Functional Electrical Stimulation—A New Therapeutic Approach to Enhance Exercise Intensity in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients: A Randomized,Controlled Crossover Trial

Objective

To evaluate the effect of quadriceps functional electrical stimulation (FES)-cycling on exertional oxygen uptake ($\dot{\text{V}}$o₂) compared with placebo FES-cycling in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

A Review: Associations Between Attention-deficit/hyperactivity Disorder,Physical Activity,Medication Use,Eating Behaviors and Obesity in Children and Adolescents

In the past few years we have become increasingly aware of strong associations between obesity and ADHD. Both conditions are major public health issues, affecting children, adolescents and adults alike.

Partial blockage of the inferior vena cava. Results apropos of 110 cases]

Rheoplethysmography with occlusion (RPO) is useful in the diagnosis of deep venous thrombosis. Bilateral phlebography with cavography performed afterwards as an emergency gives information as to the embolic potential of the thrombosis and orientates treatment towards surgical interruption of the inferior vena cava. In the C.H.U. at Grenoble 83 clips, 25 umbrella filters and 2 ligatures were placed on the inferior vena cava from 1974 to 1977. Prevention of pulmonary emboli was achieved in 99% cases with lower limb embolic foci. Follow-up by RPO and isotopic phlebography showed that the course of venous thrombosis of the lower limbs seemed to be unchanged by partial interruption of the inferior vena cava, provided that elastic stockings and adequate anticoagulant therapy adapted to venous haemodynamics are used.     

Recombinant interferon gamma in hairy cell leukemia, multiple myeloma, and Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia

Fifteen patients with multiple myeloma, five with hairy cell leukemia, and five with Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia were treated with recombinant interferon gamma (rINF-gamma) to determine the antitumor activity of this agent. The rIFN-gamma was administered by daily intramuscular injection at doses ranging from 0.125 to 0.5 mg/m2. No responses were observed in patients with multiple myeloma, although in one patient the disease has remained stable for over 16 months. Minimal improvement in some hematologic indexes were observed in three of five patients with hairy cell leukemia. One partial remission and one minor response were documented in two of the five patients with Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia. In five patients, an increase in normal serum immunoglobulins was observed. These results suggest that there is only minimal activity of rIFN-gamma as a single agent in neoplasms of B-cell origin.     

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy improves angiogenesis and bone formation in critical sized diaphyseal defects

Besides the use of autologous bone grafting several osteoconductive and osteoinductive methods have been reported to improve bone healing. However, persistent non‐union occurs in a considerable number of cases and compromised angiogenesis is suspected to impede bone regeneration. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) improves angiogenesis. This study evaluates the effects of HBO on bone defects treated with autologous bone grafting in a bone defect model in rabbits. Twenty‐four New‐Zealand White Rabbits were subjected to a unilateral critical sized diaphyseal radius bone defect and treated with autologous cancellous bone transplantation. The study groups were exposed to an additional HBO treatment regimen. Bone regeneration was evaluated radiologically and histologically at 3 and 6 weeks, angiogenesis was assessed by immunohistochemistry at three and six weeks. The additional administration of HBO resulted in a significantly increased new bone formation and angiogenesis compared to the sole treatment with autologous bone grafting. These results were apparent after three and six weeks of treatment. The addition of HBO therapy to autologous bone grafts leads to significantly improved bone regeneration. The increase in angiogenesis observed could play a crucial role for the results observed. © 2015 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 33:513–520, 2015.     

Proline at the P2 position in protein C is important for calcium- mediated regulation of protein C activation and secretion

Protein C is a vitamin K-dependent plasma serine protease zymogen, which upon activation, functions as an anticoagulant. Protein C activation is catalyzed by a complex of thrombin (T) with thrombomodulin (TM). This activation is Ca(2+)-dependent, but Ca2+ inhibits protein C activation by thrombin alone. In most proteases, specificity is determined primarily by the residues that lie near the scissile bond. In protein C, the P2 position is Pro, whereas in the fibrinogen A chain, P2 is Val. We have expressed a Pro-->Val mutant of protein C (P168V) in mammalian cells. At saturating Ca2+, the P168V and wild-type proteins were activated by the T-TM complex equivalently, but half maximal rates of activation were obtained at 50 mumol/L Ca2+ for wild type and approximately 5 mmol/L Ca2+ for the P168V mutant. In the absence of TM, Ca2+ no longer inhibited the activation of the P168V mutant. These results indicate that Pro168 influences the Ca(2+)- dependent conformational changes in protein C that control activation. Recently, a patient with thrombotic complications has been identified with a Pro168-->Leu substitution. Both the P168V and the P168L mutation lead to impaired secretion caused by retention within the cell.     

Existence of a pool of T-lymphocyte colony-forming cells (T-CFC) in human bone marrow and their place in the differentiation of the T- lymphocyte lineage

The existence and characteristics of bone marrow T-cell progenitors have not yet been established in man. Several pieces of evidence such as the reconstitution of certain immunodeficiencies by bone marrow graft suggest that T-cell precursors are present in the bone marrow. We report the growth of T-cell colonies from bone marrow populations using PHA-stimulated lymphocyte-conditioned medium containing T-cell growth factor (TCGF). Rosetting experiments and complement-dependent cytotoxicity assays with monoclonal antibodies indicate that the bone marrow T colony-forming cells (T-CFC) are E- OKT 3- and la+, i.e., immature progenitors. The colonies derived from these cells have the phenotype of mature T cells: E + OKT 3 + la- with either helper (OKT 4+) and suppressor (OKT 8 +) antigens. These results suggest that a thymic microenvironment may not be necessary for the in vitro proliferation and differentiation of the T-cell lineage in adult humans. These methodologies may permit direct investigation of early phenomena concerning the T-cell lineage, such as the acquisition of self-tolerance, the formation of a repertoire of specificities, and the HLA restriction phenomena that we believe takes place before the thymic maturation.     

Evaluación de la validez de las funciones SCORE de bajo riesgo y calibrada para población española en las cohortes FRESCO

Introduction and objectives

To assess the validity of the original low-risk SCORE function without and with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and SCORE calibrated to the Spanish population.

Functional and structural adaptations in the pancreatic α-cell and changes in glucagon signaling during protein malnutrition

Chronic malnutrition leads to multiple changes in β-cell function and peripheral insulin actions to adapt glucose homeostasis to these restricted conditions. However, despite glucose homeostasis also depends on glucagon effects, the role of α-cells in malnutrition is largely unknown. Here, we studied α-cell function and hepatic glucagon signaling in mice fed with low-protein (LP) or normal-protein diet for 8 wk after weaning. Using confocal microscopy, we found that inhibition of Ca2? signaling by glucose was impaired in α-cells of LP mice. Consistent with these findings, the ability of glucose to inhibit glucagon release in isolated islets was also diminished in LP mice. This altered secretion was not related with changes in either glucagon gene expression or glucagon content. A morphometric analysis showed that α-cell mass was significantly increased in malnourished animals, aspect that was probably related with their enhanced plasma glucagon levels. When we analyzed the hepatic function, we observed that the phosphorylation of protein kinase A and cAMP response-binding element protein in response to fasting or exogenous glucagon was impaired in LP mice. Additionally, the up-regulated gene expression in response to fasting observed in the hepatic glucagon receptor as well as several key hepatic enzymes, such as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ, glucose-6-phosphatase, and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, was altered in malnourished animals. Finally, liver glycogen mobilization in response to fasting and the ability of exogenous glucagon to raise plasma glucose levels were lower in LP mice. Therefore, chronic protein malnutrition leads to several alterations in both the α-cell function and hepatic glucagon signaling.