Effect of cross exercise on quadriceps acceleration reaction time and subjective scores (Lysholm questionnaire) following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction

Background  

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury or reconstruction can cause knee impairments and disability. Knee impairments are related to quadriceps performance – accelerated reaction time (ART) – and disability to performance of daily living activities which is assessed by questionnaires such as the Lysholm knee score. The purposes of this study were to investigate the effect of cross exercise, as supplementary rehabilitation to the early phase of ACL reconstruction: a) on quadriceps ART at the angles 45°, 60° and 90° of knee flexion and, b) on the subjective scores of disability in ACL reconstructed patients.     

HLA-DR antigen expression and lymphocyte subsets in transitional cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder. An immunohistological study on frozen sections

Lymphocyte subpopulations (B cells, CD4, CD8), interleukin-20 receptors (IL-2), monocytes/macrophages (Leu M₅), and HLA-DR antigen expression were studied immunohistochemically on frozen sections from 38 bladder cancer specimens. T cells predominated over B cells in all tumours. CD4-positive lymphocytes predominated over CD8 in the stroma (CD4/CD8: 1·35/1), while in epithelial tumour cells CD8 was the prominent subpopulation (CD8/CD4: 1·75/1). Aberrant HLA-DR expression was found in 21·05 per cent of bladder tumours. A strong correlation between CD4 and CD8 population densities and macrophages with the other subpopulations was noticed. In HLA-DR-positive tumours, there was no correlation of the percentage of positive cells with CD4- and CD8-positive lymphocyte populations. Various parameters including IL-2 receptors, B cells, CD8- and CD4-positive cells, and macrophages did not differ significantly between the groups of tumours expressing and not expressing HLA-DR antigen. There were no statistically significant differences in the population densities of B cells, CD8- or CD4-positive cells, IL-2 receptor, monocytes/macrophages, and HLA-DR antigen expression among various clinicopathological parameters, including growth pattern, histological grade and clinical stage or patient's age and sex. These findings suggest that in transitional cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder, HLA-DR antigen expression is independent of lymphocyte subpopulations. It is therefore possible that HLA-DR expression by tumour cells reflect the existence of separate HLA-DR-positive or HLA-DR-negative tumour clones.     

Allelic imbalance in hMLH1 or BRCA2 loci associated with response of cervical and endometrial cancer to radiotherapy

Effectiveness of radiotherapy is influenced by several genetic properties of the targeted cells. The aim of this study was the identification of prognostic indicators of tumor response to radiation in cervical and endometrial cancer. Using microsatellite DNA analysis, we investigated 31 markers, located on 1p, 2p, 2q, 3p, 9p, 9q, 13q, 17p and 17q for genomic alterations in 37 cervical and 21 endometrial cancer cases, with complete follow-up data. Genetic alterations of the initial tumor genotypes were observed after radiation in 86.5% of cervical and 81.0% of endometrial cases. Reversions to the original normal genotype were observed in 40.5 and 28.6% respectively, predominantly in cured patients rather than in recurred cases. Survival curves by the Kaplan-Meier method showed a worse prognosis for cervical cancer patients whose tumors harbor allelic imbalance (AI) on 3p or 13q, and for endometrial cancer patients whose tumors harbor AI on 13q. Our data suggest a possible association of the hMLH1 or BRCA2 genes, implicated in distinct DNA repair pathways and located on 3p and 13q respectively, with response of cervical and endometrial cancer to radiotherapy. Moreover, microsatellite DNA analysis before and after radiation treatment could be used as a marker of the clinical outcome of patients.     

Quantitative effects of osmotic diuresis following angiographic contrast administration

Osmotic diuresis resulting from the administration of angiographic contrast poses the potential threat of marked volume losses obligated by the renal excretion of non-reabsorbable solute. We prospectively assessed urinary excretion of solute and water following cardiac angiography in 14 euvolemic subjects without preexisting renal disease, by a protocol that allowed each patient to serve as his own control. During the initial 6 h after the beginning of angiography, contrast administration resulted in increased total osmolar excretion from a control rate of 0.79 +/- 0.09 to 1.09 +/- 0.09 mOsm/min (P less than .05) with a return to control values thereafter. Surprisingly, sodium, potassium, and chloride excretion rates did not differ significantly from control values. After subtraction of the molar contribution of electrolytes, urea, and creatinine from the total osmolar excretion rate, it was apparent that the "residual osmolar excretion rate" of 0.48 +/- 0.05 mOsm/min was markedly elevated over the control value of 0.11 +/- 0.05 mOsm/min (P less than .01), reflecting the excretion of contrast agent. Despite the marked osmotic diuresis, urine output during this period (3.9 +/- 0.2 cc/min) did not differ significantly from the control value of 4.0 +/- 0.3 cc/min. We conclude that marked volume losses are not a necessary concomitant of contrast-induced osmotic diuresis in the euvolemic cardiac patient without renal disease.     

Evaluation of the impact of Exomite Pro™ on Varroa mite (Varroa destructor) populations and honeybee (Apis mellifera) colonies: efficacy,side effects and residues

In this research, we examined the application of thymol-based powder, directly over the top of the brood frames in colonies with different population in a 2-year study. The efficacy against mites, the side effects on bees and the contamination of honey were studied comparably to thymol-based gel treatment. In one-store colonies, thymol-based powder treatment gave average efficacy 64.5 % and did not differ significantly from thymol-based gel treatment (65.4 %). The natural mortality in control colonies was 41.4 % and the corrected efficacy (E _T) during 2 years was 39.4 and 40.9 %, respectively. In two-store bee colonies, the application of thymol-based powder on top of each hive body gave higher E _T (45,4 %) than on top of the double body hive (40.4 %), without statistically significant differences. The average concentration of thymol residues in honey 24 days after the application was 368 and 1,119 μg kg^?1 for the honey of colonies treated with thymol-based powder and thymol-base gel, respectively.     

Increased serum levels of YKL-40 in patients with inflammatory bowel disease

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Initiation of a fibrotic process has been suggested as part of the intestinal response to chronic inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease. YKL-40 has been proposed as a new serum marker of fibrosis. We studied compared the serum levels of YKL-40 in patients with ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease with inflammatory and healthy controls. PATIENTS AND METHODS: YKL-40 serum levels were measured in 179 patients with inflammatory bowel disease (94 ulcerative colitis, 85 Crohn's disease), in 23 with intestinal inflammation of other causes, and 70 matched healthy controls using a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. YKL-40 levels were assessed in terms of disease activity, type and localization. RESULTS: Mean serum YKL-40 levels were 102.6+/-82.7 ng/ml in ulcerative colitis patients and 112.2+/-83.7 ng/ml in Crohn's disease patients, significantly higher than in healthy controls (64.1+/-21.4 ng/ml) but not significantly different from inflammatory controls (77.8+/-23.1 ng/ml). Disease activity and C-reactive protein levels were significantly correlated with YKL-40 levels in both ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Crohn's disease patients with ileum localization had significantly higher YKL-40 levels than those with ileocolonic or colonic disease. Patients with stenotic disease had mean YKL-40 levels not significantly different than those with nonstenotic disease. CONCLUSION: Serum levels of YKL-40 are increased in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, and this is associated with the inflammatory process rather than with the degree of fibrosis.     

Evaluation of PCR-based preimplantation genetic diagnosis applied to monogenic diseases: a collaborative ESHRE PGD consortium study

Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) for monogenic disorders currently involves polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based methods, which must be robust, sensitive and highly accurate, precluding misdiagnosis. Twelve adverse misdiagnoses reported to the ESHRE PGD-Consortium are likely an underestimate. This retrospective study, involving six PGD centres, assessed the validity of PCR-based PGD through reanalysis of untransferred embryos from monogenic-PGD cycles. Data were collected on the genotype concordance at PGD and follow-up from 940 untransferred embryos, including details on the parameters of PGD cycles: category of monogenic disease, embryo morphology, embryo biopsy and genotype assay strategy. To determine the validity of PCR-based PGD, the sensitivity (Se), specificity (Sp) and diagnostic accuracy were calculated. Stratified analyses were also conducted to assess the influence of the parameters above on the validity of PCR-based PGD. The analysis of overall data showed that 93.7% of embryos had been correctly classified at the time of PGD, with Se of 99.2% and Sp of 80.9%. The stratified analyses found that diagnostic accuracy is statistically significantly higher when PGD is performed on two cells versus one cell (P=0.001). Se was significantly higher when multiplex protocols versus singleplex protocols were applied (P=0.005), as well as for PGD applied on cells from good compared with poor morphology embryos (P=0.032). Morphology, however, did not affect diagnostic accuracy. Multiplex PCR-based methods on one cell, are as robust as those on two cells regarding false negative rate, which is the most important criteria for clinical PGD applications. Overall, this study demonstrates the validity, robustness and high diagnostic value of PCR-based PGD.     

Long-term impact of multifactorial treatment on new-onset diabetes and related cardiovascular events in metabolic syndrome: a post hoc ATTEMPT analysis

This post hoc analysis of the Assessing The Treatment Effect in Metabolic Syndrome Without Perceptible diabeTes (ATTEMPT) study assesses the 3? year incidence of new-onset diabetes (NOD) and related cardiovascular disease (CVD) events in patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS), after multifactorial (lifestyle and drug, including atorvastatin) intervention. Patients were randomized to group A (low-density lipoprotein cholesterol [LDL-C] target < 100 mg/dL) and group B (< 130 mg/dL). The incidence of NOD during the 42-month follow-up was very low, 0.83 to 1.00/100 patient-years in patients with MetS and MetS with impaired fasting glucose, respectively. Older age, increased waist circumference, and persistent MetS were determinants of NOD. One CVD nonfatal event occurred in the 28 patients with NOD. Our findings suggest that treating the characteristics of MetS is achievable and beneficial. New-onset diabetes incidence and CVD events were negligible and not different from what is expected in the general population.