Myeloradiculopathy associated with wasp sting

A 12-year-old girl developed a reversible myeloradiculopathy 1 week after a wasp sting. Delayed neurologic hypersensitivity reactions to Hymenopteran stings occur primarily in adults. Reactions involving both the peripheral and central nervous systems are extremely rare and have never been reported in a child. The mechanisms underlying this uncommon reaction may be related to age-dependent differences in immunologic responses.     

Treatment of experimentally induced atherosclerosis in swine iliac arteries: A comparison of self-expanding and balloon-expanded stents

Atherosclerosis was induced in 20 Hanford miniature swine. Subsequently, one iliac artery lesion in each of 16 pigs was stented with either a self-expanding (8 pigs) or a balloon-expanded (8 pigs) stent. Immediately after stent placement, 4 animals in each group were taken off the atherogenic diet and continued on normal chow for the remainder of the study. Four months after stents were placed, atherosclerosis and the mural changes associated with the stent were more clearly evident in the arteries of the pigs continued on the atherogenic diet. These pigs also exhibited significantly more neointimal proliferation. In addition, the arteries containing the balloon-expanded stents showed more extensive and complex intimal changes when compared with arteries with self-expanding stents. Although both stent designs were equally effective in maintaining vascular patency, the balloon-expanded stent was more traumatic to the vessel wall which resulted in a significantly greater neointimal thickness.     

Agomelatine and its therapeutic potential in the depressed patient

Despite advances in understanding potential disease mechanisms and in developing novel therapeutic approaches to the treatment of major depressive disorder, the disease continues to carry an enormous personal, social, and economic burden. Agomelatine represents an important opportunity to advance the treatment of depression. It is a melatonergic (MT₁ and MT₂) agonist and serotonergic (5HT_2C) antagonist. Evidence from animal models of depression, complements emerging clinical data. In a dose range of 25–50 mg daily, agomelatine is an effective antidepressant with a very favorable side-effect profile. In particular, sleep restorative action in the absence of sedation and minimal effect on sexual function suggests that agomelatine represents a worthwhile treatment alternative for patients with major depressive disorder.     

Protection Against Chemically-Induced Oxidative Gastrointestinal Tissue Injury in Rats by Bismuth Salts

Oxygen free radicals (OFR) are implicated in thepathogenesis of stress, chemically induced gastriclesions, and gastrointestinal injury. Theconcentration-dependent scavenging abilities of bismuthsubsalicylate (SBS), colloidal bismuth subcitrate (CBS), andselected OFR scavengers, including superoxide dismutase(SOD), catalase, mannitol, and allopurinol were examinedagainst biochemically or chemically generated superoxide anion, hydroxyl radical, andhypochlorite radical plus hypochlorous acid based on achemiluminescence assay. Furthermore, both gastric (GM)and intestinal mucosa (IM) were individually exposed in vitro to these free radical generatingsystems, and the concentration-dependent protectiveabilities of SBS and CBS against lipid peroxidation (LP)were compared with selected OFR scavengers. In addition, 24-hr fasted rats were orally treated with thenecrotizing agents 0.6 M HCl, 0.2 M NaOH, 80% ethanol,and aspirin (200 mg/kg). The extent of tissue injury inthe GM and IM was determined by assessing LP, DNA fragmentation, and membrane microviscosity.Dose- and time-dependent in vivo protective abilities ofCBS (100 mg/kg) and SBS (15 mg/kg) were also assessed.Following incubations with superoxide anion and hydroxyl radical generating systems in thepresence of 125 mg SBS/liter, approximately 47% and 61%inhibitions were observed in the chemiluminescenceresponse, respectively, while 48% and 46% inhibitions were observed with 125 mg CBS/liter. SBS andCBS exerted similar abilities towards hypochloriteradical plus hypochlorous acid. Approx. 3.1- and3.7-fold increases in LP were observed in the GM and IMof rats following oral administration of 0.6 MHCl. Pretreatment of the rats with SBS and CBS decreased0.6 M HCl-induced LP in the GM by approx. 39% and 27%,respectively, with similar decreases in LP in the IM. SBS exhibited better protectiveabilities towards 0.6 M HCl and 0.2 m NaOH-induced GMand IM injury as compared to CBS. SBS and CBS providedsimilar protection towards 80% ethanol-induced gastric injury, while CBS exerted a superior protectiveability towards aspirin-induced gastric injury. Theresults demonstrate that both SBS and CBS can scavengereactive oxygen species and prevent tissue damage produced by OFR.     

TGF-beta receptors-I and -II immunoexpression in Alzheimer's disease: a comparison with aging and progressive supranuclear palsy

The transforming growth factor-betas (TGF-betas) influence cell survival, and TGF-beta2 shows increased immunoexpression in neurofibrillary tangle-bearing neurons and reactive glia in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). We compared immunohistochemical expression of TGF-beta type I (RI) and type II (RII) receptors in eight patients with AD, eight controls and three cases of progressive supranuclear palsy. Mild intraneuronal immunoreactivity for the RI receptor was observed in all cases. Intraneuronal TGF-beta RII receptor immunoexpression was more common in all groups, and its frequency did not differ between groups. We observed increased immunoreactivity for both RI and RII subtypes in reactive glia in the AD frontal cortex (RI: U = 0.5, p = 0.002; and RII: U = 9.000, p = 0.006) and parahippocampal gyrus (RI: U = 9.500, p = 0.013; RII: U = 14.5, p = 0.05) compared to control cases. We conclude that TGF-beta RI and II immunoreactivity is increased in reactive glia in AD and progressive supranuclear palsy, and RI immunoreactivity may occasionally be increased in neurons in cases with advanced AD.     

Group‐specific component (GC) in curiaú and pacoval,two african‐derived brazilian populations

The group‐specific component (GC) system is of interest in anthropological genetic studies because the distribution of its subtypes distinguishes among major ethnic groups. The GC system was analyzed in Curiaú and Pacoval, two remnant Quilombo populations (African‐derived populations) from the Brazilian Amazon. There was no significant statistical difference in allelic frequencies between the two populations or between them and three other African‐derived Brazilian populations (Mimbó, Sítio Velho, and Gaucinha in Northeastern Brazil). These populations share similarities among themselves and with African populations (high frequencies of GC*1F and lower frequencies of GC*1S), which may reflect the influence of a high level of African contribution to their formation, but there is a clear difference between them and Europeans and South American Indians. It is suggested that the GC system is a useful marker for studying relationships between single populations and major ethnic groups, but does not discriminate between populations which share the same parental stock. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 13:718–720, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Chromosome mapping of biological pathways by fluorescence-activated cell sorting and cell fusion: Human interferon gamma receptor as a model system

Human chromosome 6 encodes both the interferon gamma receptor as well as the class I major histocompatability complex antigens, HLA-A, -B, and -C. However, the presence of chromosome 6 in somatic cell hybrids is insufficient to confer sensitivity to human interferon gamma (Hu-IFN-) as assayed by class I HLA induction; it is necessary for both human chromosomes 6 and 21 to reside in the hybrid to generate a response to Hu-IFN-. Treatment of such a hamster-human hybrid, Q72-18, with Hu-IFN- induces the class I HLA antigens. Q72-18 cells selected by fluorescence-activated cell sorting for the loss of class I HLA induction also lost human chromosome 21. Fusions of such cells to a hybrid that contains only human chromosome 21 reconstitutes HLA antigen induction by Hu-IFN-. Furthermore, fusions of hybrids containing a translocated human chromosome 6q and the HLA-B7 gene to a line containing only human chromosome 21 or a translocated 21q also reconstitutes HLA-B7 mRNA and antigen induction by Hu-IFN-. Thus the segregation of cells on the basis of a biological effect by fluorescence-activated cell sorting and reconstitution by hybrid fusion provides a strategy by which some biological pathways can be mapped at a chromosomal level.     

The Immune Reactivity Role of HCV-Induced Liver Infiltrating Lymphocytes in Hepatocellular Damage

Liver infiltrating lymphocytes (LIL) were isolated from HCV-positive (+) and HCV-negative (–) end-stage livers. Phenotypic analysis and functional studies using proliferative and lymphocytotoxic assays were performed with the isolated LIL. Two CD3+ lymphocyte populations were found in LIL using FITC anti-CD3 monoclonal antibodies (mAb). One was a bright fluorescence intensity population (as in PBL), and the other dim. We calculated the number of FITC-anti-CD3 mAbs bound per lymphocyte on PBL and LIL and found 80,040 ± 4628 and 39,615 ± 3932, respectively. Therefore, HCV+ and HCV– patient PBL contained approximately twice the number of CD3 molecules per cell than patient CD3+ LIL. LIL also contained approximately a threefold higher concentration of TCR+, CD4–CD8–, and CD56,16 (NK) cells than the patient PBL. Thus, a major subset of LIL is phenotypically similar to mouse NK1.1+ intermediate T cells. LIL freshly isolated from HCV+ livers exhibited weak CTL activity against EBV- or Con A-transformed lymphoblast targets infected with vaccinia–HCV recombinant virus (rHCV) or primary hepatocyte cultured cells. However, after in vitro coculture of LIL with rHCV, these cells developed a strong cytotoxicity for the above targets. In contrast, LIL from HCV– livers were not cytotoxic against the same targets. Histochemical studies (in situ) demonstrated that these hepatocytes express CD95, and stains demonstrated apoptosis. The HCV+ hepatocytes also express class I MHC molecules and ICAM-1. The addition of mAb specific for these adhesion molecules inhibited CML activity. Short-term cultured hepatocytes (targets) from HCV+ and HCV– patients produced low levels of cytokines IL-1, IL-2, IL-6, TNF, and IFN- but a high level of IL-8. It is speculated that LIL expressing reduced numbers of CD3 molecules may even function as immune regulators as proposed for intermediate T cells in mice.     

ERP correlates of error monitoring in 10-year olds are related to socialization

Research suggests that the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) generates the error-related negativity (ERN or Ne), an event-related potential component that reflects response monitoring and is influenced by individual differences in personality. The present study examined the relation between personality as indexed by the Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (Extraversion, Neuroticism, Psychoticism, and Lie scale) and the ERN in 10-year-old children. High scores on the Psychoticism and low scores on the Lie scale, which are taken to reflect low socialization in children, were associated with smaller ERNs. Results lend support to previous studies finding this association in adults. We argue that the ERN may be an indirect measure of ACC activity and is affected by one's concern with task performance. The results of the present study extend findings previously reported in adults to a population of normally developing children and show that similar mechanisms of performance monitoring may underlie individual differences in personality across development.