Persistent ductus arteriosus in a 72-year-old woman with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation and depression syndrome: a therapeutic and diagnostic problem

Treating the elderly is often problematic, especially when congenital heart disease is diagnosed. The aim of this study is to present the case of a 72-year old woman with depression syndrome, paroxysmal atrial fibrillation and past cerebral stroke, in whom persistent ductus arteriosus Botalli was diagnosed. Due to exacerbation of the depressive syndrome, she did not give her consent to further diagnostics, possible interventional procedures and treatment with oral anticoagulants. After intermission of the therapy she was treated with dabigatran. The patient is still undergoing outpatient treatment and so far, no cerebrovascular episodes have been recorded.     

New diagnostic criteria for alcohol use disorders and novel treatment approaches – 2014 update

The study is aimed at presenting new diagnostic and therapeutic proposals for patients with alcohol use disorders. The revised ICD-11 which is currently being updated is coming closer to American standards in disease classification. The latest update of the American DSM-5 has been a notable step forward as it integrates alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence into a single disorder called alcohol use disorder. Recent developments in research into diagnostic tools have brought changes in the approach to therapy. According to most international guidelines, the form of treatment should be customised to the individual patient, with consideration given to his/her mental and physical condition, personality and natural setting. A significant change is the recommendation of a harm reduction strategy as a useful alternative to total abstinence in alcohol dependence treatment for some patients.     

Natural products against cancer angiogenesis

The process of angiogenesis is quite well-known nowadays. Some medicines and extracts affecting this process are already used routinely in supporting the conventional treatment of many diseases that are considered angiogenic such as cancer. However, we must be aware that the area of currently used drugs of this type is much narrower than the theoretical possibilities existing in therapeutic angiogenesis. Plant substances are a large and diverse group of compounds that are found naturally in fruits, vegetables, spices, and medicinal plants. They also have different anticancer properties. The aim of this literature review article is to present the current state of knowledge concerning the molecular targets of tumor angiogenesis and the active substances (polyphenols, alkaloids, phytohormones, carbohydrates, and terpenes) derived from natural sources, whose activity against cancer angiogenesis has been confirmed.     

Identification of forensically important blowfly species (Diptera: Calliphoridae) by high-resolution melting PCR analysis

We describe here the successful coupling of real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and high-resolution melting (HRM) analysis to rapidly identify 15 forensically important species of blowfly from the family Calliphoridae (Diptera), which occur in Poland. Two short regions (119 and 70 base pairs, respectively) of cytochrome oxidase gene subunit I with sufficient sequence diversity were selected. In the case of lacking taxa (e.g., reference species) these amplicons can be synthesized using sequences deposited in gene banks. The technique utilizes low template DNA concentration and is highly reproducible. The melting profile was not altered up to a 10,000-fold difference in DNA template concentration (ranging from 5 pg to 50 ng). The several HRM runs performed on different specimens from Poland belonging to the same species and on different days resulted in only minor variations in the amplification curves and in melting temperatures of the peaks. Intraspecific variation in a larger scale was tested using synthesized oligonucleotides from cosmopolitan Lucilia illustris originating from Poland, France, Great Britain, India, and USA. As HRM PCR analysis is sensitive to even single base changes, all geographic variants of this species were identified. This technique is also cost-effective and simple, and it may even be used by non-geneticists. A working protocol was ultimately constructed for the purpose of rapid and accurate species identification in most countries in Europe regardless of which stage or which part of a blowfly was collected.     

The –A162G polymorphism of the PON1 gene and the risk of sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Background and purposeSporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (sALS) is a devastating neurodegenerative disease, which results from complex genetic and environmental interactions. Recent studies have reported an association between several polymorphisms of the PON1 and PON2 genes and risk of sALS. The aim of the present study was to identify an association between the – A162G polymorphism of the promoter region of the human PON1 gene and the risk of sALS in a Polish population.Material and methodsWe included 259 patients with a diagnosis of definite or probable sALS (76 bulbar onset, 183 limb onset) and 694 healthy controls matched for age and sex. The diagnosis of ALS was established according to El Escorial criteria. The polymorphism was studied by Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction analysis.ResultsNo overall difference in the PONI – A162G genotype and allele distribution was seen between cases and controls (all p > 0.05). There was, however, a difference in the A allele frequency when the bulbar onset group was compared to the controls (p = 0.03), but this significance disappeared after the Bonferroni correction.ConclusionsThe results did not show that the – A162G polymorphism of the PON1 gene is a risk factor of sALS in a Polish population; it may affect, however, bulbar onset of the disease.