal hallmarks of cancer growth is hypoxia. Unregulated cellular proliferation leads to formation of cellular masses that extend beyond the resting vasculature, resulting in oxygen and nutrient deprivation. The resulting hypoxia triggers a number of critical adaptations that enable cancer cell survival, including apoptosis suppression, altered glucose metabolism, and an angiogenic phenotype. Ironically, recent investigations suggest that oxygen depletion stimulates mitochondria to elaborate increased ROS, with subsequent activation of signaling pathways, such as hypoxia inducible factor 1alpha, that promote cancer cell survival and tumor growth. Because mitochondria are key organelles involved in chemotherapy-induced apoptosis induction, the relationship between mitochondria, ROS signaling, and activation of survival pathways under hypoxic conditions has been the subject of increased study. Insights into mechanisms involved in ROS signaling may offer novel avenues to facilitate discovery of cancer-specific therapies. Preclinical and clinical evaluation of agents that modify ROS signaling in cancer offers a novel avenue for intervention. This review will cover recent work in ROS-mediated signaling in cancer cells and its potential as a target for developmental therapeutics.     

Blood serum protein sorption on the surface of perfluorocarbon emulsion particles

The amount of protein bound per 1 mL of the perfluorocarbon (PFC) emulsion depends on the emulsifier composition and the particle size. A relationship between the amount of bound protein on the particle surface and the physicochemical parameters of the PFC emulsion interaction with the blood serum, which indirectly characterize the surface properties of the PFC particles, is established. __________ Translated from Khimiko-Farmatsevticheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 41, No. 12, pp. 40–43, December, 2007.     

Use of a geographic information system to track smelter-related lead exposures in children: North Lake Macquarie, Australia, 1991–2002

Background  

To determine patterns of childhood lead exposure in a community living near a lead and zinc smelter in North Lake Macquarie, Australia between 1991 and 2002.     

Cross-calibration of dual-energy X-ray densitometers for a large, multi-center genetic study of osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a common disease with a strong genetic component characterized by reduced bone mass and an increased risk of fragility fractures. Bone mineral density (BMD) is the most important determinant of osteoporotic fracture risk, but the genes responsible for BMD regulation and fracture are incompletely defined. To enable multi-center studies to examine the genetic influences on BMD there is a requirement to standardize measurements across different manufacturers of bone densitometers, different versions of machines and different normative ranges. This paper describes a method developed to allow near-identical subjects with low age-adjusted BMD (based on Z-scores) to be recruited in 17 centers using 27 different densitometers. Cross-calibration was based on measurements using a European spine phantom circulated to all centers and measured ten times on each individual machine. From theses values an individual exponential curve, based on nominal versus observed BMD, was derived for each machine. As expected, there were large and significant variations in nominal BMD values, not only between scanners from different manufacturers but also between different versions of scanners from the same manufacturer. Hologic scanners tended to underestimate the nominal BMD, while Lunar scanners overestimated the value. Norland scanners gave mixed values over estimating BMD at the lower nominal value (0.5 g/cm²) while underestimating the value at the higher value (1.5 g/cm²). The validity of the exponential equations was tested using hip and spine measurements on 991 non-proband women from a familial osteoporosis study (FAMOS). After cross-calibration there was a considerable reduction in variation between machines. This observation, coupled with the absence of a similar reduction in variation attributable to a linear regression on age, demonstrated the validity of the cross-calibration approach. Use of the cross-calibration curves along with a standard normative range (in the case of this study, the Hologic normative range) allowed age-specific Z-scores to be used as an inclusion criterion in this genetic study, a method that will be useful for other trials where age-specific BMD inclusion criteria are required.     

Quality of life after total mesorectal excision for rectal cancer

BACKGROUND: After total mesorectal excision for rectal cancer, many surgeons try to avoid an abdominoperineal resection (APR) by performing a transanally double stapled low colo-rectal anastomosis (LRA), frequently without a pouch. This policy is mainly based on the assumption that the quality of life after such LRA is higher than after APR. It has been suggested that a better functional outcome and therefore a higher quality of life might be achieved by a colo-anal J-pouch anastomosis (CPA). The aim of this study was to assess quality of life among disease-free survivors after APR, LRA and CPA. METHODS: The charts of 301 consecutive patients who had undergone surgery for cancer in the middle or lower third of the rectum were analysed. Two hundred four patients were eligible for inclusion. The quality of life among these patients was assessed using one generic (EQ-5D) and two disease-specific questionnaires (EORTC QLQ-C30 and EORTC QLQ-CR38). RESULTS: The response rate was 82%. The median follow-up was 31 months. Overall, quality of life was good but CPA patients had better quality of life scores than APR and LRA patients. This difference was not only due to the better functional outcome but also to the lower incidence of disturbed micturition and sexual problems in the CPA group. CONCLUSION: The quality of life after colo-anal J-pouch anastomosis is better than after abdominoperineal resection (APR) and low colo-rectal anastomosis (LRA). The quality of life after APR is similar to that after LRA.     

Long-term neurological outcome of childhood brain tumors treated by surgery only.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the pattern of neurological late effects in patients who have received surgery only for a brain tumor in childhood and to identify possible risk factors for neurological sequelae. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The medical, histologic, and operative records were reviewed for 65 consecutive patients operated for a benign brain tumor from 1970 to 1997, and all patients were re-examined after a median length of follow-up of 10.7 years. Thirty-four patients had posterior fossa tumors, 22 patients had cerebral hemisphere tumors, and nine patients had midline tumors. RESULTS: At the time of follow-up, 20 patients (31%) had no neurological deficits, 22 patients (34%) had minor deficits that did not interfere with their daily life activities, and 23 patients (35%) had moderate or severe deficits such as severe ataxia, spastic paresis, seriously reduced vision, or epilepsy with more than two seizures per year. Fourteen of the 31 patients (45%) registered with ataxia preoperatively had recovered fully. Six of seven patients had persistence of a pre- or postoperatively developed hemiparesis. Thirteen of 23 patients had persistence of cranial nerve deficits that developed second to surgery. Fifty-five percent of the 18 patients with seizures at diagnosis were seizure-free at follow-up. At follow-up both ataxia and hemiparesis were significantly more frequent among females (P =.02 and P =.03, respectively). CONCLUSION: In patients who received operation as the only treatment for their brain tumor, there was a good chance of total or partial recovery of preoperative and postoperative neurological deficits, although only one third of the patients will have no long-term neurological deficits.