Effect of 5-year continuous positive airway pressure treatment on MMPs and TIMPs: implications for OSA comorbidities.

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment results in nearly complete remission of symptoms of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA); however, its effect on OSA comorbidities including cardiovascular diseases remains contradictory. Here we investigated the short- and long-term effect of CPAP treatment on matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) in patients with severe OSA. Serum levels of 7 MMPs and 3 TIMPs were followed in OSA patients (n = 28) with an apnoea-hypopnoea index of ≥30 events/h at the time of diagnosis and at control visits (2 months, 6 months and 5 years) after initiation of fixed-pressure CPAP treatment.

Effect of 5-year continuous positive airway pressure treatment on the lipid profile of patients with obstructive sleep apnea: A pilot study.

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) provides a well-documented symptomatic relief for most patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA); however, its effect on dyslipidaemia remains contradictory. The aim of this longitudinal pilot study was to investigate the effect of long-term CPAP treatment on the lipid profile of patients with severe OSA. Fasting serum levels of total cholesterol (TC), low- and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C and HDL-C) and triglyceride (TG) were longitudinally measured in 33 OSA patients with an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) of ≥30 events/hr, at the time of diagnosis (baseline) and at control visits following fixed-pressure CPAP treatment.

[Tongue necrosis as an uncommon manifestation of temporal arteritis].

Authors present a rare manifestation of the temporal arteritis, wich caused initial diagnostic difficulties, but it responded well for corticosteroid treatment. The features of the disease, pathogenesis, possible therapy are briefly summarized beside the description of clinical course. Orv.

Concise Total Synthesis of Enigmazole A.

An efficient entry into the phosphorylated marine macrolide enigmazole A is described. Enigmazole A interferes with c-Kit signaling by an as yet unknown mode of action and is therefore a potential lead in the quest for novel anticancer agents. Key to success is a gold-catalyzed cascade comprising a [3,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement of a propargyl acetate along the periphery of a macrocyclic scaffold, followed by a transannular hydroalkoxylation of the resulting transient allenyl acetate.

A new method for the preparation of non-terminal alkynes: application to the total syntheses of tulearin A and C.

Lactones are known to react with the reagent generated in situ from CCl4 and PPh3 in a Wittig-type fashion to give gem-dichloro-olefin derivatives. Such compounds are now shown to undergo reductive alkylation on treatment with organolithium reagents RLi to furnish acetylene derivatives bearing the substituent R at their termini (R=Me, n-, sec-, tert-alkyl, silyl); the reaction can be catalyzed with either Cu(acac)2 or Fe(acac)3 /1,2-diaminobenzene. Two alkynol derivatives prepared in this way from readily accessible lactone precursors served as the key building blocks for the total syntheses of the cytotoxic marine macrolides tulearin A (1) and C (2).