Phagocytosis of hemozoin (native and synthetic malaria pigment), and Plasmodium falciparum intraerythrocyte-stage parasites by human and mouse phagocytes.

Hemozoin, the detoxification product of hemoglobin heme, piles up as electron-dense material in the food vacuole (FV) of intraerythrocytic malaria parasites (malaria pigment). In infected individuals, pigment is internalized by both circulating and resident phagocytes, thus modulating their functions. Synthetic beta-hematin, prepared in vitro from hematin (ferriprotoporphyrin IX hydroxide) in acidic condition, is spectroscopically identical to hemozoin.

A fine balance between oxidised and reduced haem controls the survival of intraerythrocytic plasmodia.

The polymerisation of haemoglobin-derived ferri-protoporphyrin IX (Fe(III)PPIX) to haemozoin (malaria pigment) is a crucial process for intraerythrocytic plasmodia to prevent haem toxicity. It is also the target of in-use antimalarial drugs and newer compounds. This reaction and the inhibition thereof can be reproduced and studied in vitro.

C3-fullero-tris-methanodicarboxylic acid protects cerebellar granule cells from apoptosis.

Buckminsterfullerenols were recently investigated for their protective properties in different models of acute and chronic neurodegeneration. We tested C3-fullero-tris-methanodicarboxylic acid in our in vitro model of apoptotic neuronal death, which consists of shifting the culture K+ concentration from 25 to 5 mM for rat cerebellar granule cells. The impairment of mitochondrial respiratory function as well as chromatin derangement and fragmentation of DNA in apoptotic oligonucleosomes that occur in these conditions were protected by this compound in a concentration-dependent way.

Cytoskeleton alterations of erythrocytes from patients with Fanconi's anemia.

Fanconi's anemia (FA) is a very rare genetically heterogeneous disease which has been hypothesized to be defective in the detoxification of reactive oxygen species. In this work we report the results obtained by morphometric and biochemical analyses on the red blood cells (RBCs) from FA patients. With respect to RBCs from healthy donors the following changes have been detected: (i) a variety of ultrastructural alterations, mainly surface blebbing typical of acanthocytes and stomatocytes; (ii) a significant quantitative increase of these altered forms; (iii) modifications of spectrin cytoskeleton network; (iv) an altered redox balance, e.

Oxidative stress in cancer prone genetic diseases: a review.

A number of congenital conditions include oxidative stress as a phenotypic hallmark, in spite of very distinct genotypic assets. These disorders include some rare chromosomal instability syndromes and two frequent congenital conditions, Down's syndrome and cystic fibrosis. All of these disorders generate severe biomedical and social handicaps in their progression, resulting in neurological symptoms or malformations, early ageing and cancer proneness.

Hematologic side effects of psychotropics.

Psychiatrists are often unaware of the potential hematologic complications of the psychotropics they prescribe. Although this review is not a hematologic text reference, relevant hematologic syndromes are described so that the consultation-liaison psychiatrist will be familiar with the usual signs, symptoms, and treatments of these syndromes. This article reviews the hematologic side effects of the commonly prescribed psychotropics, including antipsychotics, antidepressants, benzodiazepines, lithium, mood stabilizers (including some of the anticonvulsants), and the acetylcholinesterase inhibitors.

Mitochondrial DNA inherited variants are associated with successful aging and longevity in humans.

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is characterized by high variability, maternal inheritance, and absence of recombination. Studies of human populations have revealed ancestral associated polymorphisms whose combination defines groups of mtDNA types (haplogroups) that are currently used to reconstruct human evolution lineages. We used such inherited mtDNA markers to compare mtDNA population pools between a sample of individuals selected for successful aging and longevity (212 subjects older than 100 years and in good clinical condition) and a sample of 275 younger individuals (median age 38 years) carefully matched as to sex and geographic origin (northern and southern Italy).

Effect of SX-3228, a selective ligand for the BZ1 receptor, on sleep and waking during the light-dark cycle in the rat.

The effects of the benzodiazepine1 (BZ1) receptor agonist SX-3228 were studied in rats (N = 12) implanted for chronic sleep procedures. Administration of 0.5, 1.

C3-fullero-tris-methanodicarboxylic acid protects epithelial cells from radiation-induced anoikia by influencing cell adhesion ability.

Anoikia is a type of apoptotic cell death that occurs in cells that are substrate-restricted in their growth. Buckminsterfullerenes represent a new class of chemical compounds with wide potential pharmacological antioxidant activity. In this report we provide the first demonstration that a water-soluble fullerene derivative, C3-fullero-tris-methanodicarboxylic acid, synthesized in our laboratories, is capable of inducing anoikia resistance in epithelial cells by a mechanism involving a 'trophic' effect on cell spreading-associated cytoskeletal components, i.

A novel endogenous antimalarial: Fe(II)-protoporphyrin IX alpha (heme) inhibits hematin polymerization to beta-hematin (malaria pigment) and kills malaria parasites.

The polymerization of hemoglobin-derived ferric-protoporphyrin IX [Fe(III)PPIX] to inert hemozoin (malaria pigment) is a crucial and unique process for intraerythrocytic plasmodia to prevent heme toxicity and thus a good target for new antimalarials. Quinoline drugs, i.e.

Muscle test comparisons of congruent and incongruent self-referential statements.

This study investigated differences in values of manual muscle tests after exposure to congruent and incongruent semantic stimuli. Muscle testing with a computerized dynamometer was performed on the deltoid muscle group of 89 healthy college students after repetitions of congruent (true) and incongruent (false) self-referential statements. The order in which statements were repeated was controlled by a counterbalanced design.

Follow-up consultation billing and documentation.

Frequently, bills are not submitted for follow-up visits for patients who have been evaluated psychiatrically on medical-surgical services. There often is confusion regarding which procedure codes are most appropriate to use in billing. To help the consultant understand the documentation requirements for various procedure codes, information from several sources was synthesized and distilled.

Long-term immunologic effects of thymectomy in patients with myasthenia gravis.

Background: Thymectomy (Tx) is a common therapeutic option to treat myasthenia gravis (MG), but its effects on the immune system are still obscure in humans.

Objective: We sought to evaluate long-term immunologic effects of therapeutic Tx in patients with MG.

Methods: T- and B-cell subsets and T-cell repertoire were analyzed in 35 patients with MG, 16 with previous Tx (at least 8 years before), 6 with recent (<1 year) Tx, and 13 without Tx, as well as in 32 healthy subjects used as normal control subjects.

Role of nitric oxide in sleep regulation: effects of L-NAME, an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase, on sleep in rats.

The effect of N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), a competitive inhibitor of enzyme nitric oxide synthase (NOS), on spontaneous sleep during the light period, was studied in adult rats implanted for chronic sleep recordings. L-NAME was injected by subcutaneous (s.c.

Telomere length in fibroblasts and blood cells from healthy centenarians.

Several lines of evidence indicate that telomere shortening during in vitro aging of human somatic cells plays a causal role in cellular senescence. A critical telomere length seems to be associated with the replicative block characterizing senescent cells. In this paper we analyzed the mean length of the terminal restriction fragments (TRF) in fibroblast strains from 4 healthy centenarians, that is, in cells aged in vivo, and from 11 individuals of different ages.

Enzymatic modification of natural compounds with pharmacological properties.

Glycosides of various classes of natural products are widely distributed in nature, where they are often present esterified with aliphatic and aromatic acids at specific OH's of their sugar moieties. Many of these compounds are pharmacologically important molecules or possess other interesting properties. For instance, ginsenosides (e.

Personality assessment of patients with complex regional pain syndrome type I.

Objective: There is controversy regarding the importance of psychological/psychiatric factors in the development of the Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). Our objective was to determine whether CRPS type I patients were psychiatrically different from other chronic pain patients, with particular attention to personality pathology.

Design: A standardized clinical assessment of all major psychiatric categories, including personality disorders, was performed on 25 CRPS type I patients and a control group of 25 patients with chronic low back pain from disc-related radiculopathy.