Tumor necrosis factor-alpha in the placenta is not elevated in pre-eclamptic patients despite its elevation in peripheral blood

PROBLEM: Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) is present in human placental and uterine cells at the early and late stages of gestation and promotes the regulation of trophoblast growth and invasion. We evaluated whether TNF-alpha levels in the placenta and blood of pre-eclamptic women differed from those with normal pregnancies. METHOD OF STUDY: The subjects were 39 pregnant women carrying single fetuses (21 normal-pregnant and 18 pre-eclamptic patients). Their average gestational age at entry was 38-39 weeks. Peripheral blood was collected before the onset of labor and separated serum was stored at -20 degrees C. A tissue segment of the placenta was cut and frozen in liquid nitrogen immediately after delivery at -80 degrees C. The frozen placental tissue was added to phosphate-buffered saline. The tissue was fully homogenized and centrifuged. Separated supernatant was stored at -80 degrees C. TNF-alpha levels in separated serum and TNF-alpha and total protein (TP) levels in separated supernatant were measured. The presence of TNF-alpha in the placenta was evaluated by immunohistochemistry in five pre-eclamptic and five normal-pregnant patients. RESULTS: Serum TNF-alpha levels were higher in pre-eclampsia than in normal pregnancies. However, TNF-alpha/TP levels in the placenta did not differ significantly between the two groups. As for TNF-alpha immunostaining of trophoblastic cells in the placenta, it was weak in three and moderate in two of the normal pregnancies, while it was absent in two, weak in one, and moderate in two in the pre-eclampsia group. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated no significant increase in TNF-alpha/TP levels in the placenta in pre-eclampsia despite a significant increase in serum TNF-alpha levels. There was no strong immunostaining for TNF-alpha detected by immunohistochemistry in the pre-eclampsia group. These findings suggest that TNF-alpha in the placenta is not a key cytokine to interfere with normal trophoblast invasion into the myometrium in pre-eclampsia, and that sources other than the placenta may contribute to the elevated levels of TNF-alpha found in the circulation of pre-eclamptic patients.     

Evidence for a GABAergic inhibitory nigrotectal pathway in the rat

The aim of the present study was to test the GABAergic nature of the inhibitory projection from substantia nigra, pars reticulata (SNr) to superior colliculus (SC) in the rat, through the use of extracellular recordings and microiontophoresis. The effect of SN stimulation on the spontaneous or glutamate-evoked firing of SC units was analyzed. Among 28 SC cells inhibited by SNr stimulation, 27 decreased their firing rate following iontophoretic application of either GABA or glycine. The effect of the iontophoretic administration of bicuculline on SNr-evoked inhibition was studied on 14 of these GABA- and glycine-sensitive neurons. Bicuculline reversibly blocked nigral inhibition on 12 neurons, with iontophoretic current which did not affect glycine depression.These results are consistent with the hypothesis that GABA is the inhibitory transmitter of the nigrotectal projection.     

Pituitary adenomas treated by microsurgery with or without Gamma Knife surgery: experience in 122 cases

The clinical outcome of 122 patients with pituitary adenomas treated by microsurgery and/or Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKRS) was analyzed to evaluate patient selection criteria and the role of GKRS. Sixty-six resections were performed in 59 patients. All tumors were macroadenomas, except for 5 ACTH-producing adenomas. Twenty-four of the 31 hypersecreting adenomas showed normal serum hormone values after treatment. Postoperative complications were rhinorrhea, cranial nerve palsies, and a small thalamic infarct. GKRS was performed on 18 of the operated patients because of residual tumors, mostly in the cavernous sinus. Thirty-five of the 63 patients treated by GKRS were followed for more than 2 years. All adenomas except 2 were stable or had decreased in size. Eleven of 17 functioning adenomas showed normal serum hormone values after treatment. It is concluded that tumors that compress the optic pathway should be removed and that residual tumors in the cavernous sinus are good indications for radiosurgery.     

A small pontine infarct on DWI as a lesion responsible for wall-eyed bilateral internuclear ophthalmoplegia syndrome

A 64-year-old man presented with alternating exotropia and bilateral medial longitudinal fasciculus (MLF) syndrome known as wall-eyed bilateral internuclear ophthalmoplegia (WEBINO) syndrome. Diffusion-weighted imaging showed a small localized lesion in the median dorsal pons, and high-resolution T2-weighted imaging revealed slight left deviation of the lesion. A small penetrating artery was assumed to be occluded at the level of the MLF decussation. The median dorsal pons appears to be a location for the lesions causing WEBINO syndrome.     

Relation of atrial fibrillation to glomerular filtration rate

Although both atrial fibrillation (AF) and decreasing glomerular filtration rate (GFR) are strongly related to advanced age and share common associated vascular risk factors, few studies have explored the relation between AF and GFR. From residents (age >or=40 years) in Kurashiki City, a total of 41,417 subjects (median age 72 years; 13,956 men) were enrolled in the Kurashiki City Annual Medical Survey from May to December 2006. The estimated overall prevalence of AF was 1.6% (2.8% in the low-GFR tertile, 1.2% in the middle tertile, and 0.9% in the high tertile, p <0.001). After all subjects were categorized into age tertiles (age thresholds 68 and 76 years), AF was identified in 0.9% in the low-GFR tertile, 0.6% in the middle tertile, and 0.5% in the high tertile in the low-age tertile (p = 0.018); 2.6% in the low-GFR tertile, 1.2% in the middle tertile, and 1.1% in the high tertile in the middle-age tertile (p <0.001); and 3.9% in the low-GFR tertile, 2.4% in the middle tertile, and 1.7% in the high tertile in the high-age tertile (p <0.001). The odds ratio for AF adjusted for age, gender, vascular risk factors, cardiac disease, and hemoglobin was 1.91 (95% confidence interval 1.54 to 2.38, p <0.001) for the low-GFR tertile versus the high tertile and 1.12 (95% confidence interval 0.88 to 1.42, p = 0.364) for the middle-GFR tertile versus the high tertile. The prevalence of AF gradually increased with decreasing GFR. In conclusion, AF appears to be associated with decreasing GFR.     

Does an interference task immediately after practice prevent memory consolidation of sequence-specific learning?

[Purpose] Learning of movement procedures (sequence learning) is essential in physical therapy. Studies have shown that sequence-specific learning may be integrated from an early stage. This study examines the effect of an interference task on the retention of sequence-specific learning. [Participants and Methods] Young adults were randomly divided into a control group and an interference task group, and two experiments were performed. In each experiment, the control group practiced task A in both the acquisition phase and the retention phase four to five hours later. The Interference group practiced task A in the acquisition phase followed by task B, which is similar to the interference task, and then performed task A in the retention phase four to five hours later. In Experiment 2, the amount of practice for task A in the practice phase was 25% of that in Experiment 1. [Results] Sequence-specific learning occurred in the early stages of practice. In particular, the performance of Experiment 1 reached the ceiling. The results of the retention test showed no significant interference effect due to similar tasks. [Conclusion] Implicit sequence-specific learning stabilizes performance early and is not affected by interference tasks.     

Corticatic acids D and E,polyacetylenic geranylgeranyltransferase type I inhibitors,from the marine sponge Petrosia corticata

Two new polyacetylenic acids, corticatic acids D (2) and E (3), have been isolated from the marine sponge Petrosia corticata along with the known corticatic acid A (1) as geranylgeranyltransferase type I (GGTase I) inhibitors. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic and chemical methods. Compounds 1-3 inhibited GGTase I from Candida albicans with IC(50) values of 1.9-7.3 microM.