Current Issue : October - December Volume : 2012 Issue Number : 4 Articles : 7 Articles
Primary open angle glaucoma affects more than 67 million people. Elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) is a risk factor for\r\nglaucoma and may reduce nutrient availability by decreasing ocular perfusion pressure (OPP). An interaction between\r\narterial blood pressure and IOP determines OPP; but the exact contribution that these factors have for retinal function is not\r\nfully understood. Here we sought to determine how acute modifications of arterial pressure will affect the susceptibility of\r\nneuronal function and blood flow to IOP challenge. Anaesthetized (ketamine:xylazine) Long-Evan rats with low\r\n(,60 mmHg, sodium nitroprusside infusion), moderate (,100 mmHg, saline), or high levels (,160 mmHg, angiotensin\r\nII) of mean arterial pressure (MAP, n = 5ââ?¬â??10 per group) were subjected to IOP challenge (10ââ?¬â??120 mmHg, 5 mmHg steps\r\nevery 3 minutes). Electroretinograms were measured at each IOP step to assess bipolar cell (b-wave) and inner retinal\r\nfunction (scotopic threshold response or STR). Ocular blood flow was measured using laser-Doppler flowmetry in groups\r\nwith similar MAP level and the same IOP challenge protocol. Both b-wave and STR amplitudes decreased with IOP elevation.\r\nRetinal function was less susceptible to IOP challenge when MAP was high, whereas the converse was true for low MAP.\r\nConsistent with the effects on retinal function, higher IOP was needed to attenuated ocular blood flow in animals with\r\nhigher MAP. The susceptibility of retinal function to IOP challenge can be ameliorated by acute high BP, and exacerbated by\r\nlow BP. This is partially mediated by modifications in ocular blood flow....
Background: Blood-feeding patterns of mosquitoes are crucial for incriminating malaria vectors. However, little\r\ninformation is available on the host preferences of Anopheles mosquitoes in Bangladesh. Therefore, the objective of\r\nthe present study was to determine the hematophagic tendencies of the anophelines inhabiting a malariaendemic\r\narea of Bangladesh.\r\nMethods: Adult Anopheles mosquitoes were collected using light traps (LTs), pyrethrum spray (PS), and human bait\r\n(HB) from a malaria-endemic village (Kumari, Bandarban, Bangladesh) during the peak months of malaria\r\ntransmission (August-September). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR)\r\nwere performed to identify the host blood meals of Anopheles mosquitoes.\r\nResults: In total, 2456 female anopheline mosquitoes representing 21 species were collected from the study area.\r\nAnopheles vagus Doenitz (35.71%) was the dominant species followed by An. philippinensis Ludlow (26.67%) and An.\r\nminimus s.l. Theobald (5.78%). All species were collected by LTs set indoors (n = 1094), 19 species were from\r\noutdoors (n = 784), whereas, six by PS (n = 549) and four species by HB (n = 29). Anopheline species composition\r\nsignificantly differed between every possible combination of the three collection methods (c2 test, P < 0.001). Host\r\nblood meals were successfully detected from 1318 (53.66%) Anopheles samples belonging to 17 species. Values of\r\nthe human blood index (HBI) of anophelines collected from indoors and outdoors were 6.96% and 11.73%,\r\nrespectively. The highest values of HBI were found in An. baimai Baimaii (80%), followed by An. minimus s.l.\r\n(43.64%) and An. annularis Van den Wulp (37.50%). Anopheles baimai (Bi = 0.63) and An. minimus s.l. (Bi = 0.24)\r\nshowed strong relative preferences (Bi) for humans among all hosts (human, bovine, goats/sheep, and others).\r\nAnopheles annularis, An. maculatus s.l. Theobald, and An. pallidus Theobald exhibited opportunistic blood-feeding\r\nbehavior, in that they fed on either humans or animals, depending on whichever was accessible. The remaining 12\r\nspecies preferred bovines as hosts....
Researchers measure biomarkers as a reflection of patient health status or intervention outcomes.While blood is generally regarded\nas the best body fluid for evaluation of systemic processes, substitution of saliva samples for blood would be less invasive and more\nconvenient. The concentration of specific biomarkers may differ between blood and saliva. The objective of this study was to\ncompare multiple biomarkers (27 cytokines) in plasma samples, passive drool saliva samples, and filter paper saliva samples in\n50 healthy adults. Demographic data and three samples were obtained from each subject: saliva collected on filter paper over 1\nminute, saliva collected by passive drool over 30 seconds, and venous blood (3 mL) collected by venipuncture. Cytokines were\nassayed using Bio-Rad multiplex suspension array technology. Descriptive statistics and pairwise correlations were used for data\nanalysis. The sample was 52% male and 74% white. Mean age was 26 (range = 19ââ?¬â??63 years, sd = 9.7). The most consistent and\nhighest correlations were between the passive drool and filter paper saliva samples, although relationships were dependent on the\nspecific biomarker. Correlations were not robust enough to support substitution of one collection method for another. There was\nlittle correlation between the plasma and passive drool saliva samples. Caution should be used in substituting saliva for blood, and\nrelationships differ by biomarker....
Progestins provide safe, effective and cheap options for contraception as well as the treatment of a variety of\r\ngynaecological disorders. Episodes of irregular endometrial bleeding or breakthrough bleeding (BTB) are a major unwanted\r\nside effect of progestin treatment, such that BTB is the leading cause for discontinued use of an otherwise effective and\r\npopular medication. The cellular mechanisms leading to BTB are poorly understood. In this study, we make the novel\r\nfinding that the large, dilated, thin walled vessels characteristic of human progestin-treated endometrium include both\r\nblood and lymphatic vessels. Increased blood and lymphatic vessel diameter are features of VEGF-D action in other tissues\r\nand we show by immunolocalisation and Western blotting that stromal cell decidualisation results in a significant increase in\r\nVEGF-D protein production, particularly of the proteolytically processed 21 kD form. Using a NOD/scid mouse model with\r\nxenografted human endometrium we were able to show that progestin treatment causes decidualisation, VEGF-D\r\nproduction and endometrial vessel dilation. Our results lead to a novel hypothesis to explain BTB, with stromal cell\r\ndecidualisation rather than progestin treatment per se being the proposed causative event, and VEGF-D being the\r\nproposed effector agent...
Background: We report a patient with cytogenetically confirmed Fanconi anaemia with associated diffuse bilateral\r\npulmonary arterio-venous fistulae. This is only the second reported case of diffuse pulmonary arterio-venous\r\nfistulae with Fanconi anaemia.\r\nCase Presentation: A 16 year old Sri Lankan boy, with a cytogenetically confirmed Fanconi anaemia was admitted\r\nto University Medical Unit, National Hospital of Sri Lanka for further assessment and treatment. Both central and\r\nperipheral cyanosis plus clubbing were noted on examination. The peripheral saturation was persistently low on\r\nroom air and did not improve with supplementary Oxygen. Contrast echocardiography failed to demonstrate an\r\nintra cardiac shunt but showed early crossover of contrast, suggesting the possibility of pulmonary arterio-venous\r\nfistulae. Computed tomography pulmonary angiogram was inconclusive. Subsequent right heart catheterisation\r\nrevealed bilateral diffuse arterio-venous fistulae not amenable for device closure or surgical intervention.\r\nConclusion: To our knowledge, this is the second reported patient with diffuse pulmonary arterio-venous fistulae\r\nassociated with Fanconi anaemia. We report this case to create awareness among clinicians regarding this elusive\r\nassociation. We recommend screening patients with Fanconi anaemia using contrast echocardiography at the time\r\nof assessment with transthoracic echocardiogram. Though universal screening may be impossible given the cost\r\nconstraints, such screening should at least be performed in patients with clinical evidence of desaturation or when\r\na therapeutic option such as haematopoietic stem cell transplantation is considered. Treatment of pulmonary\r\narteriovenous fistulae would improve patient outcome as desaturation by shunting worsens the anaemic\r\nsymptoms by reducing the oxygen carrying capacity of blood....
Background: A growing body of literature links nutrition to mood, especially in epidemiological surveys, but there\r\nis little information characterizing food intake in people with diagnosed mood disorders.\r\nMethods: Food intake obtained from 3-day food records was evaluated in 97 adults with mood disorders, whose\r\ndiagnoses were confirmed in structured interviews. Information from a population nutrition survey, national\r\nguidelines for nutritional intakes (Eating Well with Canada�s Food Guide) and North American dietary guidelines\r\n(Dietary Reference Intakes) was utilized to evaluate the quality of their food intake.\r\nResults: Compared to the regional nutrition survey data and national guidelines, a greater proportion of study\r\nparticipants consumed fewer of the recommended servings of grains (p < 0.001) and vegetables and fruits (p <\r\n0.05), and less than the lower boundary of the Adequate Macronutrient Distribution Range (AMDR) for a-linolenic\r\nacid (p < 0.001). The study sample also had greater intakes of high-fat whole grain products (p < 0.01), processed\r\nmeats (p < 0.00001), and higher sugar, fat or salty foods (p < 0.00001). Of the 1746 total meals and snacks\r\nconsumed, 39% were from sources outside the home, suggesting a lack of time devoted to meal preparation.\r\nFinally, a subsample of 48 participants agreed to have blood tests: 44% had mild hypercholesterolemia (> 5.2 and\r\n= 6.2 mmol/L) and 21% had hypercholesterolemia (> 6.2 mmol/L)....
Background: Human T-cell leukemia virus type-1 (HTLV-1) carriers co-infected with and hepatitis C virus (HCV)\r\nhave been known to be at higher risk of their related diseases than mono-infected individuals. The recent studies\r\nclarified that IL-28B polymorphism rs8099917 is associated with not only the HCV therapeutic response by IFN, but\r\nalso innate immunity and antiviral activity. The aim of our research was to clarify study whether IL-28B gene\r\npolymorphism (rs8099917) is associated with HTLV-1/HCV co-infection.\r\nResults: The genotyping and viral-serological analysis for 340 individuals showed that IL-28B genotype distribution\r\nof rs8099917 SNP did not differ significantly by respective viral infection status. However, the IL-28B mRNA\r\nexpression level was 3.8 fold higher in HTLV-1 mono-infection than HTLV-1/HCV co-infection. The high expression\r\nlevel was associated with TT (OR, 6.25), whiles the low expression was associated with co-infection of the two\r\nviruses (OR, 9.5). However, there was no association between down-regulation and ATL development (OR, 0.8).\r\nConclusion: HTLV-1 mono-infection up-regulates the expression of IL-28B transcripts in genotype-dependent\r\nmanner, whiles HTLV-1/HCV co-infection down-regulates regardless of ATL development...
Loading....