Clinical significance of serum CA125 values in patients with cancers of the digestive system

A study of 347 patients with gastrointestinal diseases revealed elevation of CA125 in sera of 63% of patients with pancreatic carcinoma, 46% of patients with carcinoma of the biliary tract, 40% of patients with liver carcinoma and 11-37% of patients with other carcinomas. All of the patients with acute pancreatitis, chronic pancreatitis, cholelithiasis, and peptic ulcer had normal CA125 values, but 35% of patients with liver cirrhosis and 10% of patients with chronic active hepatitis had elevated values. Patients with disseminated carcinomas had significantly higher levels than patients with localized carcinomas. CA125 did not significantly correlate with CA19-9 or carcinoembryonic antigen in patients with pancreatic carcinoma. Ninety-seven percent of patients with pancreatic carcinoma were defined as being positive when both serum CA125 and CA19-9 were evaluated. These results indicate that CA125 is useful for differentiating pancreatic carcinoma from chronic pancreatitis, especially when supplemented with CA19-9.     

Favourable association of leg fat with cardiovascular risk factors

OBJECTIVES: To assess the association of trunk and leg fat mass (FM) and leg lean tissue mass (LTM) with conventional cardiovascular risk factors. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING AND SUBJECTS: We studied 1249 men and 3007 women (age 20-79 years) who attended a research institute for a health checkup between October 1995 and February 2004. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Body mass index, waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC), systolic and diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose and haemoglobin A(1C) were measured. Trunk FM, leg FM and leg LTM were obtained by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. We evaluated the associations between the indices for regional body composition and cardiovascular risk factors, which included hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, hypo-HDL cholesterolaemia, hypertriglyceridaemia, dyslipidaemia and diabetes mellitus. RESULTS: Increase in WC and HC respectively showed increase and decrease in odds ratios of cardiovascular risk factors. Increase in trunk FM by 1 kg significantly increased the risk of the cardiovascular risk factors with the odds ratios ranging between 1.11 and 1.45. Increase in leg FM by 1 kg significantly decreased the risk with the odds ratios ranging between 0.52 and 0.90, except for the nonsignificant results for hypercholesterolaemia and hypo-HDL cholesterolaemia in men. Odds ratios of 1 kg increase in leg LTM were only significant for dyslipidaemia in men and hypercholesterolaemia in women (both 0.93). CONCLUSIONS: WC and HC showed opposite and independent associations with cardiovascular risk factors. The favourable association of HC was mainly attributable to that of leg FM.     

Comparison of the Predictability of Neurological Outcome by Serum Procalcitonin and Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein in Postcardiac-Arrest Patients

Background  

In past research, procalcitonin (PCT) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) have been reported to be useful biomarkers in predicting neurological outcome after the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (CA), although they have only been studied separately. In this study, we compared the usefulness of PCT and GFAP in predicting neurological outcome.     

Neuroanatomical substrates for paroxysmal dyskinesia in lethargic mice

The paroxysmal dyskinesias are a group of neurological disorders described by intermittent attacks of involuntary abnormal movements superimposed on a relatively normal baseline. The neuroanatomical substrates for these attacks are not fully understood, though available evidence from studies of affected people and animal models points to dysfunction in the basal ganglia or cerebellum. In the current studies, the anatomical basis for paroxysmal dyskinesias in lethargic mice was determined via histochemical methods sensitive to changes in regional brain activity followed by surgical elimination of the suspected source. Cytochrome oxidase histochemistry revealed increased activity in the red nucleus. Surgical removal of the cerebellum worsened ataxia but eliminated paroxysmal dyskinesias. These studies support the hypothesis that abnormal cerebellar output contributes to paroxysmal dyskinesias.     

Nifedipine suppresses self-injurious behaviors in animals

Self-injurious behavior is a common problem in many developmental disorders. The neurobiology of this behavior is not well understood, but the differing behavioral manifestations and associations with different disorders suggest that the underlying biological mechanisms are heterogeneous. The behavioral and biological heterogeneity is also evident in several animal models, where different manifestations can be provoked under different experimental conditions. Identifying commonalities among the different mechanisms is likely to be helpful in the design of treatments useful for the broadest populations of patients. The current studies reveal that nifedipine suppresses self-injurious behavior in 4 unrelated animal models: acute administration of high doses of +/-BayK 8644 or methamphetamine in mice, dopamine agonist treatment in rats with lesions of dopamine pathways during early development and repeated administration of pemoline in rats. The effect of nifedipine does not appear to be due to nonspecific mechanisms, such as sedation, since other classes of behaviors are unaffected or exaggerated. These results suggest that nifedipine may target a common biological mechanism in the expression of self-injurious behavior, and they suggest it should be considered in the treatment of self-injury in humans.     

Rudimentary Eyes of Squamate Fossorial Reptiles (Amphisbaenia and Serpentes)

The rudimentary characteristic of the eyes of fossorial animals raises some questions regarding its evolution and functionality. Would these eyes result from atrophy or from stagnated development? How would its visual function work? Anatomical investigations of these organs are the fundamental preamble to answer those questions, which are still little explored by the literature. In this article we have studied anatomical aspects of the eyes of three species of fossorial reptiles, within the suborder Amphisbaena (Amphisbaena alba, Amphisbaena mertensi, Leposternon infraorbitale), as well as a species within the ophidian suborder (Typhlops brongersmianus). The minuscule eyes (1–2 mm diameter) were visualized through a scale, a translucent area which corresponds to the spectacle. This spectacle is a thinner and transparent scale, covering a conjunctival sac. The retrobulbar space was filled with the harderian gland. The eyes of Typhlops presented an oval shape, whereas Amphisbaena specimens presented cup‐shaped eyes. In Amphisbaenian sclera is comprised of cartilage, while the thin sclera of Typhlops consists of connective tissue and striated muscle fibers. The retina presented all the typical layers found in vertebrates, regardless the species. The characteristics involved in the fossil adaptation of these species include: reduced size of the eyeball, rudimentary cornea, absence of the anterior chamber, presence of a complex iris‐ciliary body, and lens with amorphous nucleate cells. The analysis of the eye morphology of these animals suggests that there might be a specific function concerning light perception. Anat Rec, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Midkine mRNA Is Overexpressed in Pancreatic Cancer

Purpose Midkine (MK) has been reported to be a possible molecular marker for the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. We investigated the feasibility of quantitative analysis of MK mRNA by quantitative real-time RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) as a promising tool for the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Results We found that pancreatic cancer tissues expressed significantly higher levels of MK mRNA than intraductal pancreatic mucinous neoplasm (IPMN) and non-neoplastic pancreatic tissues (P < 0.05); in contrast, we did not find any differences in MK mRNA expression between IPMN and non-neoplastic pancreatic tissues. Additionally, we observed that poorly differentiated carcinoma samples expressed higher levels of MK mRNA than well-differentiated carcinoma samples, although a significant difference was not observed. Conclusions The present data suggests that quantitative analysis of MK mRNA provides an objective and sensitive evaluation and may be a promising modality for the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer and the prediction of its prognosis.