DNA-damaging activity and mutagenicity of 16 newly synthesized thiazolo[5,4-a]acridine derivatives with high photo-inducible cytotoxicity.

The discovery of the potent anticancer properties of natural alkaloids in the pyrido-thiazolo-acridine series has suggested that thiazolo-acridine derivatives could be of great interest. In a continuous attempt to develop DNA-binding molecules and DNA photo-cleavers, 16 new thiazolo[5,4-a]acridines were synthesized and studied for their photo-inducible DNA-intercalative, cytotoxic and mutagenic activities, by use of the DNA methyl-green bioassay, the Alamar Blue viability assay and the Salmonella mutagenicity test using strains TA97a and TA98 with and without metabolic activation and photo-activation. Without photo-activation, one compound showed a DNA-intercalative activity in the DNA major groove while three compounds displayed intercalating properties after photo-activation.

[Possible etiologies of West syndrome: evaluation of 95 patients].

Objective: To describe the etiologies of West syndrome (WS) among children followed in a rehabilitation center.

Method: Retrospective study with emphasis in the following items: gender, age at the diagnosis of WS and its etiology. The etiologies were divided into three categories: symptomatic, cryptogenic and idiopathic.

Over-expression of 14-3-3zeta is an early event in oral cancer.

Background: The functional and clinical significance of 14-3-3 proteins in human cancers remain largely undetermined. Earlier, we have reported differential expression of 14-3-3zeta mRNA in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) by differential display.

Methods: The clinical relevance of 14-3-3zeta protein in oral tumorigenesis was determined by immunohistochemistry in paraffin embedded sections of oral pre-malignant lesions (OPLs), OSCCs and histologically normal oral tissues and corroborated by Western Blotting.

Anaphylactic shock in a beta-blocked child: usefulness of isoproterenol.

Like adults, children taking beta-blockers are at risk for serious hemodynamic instability in case of anaphylaxis. We report a case of severe bradycardia associated with anaphylactic shock after aprotinin in a beta-blocked child, which was resistant to intravenous epinephrine and vascular filling but was treated successfully with isoproterenol.

Postmeningitis headache: case report.

We report a case of a 18-year-old female patient that developed a migraine-like headache following an acute meningococcal meningitis. She had no previous history of recurrent headaches. The pain was intense, pulsatile and throbbing, typically unilateral, without aura.

Effects of resource constraint on health care services.

Starting with the duty of Governments to provide adequate resources for the establishment and development of health services, this paper draws on experiences in four developed countries to illustrate the problems and their outcomes. The examples chosen demonstrate the contrast in philosophies and approach to resource allocation for health care.

Merosin-positive congenital muscular dystrophy: neuroimaging findings.

Congenital muscle dystrophy (CMD) is a heterogeneous group of autosomal recessive myopathies. It is known that CMD may affect the central nervous system (CNS). Some authors have shown that merosin-negative CMD patients may have encephalic metabolic disturbances.

Hypomyelination with atrophy of the basal ganglia and cerebellum: case report.

Hypomyelination with atrophy of the basal ganglia and cerebellum (H-ABC) is a rare disease that has been recently described. It must be remembered as a possible etiology of leukoencephalopathies in children. We describe a typical case of H-ABC in a 11-month-old boy.

Informed consent in medical treatment: conflict or consensus.

The author reviews the legal theory and practice of the requirements for informed consent. He uses a discussion of relevant cases and judgements from courts in the UK, USA, Australia and Malaysia to illustrate apparently conflicting attitudes exemplified by these cases. From this he aims to form some consensus in their application to everyday practice.

Cerebrovascular disorders in childhood: etiology, clinical presentation, and neuroimaging findings in a case series study.

Objective: To describe the main etiologies, neurological manifestations and neuro-imaging findings among children with sequelae of cerebrovascular disorders.

Method: Case series study of children whose diagnosis was stroke sequelae. Variables studied were age at the time of first episode, number of episodes, etiology, motor deficits, epilepsy, and effected vascular territory.

Novel molecular targets of smokeless tobacco (khaini) in cell culture from oral hyperplasia.

Knowledge of molecular mechanism(s) implicated in smokeless tobacco (ST) associated oral carcinogenesis is meager. In an attempt to identify genes that are modulated by ST, we recently reported establishment of an oral epithelial cell culture, AMOL III from oral hyperplasia with hyperkeratosis of a khaini consumer. Herein we aimed to identify novel molecular targets of ST (khaini) in AMOL III cells using differential display.

[Episodic tension-type headache: clinical evaluation of 50 patients].

A case series study of 50 consecutive patients with episodic tension type headache (ETTH) was conducted. Clinical aspects, family history and impact on work activities were studied. The casuistry was made up of 40 women and 10 men.

Plasmodium berghei (ANKA): infection induces CYP2A5 and 2E1 while depressing other CYP isoforms in the mouse liver.

It has been reported that malaria infection impairs hepatic drug clearance and causes a down-regulation of CYP-mediated monooxygenase activities in rodents and humans. In the present study, we investigated the effects of Plasmodium berghei infection on the activity of liver monooxygenases in female DBA/2 and C57BL/6 mice. In both mouse strains, P.

Chlamydia pneumoniae infection in asthmatic patients.

This study was conducted on 30 asthmatic patients and 10 healthy controls. They were subjected to complete history talking, thorough clinical examination, and assessment of their ventilatory functions before and after bronchodilator. Two specimens were obtained from each patients, bronchoalveolar lavage and serum samples.

[Primary headaches in children with hydrocephalus who have a ventriculoperitoneal bypass valve].

Introduction: Headache, which is the clinical manifestation of intracranial hypertension, is also a clinical ailment in medical practice, as well as one of the main causes of visits in the paediatric age. Determining whether this symptom is secondary or not to a decompensation of the intracranial pressure in children with hydrocephalus is sometimes a challenging task. The aim of this study is to classify the headaches in a population of children with a ventriculoperitoneal bypass valve due to hydrocephalus.

Identification of differentially expressed genes in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Rapid advances in multimodality therapy have not significantly improved the overall 5-yr survival of oral cancer patients in the past two decades, thereby underscoring the need for molecular therapeutics. The development of new treatment strategies for more effective management of oral cancer requires identification of novel biological targets. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify novel genes associated with oral tumorigenesis by comparing gene expression profile of oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs) and matched nonmalignant oral epithelial tissues with differential display.

[Depressive symptoms and anxiety in patients with chronic and episodic tension-type headache].

Background: Tension-type headache (TTH) is recognized as the most prevalent type of headache. Despite this, there is a limited understanding of the entity's physiology, epidemiology, and clinical presentation. Anxiety and depression are recognized comorbidities present among patients with TTH.

Differential effects of peroxisome proliferator activator receptor-alpha and gamma ligands on intimal hyperplasia after balloon catheter-induced vascular injury in Zucker rats.

Background: Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus have a higher rate of restenosis following angioplasty. Peroxisome proliferator activator receptor-alpha (PPAR) and gamma ligands such as fenofibrate and rosiglitazone, respectively, have been shown to have protective effects on the vessel wall. We studied the effect of fenofibrate and rosiglitazone on intimal hyperplasia in the Zucker rat, a model for insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus, following balloon catheter-induced injury.

First Report of Leaf Blotch Caused by Marssonina coronaria on Apple in Italy.

During the early summers of 2001 and 2002, in Forno Canavese in northwest Italy, a leaf disease was observed on the old apple cv. Furnas in a domestic orchard. Lesions on the upper side of the leaf were brownish, irregular in size and shape with somewhat dendritic margins, became black, and often coalesced with time.

Assessment of the water content of the stratum corneum using a sorption-desorption test.

Background/aim: Various instruments based on electrical properties of the skin are currently used to assess the stratum corneum (SC) hydration state or water holding capacity. However, no direct relation with the quantity of water measured is provided. The objective of the present study was to calibrate the Corneometer, a device displaying electrical-capacitance-related values (which reflect the skin hydration state), and the amount and behaviour of the water taken up by the outer part of the SC during a sorption-desorption test.

Intra- and postoperative factors determining neurological complications after surgery under deep hypothermic circulatory arrest: a retrospective somatosensory evoked potential study.

Objectives: Intraoperative median nerve SEP monitoring uses the disappearance of cortical and brain stem activities as the criterion to determine that brain cooling is sufficient in deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (CA) surgery. This study presents the results of a retrospective SEP analysis of intraoperative events that engendered neurological complications.

Methods: Median nerve SEP monitoring was performed on 58 consecutive patients who underwent surgery under deep hypothermic CA.

Sensitivity, specificity, and surgical impact of somatosensory evoked potentials in descending aorta surgery.

Background: We evaluate the efficiency of multilevel somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) monitoring for intraoperative re-establishment of blood flow to the spinal cord in 63 patients undergoing descending aorta repair.

Methods: The presence of critical vessels in a cross-clamped aortic segment was ascertained by a 15 minute SEP observation period while the segment between the clamps was vented to drain out the collateral flow.

Results: SEPs influenced the surgical strategy in 17 cases (27%): use of the Biomedicus in 1 traumatic rupture; critical vessel reimplantation or distal clamp replacement in 13 cases of segmental spinal ischemia; and hastening the procedure or proximal clamp replacement in 3 cases of left carotid ischemia.

Randomized trial of intermittent antegrade warm blood versus cold crystalloid cardioplegia.

Background: We performed a prospective randomized trial to compare intermittent antegrade warm blood cardioplegia with intermittent antegrade and retrograde cold crystalloid cardioplegia.

Methods: Two hundred consecutive patients scheduled for isolated coronary bypass surgical procedures were randomized into two groups: Group 1 (n = 92) received cold crystalloid cardioplegia with moderate systemic hypothermia, group 2 (n = 108) received intermittent antegrade warm blood cardioplegia with systemic normothermia. Preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative data were prospectively collected.