Effect of mercuric chloride on membrane—bound enzymes in rat testis

Aim: To study the effect of mercuric chloride on the membrane-bound enzymes. Methods: The effect of mercuric chloride at two different doses, 1 mg/kg (low dose) and 2 mg/kg (high dose), orally for 30 days, was observed on the membrane-bound enzymes in the testis of adult albino rats. Results: Mercuric chloride significantly decreased the body weight and testis weight in the high dose group (P<0.05), but not in the low dose group. The activities of 5' nucleotidase and adenosine triphosphatases were markedly decreased (P<0.01) in the testis of both groups. Alkaline phosphatase and γ-glutamyl transferase activities were significantly increased (P<0.01) in both groups. However, the effect was more pronounced in the high than in the low dose groups. Conclusion: The dose dependent effect of mercuric chloride on these enzymes may affect the membrane characteristics and thereby the fertility of the animal. (Asian J Androl 2002 Dec; 4:309-311)     

Accuracy of Intraoperative Frozen Section Diagnosis of Borderline Ovarian Tumors by Hospital Type

Study Objective

To compare the accuracy of frozen section diagnosis of borderline ovarian tumors among 3 distinct types of hospital—academic hospital with gynecologic pathologists, academic hospital with nongynecologic pathologists, and community hospital with nongynecologic pathologists—and to determine if surgical staging alters patient care or outcomes for women with a frozen section diagnosis of borderline ovarian tumor.

First-line chemotherapy for advanced-stage non-small-cell lung cancer: focus on docetaxel

Systemic chemotherapy results in modest improvements in survival and quality of life for patients with advanced-stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Administration of a platinum compound in combination with a taxane (paclitaxel or docetaxel), gemcitabine, vinorelbine, or irinotecan is considered optimal first-line therapy for patients with advanced-stage NSCLC who have a good performance status. Studies that have compared various platinum agent-based doublet regimens have demonstrated comparable efficacy between these regimens. In addition, non-platinum agent-based regimens have also demonstrated response rates and survival similar to the platinum agent-based combinations. These developments have allowed for tailoring of chemotherapy to individual patients based on factors such as toxicity profile, treatment schedule, and cost. Docetaxel is approved for first-line therapy and salvage treatment of advanced-stage NSCLC. Multiple randomized clinical trials have established the efficacy of platinum-agent/docetaxel regimens for first-line treatment of advanced-stage NSCLC. Improvements in various lung cancer-related symptoms and global quality of life indices have been noted with docetaxel-based regimens. Combination chemotherapy appears to be beneficial even for elderly patients. The current generation of clinical trials is evaluating the incorporation of molecularly targeted agents into existing 2-drug chemotherapy regimens. This article will discuss the role of docetaxel as first-line chemotherapy for patients with advanced-stage NSCLC.     

Our experience with aortic root replacement using hand-sewn composite valve graft

Background The purpose of this study is to examine our experience with aortic root replacement using composite valve grafts in patients with proximal aortic disease. Methods and Results Since 1986, 16 patients underwent aortic root replacement using composite valve grafts for various indications which were Marfan's syndrome with annuloaortic ectasia (n=2), aortic regurgitation with ascending aortic aneurysm (n=3), aortic stenosis with regurgitation with poststenotic dilatation (n=9) and progressive aortic dilatation following AVR (n=2). There were 12 males and 4 females. The age range varied between 19 years and 52 years. The choice of conduit was a custom made valved graft using a monoleaflet tilting disc valve (Medtronic Hall valve=11, St Vincent's valve=3, TTK Chitra=1 and Bjork Shiley Valve=1) placed in a Dacron graft (Hemashield=13, Verisoft Cooley=3) prepared using a 4-0 polypropylene suture. The average time taken to construct a valved graft was 20 min±8 min. The coronary implantation was by isolated button technique. There was no size mismatch encountered in any patients. Postoperative bleeding necessitated a delayed sternal closure in 3 patients and re-exploration in another 2. The immediate operative mortality was 2, the cause being ventricular arrhythmia in one and cerebrovascular accident in other. Follow-up period ranged from 2 months to 16 years with a median follow-up of 12 months. One patient had an asymptomatic perigraft collection and no intervention was needed. There was no valve related complications in any of these patients. There was one late death of unknown cause. Conclusions Aortic root replacement using a custom made composite graft offers excellent long-term results, with negligible mortality rate and prosthesis related complications. Custom made grafts make this conduit easily affordable in our country and their performance is comparable to other available composite grafts.     

Use of Leishmania donovani field isolates expressing the luciferase reporter gene in in vitro drug screening

Currently available primary screens for the selection of candidate antileishmanial compounds are not ideal. These techniques are time-consuming, laborious, and difficult to scale and require macrophages, which limit their use for high-throughput screening. We have developed Leishmania donovani field isolates that constitutively express the firefly luciferase reporter gene (luc) as a part of an episomal vector. An excellent correlation between parasite number and luciferase activity was observed. luc expression was stable, even in the absence of drug selection, for 4 weeks. The transfectants were infective to macrophages, and intracellular amastigotes exhibited luciferase activity. The suitability of these recombinant field isolates for in vitro screening of antileishmanial drugs was established. The luciferase-expressing sodium stibogluconate-resistant cell lines offer a model for the screening of compounds for resistance. The system is in routine use at the Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, India, for high-throughput screening of newly synthesized compounds.     

Sex differences in the effect of diabetes duration on coronary heart disease mortality

BACKGROUND: It is not known whether the coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality risk associated with recent (RDM; <10 years) or long-standing diabetes mellitus (LDM; > or =10 years) varies by sex. METHODS: The relationship between diabetes duration and CHD mortality was evaluated among 10 871 adults (aged 35-74 years at baseline) using the 1971-1992 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Epidemiologic Follow-up Study. RESULTS: The CHD mortality rates per 1000 person-years in men with no myocardial infarction (MI) or diabetes, MI only, RDM only, LDM only, MI and RDM, and MI and LDM were 5.5 (95% confidence interval, 4.8-6.2), 15.2 (11.6-20.0), 13.2 (7.9-22.1), 11.4 (6.4-20.3), 36.0 (16.7-77.7), and 35.4 (14.0-89.7), respectively. The corresponding rates in women were 2.9 (2.5-3.3), 7.3 (5.0-10.8), 5.2 (3.5-7.7), 10.7 (7.5-15.5), 9.3 (4.3-19.9), and 21.6 (6.1-76.0), respectively. Compared with MI, the multivariate hazard ratios and their 95% confidence intervals (adjusted for age, race, smoking, hypertension, total cholesterol level, and body mass index) for fatal CHD in men with RDM, LDM, MI and RDM, and MI and LDM were 0.7 (0.3-1.3), 0.8 (0.4-1.4), 3.2 (1.4-7.4), and 2.4 (0.8-6.7), respectively. The corresponding ratios in women were 0.9 (0.6-1.3), 1.8 (1.1-3.2), 1.3 (0.5-3.5), and 1.6 (0.2-10.9), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In men, RDM and LDM were associated with as high a risk for CHD death as MI. In women, although RDM had a CHD mortality risk similar to MI, LDM had an even greater risk. Because women with LDM are at very high risk for CHD mortality, current guidelines may need to be further refined to match intensity of treatment to risk in these women.