Rosuvastatin protects tissue perfusion in the experimental testicular torsion model

Recently, anti-inflammatory and tissue protective effects of statins have been shown independent from its anti-hyperlipidemic effect. It has been shown that one of the statins, rosuvastatin, may reduce ischemia/reperfusion (I/R)-induced tissue injury in the brain, intestines, and heart. We planned an experimental study to evaluate the effect of rosuvastatin on I/R injury encountered after the detorsion of the testicular torsion. Rats were divided into three groups. In group 1, testis basal blood flow (basal value) was measured with LASER Doppler flowmeter (LDF). Testis was relocated into the scrotum without torsion. Two and 3 h after the basal measurement, testis was brought out from the same incision, and the second (second value) and third (third value) testicular blood flow measurements were done, respectively. In group 2, after the measurement of basal value testicular torsion was created. Second and third value measurements were obtained with LDF at the end of the 2 h of testicular torsion just before the detorsion and 1 h after detorsion. In group 3, same procedures in torsion/detorsion group were repeated in this group, but 10 mg/kg rosuvastatin was injected intraperitoneally 30 min before detorsion. Second values in groups 2 and 3 were significantly lower than group 1. Third values were significantly low in group 2 compared to groups 1 and 3. Regarding the third measurement, there was no significant difference between the groups 1 and 3. Tissue injury is closely related with condition of microvascular perfusion after I/R. Rosuvastatin can protect tissue perfusion in the experimental testicular torsion model.     

Evidence for waning of latency in a cohort study of tuberculosis

Background  

To investigate how the risk of active tuberculosis disease is influenced by time since original infection and to determine whether the risk of reactivation of tuberculosis increases or decreases with age.     

The value of XPD and XRCC1 genotype polymorphisms to predict clinical outcome in metastatic colorectal carcinoma patients with irinotecan-based regimens

Background  

Previous studies have suggested that DNA repair enzyme polymorphisms may bear prognostic value in metastatic colorectal carcinoma (MCRC).     

Spontaneous endogenous hypermelatoninemia: a new disease?

Melatonin, a major photoperiod-dependent hormone, regulates circadian rhythms and biological rhythms and acts as a prominent sleep promoter. Symptoms related to hypermelatoninemia have been reported in individuals supplemented with melatonin. However, spontaneous endogenous hypermelatoninemia has not been reported previously. A 6-year-old girl previously diagnosed with Shapiro's syndrome was admitted to our hospital on several occasions during a 1-year period with complaints of altered consciousness, syncope, hypothermia and episodes of sweating. The episodes occurred daily and during sleep and lasted for 1-6 h. During these episodes, she sweated profusely and felt faint and her skin was pale and cool. Other complaints included recurrent abdominal pain, urge incontinence and myopia. She was shown to have hypermelatoninemia (>1,000 pg/ml, normal range 0-150 pg/ml) during these episodes. The duration of her attacks decreased with phototherapy and she was successfully treated with propranolol. To our knowledge, this is the first case of hypermelatoninemia without any detectable organic pathology. We did not determine the exact mechanism of hypermelatoninemia in this patient; however, it might have been related to irregular control of pinealocytes by the suprachiasmatic nucleus or related pathways. Hypermelatoninemia should be considered in patients with spontaneous periodic hypothermia and hyperhidrosis, and also in patients with Shapiro's syndrome.     

The design and cytotoxic evaluation of some 1-aryl-3-isopropylamino-1-propanone hydrochlorides towards human Huh-7 hepatoma cells

A series of 1-aryl-3-isopropylamino-1-propanone hydrochlorides 1 and a related heterocyclic analog 2 as candidate antineoplastic agents were prepared and the rationale for designing these compounds is presented. A specific objective in this study is the discovery of novel compounds possessing growth-inhibiting properties of hepatoma cells. The compounds in series 1 and 2 were prepared and their structures established unequivocally. X-ray crystallography of two representative compounds 1d and 1g were achieved. Over half of the compounds are more potent than 5-fluorouracil which is an established drug used in treating liver cancers. QSAR evaluations and molecular modeling studies were undertaken with a view to detecting some physicochemical parameters which govern cytotoxic potencies. A number of guidelines for amplification of the project have been formulated.     

A comparative evaluation of dengue diagnostic tests based on single-acute serum samples for laboratory confirmation of acute dengue

A prospective study was carried out to evaluate the sensitivity of dengue NS1 antigen-capture ELISA in comparison with dengue virus isolation, conventional RT-PCR and real-time RT-PCR for laboratory confirmation of acute dengue based on single-acute serum samples. Four primary healthcare centres were involved to recruit patients with clinical diagnosis of dengue illness. Patient's demographic, epidemiological and clinical information were collected on a standardized data entry form and 5 ml of venous blood was collected upon consent. In the laboratory, six types of laboratory tests were performed on each of the collected acute serum sample. Of the 558 acute serum samples collected from 558 patients with clinical diagnosis of dengue from mid-August 2006 to March 2009, 174 serum samples were tested positive by the dengue NS1 antigen-capture ELISA, 77 by virus isolation, 92 by RT-PCR and 112 by real-time RT-PCR. A total of 190 serum samples were tested positive by either one or a combination of the four methods whereas, only 59 serum samples were tested positive by all four methods. Thus, based on single-acute serum samples, 190 of the 558 patients (34.1%) were laboratory-confirmed acute dengue. The overall test sensitivity was 91.6%, 40.5%, 48.4% and 58.9% for dengue NS1 antigen-capture ELISA, virus isolation, conventional RT-PCR and real-time RT-PCR respectively. Statistically, dengue NS1 antigen-capture ELISA was the most sensitive and virus isolation was the least sensitive test for the laboratory confirmation of acute dengue based on single-acute serum specimens. Real-time RT-PCR was significantly more sensitive than the conventional RT-PCR.     

Protective role of propolis in chlorpyrifos-induced changes in the haematological parameters and the oxidative/antioxidative status of Cyprinus carpio carpio

The protective effect of propolis on haematological parameters and antioxidant status were evaluated in the blood and various tissues of carp exposed to chlorpyrifos (CPF). The fish were exposed to sublethal concentrations of CPF (0.040 and 0.080 mg/L) for 10 days, and propolis (10 mg per kg of fish weight) was simultaneously administered. Samples of the blood and tissue (liver, kidney, and gill) were collected at the end of the experiment and analysed for their oxidant–antioxidant status, including the malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, and the superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity. The samples were also measured for changes in the haematological parameters, such as the red blood cell (RBC) and white blood cell (WBC) counts, the haemoglobin concentration (Hb), the haematocrit (Ht) level, and the erythrocyte indices: the mean corpuscular volume (MCV), the mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) and the mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC). The findings of this study demonstrated that CPF had a negative effect on the haematological parameters and the antioxidant enzyme activities of the fish; this toxic effect was neutralised by the administration of propolis. The present results suggest that propolis can be effective in the protection of CPF-induced toxicity in fish.     

Hyperthermia up-regulates matrix metalloproteinases and accelerates basement membrane degradation in experimental stroke

We investigated the effects of balance difficulty on contingent negative variation (CNV) and postural preparation against perturbation. Thirteen subjects were perturbed by a backward floor translation (S2) after an auditory warning stimulus. To alter balance difficulty, subjects maintained standing posture from four initial positions before perturbation. The position of the center of pressure in the anteroposterior direction (CoPy) was expressed as a percentage distance of foot length (%FL) from the heel: 10%FL anterior to extreme backward leaning; quiet standing (QS); and 20%FL and 10%FL posterior to extreme forward leaning. CNV, CoPy, and electromyography (EMG) of the lower leg muscles were analyzed. Balance difficulty was represented by the relative distance of the forward peak position of CoPy after S2 from the QS position. Balance difficulty was higher with a more anterior initial position. The late CNV peaked just before S2 (latency: -76 to -306 ms), then started becoming small. CNV peak was earlier and larger with increasing balance difficulty. CoPy backward shift and a continuous EMG increase were observed as the strategy for postural preparation, and were significantly earlier (61 ms and 42 ms, respectively) than the CNV peak. CNV peak time correlated closely with onset times of CoPy backward shift (r=0.78) and continuous EMG increase (r=0.71). These findings suggest that as balance difficulty increases, attentional allocation to sensory information and/or postural preparation starts earlier just before the perturbation.