Desmoplastic sebaceoma arising from nevus sebaceus: a new variant

Nevus sebaceus is known to have the potential to develop into various secondary tumors. We observed a sebaceoma arising from a nevus sebaceus excised from the left cheek of a 51‐year‐old woman. This sebaceoma showed desmoplastic change similar to that observed in desmoplastic trichoepithelioma and desmoplastic trichilemmoma. This heretofore undescribed desmoplastic variant of sebaceoma should not be mistaken for invasive sebaceous carcinoma.     

Neuroprotective effects of dimerumic acid and deferricoprogen from Monascus purpureus NTU 568-fermented rice against 6-hydroxydopamine-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis in differentiated pheochromocytoma PC-12 cells

Context Oxidative stress plays a key role in neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson’s disease (PD). Rice fermented with Monascus purpureus Went (Monascaceae) NTU 568 (red mould rice) was found to contain antioxidants, including dimerumic acid (DMA) and deferricoprogen (DFC).

Objective The effects of DMA and DFC on 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-induced cytotoxicity and potential protective mechanisms in differentiated PC-12 pheochromocytoma cells were investigated.

Materials and methods DMA (0–60?μM) or DFC (0–10?μM) was co-treated with 6-OHDA (200?μM, 24?h exposure) in differentiated PC-12 cells. Cell viability and intercellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) were measured by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) and 2′,7′-dichlorofluorescein-diacetate (DCFH-DA) assays, respectively. Cell apoptosis was determined by DNA fragmentation analysis and propidium iodide staining by flow cytometry. Western blot analysis was used to measure the levels of cell protein expression.

Results DMA and DFC significantly increased cell viability to 72% and 81% in 6-OHDA-induced differentiated PC-12 cell cultures, respectively. Furthermore, DMA and DFC reduced 6-OHDA-induced formation of extracellular and intercellular ROS by 25% and 20%, respectively, and decreased NADPH oxidase-2 expression in differentiated PC-12 cells. DMA and DFC inhibited 6-OHDA-induced apoptosis and decreased activation of caspase-3 via regulation of Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax) and Bcl-2 protein expression in differentiated PC-12 cells.

Conclusion DMA and DFC may protect against 6-OHDA toxicity by inhibiting ROS formation and apoptosis. These results showed that the metabolites from M. purpureus NTU 568 fermentation were potential therapeutic agents for PD induced by oxidative damage and should be encouraged for further research.     

The metabolic syndrome and risk of coronary artery disease in patients with chronic schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder in a chronic mental institute

The prevalence rate of metabolic syndrome (MS) and coronary artery disease (CAD) has been found to be high in patients with chronic schizophrenia. Current evidence shows that CAD is underdiagnosed in this group. Our study evaluated the prevalence of MS and the risk of CAD in patients with chronic schizophrenia in a chronic care mental hospital in southern Taiwan. We included all patients with the diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. We collected all laboratory, physical examination, psychiatric interview, and chart review data. We also evaluated the risk of CAD in these patients using the Framingham point system. There was no significant age difference in the MS prevalence rate in these patients. The young patients with schizophrenia in our study tended to have a higher prevalence of MS than the general population. In addition, female patients had a higher prevalence rate of MS than males. Based on the Framingham point system, we found the 10-year risk of CAD to be higher among the patients with schizophrenia than in the general population. Our study highlights the importance of the high risk of MS in both younger and older patients with schizophrenia, without a significant relationship to the use of antipsychotics. More complete cohort studies are needed to confirm these findings. Psychiatrists may want to establish more specific and detailed clinical guidelines for patients with chronic schizophrenia with comorbid physical diseases, especially MS and CAD.