Serum prolidase I activity and some bone metabolic markers in patients with breast cancer: in relation to menopausal status

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate the diagnostic value of some osteoblastic/osteoclastic biochemical markers and serum prolidase I activity in breast cancer (BC). DESIGN AND METHODS: Serum bone gla protein (BGP), prolidase I activity, urinary deoxypyridinoline (Dpy) and calcium excretions were measured, in metastatic and nonmetastatic BC patients, and in 52 healthy women. RESULTS: In patients with metastases, bone turnover markers were found to be significantly higher than those in the control group and in patients without metastases. Serum prolidase activity in patients with and without metastases was also significantly higher than those in the control group, but there was no difference between the two patient groups. CONCLUSIONS: Bone turnover has been suggested to be accelerated in BC patients with the more pronounced osteolytic activation, especially in metastatic state. Serum prolidase in premenopausal period appears to be valuable in discriminating cancer patients from controls. BGP and to a lesser degree of Dpy, may be useful markers for predicting the metastatic bone involvement, as well as for the more cost effective management of BC patients and monitoring the effects of antiresorptive therapy of malignant osteolysis before any metastasis could be detected by other invasive techniques.     

A new assay of thermal-based avoidance test in freely moving mice.

The hot plate test is a standard way to measure nociceptive response latencies to a noxious thermal stimulus. Here we have modified the classic hot plate by allowing animals to escape to an adjacent chamber after exposure to the heated surface. In this test, the animals escape to the adjacent chamber after exposure to the hot plate set at 50 degrees C. Repeated exposure to the hot plate resulted in a facilitation of escape responses, as measured by a reduced latency to escape from the noxious thermal stimulus. Signs of nociceptive behavior, such as licking or jumping, were not affected in animals that received hot plate training. The reduction of escape latencies after repeated hot plate exposure might be a useful measure for studying the facilitation of escape responses. In addition, the modified hot plate described here might be useful in studying performance and memory deficits related to noxious thermal stimuli. PERSPECTIVE: We modified a hot plate to measure facilitation of escape responses to a noxious thermal stimulus. The measure of escape responses might be useful in the assessment of memory defects, evaluation of drug therapies, and the behavioral characterization of transgenic mice.     

Open channel block by KCB-328 [1-(2-amino-4-methanesulfonamidophenoxy)-2-[N-(3,4-dimethoxyphenethyl)-N-methylamino]ethane hydrochloride] of the heterologously expressed human ether-a-go-go-related gene K+ channels

KCB-328 [1-(2-amino-4-methanesulfonamidophenoxy)-2-[N-(3,4-dimethoxyphenethyl)-N-methylamino]ethane hydrochloride] is a newly synthesized class III antiarrhythmic drug and is known to be highly effective against various types of arrhythmias induced by coronary artery ligation, reperfusion, and programmed electrical stimulation. To understand the potential ionic mechanisms, we examined the effects of KCB-328, which encodes the rapidly activating delayed rectifier K(+) current in cardiac tissues, on human ether-a-go-go-related gene (HERG) channels expressed in Xenopus oocytes. The amplitudes of steady-state currents and tail currents of HERG were decreased by KCB-328 dose dependently. The decrease became more pronounced at more positive potential, suggesting that the block of HERG by KCB-328 is voltage-dependent. IC(50) values at -30, -20, -10, 0, +10, +20, +30, and +40 mV were 7.6 +/- 0.5, 4.8 +/- 0.4, 3.2 +/- 0.3, 2.1 +/- 0.3, 1.7 +/- 0.2, 1.4 +/- 0.2, 1.3 +/- 0.1, and 1.2 +/- 0.1 microM, respectively. Induction of block depended on depolarization beyond the threshold for channel opening. In addition, time-dependent block developed slowly, with tau = 1.7 +/- 0.3 s (100 microM) at 0 mV, and was delayed by a stronger depolarization to +80 mV, at which HERG channel is inactivated. We can conclude that KCB-328 preferentially blocks open (or activated) HERG channels. The block of HERG current might in part explain the underlying ionic mechanism for the antiarrhythmic and proarrhythmic effect of KCB-328.     

Clinical experience with subxiphoid pericardiostomy in the management of pericardial effusions: a study of 240 cases

We aimed to assess the effectiveness of subxiphoid pericardiostomy for treating patients with pericardial effusions (PE), and its contribution to defining the aetiology of these effusions. We undertook retrospective analysis of 240 PE patients who underwent subxiphoid pericardiostomy and tube drainage between 1990 and 2000. Echocardiography classified PE as severe in 132 patients, moderate in 99, and mild in nine. The main causes of PE were uraemic, idiopathic and undefined, tuberculous and non-tuberculous pericarditis, malignancy and trauma. Peri-operative myocardial injury requiring sternotomy, and recurrent effusion requiring further surgical intervention, occurred in three and 24 patients, respectively. Histopathological examination assisted the diagnosis in 94% of patients with malignancy, and 96% with tuberculous pericarditis. Overall 30-day mortality was 1.3% and pericardial constriction, requiring pericardiectomy, developed in seven cases. In conclusion, we believe that adults and children with PE can be safely, effectively and quickly managed with subxiphoid pericardiostomy, irrespective of its aetiology.     

Protein tyrosine phosphatase conjugated with a novel transdermal delivery peptide,astrotactin 1–derived peptide recombinant protein tyrosine phosphatase (AP-rPTP), alleviates both atopic dermatitis–like and psoriasis-like dermatitis

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Glycaemic control in type 2 diabetes: the impact of body weight, beta-cell function and patient education

We examined the determinants of glycaemic control in a consecutive cohort of 562 newly-referred Chinese type 2 diabetic patients (57% women) during a 12-month period. All patients underwent a structured assessment with documentation of clinical and biochemical characteristics. Pancreatic beta-cell function was assessed by fasting plasma C-peptide concentration. Insulin deficiency was defined as fasting plasma C-peptide <0.2 pmol/ml. Insulin resistance (IR) was calculated using the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) based on a product of fasting plasma glucose and insulin concentrations. Treatment was considered appropriate when insulin-deficient patients were treated with insulin and non-insulin-deficient patients were treated with oral agents or diet. Mean (+/-SD) age was 54.3+/-13.8 years (range 17-87 years) and disease duration was 5.0+/-5.9 years. At the time of referral, 70.5% (n=396) were on drug therapy (9% on insulin and 62.8% on oral agents), 20.6% (n=116) were on diet and 9% (n=50) had not received any form of treatment. The mean HbA(lc) was 8.4+/-2.3%. The geometric mean (x// antilog SD) of IR was 4.62x//2.51 (range 0. 63-162.7) and correlated only with waist : hip ratio (WHR, p=0.008). The geometric mean of plasma C peptide was 0.47x//2.89 nmol/l and correlated with BMI (p<0.001). Glycated haemoglobin was correlated positively with age (p=0.013), disease duration (p<0.001), IR (p<0. 001) and negatively with BMI (p<0.001). Glycated haemoglobin was lower in patients who had seen a dietitian (7.9% vs. 8.7%, p<0.001) or diabetes nurse (7.8% vs. 8.7%, p<0.001) or who performed self blood glucose monitoring (7.9% vs. 8.6%, p=0.001) and higher among smokers (8.9% vs. 8.2%, p=0.003). Compared to insulin-deficient patients (n=118), non-insulin-deficient patients (n=413) had features resembling that of the Metabolic Syndrome with increased WHR (p=0.005), blood pressure (p<0.001), BMI (p=0.001) and were older (p=0.04). Amongst the insulin-deficient patients, 27% were treated with oral agents or diet. Patients receiving appropriate therapy (n=362) had a lower HbA(lc) than those treated inappropriately (n=173) (8.2% vs. 8.7%, p=0.02). On multivariate analysis, short disease duration (p<0.001), low IR (p<0.001), high BMI (p=0.001), diabetes education (p<0.001), lack of smoking (p=0. 014) and choice of appropriate treatment (p=0.009) were the independent determinants of good glycaemic control.     

Development of an algorithm to automatically compress a CT image to visually lossless threshold

Background

To develop an algorithm to predict the visually lossless thresholds (VLTs) of CT images solely using the original images by exploiting the image features and DICOM header information for JPEG2000 compression and to evaluate the algorithm in comparison with pre-existing image fidelity metrics.

Methods

Five radiologists independently determined the VLT for 206 body CT images for JPEG2000 compression using QUEST procedure. The images were divided into training (n?=?103) and testing (n?=?103) sets. Using the training set, a multiple linear regression (MLR) model was constructed regarding the image features and DICOM header information as independent variables and regarding the VLTs determined with median value of the radiologists’ responses (VLT_rad) as dependent variable, after determining an optimal subset of independent variables by backward stepwise selection in a cross-validation scheme.The performance was evaluated on the testing set by measuring absolute differences and intra-class correlation (ICC) coefficient between the VLT_rad and the VLTs predicted by the model (VLT_model). The performance of the model was also compared two metrics, peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and high-dynamic range visual difference predictor (HDRVDP). The time for computing VLTs between MLR model, PSNR, and HDRVDP were compared using the repeated ANOVA with a post-hoc analysis. P?<?0.05 was considered to indicate a statistically significant difference.

Results

The means of absolute differences with the VLT_rad were 0.58 (95% CI, 0.48, 0.67), 0.73 (0.61, 0.85), and 0.68 (0.58, 0.79), for the MLR model, PSNR, and HDRVDP, respectively, showing significant difference between them (p?<?0.01). The ICC coefficients of MLR model, PSNR, and HDRVDP were 0.88 (95% CI, 0.81, 0.95), 0.85 (0.79, 0.91), and 0.84 (0.77, 0.91). The computing times for calculating VLT per image were 1.5?±?0.1 s, 3.9?±?0.3 s, and 68.2?±?1.4 s, for MLR metric, PSNR, and HDRVDP, respectively.

Conclusions

The proposed MLR model directly predicting the VLT of a given CT image showed competitive performance to those of image fidelity metrics with less computational expenses. The model would be promising to be used for adaptive compression of CT images.

     

Searching health information via the web: Hong Kong chinese older adults' experience

OBJECTIVE AND SAMPLE: This paper reports on the learning experience of 88 Chinese older adults who attended a health Web-navigating workshop. DESIGN: Through a 3-hr training workshop, participants were guided to browse through seven health Web sites that provide authoritative health information by the Hong Kong government, academic institutions, or professional bodies. METHODS: Upon completion of the workshop, an evaluation was made of the participants' confidence in navigating health Web sites by themselves at home and in utilizing the health information sources. RESULTS: The findings indicated that participants' confidence in seeking health information via the Internet was not associated with their age, educational level, or experience of using computers before the workshop but was significantly associated with their satisfaction with the workshop (p<.05). Significant change of source of health information was noted at follow-up, suggesting that the workshop was successful. CONCLUSIONS: Implications of the results for running health Web-navigating programs among Chinese older adults are discussed.     

Effects of multiple virus coinfections on disease progression in HIV-positive patients

OBJECTIVE: Since virus infections in AIDS patients are mostly inevitable and as they frequently cause disease deterioration and therapeutic failures, a comprehensive investigation was made of the influence of the coinfections of 9 well-known viruses on disease progression in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV). METHODS: A cross-sectional study of 62 HIV-positive patients was conducted to correlate the prevalence rates for the 9 viruses with the alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels and CD4 cell counts of the patients. RESULTS: The rates of HIV-positive patients infected with the 9 viruses are significantly higher than those of the control groups. Furthermore, almost one third of the patients in the studied group was coinfected with transfusion-transmitted virus (TTV) and manifested significantly higher ALT levels (p = 0.020), and these were raised further if coinfection with TTV and human hepatitis C virus had occurred (p = 0.010). By analyzing CD4 cell counts, the only significant effect on AIDS progression which could be detected was coinfection with human herpesvirus 8. CONCLUSION: This result confirmed that immune-suppressed persons are more vulnerable to common virus infections. Unlike hepatitis B or C virus, TTV seems to accelerate the progression of chronic hepatitis in HIV-infected patients.