Control of apolipoprotein E secretion by 25-hydroxycholesterol and proinflammatory cytokines in the human astrocytoma cell line CCF-STTG1.

During the last few years the increased presence of proinflammatory cytokines and oxidation products in Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been largely described. Oxysterols, formed by hydroxylation of cholesterol, occur naturally in the brain and are increased in the serum of AD patients. Of these oxysterols, 25-hydroxycholesterol is the most potent regulator of gene transcription.

Development and validation of a high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry assay for the determination of sanfetrinem in human plasma.

A rapid, selective and accurate high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry assay for the quantification of sanfetrinem in human plasma has been developed and validated. The performance of manual and automated sample preparation was assessed; 50 microl of plasma sample was deproteinized with acetonitrile, followed by dilution with water and injection onto the LC system. Chromatographic separation was achieved on a Phenomenex Luna C18(2), 50x2.

Hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide in blood of convicted dead in a polyurethane combustion: a proposition for the data analysis.

Carbon monoxide is a well-known toxic component in fire atmospheres. However, the importance of hydrogen cyanide as a toxic agent in fire causalities is under discussion. A tragic polyurethane mattress fire provoked death of 35 convicts in a prison (Unit I, Olmos, Penitenciary Service of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina), in 1990.

[Intracranial subdural hematoma after obstetric dural puncture].

The authors report a case of subdural haematoma (HSD), which occurred following epidural analgesia for labour, complicated by post dural puncture headache (PDPH). A 26-year-old woman displayed a typical PDPH following epidural anaesthesia. On the sixth day, she was given a blood patch (BP), which was partially efficacious.

Clinical utility of biochemical marker of bone remodelling in patients with bone metastases of solid tumors.

Bone turnover is characterized both by the formation of new bone by the osteoblasts and the resorption of old tissue by the osteoclast. This process takes place only on the surface of bone and can be described in terms of spatio-temporal events that are the bone metabolic unit and the bone remodelling cycle. The former consists of a discrete group of cells (osteoblasts and osteoclasts) involved in a particular remodelling event while the latter represents the succession of resorption and formation.

[The role of the pathological anatomy museum: past glory, present crisis, and future prospects].

Scientific Museum and in particular pathology Museum were in the past an important landmark for Pathology and in general for Medicine. At present they are in a critical stage due to the technological progress, because they are considered by now obsolete compared to other didactic supports, so as for example CD-ROM or virtual presentations. In opposite these old collections are still very precious for Medicine, because they show old diseases, now disappeared or very rare, thanks to the therapeutic and diagnostic progresses.

Role of nitric oxide in down-regulation of CYP2B1 protein, but not RNA, in primary cultures of rat hepatocytes.

There are conflicting reports about the role of nitric oxide in the down-regulation of cytochrome P450 that occurs when animals or cultured hepatocytes are exposed to inflammatory stimuli. Here, we investigated the participation of NO in the down-regulation of CYP2B1 by bacterial endotoxin (LPS) in rat hepatocytes cultured on Matrigel. LPS caused the down-regulation of CYP2B1 mRNA to 20% of control values within 12 h of treatment, and this was not reversed by concentrations of NO synthase inhibitors that completely blocked NO production.

Diagnostic and prognostic tumor markers in the gastrointestinal tract.

The gastrointestinal tract is the most common site of malignancies of any anatomic system in the body. An early detection of primary tumors of the bowel, pancreas, liver, stomach, and esophagus is often difficult in asymptomatic patients and for this reason these tumors are often detected at a relatively advanced stage, when symptoms lead to a diagnostic evaluation. Furthermore, gastrointestinal tract tumors have an extremely variable prognosis; thus, the identification of new prognostic parameters may be useful for selecting patients to more tailored therapies.

p53 evaluation in gastric mucosa of patients with chronic Helicobacter pylori infection.

Gastric cancer is often associated with p53 over-expression and Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection. In this study we have investigated the production of the p53 protein and mutation of its gene in precancerous gastric lesions with HP infection. For this purpose 130 patients who underwent endoscopy for dyspepsia were enrolled in the study.

Laparoscopic myomectomy: technique, complications, and ultrasound scan evaluations.

Study Objective: To evaluate the feasibility, limits, and complications of laparoscopic myomectomy, assess time to full recovery, and evaluate uterine wound healing by ultrasound in the early postoperative period.

Design: Prospective study (Canadian Task Force classification II-2).

Setting: General hospital.

Tadpoles assay: its application to a water toxicity assessment of a polluted urban river.

The acute toxicity assay with premetamorphic tadpoles of Bufo arenarum as sentinel organism was applied to evaluate the quality of two water samples taken from three sites of the Reconquista River, an urban watercourse which is recipient of both untreated industrial effluents and domestic wastes. The results of the 96 hr bioassays were compared with the physicochemical parameters determined in the samples. Mortality rates in each sample were compared using the Bonferroni's test and a stepwise regression analysis of mortality and physicochemical parameters was done.

Participation of carnitine palmitoyltransferase in the synthesis of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine in rat alveolar type II cells.

We have investigated the role of carnitine palmitoyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.

Instability versus nonlinearity in certain nonautonomous oscillators: A critical dynamical transition driven by the initial energy.

The equation of motion q+Omega(2)(t)q+alpha/q/(gamma-2)q=0 (gamma>2) for the real coordinate q(t) is studied, as an example of the interplay between nonlinearity and instability. Two contrasting mechanisms determine the behavior of q(t), when the time-varying frequency Omega(t) does produce exponential instability in the linear equation q (lin)+Omega(2)(t)q(lin)=0. At low energy, the exponential instability is the dominant effect, while at high energy the bounding effect of the autonomous nonlinear term prevails.

Development and validation of a column-switching high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of sanfetrinem in rat and dog plasma by direct injection.

A direct injection column-switching HPLC method was developed and validated for quantification of sanfetrinem in rat and dog plasma. Following dilution with buffer, samples were directly injected onto the system. The analyte was retained in an enrichment column while endogenous plasma components were eluted to waste.

The luteinising hormone-releasing hormone analogue triptorelin with or without the aromatase inhibitor formestane in premenopausal breast cancer: effects on bone metabolism markers.

Background: the combination of a luteinising hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH) analogue and an aromatase inhibitor (AI) induces greater oestrogen suppression than the analogue alone in premenopausal breast cancer. However, very few data on the biological effects of such a combination are currently available.

Aim Of The Study: the short-term effects of treatment with the LH-RH analogue triptorelin alone or in association with the AI formestane on bone metabolism were investigated in premenopausal breast cancer.

Nonautonomous and nonlinear effects in generalized classical oscillators: A boundedness theorem.

The phenomenon of exponential instability, arising in certain nonautonomous linear oscillators, motivates the question about the boundedness of amplitude and energy of the oscillators describing many physical situations. We present a rigorous result ensuring the boundedness for a class of generalized classical oscillators, characterized by symmetric potentials with only one equilibrium point. The key elements turn out to be the oscillating nature of the solutions and the presence of an autonomous part in the potential, diverging more than quadratically with the coordinate.

Fertility after ectopic pregnancy. Effects of surgery and expectant management.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of different management strategies for ectopic pregnancy on fertility.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study of 180 consecutive patients who were diagnosed with ectopic pregnancy between September 1988 and December 1995. The fertility rate after ectopic pregnancy treated with surgery was compared with that after expectant treatment.

Human hepatic metabolism of a novel 2-carboxyindole glycine antagonist for stroke: in vitro-in vivo correlations.

1. The hepatic metabolism of 3-[-2(phenylcarbamoyl) ethenyl]-4,6-dichloroindole-2-carboxylic acid (GV150526), a novel glycine antagonist for stroke, was investigated. 2.

Tumor response and estrogen suppression in breast cancer patients treated with aromatase inhibitors.

Background: The rationale for the hormonal treatment of breast cancer (BC) is based on depriving tumor cells of estrogenic stimulation. Aromatase inhibitors (Als) block the conversion of peripheral tissue androgens to estrogens with different levels of potency. In an attempt to investigate the relationship between tumor response and estrogen suppression, we reviewed the hormonal and clinical data of two previous studies with formestane (250 and 500 mg i.

U373-MG response to interleukin-1beta-induced oxidative stress.

Oxidative stress has been involved in various neurological disorders and, in the central nervous system, astrocytes represent the cell type that contributes to neuroprotection via glutathione (GSH) metabolism, GSH-metabolizing enzymes like gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT), and apoE secretion. In this study, using IL-1beta, a proinflammatory and prooxidant cytokine that is increased in numerous pathological situations, cells of astrocytoma cell line U373-MG were exposed to an oxidative stress, leading to c-Jun and c-Fos activation. IL-1beta decreased both GGT activity and intracellular GSH content and increased apoE secretion, initiating astroglial response to injury.