Use of thiamine pyrophosphate to prevent infertility developing in rats undergoing unilateral ovariectomy and with ischemia reperfusion induced in the contralateral ovary

Objective

To investigate whether thiamine pyrophosphate can prevent infertility developing in rats undergoing unilateral ovariectomy and with ischemia reperfusion induced in the contralateral ovary. Biochemical examinations of the ovaries were also performed.

Study design

Rats were divided into two main groups of three subgroups each. An ischemia reperfusion model was established in the first main group, while surgical unilateral ovariectomy was performed in the second. Thiamine pyrophosphate and melatonin were administered to the subgroups. No additional procedure was performed in the control groups. The rats were then left in laboratory environments and their fertility levels were determined. Malondialdehyde, total glutathione and DNA damage products were measured in those rats from which ovarian tissue was collected.

Results

The results showed that thiamine pyrophosphate prevented ischemia/reperfusion injury-related infertility, but melatonin did not provide adequate prevention. However, reproduction in healthy animals receiving melatonin began earlier compared to those receiving thiamine pyrophosphate. Melatonin suppressed oxidative stress caused by ischemia/reperfusion in ovarian tissue significantly better than did thiamine pyrophosphate.

Conclusions

We think that different mechanisms, in addition to antioxidant activity, are involved in the prevention of reperfusion-associated infertility after ischemia.     

Maternal serum soluble adhesion molecule levels at 11+0–13+6 weeks and subsequent development of pre-eclampsia

Objectives. We sought to examine whether the maternal serum concentration of soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (sVCAM-1) and intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (sICAM-1) at 11⁺⁰–13⁺⁶ weeks of gestation could improve the prediction for subsequent development of pre-eclampsia.

Methods. A nested case–control prospective study of pregnancies having uterine artery Doppler routinely at 11⁺⁰–13⁺⁶ weeks of gestation was conducted to determine the maternal serum concentration of sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 in peripheral blood samples obtained from 18 women who later developed pre-eclampsia and 60 unaffected women.

Results. The mean uterine artery pulsatility index was higher (2.2 ± 0.6 vs. 1.8 ± 0.5, p < 0.05) in the pre-eclampsia compared with the unaffected pregnancies. There were no significant differences between the groups in the mean serum concentration of either adhesion molecule.

Conclusions. These results suggest that there is no endothelial activation before the appearance of clinical signs of pre-eclampsia. Therefore, these biochemical markers are unlikely to become early predictors of this condition.     

Detecting the Shape Differences of the Corpus Callosum in Behçet's Disease by Statistical Shape Analysis

The aim of this study was to assess the shape differences of the corpus callosum (CC) in patients with Behçet's disease using statistical shape analysis (SSA). Additionally, an attempt was made to investigate the changes in CC size according to disease duration. Twenty‐five adults with clinically diagnosed Behçet's disease and 25 age‐ and gender‐matched controls were examined by high‐resolution structural magnetic resonance imaging. The data obtained from the coordinate of landmarks were analyzed with Euclidean distance matrix analysis and a thin‐plate spline analysis. SSA and growth curve models were performed to investigate group differences and to fit the curves. A significant difference was determined between CC shape of Behçet patients and controls (P = 0.006). Based on the analysis, a decrease occurred in the CC size of the Behçet patients as the duration of disease increased. Maximum deformations were determined in the landmarks of interior notch of the splenium, inferior tip of the splenium, posterior‐most point of the CC, and topmost point of the CC. Similarly, the landmark of anterior‐most point of the CC was identified as having the minimum deformation. Behçet patients had significantly different CC shapes from control subjects. The results suggest that SSA is a promising tool for distinguishing Behçet patients from normal subjects, and that it can give useful information to assist clinicians. Additionally, SSA might be applied to detect shape differences in anatomical structures that are affected by a broad range of neurological diseases. Anat Rec, 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Serum alkaline phosphatase levels in healthy children and evaluation of alkaline phosphatase z-scores in different types of rickets

Objective: Serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels show great variation with age and sex in children and adolescents. Additionally, different buffers used even in the same method cause variable results. This detail is not usually taken into account in the evaluation. We aimed to study pediatric age- and sex-specific reference ranges for ALP by colorimetric assay using p-nitrophenyl phosphate as substrate and diethanolamine as buffer and also to compare the ALP levels in patients with different types of rickets. Methods: 1741 healthy children and adolescents (904 girls) were included in the study for normative data. 77 different ALP measurements from 38 nutritional rickets (NR), 7 vitamin D-dependent rickets (VDDR) and 8 hypophosphatemic rickets (HR) patients were included. Results: Reference values for ALP were constructed. ALP levels demonstrated a tetraphasic course with two peaks at infancy and puberty. There was no difference in ALP levels between boys and girls until puberty. However, higher ALP levels were noted at 10-11 years in girls (p=0.02) and at 12-13, 14-15, 16-17 years in boys (p<0.001). ALP levels start to decline after age 12 and 14 in girls and boys, respectively. Serum ALP levels were highest in the VDDR group and lowest in the HR group (median z-score values in HR, VDDR and NR were 3.6, 10.4 and 6.5, respectively; p<0.001). Similarly, plasma parathormone(PTH) levels ranged from highest to lowest in the VDDR, NR and HR groups (median values: 525, 237 and 98 pg/mL, respectively; p<0.001). Conclusions: This normative data will provide a basis for better evaluation of ALP levels determined by the described method. Furthermore, use of z-scores gives a more precise assessment of changes in ALP levels in rickets and other bone disorders. Conflict of interest:None declared.     

Relationship between speech motor control and speech intelligibility in children with speech sound disorders

The current study was undertaken to investigate the impact of speech motor issues on the speech intelligibility of children with moderate to severe speech sound disorders (SSD) within the context of the PROMPT intervention approach. The word-level Children's Speech Intelligibility Measure (CSIM), the sentence-level Beginner's Intelligibility Test (BIT) and tests of speech motor control and articulation proficiency were administered to 12 children (3:11 to 6:7 years) before and after PROMPT therapy. PROMPT treatment was provided for 45 min twice a week for 8 weeks. Twenty-four naïve adult listeners aged 22–46 years judged the intelligibility of the words and sentences. For CSIM, each time a recorded word was played to the listeners they were asked to look at a list of 12 words (multiple-choice format) and circle the word while for BIT sentences, the listeners were asked to write down everything they heard. Words correctly circled (CSIM) or transcribed (BIT) were averaged across three naïve judges to calculate percentage speech intelligibility. Speech intelligibility at both the word and sentence level was significantly correlated with speech motor control, but not articulatory proficiency. Further, the severity of speech motor planning and sequencing issues may potentially be a limiting factor in connected speech intelligibility and highlights the need to target these issues early and directly in treatment.     

Cutaneous Metastasis of Gallbladder Adenocarcinoma in a Patient with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Skin metastasis of primary gallbladder tumors is extremely rare with a reported incidence of 0.7~9% and it usually involves the thorax, abdomen, the extremities, neck, head region, and scalp. Cutaneous metastasis may occur synchronously or metatochronously. In the present case, the patient had chronic lymphocytic leukemia, which was being treated with an alkylating agent (chlorambucil) when the patient developed skin metastasis from gallbladder adenocarcinoma during post- cholecystectomy follow-up. Given the fact that secondary malignancies occur in chronic lymphocytic leukemia; this clinical setting warrants attention. We aimed to discuss secondary malignancy in chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients and gallbladder adenocarcinoma with skin metastasis, based on a review of the literature and the presented case.