Urinary free cortisol is similar in older and younger women

The increased cortisol secretion that occurs with aging is associated with characteristics of frailty. In this study we investigated whether healthy elderly women excrete increased amounts of urinary free cortisol (UFC) when compared to younger women. Twenty-four-hour UFC levels were measured in 25 elderly (70 to 87 years of age; median: 74) and 24 younger (19 to 59 years of age; median: 46) community-living women. All subjects were healthy and cognition was unimpaired. No differences in 24-hr UFC were observed between elderly and younger women (54.2 +/- 28.0 and 45.1 +/- 15.6 micrograms/24 hr, respectively) and no correlation was found between 24-hr UFC and age. Also, elderly and younger women had similar 24-hr urinary volumes (1366 +/- 531 and 1514 +/- 412 ml 24 hr, respectively) that did not correlate with UFC. In conclusion, older and younger healthy women have similar 24-hr UFC levels, possibly reflecting a comparable adrenocortical secretion of cortisol.     

Infectious factors in acute acalculous cholecystitis

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The infection is shown as a secondary phenomenon in lithiasic acute cholecystitis. However, its importance in acute gallbladder inflammation without lithiasis has not been sufficiently clarified. In this context, we tried to investigate this issue by resorting to animal research. Similarly we studied the repercussions of Diclofenac (NSAID) in bacteriological features of the bile in the operated animals. METHODOLOGY: We provoked acute cholecystitis in pigs by the ligature of biliary pedicle associated to the gallbladder introduction of "Lysophosphatidylcoline". Two series of animals were used: P1 (pigs not treated with Diclofenac) with 17 pigs and P2 (pigs treated with Diclofenac) with 23. In the latter group we associated the administration of Diclofenac given before the production of acute cholecystitis and administered for 4 days. The microbiology of the bile was studied in 34 pigs. The following parameters were valorized: histological gallbladder lesions and microorganisms in bacteriological examination of the bile. RESULTS: Severe lesions of acute cholecystitis were registered in 82.3% of the animals. Positive bile cultures were registered in 64.1% of group P1 and 65.5% in the group P2. The simultaneous administration of Diclofenac in the P2 group did not cause a regression of gallbladder lesions or in microbial agents in the bile in relation to the first group (P = 0.649, and P = 0.781, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Our investigations allow us to conclude by valorization the infection factor in acute acalculous cholecystitis. On the other hand, the absence of repercussion of Diclofenac in acute acalculous cholecystitis was demonstrated not only in histological gallbladder lesions, but also in bile infection.     

Age-related antioxidant capacity of the vitreous and its possible relationship with simultaneous changes in photoreceptors, retinal pigment epithelium and Bruchs' membrane in human donors' eyes

It is well established that the retina undergoes several decremental functional and structural changes with age, and it has been suggested that most of these age-related changes may be mainly due to oxidative stress through light-induced mechanisms. While the cornea and the lens absorb part of the light radiation, the vitreous appears to be the main site of protection against radiation damage to the retina. Thus the purpose of this study was to explore possible interrelationships between the oxidative capacity of the vitreous and the number of photoreceptors, the fluorescent intensity of the retina, and the thickness of the Bruch's membrane in eyes from donors dying from the third to the eighth decade of life. The results showed that the total reactive antioxidant potential of the vitreous significantly decreased with the age of the donor's eyes, and that this decrease was directly correlated with decreases in the photoreceptors and inversely correlated with increases in the autofluorescent intensity of the retina and the thickness of the Bruch's membrane. Although these correlations did not prove a cause-effect relationship, these findings may provide new insights for the understanding and possible treatment of the age-dependent changes of the human eyes.     

Incidental detection of colon cancer by FDG positron emission tomography in patients examined for pulmonary nodules

PURPOSE: Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomographic (PET) imaging has been used extensively to diagnose cancer with high rates of sensitivity and specificity. One of its applications is to distinguish benign from malignant pulmonary nodules. It is common to observe colonic uptake on whole-body FDG-PET images. Because patients with lung cancer also tend to be in the age group with the highest incidence of colon cancer, the authors tried to assess the efficacy of FDG-PET for detecting occult colon cancer in patients referred for the evaluation of lung nodules. METHODS: The records of 500 consecutive patients referred for the evaluation of pulmonary nodules were reviewed retrospectively. Among the patients, 197 had no previous clinical or radiographic evidence of abnormalities in the gastrointestinal tract, and none had been found to have any cancer before undergoing an FDG-PET study. All colon lesions were verified either by histologic analysis or by clinical course. RESULTS: Among the 197 patients analyzed, 59 had diffuse colonic uptake in various segments of the colon. Seventeen of the patients had focal colonic uptake, five of which were proved to be colon cancer. CONCLUSIONS: The routine use of FDG PET to characterize lung lesions significantly increases the probability of detecting unexpected extrathoracic disease. In these patients, the incidental finding of colon cancer had an important effect on their treatment and may prove to be very cost-effective.