Premature ventricular beats in a previously healthy child

A 12-year-old girl presented to the emergency department with a chief complaint of left-sided chest pain. On physical examination she was noted to have an irregular pulse, and an electrocardiogram revealed 30 to 50 premature ventricular contractions per minute with periods of bigeminy. The patient was admitted to the intensive care unit and treated with antiarrhythmic medication without resolution of her premature ventricular contractions. A diagnostic workup, including echocardiogram, Holter monitoring, and exercise stress testing, was performed. It was determined that the cardiac dysrhythmia, consisting of unifocal premature ventricular contractions with a characteristic configuration on the electrocardiogram, was benign in nature and did not require antiarrhythmic therapy.     

Modulation of impaired cholinesterase activity in experimental diabetes: effect of Gymnema montanum leaf extract

We reported that a leaf extract (GLEt) obtained from an anti-diabetic plant, Gymnema montanum, an endangered species endemic to India, has anti-peroxidative and antioxidant effects on diabetic brain tissue in rats. Here we examined the effect of the extract on the activity of reduced brain and retinal acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic male Wistar rats. Diabetic rats received GLEt orally (200 mg/kg bwt/d) for 12 wk, and changes in blood glucose, plasma insulin, the lipid peroxidation marker thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance (TBARS), and AChE and BChE activity were measured. The results confirmed prior reports that hyperglycemia significantly enhances TBARS levels in brain and retinal tissue and decreases AChE and BChE activity. Treatment with GLEt significantly reversed the impairment in enzymatic activity in addition to reducing the level of TBARS, suggesting that GLEt protects against the adverse effect of lipid peroxidation on brain and retinal cholinesterases. We suggest that GLEt could be useful for preventing the cholinergic neural and retinal complications of hyperglycemia in diabetes.     

Effect of N-benzoyl-D-phenylalanine, a new potential oral antidiabetic agent, in neonatal streptozotocin-induced diabetes in rats

The present investigation was undertaken to study the effect of treatment with D-phenylalanine derivative and metformin in neonatal streptozotocin (nSTZ)-induced non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) in rats. To induce NIDDM, a single dose injection of streptozotozin (STZ) (100 mg kg(-1); ip) was given to 2-day-old rats. After 10-12 weeks, rats weighing above 150 g were selected for screening in NIDDM model. They were checked for fasting blood glucose levels to conform the status of NIDDM. D-phenylalanine derivative (50, 100 and 200 mg kg(-1)) was administered per os (po) for 6 weeks to the rats with confirmed diabetes. A group of diabetic rats was also maintained and this group received metformin as comparative drug. Significant decrease in blood glucose with significant increase in plasma insulin was observed in group receiving 100 mg of D-phenylalanine derivative plus 500 mg of metformin.     

Antioxidant and Free Radical Scavenging Effects of Lippia nodiflora

This study evaluated the in vitro antioxidant potential of methanol extract of Lippia nodiflora Mich. (Verbenaceae) (MELN). The different antioxidants assays, including total antioxidant activity, reducing power, free radical, superoxide anion radical, hydroxyl radical, hydrogen peroxide, nitric oxide scavenging, and total phenolic content, were studied. MELN exhibited potent total antioxidant activity that increased with increasing amount of extract concentration (50, 100, 200, and 400 μg/mL), which were compared with standard drug α -tocopherol (400 μg/mL). The different concentrations of MELN and α -tocopherol showed inhibition of 49.07%, 58.96%, 63.07%, 68.29%, and 74.59%, respectively, on peroxidation in linoleic acid emulsion. In addition, MELN had effective reducing power, free radical scavenging, superoxide anion radical scavenging, hydroxyl radical scavenging, hydrogen peroxide radical scavenging, and nitric oxide scavenging activity, and total phenolic content depending on concentration. These various antioxidant activities were compared with standard antioxidants such as BHA, BHT, catechin, and α -tocopherol.     

Effect of Copper on Growth and Enzyme Activities of Marine Diatom, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Odontella mobiliensis</Emphasis>

The 72-h IC₅₀, 7-d no observable effect concentration (NOEC), low observable effect concentration (LOEC), Chronic values were derived for copper on the growth of marine diatom, Odontella mobiliensis. The effect of copper was also studied on cell morphology, size, nitrate reductase and antioxidant enzymes (Catalase, Superoxide dismutase and peroxidase). The 72-h IC₅₀ of 298.4 ± 28.3, NOEC of 15.6, LOEC of 29.6 and chronic value of 21.5 μg Cu L⁻¹ were found in the present study. The chlorophyll a was significantly decreased with increasing concentrations of copper. The length of the cell (apical axis) was extended from 30.14 ± 5.98 μm at control to 71.4 ± 6.29 μm at 574 μg Cu L⁻¹, the spines were absent at 574 μg L⁻¹ and the cell structure was entirely damaged at 926 μg Cu L⁻¹. The antioxidant enzymes viz. Catalase, Peroxidase activities and Melondialdehyde were increased whereas the Nitrate reductase and activity was reduced at 21.5 μg Cu L⁻¹ during 7 days exposure.     

Allospecific CD154+ T Cells Associate with Rejection Risk After Pediatric Liver Transplantation

Antigen-specific T cells, which express CD154 rapidly, but remain untested in alloimmunity, were measured with flow cytometry in 16-h MLR of 58 identically-immunosuppressed children with liver transplantation (LTx), to identify Rejectors (who had experienced biopsy-proven rejection within 60 days posttransplantation). Thirty-one children were sampled once, cross-sectionally. Twenty-seven children were sampled longitudinally, pre-LTx, and at 1–60 and 61–200 days after LTx. Results were correlated with proliferative alloresponses measured by CFSE-dye dilution (n = 23), and CTLA4, a negative T-cell costimulator, which antagonizes CD154-mediated effects (n = 31). In cross-sectional observations, logistic regression and leave-one-out cross-validation identified donor-specific, CD154 + T-cytotoxic (Tc)-memory cells as best associated with rejection outcomes. In the longitudinal cohort, (1) the association between CD154 + Tc-memory cells and rejection outcomes was replicated with sensitivity/specificity 92.3%/84.6% for observations at 1–60 days, and (2) elevated pre-LTx CD154 + Tc-memory cell responses were associated with significantly increased incidence (p = 0.02) and hazard (HR = 7.355) of rejection in survival/proportional hazard analysis. CD154 expression correlated with proliferative alloresponses (r = 0.835, p = 7.1e-07), and inversely with CTLA4 expression of allospecific CD154 + Tc-memory cells (r =−0.706, p = 3.0e-05). Allospecific CD154 + T-helper-memory cells, not CD154 + Tc-memory, were inhibited by increasing Tacrolimus concentrations (p = 0.026). Collectively, allospecific CD154 + T cells provide an estimate of rejection risk in children with LTx.