Sex chromosome DSD individuals with mosaic 45,X0 and aberrant Y chromosomes in 46,XY cells: distinct gender phenotypes and germ cell tumour risks.

")," individuals with rearranged Y chromosome breaks in their 46,XY cells are reported with male and female gender phenotypes and differences in germ cell tumour (GCT) risk. This raised the question of whether male or female gender and GCT risk depends on the site of the break and/or rearrangement of the individual´s Y chromosome. In this paper, we report molecular mapping of the breakpoint on the aberrant Y chromosome of 22 individuals with a 45,X/46,XY karyotype reared with a different gender.

[S2k guideline for the diagnosis and therapy of zoster and post-zoster neuralgia].

This guideline is aimed at registrars and consultants in dermatology, ophthalmology, ENT, pediatrics, neurology, virology as well as infectiology, anaesthesia and generell medicine as well as policymakers and payers and purchasers of care. It was developed by dermatologists, virologists, ophthalmologists, ENT physicians, neurologists, pediatrician and anesthetists using a formal consensus process (S2k).The guideline provides an overview of clinical and molecular diagnostics as well as antigen detection, antibody culture and viral culture.

S2k guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia.

The present guidelines are aimed at residents and board-certified specialists in the fields of dermatology, ophthalmology, ENT, pediatrics, neurology, virology, infectious diseases, anesthesiology, general medicine and any other medical specialties involved in the management of patients with herpes zoster. They are also intended as a guide for policymakers and health insurance funds. The guidelines were developed by dermatologists, virologists, ophthalmologists, ENT physicians, neurologists, pediatricians and anesthesiologists/pain specialists using a formal consensus process (S2k).

Evolutionary conserved networks of human height identify multiple Mendelian causes of short stature.

Height is a heritable and highly heterogeneous trait. Short stature affects 3% of the population and in most cases is genetic in origin. After excluding known causes, 67% of affected individuals remain without diagnosis.

Preventing vertical virus infections: the role of serologic screening of pregnant women.

Several virus infections affect the pregnancy itself as well as the foetal development (rubella, PVB19, VZV, HSV, HCMV, HBV, HIV). Prevention can be established by vaccination or an assessment of the immunity status as well as by chemotherapy. The following review provides an update to current aspects focusing on the role of serologic screening.

Individualised growth response optimisation (iGRO) tool: an accessible and easy-to-use growth prediction system to enable treatment optimisation for children treated with growth hormone.

Background: Growth prediction models (GPMs) exist to support clinical management of children treated with growth hormone (GH) for growth hormone deficiency (GHD), Turner syndrome (TS) and for short children born small for gestational age (SGA). Currently, no prediction system has been widely adopted.

Content: The objective was to develop a stand-alone web-based system to enable the widespread use of an 'individualised growth response optimisation' (iGRO) tool across European endocrinology clinics.

Oxygen-sensitive regulation and neuroprotective effects of growth hormone-dependent growth factors during early postnatal development.

Perinatal hypoxia severely disrupts metabolic and somatotrophic development, as well as cerebral maturational programs. Hypoxia-inducible transcription factors (HIFs) represent the most important endogenous adaptive mechanisms to hypoxia, activating a broad spectrum of growth factors that contribute to cell survival and energy homeostasis. To analyze effects of systemic hypoxia and growth hormone (GH) therapy (rhGH) on HIF-dependent growth factors during early postnatal development, we compared protein (using ELISA) and mRNA (using quantitative RT PCR) levels of growth factors in plasma and brain between normoxic and hypoxic mice (8% O, 6 h; postnatal , P7) at P14.

Lactobacillus plantarum attenuates anxiety-related behavior and protects against stress-induced dysbiosis in adult zebrafish.

The consumption of probiotics has become increasingly popular as a means to try to improve health and well-being. Not only are probiotics considered beneficial to digestive health, but increasing evidence suggests direct and indirect interactions between gut microbiota (GM) and the central nervous system (CNS). Here, adult zebrafish were supplemented with Lactobacillus plantarum to determine the effects of probiotic treatment on structural and functional changes of the GM, as well as host neurological and behavioral changes.

Eradication of measles: remaining challenges.

Measles virus (MeV) is an aerosol-borne and one of the most contagious pathogenic viruses known. Almost every MeV infection becomes clinically manifest and can lead to serious and even fatal complications, especially under conditions of malnutrition in developing countries, where still 115,000 to 160,000 patients die from measles every year. There is no specific antiviral treatment.

Prevalence of K65R in patients treated with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate: recommendations based on the Frankfurt HIV Cohort Study Resistance Database (FHCS-RD).

Mutations in the genome of HIV-1 can compromise the success of antiretroviral treatments (ARTs) in HIV-1-infected individuals. The Frankfurt HIV Cohort Study Resistance Database (FHCS-RD) has previously documented a decline in the burden of resistance-associated mutations (RAMs) following the implementation of several new antiretroviral therapy regimens in 2007. In the current study, the annual burden of RAMs documented in the FHCS-RD in 2005-2013 was set in relation to the annual number of all cohort patients, drug regimens, available resistance tests, and prevalence for each RAM on relevant codons of reverse transcriptase (RT) and protease (PR) genes.

Effects of Clove Oil as a Euthanasia Agent on Blood Collection Efficiency and Serum Cortisol Levels in Danio rerio.

Zebrafish are an important laboratory animal model for biomedical research and are increasingly being used for behavioral neuroscience. Tricaine methanesulfonate (MS222) is the standard agent used for euthanasia of zebrafish. However, recent studies of zebrafish behavior suggest that MS222 may be aversive, and clove oil might be a possible alternative.

Measurement of amniotic fluid steroids of midgestation via LC-MS/MS.

Introduction: Analysis of steroids by mass spectrometry (MS) has evolved into a reliable tool for the simultaneous detection of multiple steroids. As amniotic fluid (AF) and fetal serum composition of early pregnancy are closely related, the analysis of AF can yield information on the physiological status of the developing fetus. We evaluated the use of liquid-chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for AF steroid analysis, including the analysis of its sensitivity and accuracy for gender verification in healthy subjects.

Expression of blood serum proteins and lymphocyte differentiation clusters after chronic occupational exposure to ionizing radiation.

This study aimed to assess effects of chronic occupational exposure on immune status in Mayak workers chronically exposed to ionizing radiation (IR). The study cohort consists of 77 workers occupationally exposed to external gamma-rays at total dose from 0.5 to 3.

Vaccination against infectious diseases: what is promising?

Vaccination has proven to be one of the best weapons protecting the mankind against infectious diseases. Along with the huge progress in microbiology, numerous highly efficacious and safe vaccines have been produced by conventional technology (cultivation), by the use of molecular biology (genetic modification), or by synthetic chemistry. Sterilising prevention is achieved by the stimulation of antibody production, while the stimulation of cell-mediated immune responses may prevent the outbreak of disease in consequence of an acute or reactivated infection.

Durability of protective antibody titres is not enhanced by a two-dose schedule of an ASO3-adjuvanted pandemic H1N1 influenza vaccine in adult HIV-1-infected patients.

The immune response after influenza vaccination is impaired in HIV-infected individuals and can be enhanced by a second dose. The durability of the antibody protection and its clinical benefit is not known. We investigated clinical symptoms and antibody titres against H1N1 influenza A following no dose, 1 dose, or 2 doses of an ASO3-adjuvanted H1N1 vaccine in HIV-infected patients.

Detection of expressional changes induced by intrauterine growth restriction in the developing rat mammary gland via exploratory pathways analysis.

Background: Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is thought to lead to fetal programming that in turn contributes to developmental changes of many organs postnatally. There is evidence that IUGR is a risk factor for the development of metabolic and cardiovascular disease later in life. A higher incidence of breast cancer was also observed after IUGR.

Height gain in Ullrich-Turner syndrome after early and late growth hormone treatment start: results from a large retrospective German study and potential basis for an individualized treatment approach.

Background: Ullrich-Turner syndrome (UTS) girls often present with short stature in adolescence to the endocrinologist when the efficacy of growth hormone (GH) to improve growth remains unknown and parameters to estimate individual GH responsiveness have yet to be determined.

Objective: Retrospective evaluation of adult height (AH) and predicted adult height at GH start (descriptive model of Ranke, Model PredAH) in early and late GH-treated German UTS patients.

Subjects/methods: 313 patients treated with GH, early [chronological age (CA) at GH start <12 years, n = 259] or late (CA at GH start ≥12 years, n = 54) who reached AH were selected from KIGS (Pfizer International Growth Database).

The complexity of aging: cancer risk among elderly people and infectious risk among those with cancer.

Aging is associated with a reduced capability of the immune system to adequately respond to pathogens and to prevent tumor formation. As a consequence of immunosenescence, older people have a higher risk to develop infections as well as cancer. In addition, cancer itself may expose old patients to infections, including opportunistic infections, i.

Immune response after a single dose of the 2010/11 trivalent, seasonal influenza vaccine in HIV-1-infected patients and healthy controls.

Background: Immune response rates following influenza vaccination are often lower in HIV-infected individuals. Low vitamin D levels were correlated with weak immune response in cancer patients and are known to be lower in HIV-infected patients.

Methods: Diagnostic study to determine immune response against the H1N1v component after a single, intramuscular dose of the 2010/11 seasonal, trivalent influenza vaccine (TIV) in adult HIV-infected and healthy controls scheduled for influenza vaccination (ClinicalTrials.

Perspectives on vaccination in adults.

In the Second Conference on Controversies in Vaccination in Adults, leading vaccine experts among manufacturers, physicians, microbiologists, virologists, immunologists and public health specialists came together to discuss recent approaches, developments and strategies in vaccination against worldwide pressing epidemic and endemic infectious diseases (pneumococcal, staphylococcal, influenza, papillomavirus-associated tumors, varicella-zoster, AIDS and tuberculosis), and noninfectious epidemics (atherosclerosis and smoking) outlining arguments surrounding the progress of vaccines.