Magnetic resonance (MR)-guided percutaneous laser-induced interstitial thermotherapy (LITT) for malignant liver tumors.

The liver has a central role in human metabolism and represents one of the organ systems most often affected, especially by tumor diseases. The group of colorectal carcinomas metastatically almost exclusively attacks this organ, which, according to studies by Weiss and colleagues, can be attributed to venous drainage of the intestines through the portal vein. A large number of primary tumors often cause liver metastases as well as bone, lung, and brain metastases.

Genetic and physiological data implicating the new human gene G72 and the gene for D-amino acid oxidase in schizophrenia.

A map of 191 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) was built across a 5-Mb segment from chromosome 13q34 that has been genetically linked to schizophrenia. DNA from 213 schizophrenic patients and 241 normal individuals from Canada were genotyped with this marker set. Two 1,400- and 65-kb regions contained markers associated with the disease.

Differences in pulmonary functional indices derived from the single-breath diagram for CO2 (SBD-CO2) in horses related to age, sex and usage.

Although pulmonary function tests have been used to evaluate horses with clinically normal lungs and those with recurrent airway obstruction (RAO), comprehensive studies of equine respiratory function, considering factors such as sex, age and usage are not available. Studies on the influence of these factors on pulmonary function in healthy horses are required for interpretation of measurements made in those with respiratory disease. The study was performed with 63 warmblood horses and the status of their pulmonary health was evaluated by clinical examination.

Infusion of epinephrine decreases serum levels of cortisol and 17-hydroxyprogesterone in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: To investigate the pituitary and adrenal hormone response after an intravenous epinephrine challenge in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and controls.

Methods: Fifteen untreated female patients with RA (age 51.5 +/- 3.

Genome-wide scans of three independent sets of 90 Irish multiplex schizophrenia families and follow-up of selected regions in all families provides evidence for multiple susceptibility genes.

From our linkage study of Irish families with a high density of schizophrenia, we have previously reported evidence for susceptibility genes in regions 5q21-31, 6p24-21, 8p22-21, and 10p15-p11. In this report, we describe the cumulative results from independent genome scans of three a priori random subsets of 90 families each, and from multipoint analysis of all 270 families in ten regions. Of these ten regions, three (13q32, 18p11-q11, and 18q22-23) did not generate scores above the empirical baseline pairwise scan results, and one (6q13-26) generated a weak signal.

Corticotropin-releasing factor modulates cardiovascular and pupillary autonomic reflexes in man: is there a link to inflammation-induced autonomic nervous hyperreflexia?

In two recent studies, we found autonomic nervous hyperreflexia in subjects with chronic inflammatory diseases, particularly, in those subjects with higher degrees of systemic inflammation. Since corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) is induced by inflammatory stimuli and acts within the brain to change neuroendocrine and autonomic activity, we investigated CRF modulation of standard autonomic nervous reflexes. Fifteen healthy subjects were administered 100 microg CRF i.

Influence of cytokines and growth factors on distinct steroidogenic enzymes in vitro: a short tabular data collection.

Cytokines (IL-1, IL-6, IL-8, IL-11, TNF, IFN-gamma, and TGF-beta) and growth factors (EGF, bFGF, aFGF, and KGF) play an important role in modulation of hormone secretion by directly influencing specific enzyme steps of steroidogenesis in various endocrine cell types. For this tabular data collection, the following enzyme steps were considered: steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR), side chain cleavage enzyme (P450scc), 3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, 17-alpha-hydroxylase/17,20-lyase (P450c17), 17-beta-hydroxysteroid-dehydrogenase, aromatase complex, 5-alpha-reductase, P450c21, DHEAS sulfatase, and DHEA sulfotransferase. This collection summarizes the current information on how the mentioned cytokines and growth factors influence particular enzyme steps.

Cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, and androstenedione levels in patients with polymyalgia rheumatica during twelve months of glucocorticoid therapy.

This paper aims to evaluate adrenal gland hormone levels in patients with polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) during glucocorticoid (GC) therapy. A lower than expected basal production of cortisol was found in active and glucocorticoid-untreated PMR patients, particularly females. The abrupt onset of PMR with clinical features similar to those of the steroid-withdrawal syndrome or adrenal insufficiency, as well as the clinical response to GC therapy in elderly people already age-disposed to an inadequate adrenal and anti-inflammatory response, might represent the most significant pathophysiological basis of the disease.

Differential male and female adrenal cortical steroid hormone and cortisol responses to interleukin-6 in humans.

Evidence from experimental animal studies show that sex hormones influence the glucocorticoid response to a variety of inflammatory and noninflammatory stimuli. In this study we assessed gender differences in the response of ACTH and cortisol in normal young male and female humans following intravenous infusion of human IL-6 in various dosages. Males presented a significantly stronger ACTH production in response to IL-6 than females.

Genetic variation in the 6p22.3 gene DTNBP1, the human ortholog of the mouse dysbindin gene, is associated with schizophrenia.

Prior evidence has supported the existence of multiple susceptibility genes for schizophrenia. Multipoint linkage analysis of the 270 Irish high-density pedigrees that we have studied, as well as results from several other samples, suggest that at least one such gene is located in region 6p24-21. In the present study, family-based association analysis of 36 simple sequence-length-polymorphism markers and of 17 SNP markers implicated two regions, separated by approximately 7 Mb.

Postnatal lipopolysaccharide-induced illness predisposes to periodontal disease in adulthood.

The long-term consequences of neonatal lipopolysaccharide (LPS) exposure on adult behavioral and neuroendocrine stress responsiveness as well as on the clinical course of periodontal disease were assessed in male Lewis rats. At 3 and 5 days of age, pups were administered either saline (SHAM) or LPS or were left undisturbed. After postnatal treatment, mothers licked LPS-treated pups significantly more.

Norepinephrine, the beta-adrenergic receptor, and immunity.

Over the past 20 years, a significant effort has been made to define a role for the neuroendocrine system in the regulation of immunity. It was expected that these experimental findings would help to establish a strategy for the development of clinical interventions to either suppress or augment immunological function for disease prevention. However, the translation of these basic experimental findings into clinical interventions has been difficult.

Relationship between clinical signs and pulmonary function estimated by the single breath diagram for CO(2) (SBD-CO(2)) in horses with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The pulmonary health of 66 horses was assessed by a clinical examination and simple supplementary diagnostic methods. Single breath diagrams for CO(2) (SBD-CO(2)) and derived lung function indices were used to determine pulmonary function. The clinical signs in different groups were related to the results of the lung function indices derived from the SBD-CO(2).

Anti-inflammatory cooperativity of corticosteroids and norepinephrine in rheumatoid arthritis synovial tissue in vivo and in vitro.

Corticosteroids (CS) and norepinephrine (NE) support each other's biological effects. Thus, deficiency of cortisol and reduced synovial sympathetic innervation (SSI) may be proinflammatory in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This study tested the anti-inflammatory cooperativity of CS and NE in human RA synovial tissue.

[Neuroendocrine-immunologic mechanisms in rheumatic diseases--a congress report].

Neuro-endocrine immune mechanisms play an important immunomodulatory role for rheumatic diseases as evidenced by long-recognized effects of glucocorticoids, gender, pregnancy, hemiparalysis, and stress on various clinical and epidemiological aspects. Recently, some regulatory pathways have been identified between the neuroendocrine and immune systems which seem to be altered in these diseases. Cooperation between the autonomic nervous system and the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis (HPA axis) is important to dampen the reaction of the immune system.

Postnatal maternal deprivation aggravates experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in adult Lewis rats: reversal by chronic imipramine treatment.

Stressful experiences can modulate multiple sclerosis, but stress protection is currently not considered a treatment option. Here, we show that maternal deprivation, an adverse stress experience in infancy, increases emotionality in behavioral tests of adult female Lewis rats and concomitantly causes a more severe course of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Treatment of these effects in adulthood by chronic antidepressants (imipramine) reversed the behavioral symptoms and attenuated the course of the encephalomyelitis in deprived rats.

Validity of pulmonary function indices derived from the volumetric capnogram in horses with recurrent airway obstruction (RAO).

The objective of this study was to determine the accuracy with which pulmonary function indices derived from the volumetric capnogram can diagnose different degrees of recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) in 63 warmblood horses. The sensitivity, specificity, the area under the receiver operating curve (AUC), optimal cut-off values and predictive values of the indices were calculated. The results obtained have shown that there is no single index characterised by specificity and sensitivity to differentiate with an accuracy of >90 per cent between the different degrees of RAO compared to the clinical examination.

Uncoupling of the sympathetic nervous system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in inflammatory bowel disease?

In inflammatory diseases such as Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), one would expect that TNF or IL-6 stimulates the hypothalamus, which activates the hypothalamus-autonomic nervous system (HANS) axis and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in a parallel fashion. The study was initiated in order to investigate the parallelism of the HANS and HPA axes. We measured a typical marker of the HANS axis (neuropeptide Y, NPY) and of the HPA axis (serum cortisol).

Systemic immunosuppression fails to suppress cardiac cytokine induction in pressure overload hypertrophy in rats.

Background: Activation of cytokines such as interleukin-6 (IL-6) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of left ventricular dysfunction and hypertrophy since they have been shown to mediate cell proliferation, negative inotropic effects and myocardial hypertrophy. However, the effects of immunosuppressive therapy on cytokines in the treatment of heart failure and hypertrophy are unclear.

Aims: To test the hypothesis that systemic immunosuppresion may influence serum and myocardial IL-6 and, thereby, may affect progression of myocardial hypertrophy.

[Bronchial artery embolization for therapy of pulmonary bleeding in patients with cystic fibrosis].

Introduction: Acute pulmonary emergencies in patient with cystic fibrosis (CF) can be found in cases of pneumothorax as well as hemoptysis. If the bleeding cannot be stopped by conservative methods, an embolization of the bronchial arteries should be done.

Materials And Method: 11 patients were embolized using a combination of PVA particles and microcoils.

In polymyalgia rheumatica serum prolactin is positively correlated with the number of typical symptoms but not with typical inflammatory markers.

Objectives: Hyperprolactinaemia has been associated with the active phase of human systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis. In the present study, we investigated the role of prolactin (PRL) in relation to the number of typical symptoms and serum markers of systemic inflammation in patients with polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR).

Methods: One hundred and two PMR patients presented with typical symptoms such as adynamia, bilateral muscular pain in shoulders, upper arms or neck, bilateral muscular pain in the pelvic girdle, headache, morning stiffness, arthralgia, symptoms of depression, fever, initial weight loss (>4 kg/month), and transient visual symptoms.

Immunoregulation of IL-6 secretion by endogenous and exogenous adenosine and by exogenous purinergic agonists in splenic tissue slices.

In recent years, the role of norepinephrine, opioids, and neuropeptide Y for sympathetic regulation of murine spleen cells has been characterised. In this study, we describe the role of exogenous and endogenous adenosine and exogenous P2X(1) and P2Y(1) agonists for spontaneous splenic IL-6 secretion from spleen slices. The P2X(1) agonist beta,gamma-methylene ATP inhibited IL-6 secretion at 10(-5) M, whereas the P2Y(1) agonist 2-methylthio ATP increased IL-6 secretion at 10(-6) to 10(-8) M.

Adrenal gland hypofunction in active polymyalgia rheumatica. effect of glucocorticoid treatment on adrenal hormones and interleukin 6.

Objective: To evaluate hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function in patients with recent onset polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) not previously treated with glucocorticoids; and to detect possible correlations between adrenal hormone levels, interleukin 6 (IL-6), and other acute phase reactants at baseline and during 12 months of glucocorticoid treatment.

Methods: Forty-one PMR patients of both sexes with recent onset disease and healthy sex and age matched controls were enrolled into a longitudinal study. Patients were monitored for serum cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), androstenedione (ASD), and clinical and laboratory measures of disease activity such as C-reactive protein and IL-6 concentrations at baseline and after 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months of glucocorticoid treatment.