Effect of a single administration of ketoconazole on total and physiologically free plasma testosterone and 17β-oestradiol levels in healthy male volunteers

Summary The effect of a single oral dose of 400 mg ketoconazole, given as an 80 mg/ml suspension, on total and physiologically free (i.e. non-sex hormonebound) testosterone and 17-oestradiol has been investigated in 6 healthy male volunteers. The two steroids fell to nadir levels of 18 and 60% of their respective initial concentrations 6 hours after drug intake, and then completely recovered. Although in vitro slight displacement of testosterone from the sex-hormone binding globulin, by high doses of ketoconazole was found, the physiologically free concentration of testosterone in vivo was closely correlated with that of the total hormone, suggesting that there is no direct interference with sex-hormone binding globulin in vivo. Plasma LH and FSH were not significantly modified by treatment. The effect of ketoconazole on plasma oestradiol levels was less pronounced and was not clearly related to a block of the aromatase system, as reported in vitro.This work was presented in part at the International Symposium on the Regulation of Androgen Actions, Montreal, 29th June–1st July 1984     

Cerebrospinal fluid amino acids in extrapyramidal disorders before and after L-DOPA treatment

Summary a) In 9 Parkinsonian patients and in 2 patients with other extrapyramidal syndromes cerebrospinal fluid amino acids have been determined by ion exchange chromatography.b) For 15 amino acids a statistically significant increase was found. It was most evident for citrulline, lysine, histidine and arginine.c) In 5 of the patients the lumbar puncture was repeated. Abnormalities persisted during oral L-DOPA treatment. No free L-DOPA could be detected in these cerebrospinal fluids.

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Zusammenfassung a) Die freien Aminosäuren des Liquor cerebrospinalis wurden säulenchromatographisch bei 9 Parkinson-Patienten und 2 Patienten mit extrapyramidalen Syndromen bestimmt.b) Die Ergebnisse zeigen statistisch signifikante Vermehrung von 15 Aminosäuren und insbesondere für Citrullin, Lysin, Histidin und Arginin.c) Nach oraler L-DOPA-Gabe (5 Patienten) persistieren die festgestellten Abweichungen. Freies L-DOPA konnte im Liquor nicht gefunden werden.

     

Thymosin ��4 has tumor suppressive effects and its decreased expression results in poor prognosis and decreased survival in multiple myeloma

Thymosin β4 (Tβ4) is a polypeptide involved in cellular proliferation, differentiation, and migration, over-expressed in several tumor entities. We evaluated its expression and function in 298 newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients and the murine 5TMM model. Mean Tβ4 expression was significantly lower in myeloma cells compared to normal plasma cells (P<0.001). The same observation can be made in the 5TMM-mouse model by qRT-PCR and ELISA. Here, Tβ4 overexpression by lentiviral transduction of 5T33MMvt-cells led to significantly decreased proliferative and migratory capacities and increased sensitivity to apoptosis-induction. Mice injected with Tβ4 over-expressing myeloma cells showed a longer survival compared to mice injected with controls (88,9 vs. 65,9 days, P<0.05). In 209 MM patients treated with high-dose therapy and autologous stem cell transplantation, expression of Tβ4 below the median was associated with a significantly shorter event free survival (37.6 vs. 26.2 months, P<0.05). In conclusion, our results indicate a possible tumor suppressive function of Tβ4.     

Prebiotics and the health benefits of fiber: current regulatory status, future research, and goals

First defined in the mid-1990s, prebiotics, which alter the composition and activity of gastrointestinal (GI) microbiota to improve health and well-being, have generated scientific and consumer interest and regulatory debate. The Life Sciences Research Organization, Inc. (LSRO) held a workshop, Prebiotics and the Health Benefits of Fiber: Future Research and Goals, in February 2011 to assess the current state of the science and the international regulatory environment for prebiotics, identify research gaps, and create a strategy for future research. A developing body of evidence supports a role for prebiotics in reducing the risk and severity of GI infection and inflammation, including diarrhea, inflammatory bowel disease, and ulcerative colitis as well as bowel function disorders, including irritable bowel syndrome. Prebiotics also increase the bioavailability and uptake of minerals and data suggest that they reduce the risk of obesity by promoting satiety and weight loss. Additional research is needed to define the relationship between the consumption of different prebiotics and improvement of human health. New information derived from the characterization of the composition and function of different prebiotics as well as the interactions among and between gut microbiota and the human host would improve our understanding of the effects of prebiotics on health and disease and could assist in surmounting regulatory issues related to prebiotic use.     

Endothelial cell-driven regulation of CD9 or motility-related protein-1 expression in multiple myeloma cells within the murine 5T33MM model and myeloma patients.

The cell surface expression of CD9, a glycoprotein of the tetraspanin family influencing several processes including cell motility and metastasis, inversely correlates with progression in several solid tumors. In the present work, we studied the expression and role of CD9 in multiple myeloma (MM) biology using the 5T33MM mouse model. The 5T33MMvitro cells were found to be CD9 negative. Injection of these cells in mice caused upregulation of CD9 expression, while reculturing them resulted in downregulation of CD9. Coculturing of CD9-negative 5T33MMvitro cells with BM endothelial cells (BMECs) resulted in a partial retrieval of CD9. Laser microdissection followed by real-time polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry performed on bone sections of 5T33MMvivo diseased mice demonstrated strong local expression of CD9 on MM cells in contact with BMEC compared to MM cells further away. These findings were also confirmed by immunohistochemistry in MM patients. Neutralizing anti-CD9 antibodies inhibited transendothelial invasion of CD9-expressing human MM5.1 and murine 5T33MMvivo cells. In conclusion, we provide evidence that CD9 expression by the MM cells is upregulated in vivo by close interaction of the cells with BMEC and that CD9 is involved in transendothelial invasion, thus possibly mediating homing and/or spreading of the MM cells.     

2021 European Myeloma Network review and consensus statement on smoldering multiple myeloma: how to distinguish (and manage) Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

According to the updated International Myeloma Working Group criteria, smoldering multiple myeloma (SMM) is an asymptomatic plasma cell disorder characterized by an M-component >3 g/dL, bone marrow plasma cell infiltration >10% and <60%, and absence of any myeloma-defining event. Active multiple myeloma is preceded by SMM, with a median time to progression of approximately 5 years. Cases of SMM range from the extremes of “monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance-like”, in which patients never progress during their lifetimes, to “early multiple myeloma”, in which transformation into symptomatic disease, based on genomic evolution, may be rapid and devastating. Such a “split personality” makes the prognosis and management of individual patients challenging, particularly with regard to the identification and possible early treatment of high-risk SMM. Outside of clinical trials, the conventional approach to SMM generally remains close observation until progression to active multiple myeloma. However, two prospective, randomized trials have recently demonstrated a significant clinical benefit in terms of time to progression, and of overall survival in one of the two studies, for some patients with higher-risk SMM treated with lenalidomide ± dexamethasone, raising the question of whether such an approach should be considered a new standard of care. In this paper, experts from the European Myeloma Network describe current biological and clinical knowledge on SMM, focusing on novel insights into its molecular pathogenesis, new prognostic scoring systems proposed to identify SMM patients at higher risk of early transformation, and updated results of completed or ongoing clinical trials. Finally, some practical recommendations for the real-life management of these patients, based on Delphi consensus methodology, are provided.