Evaluation of three substitutes for Percoll in sperm isolation by density gradient centrifugation

Silane-coated silica particle solutions (ISolate(TM) and PureSperm)TM)) and iodixanol (OptiPrep(TM)) were compared to polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-coated silica particles (Percoll(TM)) in their efficacy to recover spermatozoa by gradient centrifugation for use in assisted reproductive procedures. Efficacy was assessed in terms of percentages of sperm recovery, sperm vitality and motility, normal sperm morphology and normal sperm chromatin condensation. No significant difference was found in the recovery of spermatozoa for men with both normal sperm counts and oligozoospermia, between PVP-coated and silane-coated particle solutions. Iodixanol had significantly lower sperm recovery compared to the other products. Sperm vitality, progressive motility, normal morphology and normal chromatin condensation did not differ significantly between any of the sperm isolation products.      

Protective cytotoxic T lymphocyte responses against paramyxoviruses induced by epitope-based DNA vaccines: involvement of IFN-gamma

Plasmid DNA vectors have been constructed with minigenes encoding a single cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) epitope from either the M2 protein of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) or from the nucleoprotein of measles virus (MV) with or without a signal sequence (also called secretory or leader sequence). Following intradermal immunization, plasmids in which the CTL epitopes were expressed in-frame with the signal sequence were more effective at inducing peptide- and virus- specific CTL responses than plasmids expressing CTL epitopes without the signal sequence. This immunization resulted in protection against MV-induced encephalitis and a significant reduction in viral load following RSV challenge. The reduction of viral load following RSV challenge was abrogated by prior injection with anti-IFN-gamma antibodies. These results highlight the ability of epitope-based DNA immunization to induce protective immune responses to well-defined epitopes and indicate the potential of this approach for the development of vaccines against infectious diseases.      

Anicteric hepatoxicity: a potential health risk of occupational exposures in Nigerian petroleum oil refining and distribution industry

Background

Literature abounds linking one’s job to certain unpalatable health outcomes. Since exposures to hazardous conditions in industrial environments often results in sundry health effects among workers, we embarked on this study to investigate the hepatic health effects of occupational activities in the petroleum refining and distribution industry.

Method

Biochemical markers of liver functions were assayed in plasma, using Reflotron dry chemistry spectrophotometric system. The study was conducted on randomly selected workers of Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) and Pipelines and Petroleum Product Marketing Company (PPMC) both in Alesa-Eleme near Port Harcourt, Nigeria, as well as non-oil work civil servants serving as control subjects.

Result and conclusion

Results showed that, bilirubin ranged 0.3-1.6 mg/dl with a mean of 0.66±0.20mg/dl among the oil workers as against 0.5-1.00mg/dl with a mean of 0.58±0.13mg/dl in non-oil workers, Alkaline phosphatase ranged 50.00-296.00u/l (mean: 126.21±39.49u/l) in oil workers as against 40.20-111u/l (mean: 66.83±18.54u/l) for non-oil workers, Aspartic transaminases (AST) ranged 5.80-140.20u/l (mean: 21.81±11.49u/l) in oil workers against 18.00-44.00u/l (mean: 26.89±6.99u/l) for non-oil workers, while Alanine transaminases (ALT) ranged 4.90-86.00u/l (mean: 22.14±11.28u/l) in oil workers as against 10.00-86.60u/l (mean: 22.30±10.22u/l) for the non-oil workers. A close study of the results revealed that although the mean values for all the studied parameters were still within the parametric reference ranges, however, relative to the referents, there were significant increases (P<0.05) in plasma bilirubin (though anicteric) and alkaline phosphatase that was not matched with a corresponding increase in the plasma transaminases, suggesting a possibility that toxic anicteric hepatoxicity is part of the potential health effects of sundry exposures in the Nigeria petroleum oil refining and distribution industry. Gender differentiation data showed that though the mean values for the parameters were higher in males than females, the increases were not significant in most cases (P>0.05), whereas data for age and exposure period classifications revealed that irrespective of the age of the worker, the effects are likely to start after the first five years, manifesting fully after the first decade of occupational exposures. Thus, an update of industrial/occupational health measures is necessary for a safer and healthier work environment.     

Analysis of the relationship between age and treatment response in migraine

In migraine, headache severity varies with age. As a consequence, the effectiveness of medication may also depend on a patient's age. The purpose of this study was to assess the combined effect of age and drug treatment on headache characteristics. Using data from clinical trials of sumatriptan in adolescents and adults, we show how the interaction between age and drug exposure can be parameterised as a covariate on a Markov model that describes the decline of headache severity over three clinically defined stages (no relief, relief and pain-free status). The model explains important clinical observations: (i) the rates at which the pain relief and pain-free status were attained were found to be inversely related to age; (ii) in placebo-treated patients, the mean transit time from 'no relief' to 'relief' is 3 h for young adolescents and increases to 6 h for patients aged ≥ 30 years; and (iii) sumatriptan reduces the transit time to 2 h, irrespective of age. These findings indicate that the therapeutic gain over placebo increases with age. Prospective studies of antimigraine drugs should take this relationship into account when extrapolating efficacy data from adults to adolescents.     

CA 125 in the serum and tissue of patients with gynecological disease

Summary Serum levels of CA 125 were determined in 239 patients suffering from gynecological malignancies. The upper limit for normal was 35 U/ml. Raised levels were found in 82% of patients with primary ovarian carcinoma, and in 29% of those with benign ovarian tumors. The values from patients with ovarian carcinomas in partial or complete remission were compared with those from patients with progressive disease. The former group had elevated levels in 19% compared to 89% in the latter group. Fifty-four percent of the values in progressive cervical carcinoma and 41% of the levels in progressive endometrial carcinoma were greater than 35 U/ml. High CA 125 levels were found in the cytosol of placenta, ovarian carcinoma, cervical carcinoma, and in ascitic fluid; correlation with serum levels was satisfactory. Even though CA 125 is of limited specificity for ovarian cancer, serum levels are important for follow up care and for the early detection of recurrences.     

Human Peritoneal Mesothelial Cells Are More Potent Than Ovarian Cancer Cells in Producing Tumor Marker CA-125

The aim of the present study was to investigate the extent to which human peritoneal mesothelial cells (HPMCs) are able to participate in the release of tumor marker CA-125 in ovarian cancer and other conditions associated with an involvement of the peritoneum. For this purpose CA-125 shedding was measured in the supernatant culture medium of HPMCs obtained from various donors and seven well-established ovarian cancer cell lines (OVCAR-3, 2780, 2774, SKOV-6, SKOV-8, HOC-7, HTB-77). Furthermore, the influence of inflammatory cytokines [interleukin-1β (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interferon γ (IFN-γ)] on CA-125 release in normal and malignant cells was also studied. Constitutive CA-125 shedding was found to be about five times higher in HPMCs as compared with the investigated ovarian cancer cell lines. IL-1β and TNF-α treatment of HPMCs resulted in a significant reduction in CA-125 release; however, no consistent pattern in CA-125 secretion was found during incubation with either IL-1β or TNF-α in the various malignant cell lines. IFN-γ, on the other hand, induced a highly significant increase in CA-125 secretion in ovarian cancer cells, but did not influence the shedding of CA-125 in HPMCs.     

Minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass grafting: a systematic review

AIM: Recently minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass grafting (MIDCAB) has become an interesting alternative to conventional coronary artery bypass grafting, especially in patients with a high-grade left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) stenosis unsuitable for balloon angioplasty. Although MIDCAB offers several advantages such as the avoidance of sternotomy and cardiopulmonary bypass, concerns have been raised about the technical accuracy of the anastomoses that can be performed on a beating heart. Therefore, clinical and angiographic outcomes after MIDCAB are the subject of current controversy. METHODS: A literature search for all published outcome studies of MIDCAB grafting was performed for the period from January 1995 through April 2003. Sixteen articles were enrolled in this review. The data presented in the studies was analysed with regard to clinical outcome and angiographic results. RESULTS: Early mortality ranged from 0% to 4.9% and late mortality (>30 days after MIDCAB) ranged from 0.3% to 12.6%. Infarct rates (non-fatal myocardial infarction) ranged between 0% and 3.1%. Intra- and postoperative complications (wound infections, reoperation for management of bleeding, arrhythmias, stroke, etc.) occurred in 1.6-40%. The conversion rate to sternotomy/cardiopulmonary bypass ranged between 0% and 6.2%. Reinterventions due to graft failure were necessary in up to 8.9% of patients (surgical revision or percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, PTCA). Short-term and mid-term angiographic outcomes are given in Table I. CONCLUSION: Clinical outcomes and immediate graft patency after MIDCAB are acceptable. However, long-term follow-up results and further randomized prospective clinical trials comparing this new technique with standard revascularization procedures are needed.     

Right atrial mass: tumor or aneurysm?

Accurate diagnosis and the surgical therapy is challenging for a mediastinal growth. After coronary artery graft surgery in 1982 and coronary reoperation in 1992, a patient was admitted for right atrial tumor. Echocardiography and MRI scan did not reveal precise tumor delineation. Histological studies proved a saphenous vein graft aneurysm.     

Prognostic value of laryngeal electromyography in vocal fold paralysis

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the value of electromyography in predicting recovery from acute neurogenic vocal fold paralysis. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective case series. SETTING: University-based hospital of otorhinolaryngology-head and neck surgery. PATIENTS: Ninety-eight patients (56 women, with a mean age of 62.2 years; 42 men, with a mean age of 39.8 years) with 111 paralyzed vocal folds. The causes were varied, with thyroid surgery (53 cases) and idiopathic palsy (18 cases) being the predominant factors. INTERVENTION: Prognostication was based on electromyography performed no earlier than 14 days after onset of palsy. Findings were classified as neurapraxy, axonotmesis, and neurotmesis. Prognosis is inherent in this classification, since neurapraxy is presumed to resolve completely within 8 to 12 weeks, whereas axonotmesis is most likely to be followed by impaired vocal fold mobility. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Vocal fold mobility after 6 months. RESULTS: In 102 vocal folds, some palsy of various degree persisted after 6 months. Free mobility of the paralyzed vocal fold was restored in 9 cases. By means of laryngeal electromyography, defective recovery, defined as absence of completely free vocal fold mobility, was predicted correctly in 94.4% of cases (68/72). For complete recovery, prognosis was accurate in only 12.8% of cases (5/39). CONCLUSIONS: The detection of neural degeneration by laryngeal electromyography allows the prediction of poor functional outcome with sufficient reliability in an early phase of the disease process. Conversely, the absence of signs of degeneration does not imply that complete recovery is to be expected.