Subchronic administration of nandrolone decanoate in acetylcholinesterase activity in Wistar rats

Health sciences have recently discovered the medical uses of nandrolone decanoate (ND), an androgenic anabolic steroid (AAS), and reported its use in human and animal patients. Clinical evidences suggest that the AAS excess may affect the cholinergic system, which is responsible for several vital functions like learning, memory, and the organization of the movements. Thus, our aim is to research the subchronic effect of ND when administered in varying doses on the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity in these brain structures: cerebellum (CE), hippocampus, striatum (ST), and cortex of adult rats. We used 36 male Wistar rats, which were divided into six groups (n?=?6). The groups were divided into: G1—control (physiologic solution), G2—diluents control (only an oleaginous vehicle of vegetal origin—olive oil), G3—0.42?mg?kg^?1 of ND, G4—1.8?mg?kg^?1 of ND, G5—4.6?mg?kg^?1 of ND, and G6—10.0?mg?kg^?1 of ND. We applied the doses once every week during a 3-week period. The values obtained demonstrated a significant increase in the AChE activity (referring to ST and CE for the 4.6 and 10.0?mg?kg^?1 doses of ND). The ND causes increase in AChE activity, which could impair neurotransmission and cholinergic modulation.     

Genetic diversity of 3′ region of glycoprotein D gene of bovine herpesvirus 1 and 5

Bovine herpesviruses 1 (BoHV-1) and 5 (BoHV-5) are closely related alphaherpesviruses of cattle. While BoHV-1 is mainly associated with respiratory/genital disease and rarely associated with neurological disease, BoHV-5 is the primary agent of meningoencephalitis in cattle. The envelope glycoprotein D of alphaherpesviruses (BoHV-1/gD1 and BoHV-5/gD5) is involved in the early steps of virus infection and may influence virus tropism and neuropathogenesis. This study performed a sequence analysis of the 3′ region of gD gene (gD3′) of BoHV-1 isolates recovered from respiratory/genital disease (n = 6 and reference strain Cooper) or from neurological disease (n = 7); and from seven typical neurological BoHV-5 isolates. After PCR amplification, nucleotide (nt) sequencing, and aminoacid (aa) sequence prediction; gD3′ sequences were compared, identity levels were calculated, and selective pressure was analyzed. The phylogenetic reconstruction based on nt and aa sequences allowed for a clear differentiation of BoHV-1 (n = 14) and BoHV-5 (n = 7) clusters. The seven BoHV-1 isolates from neurological disease are grouped within the BoHV-1 branch. A consistent alignment of 346 nt revealed a high similarity within each viral species (gD1 = 98.3 % nt and aa; gD5 = 97.8 % nt and 85.8 % aa) and an expected lower similarity between gD1 and gD5 (73.7 and 64.1 %, nt and aa, respectively). The analysis of molecular evolution revealed an average negative selection at gD3′. Thus, the phylogeny and similarity levels allowed for differentiation of BoHV-1 and BoHV-5 species, but not further division in subspecies. Sequence analysis did not allow for the identification of genetic differences in gD3′ potentially associated with the respective clinical/pathological phenotypes, yet revealed a lower level of gD3′ conservation than previously reported.     

Comparative Evaluation of 11 Commercialized Rapid Diagnostic Tests for Detecting Trypanosoma cruzi Antibodies in Serum Banks in Areas of Endemicity and Nonendemicity

Chagas disease is one of the main public health issues in Latin America. Increasingly during the past few decades, Trypanosoma cruzi infection has been detected in North America, Europe, and the Western Pacific, mainly as a result of population movement. The limited availability of rapid serological diagnostic tests hinders rapid diagnosis and early treatment in areas of endemicity and nonendemicity. In collaboration with 11 national reference laboratories (NRLs) from different geographical areas, we evaluated the performances of commercialized serological rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) for T. cruzi infection. Eleven commercialized T. cruzi infection RDTs were evaluated on a total of 474 samples extensively tested with at least three different techniques for Chagas disease, maintained at controlled low temperatures, and stored in the serum banks of the 11 NRLs. We measured the sensitivity, specificity, and concordance of each RDT and provided an additional questionnaire to evaluate its ease of use. The selected RDTs in this study were performed under controlled laboratory conditions. Out of the 11 RDTs, we found 8 of them to be useful, with the cassette format favored over the strip. We did not observe significant differences in RDT performances in the different regions. Overall, the performance results were lower than those disclosed by the manufacturers. The results of this evaluation validate the possibility of using RDTs to diagnose Chagas disease, thereby decreasing the time to treatment at a primary health care facility for patients who are willing to be treated. Further studies should be conducted in the laboratory and in the field to confirm these data, expressly to evaluate reproducibility in resource-limited settings, or using whole blood in clinical settings in areas of endemicity and nonendemicity.     

Levels of liver enzymes and urea in rats naturally infected with larval forms of Taenia taeniformis

The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in the levels of liver enzymes and urea associated with an outbreak of cysticercosis (Taenia taeniformis) in rat liver. At the end of a previous trial, the animals were euthanized and necropsied when cysts of T. taeniformis were found. The number of cysts ranged from ten to 30 per rat liver. Blood samples were collected from ten rats with cysticercoids (from 12 to 22 cysts) and from ten non-affected rats that were kept in another animal house. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and urea values were reduced when compared with non-parasitized animals; alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) values were increased. Since the current experiment had to be repeated due to hepatic impairment evidenced by reduced ALT, AST, and urea values and increased ALP and GGT values, this study aims to alert the scientific community to the importance of sanitary barriers in animal housing.     

Incidence and risk factors for axillary web syndrome after breast cancer surgery

The objective of the study is to estimate the incidence and risk factors of axillary web syndrome (AWS) in early postoperative period (45 days). From the prospective cohort of women undergoing breast cancer surgery, we collected the variables related to patient characteristics, treatment, tumor, and postoperative complications. We performed bivariate and logistic regression. A total of 193 patients are included with a mean age of 58.26 years, majority of which are women who are overweight or obese (72.3%). The incidence of AWS was 28.1%. The presence of pain in the ipsilateral upper-limb associated with AWS was reported in 5.4% of the patients, and the shoulder joint restriction was observed in 11.4%. When controlling for confounding between AWS and the factors that showed statistical significance in bivariate analysis, the variables that explain the occurrence of the AWS were the type of axillary surgery, where women who underwent sentinel lymph node biopsy showed 68% less risk compared with those that underwent axillary lymphadenectomy (AL) (RR = 0.32; 95% CI, 0.13−0.79; P value = 0.014) and numbness in the arm after an injury of the intercostobrachial nerve, which is 3.19 times the risk of the AWS (RR = 3.19; 95% CI, 1.40−7.29, P value = 0.006). From the above findings, we concluded that the incidence of AWS was 28.1%, and it was associated with AL and numbness in the arm after injury of the intercostobrachial nerve.