BNP concentrations and cardiovascular adaptation in preterm and fullterm newborn infants

To evaluate and compare cardiovascular adaptation of 36 preterm and 34 fullterm newborns, we analyzed BNP concentration and echocardiographic parameters at day 3 of life and at day 28 (± 2). On day 3 BNP concentrations (pg/ml) resulted higher in PDA preterm group (n = 11; 125, IQR 56.1-301) than preterm without PDA (n = 25; 25.5 IQR 10.9-49; p < 0.001) than fullterms (n = 34; 55.1 IQR 23.6-82.7; p = 0.013). No difference resulted in all groups at 28 days (respectively: 12.7 IQR 4.9-23.8; 15.6 IQR 10-22; 8.9 IQR 5.6-20.6). Because of the newborns' growth, all echocardiographic parameters increased with linear relationship with body weight. On day 3 BNP concentration and echocardiographic parameters were not correlated besides LA/AO in preterms with PDA (p = 0.0015). On day 28, BNP was significantly correlated with mVTI (p = 0.019), M (p = 0.007) and LA (p = 0.005) in fullterms and only with LA (p = 0.007) in preterms.In conclusion, BNP concentrations and echocardiographic measures confirm that preterm, and fullterm newborns conduct themselves in a similar manner during the transition from foetal to post-natal circulation, reaching low levels at a month of life. The presence of PDA during first days of life has no significant impact in this adaptation. LA is the echocardiographic parameter mostly related to BNP concentration in the newborns.     

Gout Assessment Questionnaire: Initial results of reliability, validity and responsiveness

We evaluated the psychometric properties of a new gout-specific patient reported outcomes questionnaire. The Gout Assessment Questionnaire (GAQ) and the SF-36 were administered to 126 subjects in a multicenter Phase II program of febuxostat, an investigational treatment for hyperuricemia (serum uric acid >8.0 mg/dl) in patients with chronic gout. The questionnaire was administered at baseline and 1, 6 and 12 months later. The majority of subjects, mean age 54 years, were male, Caucasian and had experienced a gout flare within the last year. Seven domains were identified, all met criteria for reliability and validity. Cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.78 to 0.97. Pearson correlations between GAQ and SF-36 scales were generally low to moderate, with the highest correlation between Gout Pain and Severity and SF-36 Bodily Pain, r = 0.45. Guyatt's statistic (measure of responsiveness) ranged from 0.24 to 1.00 at 12 months. Minimal clinically important differences ranged from 2 (Gout Concern) to 10 points (Productivity). The GAQ has acceptable psychometric properties. Further research is required to confirm results, which may provide more information to improve the GAQ for use in clinical trials.     

参附注射液对重症急性胰腺炎大鼠NO和ET-1的影响

目的本研究通过对参附注射液在SD大鼠重症急性胰腺炎模型上的使用,观察其对血清及胰腺组织NO和ET-1的影响,探讨其作用机理,为临床使用提供实验依据。方法48只SD大鼠随机分为3组：假手术组（n=16）、SAP组（n=16）、SF组（n=16）。假手术组开腹后仅翻动肠管,SAP组、SF组以3％牛磺胆酸钠2mL／kg逆行注入胆胰管,复制重症胰腺炎模型。制模成功后,SF组大鼠,尾静脉注射参附注射液,假手术组、SAP组给予等量生理盐水,每12h1次。各组分别于制模后12h、24h两个时间点取材。观测腹水,检测血清淀粉酶及血清和胰腺组织NO、ET-1浓度,并计算ET1／NO比值,胰腺组织行HE染色光镜检查形态学变化。结果各时点血清淀粉酶活性、胰腺病理评分：SAP组、SF组显著高于假手术组（P〈0．01）,SF组低于SAP组（P〈0．01）;血清、胰腺组织内ET-1、NO浓度：SAP组、SF组显著高于假手术组（P〈0．01）,SF组显著低于SAP组（P〈0．01）;血清、胰腺组织内ET-1／NO比值,SAP组显著高于假手术组（P〈0．01）,SF组与SAP组相比降低（P〈0．05,P〈0．01）。结论SF组与模型组相比较,血清、胰腺组织NO、ET-1浓度下降差异有统计学意义,与此同时血清淀粉酶活性,胰腺湿干重比值降低,表明参附注射液可减轻胰腺组织损害,对胰腺组织有保护作用。     

郑,k11市60岁以上部分城市居民老年生存质量调查分析

目的了解郑州市城市居民老年人生存质量现状,影响因素,寻找解决老年人健康问题合理方法。方法随机抽取郑州市城市家庭中年龄在60岁以上的老年人800个,采用SF-36健康状况调查表对其生存质量进行调查。结果72．5％的郑州市城市居民老年人生存质量在中等及以上水平。结论老年人生存质量状况受多种因素的共同影响,其中,年龄、性别是影响老年人生存质量的重要因素。     

Genotoxicity studies of organically grown broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) and its interactions with urethane,methyl methanesulfonate and 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide genotoxicity in the wing spot test of Drosophila melanogaster

Broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) has been defined as a cancer preventive food. Nevertheless, broccoli contains potentially genotoxic compounds as well. We performed the wing spot test of Drosophila melanogaster in treatments with organically grown broccoli (OGB) and co-treatments with the promutagen urethane (URE), the direct alkylating agent methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) and the carcinogen 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide (4-NQO) in the standard (ST) and high bioactivation (HB) crosses with inducible and high levels of cytochrome P450s (CYPs), respectively. Larvae of both crosses were chronically fed with OGB or fresh market broccoli (FMB) as a non-organically grown control, added with solvents or mutagens solutions. In both crosses, the OGB added with Tween–ethanol yielded the expected reduction in the genotoxicity spontaneous rate. OGB co-treatments did not affect the URE effect, MMS showed synergy and 4-NQO damage was modulated in both crosses. In contrast, FMB controls produced damage increase; co-treatments modulated URE genotoxicity, diminished MMS damage, and did not change the 4-NQO damage. The high dietary consumption of both types of broccoli and its protective effects in D. melanogaster are discussed.     

Possible Maximal Change in the SF‐36 of Outpatients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Asthma

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the responsiveness of the Short Form‐36 (SF‐36) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma. We studied patients with COPD and asthma who attended our outpatient clinic. In the first cross‐sectional study, we compared the differences in the SF‐36 scores between pretreatment patients (152 with COPD and 174 with asthma) who visited the clinic for the first time and in‐treatment patients (123 with COPD and 151 with asthma) who had received treatment for > 6 months. The differences in each scale of the SF‐36 ranged from 6.9 to 14.4 in COPD patients and from 7.0 to 28.3 in asthma patients. In the second longitudinal study, patients who visited for the first time were enrolled, and the initial, and, 3‐, 6‐, and 12‐month evaluations of the SF‐36 were studied. A total of 136 COPD patients and 136 asthma patients were enrolled consecutively, and 100 patients with COPD and 66 patients with asthma completed the year‐long examinations. In COPD patients, except for bodily pain, the scores in all scales of the SF‐36 improved significantly during the first 3 or 6 months. In patients with asthma, all scale scores of the SF‐36 improved significantly during the first 3 months. Maximal changes in the SF‐36 scores were observed at 6 or 12 months. Longitudinal maximal changes in each scale approached or exceeded the possible maximal changes, which were derived from the differences in the scores between pretreatment patients and in‐treatment patients in the first cross‐sectional study. Improvements in the SF‐36 scores showed moderate to strong negative correlations with their baseline scores in patients with COPD and asthma. In conclusion, the SF‐36 shows sufficient responsiveness in the assessment of the health status of patients with COPD and asthma, but these responses are strongly influenced by their baseline values.     

New phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitors for cancer

Introduction: Cancer treatment is moving away from conventional cytotoxic drugs and towards agents that target specific proteins important to cancer development or survival. The PI3K signaling axis is an important pathway involved in myriad human malignancies. Inhibition of this axis is a promising therapeutic approach for several cancers.

Areas covered: This article reviews current literature and recent conference proceedings to analyze the rationale for targeting PI3K and its downstream effectors in cancer. Preclinical and clinical results of several PI3K and PI3K–mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors in early clinical trials, as single agents and in combination with other drugs, are discussed. Thus far, clinical results have been mixed.

Expert opinion: The clinical utility of PI3K and PI3K–mTOR inhibitors will depend on appropriate selection of patients. Mutations in the PI3K pathway may predict sensitivity to PI3K inhibition but they are not reliable biomarkers at this point. Efforts to define predictive biomarkers will probably be the key to finding therapeutic uses for this novel class of anticancer agents.     

TM4SF4 overexpression in radiation-resistant lung carcinoma cells activates IGF1R via elevation of IGF1

Transmembrane 4 L six family member 4 (TM4SF4) is a member of the tetraspanin L6 domain family. Other members of this family, TM4SF1 (also known as L6-Ag) and TM4SF5, have been shown to be upregulated in multiple tumors and involved in epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and cell migration. However, unlike its homologs, little is known about TM4SF4. Here, we show that TM4SF4 was highly expressed in radiation-resistant lung adenocarcinoma cells, such as A549 and Calu-3 cells, and its expression activated cell growth, migration, and invasion. Overexpression of TM4SF4 in A549 cells increased the activation of PI3K, AKT, and NF-kappaB and the expression of PTEN. IGF1R was clearly activated by overexpression of TM4SF4, although EGFR was also slightly activated. TM4SF4 expression was correlated with the increased expression of IGF1, consequently resulting in IGF1R activation. Tumorigenic activity of TM4SF4 in lung adenocarcinoma cells was also demonstrated by xenograft assay; however, this activity was almost completely suppressed by treatment with anti-TM4SF4 antibody. Our results suggest that TM4SF4 overexpression in lung carcinoma cells results in resistance to radiotherapy via IGF1-induced IGF1R activation and blocking the activity of TM4SF4 using specific antibody can be a promising therapeutics against TM4SF4-overexpressing lung adenocarcinoma.     

Quality of life in chronic haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis patients in Turkey and related factors

Turkey is the fifth country in Europe with regard to the number of patients receiving haemodialysis (HD). However, only a limited number of studies have comparatively investigated the factors that affect quality of life in haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients in Turkey. The purpose of the study was to investigate the factors that affect quality of life in haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis patients, as well as providing a comparison of quality of life between these groups. In this cross‐sectional study, Quality of Life Scale and a data form was completed by 300 dialysis patients who received treatment at five hospital‐based dialysis units in Istanbul, Turkey. The data were evaluated using arithmetic mean values, standard deviations, minimums, maximums, percentages, independent groups t‐tests, Spearman correlation analyses and one‐way variance analyses. The quality of life values in peritoneal dialysis patients were found to be higher than those of haemodialysis patients (P < 0.05). It was concluded that the quality of life in chronic dialysis patients was affected by various factors.     

TM4SF3 promotes esophageal carcinoma metastasis via upregulating ADAM12m expression

Esophageal cancer is characterized by rapid clinical progression and poor prognosis due to adjacent tissue invasion and distant organs metastasis at a very early stage. TM4SF3 (transmembrane 4 superfamily 3), a member of tetraspanin family, has been reported as a metastasis associated gene in many types of tumors. Herein, we described new properties of TM4SF3 in tumor metastasis, which suggested that this gene might be involved in esophageal carcinoma metastasis. Western blotting revealed that TM4SF3 was overexpressed in 57.1% (8/14) of esophageal carcinomas and esophageal carcinoma cell lines with high-invasive potential. Exogenous expression of TM4SF3 in two low-invasive esophageal carcinoma cell lines, KYSE150 and EC9706, significantly promoted cell migration and invasion. Upregulating TM4SF3 expression in EC9706 cells promoted xenograft tumor invading into surrounding tissues, enhanced lung metastasis, and shortened the lifespan of mice (median survival EC9706-TM4SF3 106.5 days versus EC9706-Vector 169.0 days, P < 0.0001) in a spontaneous metastasis model. Further studies demonstrated that ADAM12m was upregulated by TM4SF3 overexpression in vitro and in vivo. Abrogating up-expression of ADAM12m by siRNA significantly suppressed TM4SF3-mediated invasion. Together, these data from our studies indicated that overexpression of TM4SF3 in esophageal cancer conferred advantage to the invasion and metastasis of this destructive disease. Upregulated expression of ADAM12m by TM4SF3 might play a key role in TM4SF3-mediated invasion and metastasis. TM4SF3 and ADAM12m might be potential targets of esophageal carcinoma for anti-metastasis therapy.