Tattoos, inks, and cancer

The introduction in the dermis of exogenous pigments and dyes to obtain a permanent design (tattooing) represents a unique in-vivo situation, where a large amount of metallic salts and organic dyes remain in the skin for the lifetime of the bearer. The potential local and systemic carcinogenic effects of tattoos and tattoo inks remain unclear. Several studies have shed light on the presence of potential carcinogenic or procarcinogenic products in tattoo inks. We extensively reviewed the literature and found 50 cases of skin cancer on tattoos: 23 cases of squamous-cell carcinoma and keratoacanthoma, 16 cases of melanoma, and 11 cases of basal-cell carcinoma. The number of skin cancers arising in tattoos is seemingly low, and this association has to be considered thus far as coincidental.     

Diagnosis of celiac disease in clinical practice: physician's alertness to the condition essential

GOALS: We have for several years been training health personnel to recognize celiac disease, and have advocated serologic screening in risk groups. The aim was to establish whether this approach would offer an alternative to population screening, which has yielded a prevalence of 1% in Finland. BACKGROUND: The number of detected celiac disease cases is much lower than that obtained in serologic screening studies. STUDY: Nationwide recommendations for the detection of celiac disease were published in 1998, and training of health personnel took place in 2001 to 2002. The prevalence of celiac disease was calculated from the national registry of patients receiving reimbursement for dietary costs, attested by physician's statement. In 1 of the 10 statements the diagnostic criteria and clinical manifestations were scrutinized. RESULTS: The nationwide prevalence of celiac disease was 0.45%; 0.7% in the highest to 0.3% in the lowest area. The annual number of new patients increased from 5/100,000 in the early 1980s to 20/100,000 today. The percentage of patients found in risk groups (relatives of celiac disease patients, patients with extraintestinal symptoms or concomitant autoimmune disorders) was currently 16.3% in the high and 6.6% in the low prevalence area. Seventeen percent of patients had dermatitis herpetiformis, and its incidence was declining. CONCLUSIONS: A maximal prevalence of 0.7% of celiac disease was ascertained; educating primary health care staff regarding the protean manifestations of the disease seemed to be the key issue. The increase in incidence implies that a prevalence of 1.0% is possible, rendering population screening unnecessary.     

Sphingosine-1-phosphate in inhibition of male germ cell apoptosis in the human testis

It has been suggested that apoptosis is controlled by two intracellular sphingolipids, ceramide and sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), which are widely distributed in mammalian tissues. In the ovary, S1P was found to effectively block apoptosis caused by cancer therapies. Its role in male germ cell death, however, was unknown. In this study, we investigated the effects of ceramide and S1P on human male germ cell apoptosis. Germ cell death was induced by incubation of segments of seminiferous tubules in vitro. During apoptosis, ceramide levels increased rapidly before appearance of caspase 3 activation and DNA laddering, suggesting a role for ceramide in the induction of germ cell death. Ceramide appeared to regulate an early step of apoptosis because n-acetyl-L-cysteine and blockade of mitochondrial respiration inhibited apoptosis but had no effect on ceramide levels. Moreover, fumonisin B1 (ceramide synthetase inhibitor) did not significantly affect testicular apoptosis. Therefore, elevated ceramide levels are likely to result from breakdown of sphingomyelin rather than from de novo synthesis. Finally, we found that S1P at 1 and 10 micromol/liter suppressed germ cell apoptosis by 30% (P < 0.001). Taken together, sphingolipids appear to play a role in male germ cell apoptosis and can partly be inhibited by S1P.     

Working memory and sleep in 6- to 13-year-old schoolchildren

OBJECTIVE: To study the associations between sleep quality/quantity and performance in auditory/visual working memory tasks of different load levels. METHOD: Sixty schoolchildren aged 6 to 13 years from normal school classes voluntarily participated. Actigraphy measurement was done during a typical school week for 72 consecutive hours. It was timed together with the working memory experiments to obtain information on children's sleep during that period. The n-back task paradigm was used to examine auditory and visual working memory functions. RESULTS: Lower sleep efficiency and longer sleep latency were associated with a higher percentage of incorrect responses in working memory tasks at all memory load levels (partial correlations, controlling for age, all p values < .05, except in visual 0-back and auditive 2-back tasks); shorter sleep duration was associated with performing tasks at the highest load level only (partial correlations, controlling for age,p < .05). Also in general linear models (controlling for age, gender, and socioeconomic status), sleep efficiency (F = 11.706, p = .050) and latency (F = 3.588, p = .034) were significantly associated with the mean incorrect response rate in auditory working memory tasks. CONCLUSIONS: Sleep quality and quantity affect performance of working memory tasks in school-age children. In children with learning difficulties the possibility of underlying sleep problems should be excluded.     

Human Pharmacokinetics of Sotalol

Abstract The pharmacokinetics of sotalol were studied in healthy volunteers after a single dose and in hypertensive patients after chronic administration. A single 160 mg and two 80 mg socator® tablets were compared and found to be bioequivalent in terms of relative total bioavailability. Sotalol was well absorbed, about 73 % of the dose being excreted in the urine within 72 hours. The absolute bioavailability on oral administration was 100% indicating that both first–pass hepatic metabolism and metabolic destruction are negligible. There was no protein binding and the distribution volume was 171 1 after oral administration. The graphical fit of the plasma levels after a single oral dose was compatible with a two–compartment open model. The curve consisted of a distribution phase with a t_1/2 of 6 hrs followed by a disposition phase with a t_1/2 of 9.5 hrs. After chronic administration the t_1/2 during the disposition phase was 10 hrs. Computer fitting of the data gave a terminal body half–life of 17.2 hrs which corresponded well with the terminal body half–life of 15 hrs calculated manually from urinary excretion rate data. In the computer analysis the steady–state plasma levels to be expected after long–term oral dosing were simulated and found to be in good agreement with experimental data, indicating that there is no induction of sotalol metabolism or increase in efficiency of excretion during long–term sotalol administration.     

Bacterial cultures in burn patients’ mattresses

Background

The hospital bed and, especially, mattresses and pillows, which are in direct contact with patients, pose a potential risk of infection for the patient if not adequately decontaminated. The aim of this study was to examine the bacterial cultures of the mattresses in burn center and the correlation between the bacterial cultures of the burn patients and their mattresses.

Methods

Three bacterial samples from the mattresses of 11 burn patients were taken during the treatment in the burn center, resulting in 28 samples.

Results

The most common bacteria in mattress swabs were coagulase-negative staphylococci, typical skin normal bacterial flora. Pathogens problematic to burns patients (pseudomonas and acinetobacteria) transferred from the patients to mattresses. Some bacteria were found only in the mattresses.

Conclusions

Our data show that bacterial transfer from the patient to mattress is possible. We recommend that, as a part of the infection control program, burn centers should monitor the decontamination of mattresses by sampling them after disinfections. Level of Evidence: Level IV, diagnostic study.     

Matrix Metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13, Collagenase-3) is Highly Expressed in Human Tooth Pulp

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their specific tissue inhibitors (TIMPs) participate into extracellular matrix degradation in physiological and pathological conditions. We hypothesized that MMP expression in pulp tissue changes in response to caries attack and investigated the gene expression profiles of MMPs and TIMPs in pulp tissue of sound and carious teeth with cDNA microarray. cDNA microarray demonstrated an extremely high MMP-13 (collagenase-3) mRNA expression in pooled pulp samples of sound and carious teeth, with less pronounced expression of MMP-16 (MT3-MMP) and TIMP-1. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction of individual pulp samples revealed a wide range of the MMP-13 expression level between pulp samples with possible downregulation of MMP-13 expression during caries progression. Western blot and immunohistochemical staining confirmed the presence of MMP-13 with no observable differences between sound and carious teeth pulp tissues. The results reveal that MMP-13 is expressed and synthesized in pulp tissue, an interesting feature considering the very limited expression of MMP-13 in normal adult tissues. Further studies with a larger sample size are needed to clarify the changes in MMP-13 expression during caries progression.     

Outpatient treated burns in infants younger than 1 year in Helsinki during 2005–2009

In general, voluminous data exists concerning burns in children, but the data focusing specially on children less than 1 year of age is sporadic. We therefore focused on examining the special features of burns in children less than 1 year of age.     

Decreased training volume and increased carbohydrate intake increases oxidized LDL levels

We studied effects of probiotics and training volume on oxidized LDL lipids (ox-LDL), serum antioxidant potential (s-TRAP) and serum antioxidants (s-α-tocopherol, s-γ-tocopherol, s-retinol, s-β-carotene and s-ubiquinone-10) in marathon runners during 3-months training period, 6-days preparation period and marathon run. Runners (n=127) were recruited for a randomized, double-blind intervention during which they received either Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG, probiotic group) or placebo drink (placebo group) during whole study. During the preparation period, subjects decreased training and increased carbohydrate intake. Blood samples were taken at baseline, before 6-days preparation, before and immediately after the marathon. Probiotics did not have any effect on ox-LDL, s-TRAP or serum antioxidants levels during the study. Interestingly, ox-LDL increased by 28% and 33% during the preparation period and decreased by 16% and 19% during the marathon run in the placebo and probiotic groups, respectively (in all, P<0.001). No changes were seen in s-TRAP before marathon, but during run s-TRAP raised by 16% in both groups (both, P<0.001). The increase of ox-LDL level during the preparative period after several months' training suggests that aerobic training may reduce the concentration of ox-LDL and that decrease of training together with increased energy intake, mainly carbohydrate, before marathon is capable of increasing the level of ox-LDL.