Malnourishment-Associated Acetaminophen Toxicity in Pregnancy.

Background: Although acetaminophen is commonly used in pregnancy, it can deplete glutathione concentrations and cause accumulation of 5-oxoproline, with subsequent metabolic acidosis.

Case: A malnourished 25-year-old woman, G2P1001, with chronic acetaminophen use presented with abdominal pain and high anion gap metabolic acidosis. After ruling out other potential causes, her urine 5-oxoproline level was found to be elevated.

Low-dose aspirin in pregnancy: who? when? how much? and why?

Purpose Of Review: The use of low dose aspirin (LDA) has become routine in prenatal care for a variety of diagnoses, most importantly in women with a history of preeclampsia and associated poor pregnancy outcomes. Although LDA is currently indicated in patients considered to be at risk for development of preeclampsia, optimal dosing, timing of treatment initiation, and persons of benefit are under investigation. Several studies have also looked at LDA treatment and its effect on other maternal and fetal outcomes.

Prevention of preterm birth in multiples.

Purpose Of Review: Multifetal pregnancy carries increased risk of preterm delivery, and consensus on management options to prevent early birth in this population has not been reached. This review serves to summarize the most contemporary findings on this controversial topic.

Recent Findings: Examination-indicated cerclage is effective in reducing preterm birth in twin pregnancies, whereas cerclages for other indications are less convincing.

Intrapartum Management of Sickle Cell Anemia With Rare Antibody and Minimal Blood Availability.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) can pose serious maternal and fetal risk in pregnancy. Transfusion, both during and outside of pregnancy, can improve patient morbidity and mortality but carries risk of alloimmunization, complicating future management. This case describes a 29-year-old gravida 1, para 0 woman with sickle cell anemia and rare red blood cell alloantibody (anti-Rh46) who presented with severe vaso-occlusive crisis at 29 weeks with hemoglobin of 7.

Capsaicin induces apoptosis in human small cell lung cancer via the TRPV6 receptor and the calpain pathway.

Capsaicin, the pungent ingredient of chili peppers, displays potent anti-neoplastic activity in a wide array of human cancer cells. The present manuscript examines the signaling pathways underlying the apoptotic activity of capsaicin in human small cell lung cancer (SCLC) in vitro and in vivo. Studies in neuronal cells show that capsaicin exerts its biological activity via the transient receptor potential vanilloid (TRPV) superfamily of cation-channel receptors.

Independent learning modules enhance student performance and understanding of anatomy.

Didactic lessons are only one part of the multimodal teaching strategies used in gross anatomy courses today. Increased emphasis is placed on providing more opportunities for students to develop lifelong learning and critical thinking skills during medical training. In a pilot program designed to promote more engaged and independent learning in anatomy, self-study modules were introduced to supplement human gross anatomy instruction at Joan C.

Inhibition of cholinergic signaling causes apoptosis in human bronchioalveolar carcinoma.

Recent case-controlled clinical studies show that bronchioalveolar carcinomas (BAC) are correlated with smoking. Nicotine, the addictive component of cigarettes, accelerates cell proliferation through nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR). In this study, we show that human BACs produce acetylcholine (ACh) and contain several cholinergic factors including acetylcholinesterase (AChE), choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), choline transporter 1 (CHT1, SLC5A7), vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT, SLC18A3), and nACh receptors (AChRs, CHRNAs).

MG624, an α7-nAChR antagonist, inhibits angiogenesis via the Egr-1/FGF2 pathway.

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) demonstrates a strong etiological association with smoking. Although cigarette smoke is a mixture of about 4,000 compounds, nicotine is the addictive component of cigarette smoke. Several convergent studies have shown that nicotine promotes angiogenesis in lung cancers via the α7-nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7-nAChR) on endothelial cells.

The α7-nicotinic acetylcholine receptor and MMP-2/-9 pathway mediate the proangiogenic effect of nicotine in human retinal endothelial cells.

Purpose: Nicotine, the active component of cigarette smoke, has been found to stimulate angiogenesis in several experimental systems. In this study, the Matrigel duplex assay (Matrigel; BD Biosciences, Franklin Lakes, NJ) and the rat retinal explant assay were used to explore the molecular mechanisms underlying the proangiogenic effects of nicotine in endothelial cells.

Methods: Western blot analysis was performed to determine the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) subtypes expressed on primary human retinal microvascular endothelial cells (HRMECs).