Oral Zinc Sulfate as Adjuvant Treatment in Children With Nephrolithiasis: a Randomized,Double-Blind,Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial

Background:

Nephrolithiasis in children is associated with a high rate of complications and recurrence.

Objectives:

Since some evidences reported that zinc has an important place amongst inhibitors of crystallization and crystal growth, we decided to assess the effectiveness of oral zinc sulfate as adjuvant treatment in children with nephrolithiasis.

Patients and Methods:

This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. 102 children in the age range 1 month to 11 years with first nephrolithiasis were recruited. Patients were randomly divided into two equal groups (intervention and control groups). Intervention group received conservative measures for stones and 1 mg/kg/day (maximum 20 mg/day) oral zinc sulfate syrup for 3 months. Control group received placebo in addition to conservative measures, also for 3 months. Patients were followed up by ultrasonography for 9 months, in 5 steps (at the end of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 9th month after treatment) assessing size and number of stones in the kidneys.

Results:

Only at the end of the first month, the average number (intervention: 1.15 ± 3.78, control: 1.3 ± 2.84) (P = 0.001) and size (cm) (intervention: 0.51 ± 1.76, control: 0.62 ± 1.39) (P = 0.001) of stones was significantly lower in the intervention group, and in other points there was no significant therapeutic efficacy in oral zinc adjuvant treatment compared to conservative treatment alone. Also, during the 9-month follow-up, the number and size of stones in both groups decreased significantly (both: P < 0.0001) in a way that the decrease in the intervention group showed no difference with the control group.

Conclusions:

Adjuvant treatment with zinc is not more effective than consecutive treatment in children with nephrolithiasis. However, further studies are recommended due to the lack of clinical evidence in this field.     

Association of INAD with NORPA is essential for controlled activation and deactivation of Drosophila phototransduction in vivo

Visual transduction in Drosophila is a G protein-coupled phospholipase C-mediated process that leads to depolarization via activation of the transient receptor potential (TRP) calcium channel. Inactivation-no-afterpotential D (INAD) is an adaptor protein containing PDZ domains known to interact with TRP. Immunoprecipitation studies indicate that INAD also binds to eye-specific protein kinase C and the phospholipase C, no-receptor-potential A (NORPA). By overlay assay and site-directed mutagenesis we have defined the essential elements of the NORPA–INAD association and identified three critical residues in the C-terminal tail of NORPA that are required for the interaction. These residues, Phe-Cys-Ala, constitute a novel binding motif distinct from the sequences recognized by the PDZ domain in INAD. To evaluate the functional significance of the INAD–NORPA association in vivo, we generated transgenic flies expressing a modified NORPA, NORPA^C1094S, that lacks the INAD interaction. The transgenic animals display a unique electroretinogram phenotype characterized by slow activation and prolonged deactivation. Double mutant analysis suggests a possible inaccessibility of eye-specific protein kinase C to NORPA^C1094S, undermining the observed defective deactivation, and that delayed activation may similarly result from NORPA^C1094S being unable to localize in close proximity to the TRP channel. We conclude that INAD acts as a scaffold protein that facilitates NORPA–TRP interactions required for gating of the TRP channel in photoreceptor cells.     

Effect of roux-en-Y gastric bypass on satiety and food likes: The role of genetics

Among factors influencing the outcome of bariatric surgery may be genetics and familial risk. The purpose of this study was to assess the etiology of obesity and its impact on hunger, satiety, and food likes in obese patients undergoing Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB). This study was based on 76 patients undergoing RYGB procedures performed by a single surgeon. A previously described 100-point obesity risk index (ORI) was used to assess familial obesity risk. Hunger and satiety were assessed using a standardized Visual Analog Scale "Snickers" test, and food preferences for regular vs. low-fat potato chips were measured preoperatively and postoperatively. Patients were stratified preoperatively into high ORI (n = 34) and low ORI (n = 42) groups. Before operation, high-ORI patients preferred high-fat (regular) potato chips to low-fat (baked) potato chips, whereas the low-ORI patients liked both food types equivalently (P < 0.05). After operation (n = 43), both groups showed lower preferences for high-fat potato chips (P < 0.05 for high-ORI group). As anticipated, hunger was dramatically suppressed after RYGB. However, there was more satiety in the high-ORI group (P < 0.05, ANOVA). Most patients undergoing bariatric surgery had a strong familial or genetic component to their disease. RYGB in high-ORI patients was associated with a significant decline in preference of fatty food and a significantly prolonged drop in hunger ratings after a fast and after a standard 282 kcal meal. The success of bariatric surgery may be influenced by the etiology of obesity.     

Non-invasive monitoring of oxidative skin stress by ultraweak photon emission measurement. II: biological validation on ultraviolet A-stressed skin.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Several physical or chemical environmental stressors generate reactive oxygen species, which trigger oxidation reactions of cells or tissues and thereby induce a correlated ultraweak photon emission (UPE) signal. The present study was designed to qualify and validate UPE measurement following ultraviolet (UV) excitation of porcine and human skin as an analytical method to assess the potency of topical antioxidants in vivo. METHODS: UPE of porcine skin in vitro and human skin in vivo following excitation with UVA was recorded using sensitive photomultiplier systems. For validation purposes, the effects of variation of extrinsic and intrinsic parameters encompassing skin thickness, humidity, temperature, pH, and composition of the surrounding atmosphere were assessed. Signals were analyzed with regard to overall signal intensity and spectral distribution. In two clinical trials enrolling 20 volunteers each, the effects of topical antioxidant treatment on UVA-induced UPE were validated. RESULTS: Different stressors encompassing exposition to ozone, UVA irradiation, or even cigarette smoke induced UPE of skin. Critical parameters affecting the quality and quantity of the UPE signal were the spectral composition of the exciting UV light, skin temperature, skin humidity, and the O(2) concentration of the surrounding atmosphere. Generally, UVA-induced UPE decreased with increasing temperature, humidity, and O(2) concentration. Skin pH had no significant effect on UPE with regard to signal quality and quantity over a pH range of 2.8-8.2. In a clinical study UPE measurement following UVA excitation could precisely reflect a dose-dependent antioxidant effect of topically applied vitamin C and alpha-glucosylrutin. CONCLUSION: Our data indicate that UVA irradiation induces UPE especially in deeper (living) skin layers, where antioxidants must be active in order to interfere with accelerated skin ageing. Based on the clinical data, and with knowledge of modulating external variables, UPE measurement following UV excitation can be qualified as a reliable and valid method for the non-invasive measurement of antioxidant efficacy on the skin.     

Non-invasive monitoring of oxidative skin stress by ultraweak photon emission (UPE)-measurement. I: mechanisms of UPE of biological materials.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Oxidation of proteins and amino acids is associated with generation of ultraweak photon emission (UPE), which may be used to assess oxidative processes in the skin in a non-invasive way. This first part of a series of reports addresses the physicochemical basis of oxidation-induced UPE in the skin, with a special focus on the contribution of amino acid oxidation. METHODS: UPE of biological samples and protein/amino acid solutions following oxidation with H(2)O(2) in the presence of Fe(2+) was recorded using a sensitive photomultiplier system. Signals were analyzed with regard to overall signal intensity and spectral distribution. RESULTS: Increasing concentrations of H(2)O(2) in aqueous bovine serum albumin solutions induced linearly correlated UPE and protein carbonyl compounds, with a substantially higher sensitivity for the measurement of UPE. In single amino acid solutions, strong UPE signals were generated by oxidation from Phe, Trp, His, and Cys, and weak signals from Lys and Thr. Analysis of reaction products by MS revealed high oxidative material turnover for Cys and His, whereas barely detectable oxidative material turnover seems to be sufficient to generate a UPE signal of similar strength from Trp and Phe. Combination of different amino acids did not result in a simple addition of individual oxidation-induced UPE signals, but in interactions ranging from antagonism to clear synergism. Synergism was evident between Trp- and UPE-generating amino acids such as Thr, Cys, and His, with the strongest synergism by far observed between Trp and His. The strikingly different individual UPE spectra of His and Trp, despite being of comparable overall strength, were congruent with a pure Trp UPE spectrum after combining His with Trp in solution, indicating energy transfer between both amino acids. Combination of Trp and DNA, which also gives UPE signals following oxidation, did not result in a synergistically enhanced or antagonized overall UPE signal, but in a simple addition of individual UPE signals. CONCLUSION: Measurement of UPE could be proven to be a highly sensitive method to assess oxidative processes in biological molecules. The reported data indicate that UPE generated by oxidation stressed skin is mainly due to non-fluorescent photon emission via Trp, whereby Trp acts as an energy receptor from other excited species of oxidation-modified amino acids.     

Upper Extremity Deep Venous Thrombosis Risk Factors,Associated Morbidity and Mortality in Trauma Patients

World Journal of Surgery - The literature on upper extremity deep venous thrombosis (UEDVT) is not as abundant as that on lower extremities. This study aimed to identify the risk factors for UEDVT,...     

Construction of a Tetracycline-inducible promoter in Schizosaccharomyces pombe

Summary We have developed a tightly repressed Schizosaccharomyces pombe promoter which can be efficiently induced by Tetracycline. This promoter is a derivative of the plant viral cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter which normally functions as a strong constitutive promoter in S. pombe. Location of three binding sites for the Tn10-encoded Tet repressor in the vicinity of the TATA-box of the CaMV 35S promoter led to a tight repression of promoter activity in the presence of the Tet repressor protein. Up to a 400-fold induction was observed after addition of the inducer Tetracycline, which inactivates the operator-binding capacity of the repressor.