Longitudinal prediction of falls and near falls frequencies in Parkinson’s disease: a prospective cohort study

Journal of Neurology - Several prediction models for falls/near falls in Parkinson’s disease (PD) have been proposed. However, longitudinal predictors of frequency of falls/near falls are...     

Assessment of the level of vaccine-induced anti-HBs antibodies in children with inflammatory systemic connective tissue diseases treated with immunosuppression

Objectives

Protective vaccinations are the most effective method of prevention of type B virus hepatitis. The aim of the study was to determine whether in children receiving immunosuppressive therapy due to inflammatory systemic connective tissue diseases the protective concentration of the anti-HBs antibodies produced after vaccination against type B virus hepatitis in infancy is maintained.

Material and methods

The concentration of anti-HBs antibodies was assessed in the sera of 50 children with inflammatory connective tissue diseases – 37 girls (74%) and 13 boys (26%), aged 1.5–17.5 years – during the immunosuppressive treatment, which lasted at least 6 months. The control group consisted of 50 healthy children – 28 girls (56%) and 22 boys (44%) aged 2–17 years. All children were vaccinated in infancy with Engerix B vaccine according to the 0–1–6 months schedule. The antibody concentration of ≥ 10 mIU/ml in patients is regarded as protective.

Results

No protective antibody concentrations were found in 25 cases (50%) in the group of diseased children and only in 2 children in the control group (4%).

Conclusions

The concentration of vaccine-induced antibodies should be assessed in children with inflammatory systemic connective tissue diseases and, in case of the absence of a protective concentration, revaccination should be started. The use of glucocorticosteroids, synthetic and biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs is no contraindication to vaccination against hepatitis B.     

Plasma concentration of atrial natriuretic peptide is related to the duration of atrial fibrillation in patients with advanced heart failure

BACKGROUND: Plasma concentration of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) is elevated in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF).Aim. To assess ANP level in patients with permanent AF and advanced CHF. METHODS: The study group consisted of 41 patients (27 males, mean age 62+/-8 years) with AF of a mean duration of 8.8 months. Twenty six (63%) patients were in NYHA class II, and 15 (37%) - in NYHA class III or IV. All patients underwent clinical and echocardiographic evaluation as well as ANP plasma concentration assessment. Multiple regression analysis was used to identify factors which determine ANP plasma concentration. RESULTS: Mean ANP plasma concentration was 52.4+/-22.7 pg/ml in the whole study group; 38.6+/-10.8 pg/ml in NYHA class II patients and 74.9+/-18.7 pg/ml in NYHA class III-IV subjects (p<0.0001). Among echocardiographic parameters, patients with NYHA class III or IV had significantly lower left ventricular ejection fraction and greater left atrial volume than patients with NYHA class II (32% versus 56%, p<0.0001 and 101.0+/-23.8 cm(3) versus 83.4+/-16.1 cm(3), p<0.006, respectively). Multiple regression analysis revealed a significant negative correlation between AF duration and ANP level (p=0.0013) in a group of patients with NYHA class III or IV and identified AF duration as an independent predictor of ANP plasma concentration in this group of patients. CONCLUSIONS: ANP plasma concentration in patients with persistent AF and advanced CHF is determined by AF duration - the longer the AF duration the lower the ANP level.     

Use of argon plasma coagulation in advanced cancers of the upper digestive tract

Endoscopy being a diagnostic tool, allows also a nonsurgical treatment of upper gastrointestinal tract neoplasms, even at their advanced stage. Argon plasma coagulation (APC) is a contact-free method of monopolar coagulation, based primarily on the effects of high frequency electrical current flow in the ionized argon. The study used in 14 patients, aged 56-85 years, with advanced carcinoma of oesophagus and/or cardia. Carcinoma was diagnosed upon the results of endoscopic and microscopic examinations. The following parameters were included in the analysis: electrical current power, number of treatment sessions, stage of dysphagia, oesophagus passage, localization and type of a tumor. The analysis revealed that APC is a highly effective as well as safe method of palliative treatment of advanced oesophageal and/or cardiac cancers. Moreover, it was noted that APC is more effective in adenocarcinomas than in squamous cell carcinomas.     

Mast cells and pancreatic stellate cells in chronic pancreatitis with differently intensified fibrosis

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The pathogenesis of pancreatic fibrosis is unknown. Pathogenic analyses take into account the effect of oxidant stress and the increase in free radicals leading to degranulation of mast cells, which may cause inflammation and activate fibrosis. Activated pancreatic stellate cells produce abnormal components of intercellular substance and are responsible for pancreatic fibrogenesis. The aim of the study was to determine the correlation between the presence and state of mast cells and pancreatic stellate cells activation in chronic pancreatitis with varied intensity fibrosis. METHODOLOGY: We studied 27 patients with chronic pancreatitis of varied fibrosis intensity. Immunohistochemical reactions for mast cells (anti-human mast cell tryptase) and ultrastructural analyses of mast cells and pancreatic stellate cells were performed. The number of degranulated mast cells in the ultrastructural picture and the number of pancreatic stellate cells stained positive for vimentin and alpha-smooth muscle actin were counted. RESULTS: A significant increase was revealed in the number of degranulated mast cells--to 35.6% in chronic pancreatitis I degree fibrosis, 68.3% in II degree, 75.1% in III degree and IV degree (control 10.2%) and a parallel increase in the number of activated pancreatic stellate cells (stained positive for alpha-smooth muscle actin) to 328 +/- 29/mm2 in I degree fibrosis, to 978 +/- 67/mm2 in II degree and 2355 +/- 331/mm2 in III degree and IV degree (control 38.8 +/- 9/mm2). CONCLUSIONS: The increase in the number of activated pancreatic stellate cells parallel to the increase in degranulated mast cells in more pronounced pancreatic fibrosis suggests that mast cell-released chemical mediators are involved in pancreatic stellate cells activation.     

Influenza vaccination coverage in children with inflammatory bowel disease

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influenza vaccination status among paediatric patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in Poland. This was a questionnaire‐based study. 242 patients with IBD and 142 controls were enrolled in the study. Of patients with IBD, 7·8% received an influenza vaccine, compared to 18·3% of controls (P = 0·0013). There were no statistically significant differences in time from IBD diagnosis, disease activity and in drugs, between vaccinated and non‐vaccinated IBD children. In conclusion, the data of our study demonstrate an alarmingly poor influenza vaccination status in the majority of children with IBD. Therefore, there is an unmet need to implement better influenza vaccination strategies for this group of patients.     

Analysis of serum metabolic profiles in women with endometrial cancer and controls in a population-based case-control study

Context: Endometrial cancer is associated with metabolic disturbances related to its underlying risk factors, including obesity and diabetes. Identifying metabolite biomarkers associated with endometrial cancer may have value for early detection, risk assessment, and understanding etiology. Objective: The objective of the study was to evaluate the reliable measurement of metabolites in epidemiological studies with nonstandardized blood collection; confirm previously reported correlations of metabolites with body size; and assess differences in metabolite levels between cases and controls. Design: This was the Polish Endometrial Cancer Study (2001-2003). Setting: This study was a population-based case-control study. Patients: Patients included 250 cases and 250 controls. Intervention: The intervention included the measurement of serum metabolite levels of 15 amino acids, 45 acylcarnitines, and nine fatty acids. Main Outcome Measure: The main outcome measure was endometrial cancer. Results: Body mass index was correlated with levels of valine (r = 0.26, P = 3.4 × 10(-5)), octenoylcarnitine (r = 0.24, P = 1.5 × 10(-4)), palmitic acid (r = 0.26, P = 4.4 × 10(-5)), oleic acid (r = 0.28, P = 9.9 × 10(-6)), and stearic acid (r = 0.26, P = 2.9 × 10(-5)) among controls. Only stearic acid was inversely associated with endometrial cancer case status (quartile 4 vs. quartile 1: odds ratio 0.37, 95% confidence interval 0.20-0.69, P for trend = 1.2 × 10(-4)). Levels of the C5-acylcarnitines, octenoylcarnitine, decatrienoylcarnitine, and linoleic acid were significantly lower in cases than controls (odds ratios ranged from 0.21 to 0.38). Conclusions: These data demonstrate that previously reported variations in metabolomic profiles with body mass index can be replicated in population-based studies with nonfasting blood collection protocols. We also provide preliminary evidence that large differences in metabolite levels exist between cases and controls, independent of body habitus. Our findings warrant assessment of metabolic profiles, including the candidate markers identified herein, in prospectively collected blood samples to define biomarkers and etiological factors related to endometrial cancer.