FCGR3A V(176) polymorphism for systemic lupus erythematosus susceptibility in Mexican population

The objective of this study is to establish whether there is an association between the presence of FCGR3A V(176) polymorphism with SLE or its manifestations. We included 94 patients according to the 1982 ACR criteria as well as 98 controls matched by age and gender. The 11 ACR diagnostic criteria were analyzed on the clinical files. The polymorphism FCGR3A V(176) was determined by direct sequencing. There was not an association between the polymorphism FCGR3A V(176) with SLE or its main manifestations. The allelic frequency for F(176) was: 0.80 and 0.72 in cases and controls, respectively (P?=?0.09, IC95%: 0.42?C1.07); and the genotypic frequency in the group of cases was: 0.65 for homozygotes F(176)/F(176), 0.30 for heterozygotes and 0.05 for the homozygotes V(176)/V(176), while for the control group it was 0.53, 0.39 and 0.08, respectively. The polymorphism FCGR3A V(176) is not associated with SLE or any of its manifestations in patients with SLE from the West of Mexico.     

Prognostic factors for recurrence of gastrointestinal bleeding due to Dieulafoy's lesion

AIM: To analyze the effectiveness of the endoscopic therapy and to identify prognostic factors for recurrent bleeding.METHODS: Retrospective study of patients with gastrointestinal bleeding secondary to Dieulafoy’s lesion (DL) from 2005 to 2011. We analyzed the demographic characteristics of the patients, risk factors for gastrointestinal bleeding, endoscopic findings, characteristics of the endoscopic treatment, and the recurrence of bleeding. We included cases in which endoscopy described a lesion compatible with Dieulafoy. We excluded patients who had potentially bleeding lesions such as angiodysplasia in other areas or had undergone other gastrointestinal endoscopic procedures.RESULTS: Twenty-nine patients with DL were identified. Most of them were men with an average age of 71.5 years. Fifty-five percent of the patients received antiaggregatory or anticoagulant therapy. The most common location for DL was the stomach (51.7%). The main type of bleeding was oozing in 65.5% of cases. In 27.6% of cases, there was arterial (spurting) bleeding, and 6.9% of the patients presented with an adherent clot. A single endoscopic treatment was applied to nine patients (31%); eight of them with adrenaline and one with argon, while 69% of the patients received combined treatment. Six patients (20.7%) presented with recurrent bleeding at a median of 4 d after endoscopy (interquartile range = 97.75). Within these six patients, the new endoscopic treatment obtained a therapeutic success of 100%. The presence of arterial bleeding at endoscopy was associated with a higher recurrence rate for bleeding (50% vs 33.3% for other type of bleeding) [P = 0.024, odds ratio (OR) = 8.5, 95% CI = 1.13-63.87]. The use of combined endoscopic treatment prevented the recurrence of bleeding (10% vs 44.4% of single treatment) (P = 0.034, OR = 0.14, 95% CI = 0.19-0.99).CONCLUSION: Endoscopic treatment of DL is safe and effective. Adrenaline monotherapy and arterial (spurting) bleeding are associated with a high rate of bleeding recurrence.     

Melatonin enhances neural stem cell differentiation and engraftment by increasing mitochondrial function

Neural stem cells (NSCs) are regarded as a promising therapeutic approach to protecting and restoring damaged neurons in neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) such as Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease (PD and AD, respectively). However, new research suggests that NSC differentiation is required to make this strategy effective. Several studies have demonstrated that melatonin increases mature neuronal markers, which reflects NSC differentiation into neurons. Nevertheless, the possible involvement of mitochondria in the effects of melatonin during NSC differentiation has not yet been fully established. We therefore tested the impact of melatonin on NSC proliferation and differentiation in an attempt to determine whether these actions depend on modulating mitochondrial activity. We measured proliferation and differentiation markers, mitochondrial structural and functional parameters as well as oxidative stress indicators and also evaluated cell transplant engraftment. This enabled us to show that melatonin (25 μM) induces NSC differentiation into oligodendrocytes and neurons. These effects depend on increased mitochondrial mass/DNA/complexes, mitochondrial respiration, and membrane potential as well as ATP synthesis in NSCs. It is also interesting to note that melatonin prevented oxidative stress caused by high levels of mitochondrial activity. Finally, we found that melatonin enriches NSC engraftment in the ND mouse model following transplantation. We concluded that a combined therapy involving transplantation of NSCs pretreated with pharmacological doses of melatonin could efficiently restore neuronal cell populations in PD and AD mouse models depending on mitochondrial activity promotion.     

Osteocalcin and atherosclerosis: A complex relationship

The relationship between OC and atherosclerosis in different clinical situations confirms the interplay that exists among bone cells and vascular system. The recently demonstrated effects of OC on glucose metabolism and visceral fat in healthy subjects and T2DM patients, contribute to the knowledge of the role of OC in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease.