Psychological aspects of screening in families with hereditary prostate cancer.

Objective: Approximately 5-10% of prostate cancer cases are caused by dominantly inherited susceptibility to the disease. Although advances have been made in research concerning the genetic mechanisms of hereditary prostate cancer, little is known about the psychological consequences. The aim of this study was to assess possible negative psychological effects of screening for prostate cancer in a high-risk population.

Better preserved immune responses after immunization with rgp 160 in HIV-1 infected patients treated with highly active antiretroviral therapy than in untreated patients with similar CD4 levels during at 2 years' follow-up.

Objective: To study the impact of effective highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) on the preservation of long-term CD4 memory cells induced by vaccines in HIV-1-infected patients.

Methods: Thirty HIV-1-positive patients on HAART with undetectable viral load were randomized into three groups: 10 received HIV-1 rgp160 vaccine, 10 received tetanus vaccine and 10 patients were not immunized. As controls, 10 HIV-negative volunteers were immunized with tetanus vaccine.

Sildenafil does not alter nelfinavir pharmacokinetics.

The objective of this study was to investigate if sildenafil influences the pharmacokinetics of nelfinavir. Five HIV-infected patients on steady-state nelfinavir-containing therapy were subject to pharmacokinetic sampling for nelfinavir concentration twice: without sildenafil and with sildenafil 25 mg as a single dose. There were no differences in the AUC, T(max), or C(max) of nelfinavir.

Identification of a unique BK virus variant in the CNS of a patient with AIDS.

Human polyomavirus BK (BKV; GenBank or EMBL or DDBJ accession no. NC001538) is often reactivated in immunosuppressed patients. Reactivation has been associated primarily with excretion of the virus in the urine, and there have been few reports of renal and/or neurological disease caused by BKV in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

Coordination of editing and splicing of glutamate receptor pre-mRNA.

Adenosine deaminase that acts on RNA, ADAR, catalyzes the conversion of adenosine into inosine within double-stranded RNA. This type of editing has mainly been found in genes involved in neurotransmission. Site-specific A to I modifications often require intronic sequences to create the double-stranded structure necessary for editing.

Targeted gene deletion of the 5-HT3A receptor subunit produces an anxiolytic phenotype in mice.

Anxiety disorders are the most common psychiatric disorders. Typical medications used to treat patients are benzodiazepines or antidepressants that target serotonin (5-HT) activity. The ionotropic 5-HT(3) receptor has emerged as a potential therapeutic target because selective antagonist compounds reduce anxiety in rodents, primates, and humans.

Avenanthramides in oats (Avena sativa L.) and structure-antioxidant activity relationships.

Eight avenanthramides, amides of anthranilic acid (1) and 5-hydroxyanthranilic acid (2), respectively, and the four cinnamic acids p-coumaric (p), caffeic (c), ferulic (f), and sinapic (s) acid, were synthesized for identification in oat extracts and for structure-antioxidant activity studies. Three compounds (2p, 2c, and 2f) were found in oat extracts. As assessed by the reactivity toward 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), all avenanthramides except 1p showed activity.

Bezafibrate-induced improvement in glucose uptake and endothelial function in protease inhibitor-associated insulin resistance.

Protease inhibitors used as therapy for HIV-1 infection have been associated with metabolic side-effects such as peripheral fat wasting, central adiposity, hyperlipidaemia and insulin resistance. This metabolic disorder is known as the lipodystrophy syndrome. This syndrome can be recognized by the early appearance of an increase in serum triglyceride, cholesterol and plasma-free fatty acid levels.

Angiomotin belongs to a novel protein family with conserved coiled-coil and PDZ binding domains.

Angiomotin has previously been identified in a yeast two-hybrid screen by its ability to bind to angiostatin, an inhibitor of novel formation of blood vessels (angiogenesis). Angiomotin mediates the inhibitory effect of angiostatin on endothelial cell migration and tube formation in vitro. Here we report that two human protein sequences, of which one is novel and one has been cloned previously, are similar to angiomotin and are members of a novel protein family, which we propose to call motins.

Coupler and real-ear measurement of hearing aid gain and output in the NIDCD/VA Hearing Aid Clinical Trial.

Objective: Because the NIDCD/VA Hearing Aid Clinical Trial was conducted across eight clinical sites, rigorous control of the electroacoustic characteristics of the experimental devices was required.

Design: The parameters monitored included the gain and output of the approximately 720 hearing aids in the trial, measured both in the 2 cm3 coupler and in situ. Each measurement was repeated six times on each hearing aid across the 9-mo duration of the study to insure both the stability and the accuracy of the circuits under investigation.

A multi-center, double blind clinical trial comparing benefit from three commonly used hearing aid circuits.

Objective: Although numerous studies have demonstrated that hearing aids provide significant benefit, carefully controlled, multi-center clinical trials have not been conducted. A multi-center clinical trial was conducted to compare the efficacy of three commonly used hearing aid circuits: peak clipping, compression limiting, and wide dynamic range compression.

Design: Patients (N = 360) with bilateral, sensorineural hearing loss were studied using a double blind, three-period, three-treatment crossover design.

Hereditary prostate cancer: clinical aspects.

Purpose: We review the current epidemiological and genetic knowledge regarding hereditary prostate cancer, and outline its clinical implications.

Materials And Methods: Published articles on hereditary prostate cancer were identified using the MEDLINE data base.

Results: A risk of prostate cancer, particularly early onset disease, is strongly affected by family history (number of relatives with prostate cancer and their age at diagnosis).

Serum sFAS levels are elevated in ANCA-positive vasculitis compared with other autoimmune diseases.

The role of the Fas/FasL system in ANCA-associated vasculitis is unclear. We therefore assessed levels of soluble Fas (sFas) in sera and Fas expression on mononuclear cells from patients with ANCA-positive vasculitis and compared the results with those found in other rheumatic diseases. Serum levels of sFas were determined by ELISA.

The impact of price changes on demand for family planning and reproductive health services in Ecuador.

Donor funding for family planning and reproductive health (FP/RH) has declined in Latin America over the past decade, obliging providers to consider other financing mechanisms, including cost recovery through user fees. Pricing decisions are often difficult for providers, who fear that increased fees will cripple demand and create barriers to access for poor clients. Providers need information on how changes in price can affect utilization of services, and how to resolve trade-offs between generating income and serving poor clients.

Anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha therapy (etanercept) down-regulates serum matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-3 and MMP-1 in rheumatoid arthritis.

Objectives: Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are cytokine-modulated enzymes that play an important role in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by inducing bone resorption and cartilage destruction. This study evaluated the modulation of serum and synovial MMPs and their inhibitor, tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases (TIMP)-1, by therapy with soluble tumour necrosis factor (TNF) alpha receptor (etanercept).

Methods: Serum samples were collected from 60 RA patients at baseline and after 8 or 12 weeks of treatment.

Hereditary prostate cancer: clinical characteristics and survival.

Purpose: Hereditary prostate cancer accounts for 5% to 10% of all prostate cancer cases. We assessed clinical characteristics and survival in patients with hereditary prostate cancer

Materials And Methods: The study comprised 201 patients from 62 Swedish hereditary prostate cancer families and 402 controls with prostate cancer who were matched for age and calendar year at diagnosis, and the hospital where the diagnosis was made. Clinical data were obtained from the National Cancer Registry, Causes of Death Registry and medical records.

HIV subtypes and recombination strains--strategies for induction of immune responses in man.

Clinical and experimental studies of HIV-1 subcomponents were made in order to increase their immunogenicity. HIV subtype envelopes A, B and C have been compared and a detailed analysis made by peptides of the coreceptor-ligand interactions. We identified a direct interaction between HIV-1 envelope and a cellular receptor at the amino acid level.

Hypofibrinolytic state in HIV-1-infected patients treated with protease inhibitor-containing highly active antiretroviral therapy.

Decreased insulin sensitivity, hyperlipidemia, and body fat changes are considered as risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD). A clustering of such factors (metabolic syndrome [MSDR]) exponentially increases the risk. Impaired fibrinolysis and increased coagulation are additional independent risk factors for CHD.

[Palliative cancer care is an important part of urology. A study of the last year of life of patients who died because of urologic cancer].

A total of 330 in-patient episodes at the urology ward, with a mean duration of 9.8 days, were registered in a study of 100 patients who died from urological cancer. Twelve patients spent more than two months of their last year of life at the urology ward.

DNA mucosal HIV vaccine in humans.

This is a demonstration of immune activation by delivery of genetic vaccines in human mucosa. We analyzed the local and systemic responses in HIV-1 infected individuals following intraoral jet-injections of HIV-1 DNA constructs encoding the nef, rev, and tat regulatory genes. The immunological responses of the oral mucosa may be representative of other mucosal sites and was therefore selected for induction of mucosal reactivity by DNA immunization.

Pine weevil (Hylobius abietis) antifeedants from lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta).

Pine weevils (Hylobius abietis) fed less on bark of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) than on bark of Scots pine (P. sylvestris). Two pine weevil antifeedants, ethyl trans-cinnamate and ethyl 2,3-dibromo-3-phenyl-propanoate, were isolated from bark of lodgepole pine.

Expression and gene copy number analysis of ERBB2 oncogene in prostate cancer.

An anti-ERBB2 antibody, trastuzumab, has been shown to be highly efficient in the treatment of metastatic breast cancers overexpressing the ERBB2 gene. It has been suggested that overexpression and even amplification of ERBB2 may play a role in the development of prostate cancer. Here, we have analyzed gene copy number and expression of the ERBB2 gene in both androgen-dependent primary and metastatic tumors, as well as recurrent hormone-refractory tumors.

Cloning and expression of an oligopeptidase, PepO, with novel specificity from Lactobacillus rhamnosus HN001 (DR20).

Oligopeptidases of starter and nonstarter lactic acid bacteria contribute to the proteolytic events important in maturation and flavor development processes in cheese. This paper describes the molecular cloning, expression, and specificity of the oligopeptidase PepO from the probiotic nonstarter strain Lactobacillus rhamnosus HN001 (DR20). The pepO gene encodes a protein of 70.

Amplification of EIF3S3 gene is associated with advanced stage in prostate cancer.

Gain of the long arm of chromosome 8 (8q) is one of the most common gains found in the advanced prostate cancer by comparative genomic hybridization. We have previously identified a putative target gene for the 8q gain, EIF3S3, that encodes a p40 subunit of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3 (eIF3). Here, we studied the frequency of the EIF3S3 amplification in different stages of prostate cancer and co-amplification of EIF3S3 and oncogene MYC.