Antifibrotic effects of tocotrienols on human Tenon’s fibroblasts

Purpose  

To compare the antifibrotic effect of vitamin E isoforms α-, γ-, and δ-tocotrienol on human Tenon’s fibroblasts (hTf) to the antimetabolite mitomycin C.     

Effectiveness of tocotrienol-rich fraction combined with tamoxifen in the management of women with early breast cancer: a pilot clinical trial

Introduction  

Basic research has indicated that tocotrienols have potent antiproliferative and proapoptotic effects that would be expected to reduce the effect of breast cancer.     

Multitargeted therapy of cancer by tocotrienols

Natural compounds with possible health benefits have become attractive targets for research in areas pertaining to human health. For both prevention and therapy of various human ailments, such compounds are preferred over synthetic ones due to their lesser toxicity. They are also easily absorbed and processed by our body. Vitamins are prominent among natural or endogenous compounds that are considered to be beneficial. The vitamin E group of compounds is among the better known of the vitamins due to their suggested health benefits including antioxidant and related protective properties. Among these, tocotrienols have gained prominence in recent years due to their potential applications and better protective effects in certain systems. These tocotrienols are vitamin E derivatives that are analogs of the more established forms of vitamin E namely tocopherols. In addition to their potent antioxidant activity, tocotrienols have other important functions, especially in maintaining a healthy cardiovascular system and a possible role in protection against cancer and other ailments.     

Socioeconomic Trends in Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) Surgery

Objective: We evaluated trends in deep brain stimulation (DBS) for the 14‐year period from 1993 to 2006. Materials and Methods: We utilized the Nationwide Inpatient Sample data base from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Results: A total of 34,792 patients underwent DBS surgery from 1993 to 2006. There were 756 DBS cases performed in 1993 compared with 4200 DBS procedures performed in 2006. Significant increases in nationwide DBS volume coincided with regulatory approval for new indications—Parkinson's disease and dystonia, respectively. Cost of DBS surgery increased from $38,840 in 1993 to $69,329 in 2006. The majority of cases were done in metropolitan areas (97%) at large academic centers (91%) at a national bill of $291 MM. Conclusions: Future studies will need to include the socioeconomic impact of the technology on disease status, patient access, and costs as it expands to novel indications.     

Intrauterine growth restriction and placental location.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether an association exists between intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and second-trimester placental location. METHODS: A case-control study was performed in well-dated singleton pregnancies with (n = 67) and without (n = 205) IUGR (defined as estimated fetal weight <10th percentile for gestational age at the last sonographic examination) to investigate the association between IUGR and placental location. Placental location was determined by sonography at 16 to 20 weeks' gestation. Maternal, perinatal, and delivery characteristics were abstracted from medical records. Group comparisons were made by the Student t test, chi(2) analysis, the Fisher exact test, the Wilcoxon test, and analysis of variance. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to determine the relationship between IUGR and placental location. RESULTS: In both groups, the most common placental locations in the second trimester were anterior and posterior. After adjusting for potential confounders (including race, chronic hypertension, and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy), IUGR pregnancies were nearly 4-fold more likely to have lateral placentation (odds ratio, 3.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.3-11.2) compared with anterior or posterior placentation. CONCLUSIONS: Pregnancies complicated by IUGR are significantly more likely than non-IUGR pregnancies to have lateral placentation in the second trimester.     

Tocotrienols are good adjuvants for developing cancer vaccines

Background  

Dendritic cells (DCs) have the potential for cancer immunotherapy due to their ability to process and present antigens to T-cells and also in stimulating immune responses. However, DC-based vaccines have only exhibited minimal effectiveness against established tumours in mice and humans. The use of appropriate adjuvant enhances the efficacy of DC based cancer vaccines in treating tumours.     

Annotation: Tourette syndrome: a relentless drumbeat--driven by misguided brain oscillations

OBJECTIVE: This annotation reviews recent evidence that points to the likely role of aberrant neural oscillations in the pathogenesis of Tourette syndrome (TS). METHODS: The available anatomic and electrophysiological findings in TS are reviewed in the context of an emerging picture of the crucial role that neural oscillations play in maintaining normal central nervous system (CNS) function. RESULTS: Neurons form behavior-dependent oscillating networks of various sizes and frequencies that bias input selection and facilitate synaptic plasticity, mechanisms that cooperatively support temporal representation as well as the transfer and long-term consolidation of information. Coherent network activity is likely to modulate sensorimotor gating as well as focused motor actions. When these networks are dysrhythmic, there may be a loss of control of sensory information and motor action. The known electrophysiological effects of medications and surgical interventions used to treat TS likely have an ameliorative effect on these aberrant oscillations. Similarly, a strong case can be made that successful behavioral treatments involve the willful training regions of the prefrontal cortex to engage in tic suppression and the performance of competing motor responses to unwanted sensory urges such that these prefrontal regions become effective modulators of aberrant thalamocortical rhythms. CONCLUSIONS: A deeper understanding of neural oscillations may illuminate the complex, challenging, enigmatic, internal world that is TS.     

Tocotrienols inhibit growth of ZR-75–1 breast cancer cells

The vitamin E component of palm oil provides a rich source of tocotrienols which have been shown previously to be growth inhibitory to two human breast cancer cell lines: responsive MCF7 cells and unresponsive MDA-MB-231 cells. Data presented here shows that the tocotrienol-rich fraction (TRF) of palm oil and individual fractions (alpha, gamma and delta) can also inhibit the growth of another responsive human breast cancer cell line, ZR-75-1. At low concentrations in the absence of oestrogen tocotrienols stimulated growth of the ZR-75-1 cells, but at higher concentrations in the presence as well as in the absence of oestradiol, tocotrienols inhibited cell growth strongly. As for MCF7 cells, α -tocopherol had no effect on growth of the ZR-75-1 cells in either the absence or presence of oestradiol. In studying the effects of tocotrienols in combination with antioestrogens, it was found that TRF could further inhibit growth of ZR-75-1 cells in the presence of tamoxifen (10 -7 M and 10 -8 M). Individual tocotrienol fractions (alpha, gamma, delta) could inhibit growth of ZR-75-1 cells in the presence of 10 -8 M oestradiol and 10 -8 M pure antioestrogen ICI 164 384. The immature mouse uterine weight bioassay confirmed that TRF could not exert oestrogen antagonist action in vivo. These results provide evidence of wider growth-inhibitory effects of tocotrienols beyond MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 cells, and with an oestrogen-independent mechanism of action, suggest a possible clinical advantage in combining administration of tocotrienols with antioestrogen therapy.