DNA damage and oxidative stress in patients with mild preeclampsia and offspring

Objective

Oxidative stress has been shown to play an important role in the pathogenesis of pre-eclampsia, and DNA damage frequently occurs in cells exposed to such stress. The aim of the present study was to investigate DNA damage and oxidative stress in mildly pre-eclamptic women and their offspring.

Study design

We studied 25 mildly pre-eclamptic mothers, 20 healthy controls, and their infants. Mononuclear leukocyte DNA damage, total antioxidant status (TAS), and total oxidant status (TOS) were determined and the oxidative stress index (OSI) was calculated.

Results

DNA damage, and TOS and OSI levels were significantly increased, and TAS levels significantly decreased, in maternal and cord blood samples of the mildly pre-eclamptic group. A positive correlation between the extent of DNA damage and diastolic blood pressure was evident in pre-eclamptic mothers and there was a negative correlation between the extent of DNA damage and TOS.

Conclusion

Both oxidative stress and DNA damage are elevated in mildly pre-eclamptic patients and their offspring. Increased oxidative stress may be important in inducing DNA damage in pre-eclamptic patients.     

Use of diazepam for hyperemesis gravidarum

Objective. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of intravenous (IV) fluid and diazepam therapy compared with the IV-fluid only therapy for the resistant hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) cases.

Methods. Medical records of 74 HG cases who were refractory to standard management were reviewed. All patients hospitalised were administered IV fluid and multivitamin combination as the first-step therapy. Patients who were refractory to first-step therapy were given IV fluid (Group 1, n = 43) or IV fluid and diazepam (Group 2, n = 31) depending on the patients' desire. Groups were matched for demographic characteristics, rehospitalisation requirement, patient satisfaction and neonatal outcomes.

Results. Thirteen of the 74 patients were excluded from the study because of unknown maternal and fetal outcome. The mean gestational age was 10.4 ± 2.4 year. Age, parity, body mass index and educational level were similar between the two groups. Mean diazepam dose was 62.8 ± 24.5 mg (range 40–160) in Group 2 (n = 31). The number of hospitalisation was significantly lower, and patient satisfaction was significantly higher in Group 2. There were no differences for the obstetrics outcomes between the groups.

Conclusions. The addition of diazepam to IV fluids was associated with less hospitalisation in women with hyperemesis gravidarum. Safety of diazepam therapy in early pregnancy deserves further study.     

Effect of an oral contraceptive on emotional distress, anxiety and depression of women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a prospective study

STUDY QUESTION: We aimed to determine the impact of an oral contraceptive (OC) treatment on health-related quality of life (HRQOL), depressive and anxiety symptoms in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). SUMMARY ANSWER: OC therapy in PCOS improves hirsutism and menstrual disturbances, along with HRQOL. This improvement is not associated with any change in the prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms. WHAT IS KNOWN AND WHAT THIS ARTICLE ADDS: Limited data are available regarding the effects of an OC on HRQOL, and depressive and anxiety symptoms in PCOS. This study reports the effects of the ethinyl estradiol/drospirenone (EE/DRSP) OC on an HRQOL questionnaire for women with PCOS (PCOSQ), depressive and anxiety symptoms after 6 months of treatment. DESIGN: Prospective observational study. All participants completed PCOSQ, Beck Depression Inventory, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and General Health Questionnaire. Serum androgens, fasting insulin, fasting and postload glucose values during an oral glucose tolerance test were measured. Changes in these variables and the scores of questionnaires were evaluated after 6 months of treatment with EE/DRSP (3 mg/30 μg). PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Thirty-six patients with PCOS without a previous psychiatric diagnosis were included in the study. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: The main complaints of the patients were hirsutism and irregular menses. Accordingly, menstrual and hirsutism problems were the most serious concerns followed by emotional problems on the PCOSQ. Eight patients (22.2%) had clinical depression scores. After treatment, regular menstrual cycles were attained and hirsutism was significantly improved in all patients. Hirsutism and emotion domains of the PCOSQ improved at 6 months (P< 0.05 for both). Depression was improved in five of eight depressive patients and four new patients showed increased depression scores. Overall, depression, anxiety mean scores and depression rates did not show a significant change. BIAS, CONFOUNDING AND OTHER REASONS FOR CAUTION: The study is subject to the strengths and limitations of observational study design. A limitation of our study is the small sample size and lack of data related to possible confounding factors. GENERALIZABILITY TO OTHER POPULATIONS: Generalizable to Caucasian PCOS.     

Serum adenosine deaminase,catalase and carbonic anhydrase activities in patients with bladder cancer

OBJECTIVES:

The relationship between adenosine deaminase and various cancers has been investigated in several studies. However, serum adenosine deaminase activity and carbonic anhydrase and catalase activities in patients with bladder cancer have not previously been reported. Therefore, the aim of this study was to measure serum adenosine deaminase, carbonic anhydrase and catalase activities in patients with bladder cancer.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

Forty patients with bladder cancer and 30 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. Serum adenosine deaminase, carbonic anhydrase and catalase activities were measured spectrophotometrically.

RESULTS:

Serum adenosine deaminase, carbonic anhydrase and catalase activities were significantly higher in patients with bladder cancer than controls (all significant, p<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS:

These markers might be a potentially important finding as an additional diagnostic biochemical tool for bladder cancer.     

Autonomic nervous system dysfunction and their relationship with disease severity in children with atopic asthma

The involvement of autonomic imbalance has been reported in the pathogenesis of allergic diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the clinical severity of childhood asthma with autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysfunction and to define whether the severity of asthma correlates with ANS activity. In this case-control study, we evaluated the ANS activity by testing heart rate variability (HRV) and sympathetic skin response (SRR) in 77 asthmatic children, age 7-12 yrs, who had no co-morbidity and compared them with 40 gender- and age-matched control subjects. According to the severity of their asthma, study subjects were further divided into three groups: I (mild asthmatics), II (moderate asthmatics), and III (severe asthmatics). Inter-group ANS scale scores differed significantly (p<0.01) between Groups I and III and between Groups II and III. Combined use of HRV and SSR provides a higher degree of sensitivity for assessing disease severity in cases of pediatric asthma.     

Psychological consequences of bullying for hospital and aged care nurses

RODWELL J. & DEMIR D. (2012) Psychological consequences of bullying for hospital and aged care nurses. International Nursing Review Aim: This study examines the psychological consequences of workplace bullying by negative affectivity (NA) and demographics for hospital and aged care nurses. Introduction/Background: Nurses are particularly vulnerable to workplace bullying, with suggestions that oppressed group behaviours may play a role. Bullying is a potent stressor that can negatively impact psychological well‐being, which, with NA and demographics, may be important in understanding the consequences of nurse bullying. Such factors are yet to be examined together across different nursing contexts. Methods: A cross‐sectional survey was conducted across hospital and aged care nurses working within a medium to large Australian healthcare organization in October 2009. The sample comprised 233 (29.1%) hospital and 208 (43.8%) aged care nurses. Analyses of covariance were used to evaluate the data. Results: For hospital nurses, psychological distress was noted as an impact of bullying, while depression was the impact for aged care nurses. Full‐time aged care nurses reporting bullying had higher psychological distress scores, compared with part‐time workers in the same area. NA was a significant covariate across both outcomes in both contexts. Discussion/Conclusion: This study demonstrates that bullying has detrimental consequences for the mental health of nurses in both hospital and aged care contexts. The results support the suggestion that nurses are an oppressed group at high risk of bullying, confirm the intrinsic nature of NA to the bullying process, and highlight the importance of employment type for aged care nurses. Given the shortage of nurses, managers need to give higher priority to addressing workplace bullying and implementing zero tolerance policies.     

A dynamic study of the thermal components in electrical injury mechanism for better understanding and management of electric trauma: an animal model

The thermal effects of acute electric trauma to living cells show some variation patterns and kinetics for different body components (muscle, bone, blood-vein and skin). Thermal energy transfer is random with no preferred directions, but electrical energy transfer is vectorial in the direction of the current. In the present study, a total 50 white male Wistar Albino rats, body weight 250-300 g, have been used to study electrical injury mechanism with subsequent change in muscle perfusion at different post-traumatic stages. The muscle temperature was found to increase with a sudden jump from 35.3+/-1.2 to 75.2+/-7.6 degrees C. The bone temperature increased from 35.2+/-1.4 to 45.8+/-1.2 degrees C and decayed slowly within 600+/-90 s. The venous blood curves show a similar pattern to that of muscle with a sudden jump of temperature from 36.4+/-.9 to 40.5+/-3.1 degrees C. The core temperature showed a flat pattern with a slight increase from 36.1+/-0.8 to 37.3+/-0.6 degrees C and the peak temperature was found after 70+/-10 s. From the scintigraphic study, muscle perfusion was found to be a minimum 72 h after electric shock. The right hind limbs of all the rats (ground) exhibited more intense histopathological damages (electric burns) than the left fore limb (source).     

Serum trace element levels in patients with bladder cancer

Trace elements are essential components of biological structures, but they can be toxic at concentrations beyond those necessary for their biological functions. In the present study, groups of 35 patients with bladder cancer and 34 healthy volunteer controls were measured for trace elements using a furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Serum levels of Cd, Ni and Co were increased (p<0.05) and Mn and Zn were decreased (p<0.05) in patients with bladder cancer. In the present study, a relationship was seen between the level of trace elements and the occurrence of bladder cancer, suggesting that an increase in the serum level of Cd, Ni, Co and a decrease in the levels of Zn and Mn might be important causes of bladder cancer occurrence; however, defining such a cause-and-effect relationship needs several prospective studies to be done, which seems necessary with regard to the high prevalence of this cancer.