BMI distribution changes in adolescent British girls.

Body mass index (BMI) distribution changes were assessed in 2547 relatively affluent English girls, aged 12-16 years, during the UK childhood obesity epidemic (1986-96). An increase in BMI variability was observed only in 12-14 year olds, suggesting that BMI changes for population subgroups were complex, and inconsistent with a generalised increase in BMI.     

Peripheral blood circulating cytokeratin-19 mRNA-positive cells after the completion of adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with operable breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prognostic significance of the molecular detection of cytokeratin 19 (CK-19) mRNA-positive cells in the peripheral blood of women with operable breast cancer after the completion of adjuvant chemotherapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Blood from 161 patients with stage I and II breast cancer, obtained after the completion of adjuvant chemotherapy, was tested by nested RT-PCR for CK-19 mRNA detection. Using univariate and multivariate analyses possible interactions with other prognostic factors and association of CK-19 mRNA detection with risk of relapse, disease-free interval (DFI) and overall survival were investigated. RESULTS: After completion of adjuvant chemotherapy, 27.3% of patients had peripheral blood CK-19 mRNA-positive cells; there was no association of this finding with any other prognostic factors or the type of chemotherapy regimen used. For patients with less than four involved axillary lymph nodes the risk of relapse was 3.81 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.06-13.71] times higher, and the DFI was significantly reduced (P = 0.028) if CK-19 mRNA-positive cells were detectable in the blood after the completion of adjuvant chemotherapy. In contrast, for patients with four or more involved lymph nodes, the presence of CK-19 mRNA-positive cells after adjuvant chemotherapy did not significantly affect the risk of relapse or DFI. Furthermore, the risk of relapse was higher (hazards ratio 3.70; 95% CI 1.09-13.89) and the DFI was reduced (P = 0.022) for patients with detectable CK-19 mRNA-positive cells following adjuvant cyclophosphamide, methotrexate and 5-fluorouracil (CMF) as compared with epirubicin, cyclophosphamide and 5-fluorouracil (FEC) or sequential taxotere-epirubicin and cyclophosphamide (T/EC) chemotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: The detection of CK-19 mRNA-positive cells in the peripheral blood after adjuvant chemotherapy may be of clinical relevance for patients with early breast cancer and less than four involved axillary lymph nodes.     

Haemoglobin Tak: a β-Chain Elongation

In Haemoglobin Tak two normal α-chains are combined with two β-chains elongated by 11 residues beyond the C-terminus. Unlike in the α-chain abnormal Hb Constant Spring, the elongation cannot result from a point mutation of a stop codon. It is probably due to an unequal crossing-over near the 3' end of the β-chain structural gene. This could cause either a deletion of the normal stop codon or a shift in the reading frame. Oxygen dissociation of purified Hb Tak shows no cooperativity but in Hb A + Tak haemolysates there is no interaction between the two above 40% O₂ saturation. Heterozygotes for Hbs A and Tak show an imbalance of globin chain synthesis (α/non α= 1.5), the synthesis of β Tak resembles that of the β-chain in β⁺ thalassaemia.     

Electroencephalographic peak alpha frequency correlates of cognitive traits

EEG peak alpha frequency (PAF) has been shown to differentiate groups of adults with higher memory performance from those of lower performance, groups of children with advanced reading ability from matched controls, and to predict state-dependent working memory. The present study attempted to explore PAF as a predicting variable for verbal and attentional cognitive trait abilities in young adults. Nineteen undergraduate students had their EEG recorded during initial rest, reading, and post-reading rest, and at a different day were evaluated on reading, vocabulary, and attentional performance. Results showed significant correlations of reading vocabulary and response control with PAF during reading and post-reading recordings, but not during initial rest. PAF may reflect some general cognitive ability that is not necessarily memory or reading, possibly response control or the ability to acquire vocabulary. It is suggested that cognitive ability traits may reflect the ability to induce cognitive states.     

Emissions of total volatile organic compounds and indoor environment assessment in dental clinics in Athens,Greece

Objective : To quantify the amount of Total Volatile Organic Compounds (TVOCs) emitted from five dental substances commonly used in a dental clinic. Method : An assessment of the indoor air quality in two clinics of the Athens University Dentistry Faculty was conducted. Results : It was found that TVOC emissions from Kalocryl and Bacillol reached extremely high values affecting the air in the dental clinics at short and long distances from the source. Six pollutants TVOCs, CO₂, PM₁₀, PM_2.5, SO₂ and NO_x were measured and indoor sources associated with dental activities were identified. Very high concentrations of TVOCs were found which exceeded the acceptable levels by a factor of 20, associated with the nature of the dental activities and the ventilation conditions. The CO₂ concentration levels were high and the indoor conditions were considered unsatisfactory, associated with the number of occupants and the ventilation conditions. PM concentrations were high due to the nature of the dental activities and they exceeded the outdoor levels by a factor of 5 to 6. The concentrations of the gaseous pollutants NOx were low while the SO₂ concentrations were hardly detectable.     

Development and applications of a real-time quantitative RT-PCR method (QRT-PCR) for BRCA1 mRNA

OBJECTIVES: To develop a real-time quantitative RT-PCR method for BRCA1 mRNA and then use it for the study of BRCA1 gene expression in human MCF-7 breast cancer cells after their exposure to antineoplastic agents and gamma irradiation. DESIGN AND METHODS: The developed QRT-PCR method is based on the real-time monitoring of a fluorescein-labeled TaqMan probe, specific for BRCA1 mRNA, during PCR in the LightCycler. A BRCA1 PCR amplicon was purified, quantitated and used as a standard of known concentration for the development and analytical evaluation of the assay. The method was applied to study the alteration of BRCA1 gene expression after exposure to taxol, doxorubicin, 5-fluorouracil, etoposide or gamma irradiation in human MCF-7 breast cancer cells. RESULTS: The developed method is quantitative, highly specific for mRNA and highly sensitive (detection limit of 4 BRCA1 copies per mug of total RNA). We observed a reduction of BRCA1 expression for all antineoplastic agents used, while the gamma irradiated MCF-7 cells had an increase of expression with a peak at the 10 Gy dose. CONCLUSIONS: The developed BRCA1 QRT-PCR method is quantitative, highly sensitive and specific. The proposed method is rapid, automated, and cost effective and can be used to study BRCA1 expression in a variety of clinical samples.     

Chios mastic treatment of patients with active Crohn＇s disease

AIM： To evaluate the effectiveness of mastic administration on the clinical course and plasma inflammatory mediators of patients with active Crohn＇s disease （CD）. METHODS： This pilot study was conducted in patients with established mild to moderately active CD, attending the outpatient clinics of the hospital, and in healthy controls. Ten patients and 8 controls were recruited for a 4-wk treatment with mastic caps （6 caps/d, 0.37 g/cap）. All patients successfully completed the protocol. CD Activity Index （CDAI）, Nutritional Risk Index （NRI）, C-reactive protein （CRP）, interleukin-6 （IL-6）, tumor necrosis factor-alpha （TNF-α）, monocyte chemotactic protein-1 （MCP-1）, and total antioxidant potential （TAP） were evaluated in the plasma at baseline and at the end of the treatment period. Results were expressed as mean values ± SE and P 〈 0.05 was considered to indicate statistical significance. RESULTS： Patients exhibited significant reduction of CDAI （222.9 ± 18.7 vs 136.3 ± 12.3, P = 0.05） as compared to pretreament values. Plasma IL-6 was significantly decreased （21.2 ± 9.3 pg/mL vs 7.2 ± 2.8 pg/ mL, P = 0.027）, and so did CRP （40.3 ± 13.1 mg/mL vs 19.7 ± 5.5, P = 0.028）. TAP was significantly increased （0.15 ± 0.09 vs 0.57 ± 0.15 mmol/L uric acid, P = 0.036）. No patient or control exhibited any kind of side effects. CONCLUSION： The results suggest that mastic significantly decreased the activity index and the plasma levels of IL-6 and CRP in patients with mildly to moderately active CD. Further double-blind, placebo-controlled studies in a larger number of patients are required to clarify the role of this natural PrOduct in the treatment of patients with CD.     

Alterations in the function of circulating mononuclear cells derived from patients with Crohn＇s disease treated with mastic

AIM： To assess the effects of mastic administration on cytokine production of circulating mononuclear cells of patients with active Crohn＇s disease （CD）. METHODS： The study was conducted in patients with established mildly to moderately active CD, attending the outpatient clinics of the hospital, and in healthy controls. Recruited to a 4 wk treatment with mastic caps （6 caps/d, 0.37 g/cap） were 10 patients and 8 controls, all of who successfully completed the protocol. Interleukin-6 （IL-6）, tumor necrosis factor-alpha （TNF-α）, monocyte chemotactic protein-1 （MCP-1）, macrophage migration inhibitory factor （MIF） and intracellular antioxidant glutathione （GSH） were evaluated in peripheral blood mononuclear cells （PBMC） before and after treatment. RESULTS： Treating CD patients with mastic resulted in the reduction of TNF-α secretion （2.1 ± 0.9 ng/mL vs 0.5 ± 0.4 ng/mL, P = 0.028）. MIF release was significantly increased （1.2±0.4 ng/mL vs 2.5 ± 0.7 ng/mL, P = 0.026） meaning that random migration and chemotaxis of monocytes/macrophages was inhibited. No significant changes were observed in IL-6, MCP-1 and GSH concentrations. CONCLUSION： This study shows that mastic acts as an immunomodulator on PBIC, acting as a TNF-α inhibitor and a MIF stimulator. Although further double-blind, placebo-controlled studies in a large number of patients is required to clarify the role of this natural product, this finding provides strong evidence that mastic might be an important regulator of immunity in CD.