Perinatal lack of maternal IL-6 promotes increased adiposity during adulthood in mice

The perinatal environment appears important in establishing metabolic phenotypes in adulthood. Mice deficient in IL-6 (IL-6(-/-)) tend to develop mature-onset obesity, but it is unknown whether perinatal exposure to IL-6 produced by the dam influences the metabolism of adult offspring. To address this issue, we monitored IL-6(-/-) offspring of IL-6(-/-) or IL-6(+/-) dams, as well as wild-type (WT) mice. At adult age, IL-6(-/-) mice weighed significantly more and had more body fat than WT mice, regardless of maternal genotype, and had lower insulin sensitivity. This phenotype was more pronounced in IL-6(-/-) offspring of IL-6(-/-) dams, because they gained weight significantly faster than IL-6(-/-) offspring of IL-6(+/-) dams and had more body fat and higher serum leptin levels at an earlier age. The leptin content was 2-fold higher in milk from IL-6(-/-) than WT dams. However, cross-fostering IL-6(-/-) mice with WT dams did not alter body weight, body composition, or adipocyte size at adult age compared with IL-6(-/-) mice fostered by IL-6(-/-) dams. Conversely, WT mice fostered by IL-6(-/-) dams weighed significantly more than those fostered by WT dams and had more body fat, larger adipocytes, and altered hypothalamic gene expression. We conclude that body fat of adult mice can be increased by perinatal exposure to factors affected by lack of maternal IL-6.     

Dural sinus thrombosis following head injury: report of two cases and review of the literature

Dural sinus thrombosis (DST) usually involves the sagittal, transverse and sigmoid sinuses and is more common in women due to pregnancy, puerperium and oral contraceptive use. Other etiologies include coagulopathies, infection and head injury. We have present two DST cases following head injury. The first case was a 35-year-old man hospitalized because of one-week history of headache and repeated vomiting after a mild head injury. Thrombosis of the superior sagittal sinus, right transverse and sigmoid sinuses and right jugular vein was determined on angiography. The second case was a 25- year-old man operated on for epidural hematoma at the posterior fossa. Meningitis developed and an abducens palsy was determined. Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated thrombosis of the right transverse and sigmoid sinus. Low molecular weight heparin was administrated for three months. Both cases had good recovery, but one had recanalisation of the thrombosis. Intracranial hematomas, depressed skull fracture or skull fracture that cross the sinus can obstruct the blood flow in the sinus. Moreover, closed head injury may cause to DST. Because of undefinitive pathophysiology, a consensus was not obtained on overall strategy concerning conservative, radiosurgical, or surgical therapy yet.     

Completeness and correctness of registration of renal pelvic and ureteral cancer in the Swedish Cancer Registry

OBJECTIVE: To study the completeness and correctness of the Swedish Cancer Registry (SCR) for renal pelvic and ureteral carcinomas diagnosed in western Sweden. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective clinical and histopathological study of 939 patients in the SCR with a diagnosis of a renal pelvic or ureteral carcinoma between 1971 and 1998 and of 54 patients with a diagnosis of tumors in multiple locations in the urinary tract. In addition, we reviewed our earlier bladder cancer studies to assess whether patients with upper urinary tract tumors had been notified to the SCR. RESULTS: There were 68 false-positive patients (7.2%) out of 939 in the SCR. The commonest diagnoses were other urological malignancies (n=46) and no malignancy at all (n=15). There were five false-positives (9.3%) out of 54 patients in the file with tumors in multiple locations. Twenty-eight patients with renal pelvic or ureteral carcinoma were identified in our earlier studies but not found in the SCR. Most discrepancies were attributable to inadequate or missing notification by the urologist and registration errors. CONCLUSIONS: The completeness and correctness of the registration of renal pelvic and ureteral carcinomas are unsatisfactory but in line with registries for some other primary sites. The notification of upper urinary tract tumors among patients with a history of bladder cancer was poor, in particular in patients not treated with surgery. Improved communication between reporting sources and the registry is needed. Clinical and histopathological reviews seem necessary in studies based on the SCR.