Van der Woude syndrome: dentofacial features and implications for clinical practice

Background:  Van der Woude syndrome (VWS) is the most common clefting syndrome in humans. It is characterized by the association of congenital lower lip fistulae with cleft lip and/or cleft palate. VWS individuals have a high prevalence of hypodontia. Although caused by a single gene mutation, VWS has variable phenotypic expression. This study aimed to describe the range of clinical presentations in 22 individuals with VWS to facilitate its diagnosis.
Methods:  A retrospective study of 22 patients with a diagnosis of VWS was undertaken at the Australian Craniofacial Unit (ACFU) in Adelaide. Three extended families with affected members were included in the study cohort.
Results:  The overall prevalence of lip pits in this study cohort was 86%. Cleft phenotypes included bilateral cleft lip and palate (32%); unilateral cleft lip and palate (32%); submucous cleft palate (23%); and isolated cleft hard and soft palate (9%). Missing permanent teeth were reported in 86% of affected individuals.
Conclusions:  Submucous cleft palate in VWS may go undiagnosed if the lower lip pits are not detected. Associated hypodontia and resultant malocclusions will also require management by a dental team.     

Italian healthcare workers' views on mandatory vaccination

Background  

Mandatory vaccination has contributed to the success of immunisation programmes but voluntary vaccination allows people to be responsible for their own health. There are benefits from both policies and the arguments between them remain subject to debate within and without the scientific community, both nationally and internationally. The aim of this study is to assess the opinions of those who actually work in the Vaccination Service.     

The endocrine nervous system: source and target for neuroactive steroids

For a long time the endocrine brain was considered to the hypothalamus and to its special relationships with the hypophysis. The discovery of the wide distribution of steroid hormone receptors, as well as that of the possibility of metabolizing or synthesizing steroids by neural cells (neuroactive steroids), suggest, on the contrary, that interactions among steroids and nervous system are key points of the regulatory processes in the central and peripheral nervous system in normal conditions as well as in pathological conditions. In this brief overview we illustrate a few examples of these relationships with major emphasis on papers collected in this special issue.     

Neuroendocrine and behavioral effects of embryonic exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals in birds

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) exert hormone-like activity in vertebrates and exposure to these compounds may induce both short- and long-term deleterious effects including functional alterations that contribute to decreased reproduction and fitness. An overview of the effects of a number of EDCs, including androgenic and estrogenic compounds, will be considered. Many studies have been conducted in the precocial Japanese quail, which provides an excellent avian model for testing these compounds. Long-term impacts have also been studied by raising a subset of animals through maturation. The EDCs examined included estradiol, androgen active compounds, soy phytoestrogens, and atrazine. Effects on behavior and hypothalamic neuroendocrine systems were examined. All EDCs impaired reproduction, regardless of potential mechanism of action. Male sexual behavior proved to be a sensitive index of EDC exposure and embryonic exposure to a variety of EDCs consistently resulted in impaired male sexual behavior. Several hypothalamic neural systems proved to be EDC responsive, including arginine vasotocin (VT), catecholamines, and gonadotropin releasing hormone system (GnRH-I). Finally, EDCs are known to impact both the immune and thyroid systems; these effects are significant for assessing the overall impact of EDCs on the fitness of avian populations. Therefore, exposure to EDCs during embryonic development has consequences beyond impaired function of the reproductive axis. In conclusion, behavioral alterations have the advantage of revealing both direct and indirect effects of exposure to an EDC and in some cases can provide a valuable clue into functional deficits at different physiological levels.     

Breast cancer risk in relation to urinary and serum biomarkers of phytoestrogen exposure in the European Prospective into Cancer-Norfolk cohort study

Introduction

Phytoestrogens are a group of compounds found in plants that structurally resemble the hormone oestradiol, and thus have the potential to act as oestrogen agonists or antagonists. Their potential effects may alter the risk of breast cancer, but only a limited range of phytoestrogens has been examined in prospective cohort studies.

Methods

Serum and urine samples from 237 incident breast cancer cases and 952 control individuals (aged 45 to 75 years) in the European Prospective into Cancer-Norfolk cohort were analysed for seven phytoestrogens (daidzein, enterodiol, enterolactone, genistein, glycitein, o-desmethylangolensin, and equol) using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. Data on participants' diet, demographics, anthropometrics, and medical history were collected upon recruitment. All models were adjusted for weight, fat and energy intake, family history of breast cancer, social class, analytical batch, and factors related to oestrogen exposure.

Results

Urinary or serum phytoestrogens were not associated with protection from breast cancer in the European Prospective into Cancer-Norfolk cohort. Breast cancer risk was marginally increased with higher levels of total urinary isoflavones (odds ratio = 1.08 (95% confidence interval = 1.00 to 1.16), P = 0.055); among those with oestrogen receptor-positive tumours, the risk of breast cancer was increased with higher levels of urinary equol (odds ratio = 1.07 (95% confidence interval = 1.01 to 1.12), P = 0.013).

Conclusion

There was limited evidence of an association between phytoestrogen biomarkers and breast cancer risk in the present study. There was no indication of decreased likelihood of breast cancer with higher levels of phytoestrogen biomarkers, but the observation that some phytoestrogen biomarkers may be associated with greater risk of breast cancer warrants further study with greater statistical power.     

Relationship between HLA-DRB1 and DQ alleles and the genetic susceptibility to type 1 diabetes

Objective　To study the relationship between human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DRB1 and DQ alleles and the genetic susceptibility of type 1 diabetes in North Chinese children. Methods　Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques were used to amplify the second exon of DRB1 and DQ alleles, after which sequence specific olignucleotide probe (SSOP) dot blot hybridization techniques were used to analyze the amplified products. Results　DRB1*0301, DQA1*0301, DQB1*0201 alleles and DRB1*0301-DQA1*0501-DQB1*0201 haplotype were significantly increased in patients, while DQA1*0103 and DQB1*0601 alleles were significantly increased in controls. The distribution of DR4 and DR9 haplotypes in patients and controls were not significantly different, but DR3/DR4 and DR4/DR9 heterozygotes were significantly increased in patients. Conclusions　DRB1*0301, DQA1*0301 and DQB1*0201 confer susceptibility while DQA1*0103 and DQB1*0601 confer protection to type 1 diabetes. DRB1*0301-DQA1*0501-DQB1*0201 haplotype offers a predisposition to type 1 diabetes in North Chinese. Although the distribution of DR4 and DR9 in patients and controls had no significant difference, DR3/DR4 and DR3/DR9 heterozygotes were significantly increased in patients, showing that the susceptive effects of DR3 and DR4 or DR4 and DR9 haplotypes could be added up.     

Effect of hepatic dysfunction on oral cyclosporin pharmacokinetics in marrow transplant patients

The effect of hepatic dysfunction, defined as abnormal serum bilirubin level, on oral cyclosporin (CSP) pharmacokinetics was examined in 28 marrow transplant patients who received CSP for prophylaxis of graft-v- host disease. Serum CSP concentrations were measured by radioimmunoassay. Forty-one concentration-time courses were studied, divided among patients with no (less than 1.2 mg/dL), mild (1.2 to 2.0 mg/dL), and moderate (2.0 to 5.0 mg/dL) hepatic dysfunction. CSP elimination, as determined by elimination rate constant and clearance, was delayed in patients with moderate hepatic dysfunction compared to those with no hepatic dysfunction (P less than .05). The volume of distribution, lag time for absorption, maximum serum concentration, and time at which the maximum concentration was achieved was not affected by hepatic function. These data indicate that patients with moderate hepatic dysfunction have delayed CSP or CSP metabolite elimination and may be at higher risk for developing CSP-related toxicity.     

A monokine regulates colony-stimulating activity production by vascular endothelial cells

Human umbilical vein endothelial cells were cultured in supernatants of peripheral blood monocytes that had been cultured for 3 days with and without lactoferrin. Colony-stimulating activity (CSA) was measured in supernatants of the endothelial cell cultures and appropriate control cultures using normal, T-lymphocyte-depleted, phagocyte-depleted, low- density bone marrow cells in colony growth (CFU-GM) assays. Monocyte- conditioned medium contained a nondialyzable, heat labile factor that enhanced 4-15--fold the production of CSA by endothelial cells. The addition of lactoferrin to monocyte cultures reduced the activity of this monokine by 69%. Lactoferrin did not inhibit CSA production by monokine-stimulated endothelial cells. Therefore, vascular endothelial cells are potent sources of CSA, the production of CSA by these cells is regulated by a stimulatory monokine, and the production and/or release of the monokine is inhibited by lactoferrin, a neutrophil- derived putative feedback inhibitor of granulopoiesis. Inasmuch as a similar monokine is known to stimulate CSA production by fibroblasts and T lymphocytes, we suggest that mononuclear phagocytes play a pivotal role in the regulation of granulopoiesis by recruiting a variety of cell types to produce CSA.