Acromegaly versus hypogonadism: Bone fragility and evaluation.

Introduction: Osteopathy in patients with acromegaly is characterized by increased prevalence of vertebral fragility fractures (VF). However, the diagnostic criteria for osteoporosis are seldomly met in terms of bone mineral density (BMD), as patients with acromegaly frequently present normal BMD for age and gender.

Methodology: We performed a cross-sectional study on 71 patients with acromegaly and 75 patients with hypogonadism.

New Waste-Based Composite Material for Construction Applications.

The global demand for fiber-based products is continuously increasing. The increased consumption and fast fashion current in the global clothing market generate a significant quantity of pre-and post-production waste that ends up in landfills and incinerators. The present study aims to obtain a new waste-based composite material panel for construction applications with improved mechanical properties that can replace traditional wood-based oriented strand boards (OSB).

Clinicopathological Features of Growth Hormone-producing Pituitary Adenomas and Correlation With Preoperative Laboratory Findings.

Background/aim: The histopathological variability of each type of pituitary adenoma (PA) that causes growth hormone (GH) excess influences the phenotype, radiological characteristics and therapy response of acromegaly patients. We correlated the immunohistochemical (IHC) features of GH-secreting PAs with their clinical, laboratory and imaging data.

Patients And Methods: We included 32 patients with documented acromegaly; tumour specimens were histologically and IHC examined: anterior pituitary hormones, pituitary-specific transcription factor-1 (PIT-1), Ki-67 labelling index were evaluated.

Determination of Physicomechanical Characteristics of the Cement Mortar with Added Fiberglass Waste Treated with Hydrogen Plasma.

Solving the environmental problems and the economic aspects of the construction sector represent a global priority. The considerable quantities of raw materials and the energy consumed by this sector make it one of the most polluting economic activities. Fiberglass in various forms is widely used in the construction sector.

Improvement of acromegaly control with multimodal therapy in Romania.

Introduction: In Romania, there is no acromegaly national register and there are no nationwide data available. However, some studies have reported the control rates in the country's main referral centres. Our aim was to assess the overall control rate in our tertiary referral centre.

A quantum dot-based lateral flow immunoassay for the sensitive detection of human heart fatty acid binding protein (hFABP) in human serum.

We describe the preparation and validation of a novel lateral flow immunoassay test for the detection of human heart fatty acid binding protein (hFABP). Water-soluble CdTe quantum dots (QDs) were selected as the fluorescent label and were linked covalently to anti-hFABP antibodies. Upon conjugation, the secondary structure of the anti-hFABP was preserved and the fluorescence quantum yield of the CdTe QDs increased.

Acromegaly treatment in Romania. How close are we to disease control?

Introduction: In Romania, no nationwide data for acromegaly treatment and control rate are available. Our objective was to assess the acromegaly control rate in a tertiary referral centre, which covers an important part of Romanian territory and population of patients with acromegaly.

Materials And Methods: We reviewed the records of all 164 patients (49 males and 115 females; median age 55 [47, 63.

SPONTANEOUS CONCEPTION AND TERM DELIVERY IN A WOMAN WITH UNCONTROLLED ACROMEGALY AND HYPOGONADOTROPIC HYPOGONADISM.

Background: Patients with acromegaly (caused by growth-hormone-secreting pituitary adenomas) are at increased risk of hypopituitarism, in particular hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, before and after multimodal therapy. In affected women of reproductive age, fertility is impaired and complex fertility treatments are needed to achieve conception.

Case Presentation: We present the case of a young woman with acromegaly caused by a GH-secreting macroadenoma with suprasellar and bilateral cavernous sinus extension; hypogonadotropic hypogonadism and secondary hypothyroidism were present from the initial evaluation.

Synthesis and biological activities of some new isonicotinic acid 2-(2-hydroxy-8-substituted-tricyclo[7.3.1.0(2.7)]tridec-13-ylidene)-hydrazides.

A series of several new isoniazid derivatives, isonicotinic acid 2-(2-hydroxy-8-substituted-tricyclo[7.3.1.

Quantifying subtle changes in cardiovascular mechanics in acromegaly: a Doppler myocardial imaging study.

Aim Of The Study: To describe morphological and functional cardiovascular changes in acromegaly (ACM) patients, as well as to investigate the ability of Doppler-based myocardial deformation imaging (DMI) to characterize subtle dysfunction in ACM.

Methods: 69 patients (pts) with ACM (mean age 47 ± 10 years, 27 men) and 31 controls (mean age 43 ± 16 years, matched for age and gender) were recruited. Standard echocardiography and DMI data were obtained for all patients.

Synthesis and bioevaluation of some new isoniazid derivatives.

The aim of the study was to synthesize some new compounds with potential anti-tuberculosis activity, containing isoniazid and α,β-unsaturated thiocinnamamide-like thioamides as precursors. The obtained derivatives were evaluated regarding their biological activity (antioxidant and antibacterial), as well as their influence on the eukaryotic cell cycle. The results suggested that the newly obtained derivatives of isoniazid exhibited different biological activities, depending on their structure; thus, the most active compound in terms of anti-oxidant and anti-Mycobacterium tuberculosis effects proved to be the isonicotinic acid N'-(1-amino-1-mercapto-3-phenyl-propen-1-yl)-hydrazide.

Identification of [CuCl(acac)(tmed)], a copper(II) complex with mixed ligands, as a modulator of Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase (Sod1p) activity in yeast.

Superoxide dismutases (SODs) stand in the prime line of enzymatic antioxidant defense in nearly all eukaryotic cells exposed to oxygen, catalyzing the breakdown of the superoxide anionic radical to O(2) and H(2)O(2). Overproduction of superoxide correlates with numerous pathophysiological conditions, and although the native enzyme can be used as a therapeutic agent in superoxide-associated conditions, synthetic low molecular weight mimetics are preferred in terms of cost, administration mode, and bioavailability. In this study we make use of the model eukaryote Saccharomyces cerevisiae to investigate the SOD-mimetic action of a mononuclear mixed-ligand copper(II) complex, [CuCl(acac)(tmed)] (where acac is acetylacetonate anion and tmed is N,N,N',N'-tetramethylethylenediamine).

Conventional examination versus immunohistochemistry in the prediction of hormone profile of pituitary adenomas. An analysis on 142 cases.

The large majority of neoplasms located in the sella turcica are benign pituitary adenomas derived from cells of the adenohypophysis. Pituitary adenomas represent the third most common primary intracranial tumor in neurosurgical practice, outnumbered only by gliomas and meningiomas. Their biology of pituitary adenomas is complex and they can cause a variety of endocrine syndromes and disorders, based on hormone profile secreted by proliferating cells.

Spectroscopic investigations of the binding interaction of a new indanedione derivative with human and bovine serum albumins.

Binding of a newly synthesized indanedione derivative, 2-(2-hydroxy-3-ethoxybenzylidene)-1,3-indanedione (HEBID), to human and bovine serum albumins (HSA and BSA), under simulated physiological conditions was monitored by fluorescence spectroscopy. The binding parameters (binding constants and number of binding sites) and quenching constants were determined according to literature models. The quenching mechanism was assigned to a Förster non-radiative energy transfer due to the HEBID-SA complex formation.

A metaanalysis of certain erythropoietin characteristics established before recombinant EPO was obtained.

Beginning with 1975, our group has performed some studies using an erythropoietin (EPO ) extract prepared according to an original technique from sera of anemic rabbits. Our results have contributed to the understanding of the glycoproteinic nature of this extract as well as of some of its biological features. These results were confirmed only after 1985, when recombinant EPO was obtained.

Neutrophil adherence in rats submitted to light-dark alternance and to constant light.

A good amount of experimental data suggests the existence of a circadian control of the inflammatory process. It was shown that migration of neutrophils in chemotactic gradient, ingestion of particles, vascular permeability etc. are rhythmical circadian functions.

Circadian phagocytic activity in rats under light-dark and constant light regimens.

The phagocytic function was proved to be a periodic, circadian process. Its acrophase appears to be differently timed in species with different activity type, occurring in the evening in diurnal species and at night in nocturnal ones. The main pineal hormone melatonin, whose secretion occurs strictly at dark, has been shown to play a role in the control of inflammation and to exert a certain stimulatory effect upon phagocytosis in vitro.

The sympatho-adrenal response and erythropoietin production in adaptation to hypoxia.

The research activity upon erythropoiesis regulation carried out by the team in the Physiology Department and in the Institute of Medical Research of the Romanian Academy in Cluj-Napoca developed continuously after 1950. Our studies contributed to the isolation, identification and characterization of erythropoietin (Epo) and also to a better understanding of the nervous adaptation mechanisms to hypoxia. At present, it is well known that hypoxia acts upon erythropoiesis through Epo production.

Investigations of the transfructosylation reaction by fructosyltransferase from B. subtilis NCIMB 11871 for the synthesis of the sucrose analogue galactosyl-fructoside.

The exo-fructosyltransferase produced from B. subtilis NCIMB 11871 strain transfers the fructose moiety from donor alpha12 linked saccharides such as sucrose, raffinose and stachyose to the acceptor d-galactose, leading to the sucrose analogue, galactosyl-fructoside. Here, we report detailed kinetic studies.

Stress/strain/life revisited. Quantification by blood pressure chronomics: benetensive, transtensive or maletensive chrono-vasculo-neuro-immuno-modulation.

We propose to initiate the automatic self-assessment of wear and tear as "stress and strain" by the time structures of blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR), in order to arrive eventually at an individualized timely and timed routine of life and to early preventive intervention as soon as needed. The routine may involve physiological scheduling of physical and mental activities and meals, and if need be of non-drug or drug treatment for stress amplification, e.g.

Hypothalamic mechanisms of immunity.

The present article considers a synthetical analysis of the results reported by our laboratory in the last twenty years in the field of neuroimmunomodulation. The studies we discuss here continue a previous research activity, a synthesis of which has also been published in this journal (Baciu, 1988). In that paper, we reported data concerning the role of the hypothalamic tubero-mammillary area in triggering of the phagocytic and of the secondary immune specific response.

The brain and other sites of erythropoietin production.

Ischemic hypoxia of the head induced in dogs by carotid compression produces EPO secretion, upon direct cerebral stimulation, and adaptive carotid-respiratory reflexes via sino-carotid stimulation. During hypoxic hypoxia, there also occurs extrarenal EPO production, as shown in binephrectomized rats compared to controls. Ischemic hypoxia of a single kidney transplanted in the neck area (the other kidney being removed) does not induce EPO secretion.

High glucose concentrations increase the tumor necrosis factor-alpha production capacity by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

The proinflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF) and interleukin-1b (IL-1) play an important role in the pathogenesis of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, while TNF is also involved in promoting insulin resistance. It has been recently shown that glucose can induce the synthesis of TNF and IL-6 in human monocytes. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of glucose on unstimulated and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced TNF and IL-1 production by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC).