Antihyperglycemic activity of phenolics from Pterocarpus marsupium

Glucose levels in rats with hyperglycemia induced by streptozotocin were determined after i.p. administration of marsupsin (1), pterosupin (2), and pterostilbene (3), three important phenolic constituents of the heartwood of Pterocarpus marsupium. Marsupsin and pterostilbene significantly lowered the blood glucose level of hyperglycemic rats, and the effect was comparable to that of 1,1-dimethylbiguanide (metformin).     

Propagation of granulocytic Ehrlichia spp. from human and equine sources in HL-60 cells induced to differentiate into functional granulocytes

Ehrlichia spp. from human and equine sources in the northeastern Unites States were detected by PCR, isolated, and propagated in the HL-60 promyelocytic leukemia cell line. Growth of Ehrlichia from both equine and human sources was enhanced by addition of retinoic acid, which causes granulocytic differentiation of the HL-60 cells. DNA sequencing of a portion of the 16S rDNA gene supported the hypothesis that the same pathogen was responsible for both equine and human granulocytic ehrlichiosis.     

A new actigraph for long-term registration of the duration andintensity of tremor and movement

Actigraphy, the long-term measurement of human movement with a small solid state recorder, is gaining acceptance as a useful method in many research fields. Currently available actigraphs assess or estimate the movement duration per time interval. However, the output gives no information on movement type or intensity, and cannot be used in subjects suffering from tremor. The present paper describes a new type of actigraph, that has been developed primarily for the long-term evaluation of motor symptoms in Parkinson patients. The device is the first to discriminate tremor from other movements and to assess both duration and intensity of the two types of movement. It is based on a Motorola 68HC805B6 microcontroller and contains: an accelerometer, programmable gain stages, programmable low- and highpass filters, a programmable level comparator, a peak detector, interface circuits, a real time clock, data storage, and control circuitry. The micro-controller performs a period amplitude sequence analysis (PASA) on the conditioned accelerometer signal, and stores four output variables (tremor duration, tremor amplitude, movement duration, and movement amplitude) at the end of programmable time intervals. The analysis of fluctuations in the motor symptoms of, e.g., Parkinson patients using this actigraph can be of great help in the pharmacological management of symptoms     

Stability of proximal femoral grafts in canine hip arthroplasty

In a canine model, the fixation stability of a prosthesis and proximal bone graft composite were measured relative to the distal femur. One group had the prosthesis graft composite cemented into the distal femur. The second group had the prosthesis graft composite press fit into the distal femur for biologic ingrowth. Displacements of the proximal femoral grafts relative to the host bone in each group were measured after ex vivo (acute with graft) implantation and 4 months after implantation. A third group with no osteotomy (acute intact) simulated perfect graft to host bone union. Relative displacements representing 6 degrees freedom (translation and rotation) were calculated from the displacement values measured by 9 eddy current transducers. Measurements of displacement were used to test the hypothesis that distal press fit fixation equals distal cement fixation at 4 months after implantation. In all cases the measured translations and rotations of the graft to implant construct were small and of a magnitude that should encourage bone ingrowth (< 0.05 mm and < 0.1 degree, respectively). The stability of the press fit group at 4 months was not significantly different from the cemented group in axial and transverse displacement during axial and transverse loading, respectively. There was no difference in stabilities at 4 months between distal press fit and cemented fixation in hip replacements requiring a proximal femoral graft.     

Wooden sticks as the source of a pseudoepidemic of infection with Rhizopus microsporus var. rhizopodiformis among immunocompromised patients

Wooden sticks used to suspend feces obtained for surveillance cultures were found to be the source of Rhizopus microsporus var. rhizopodiformis causing a pseudo-outbreak among 17 immunocompromised patients cared for in three different wards. Nonsterile wooden products should therefore not be used for collecting, handling, and processing specimens for microbiological examination.     

Biochemical alterations of the tunica albuginea in impotence

PURPOSE: The objectives of this study were to quantify the immunohistochemical stainings of collagen types I, III and IV, and investigate the value of glycohistochemical staining with 3 lectin types specific to a particular glycan structure, Arachis hypogaea, Triticum vulgare and concanavalin A, as a method of defining possible changes in the collagen structure of the tunica albuginea in potent and impotent patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study involved 4 normal men, 4 with pure venous leakage and 4 with pure arterial disease. Collagen types I, III and IV, and lectins Arachis hypogaea, Triticum vulgare and concanavalin A were studied using a cell image processor. The labeling index relates to the percentage of staining and mean optical density relates to the staining intensity. RESULTS: Mean labeling index values for the 3 types of collagen and lectins were similar (p > 0.05). Mean optical density value relating to collagen type I was significantly higher in the arteriogenic group than in the other groups (p < 0.05), while mean optical density value of collagen type IV was significantly higher in the venogenic group than in the 2 other groups (p < 0.05). Mean optical density values relating to the 3 lectin types were similar in the 3 clinical groups (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: An alteration in the distribution and structure of the various collagen types and lectins in the tunica albuginea of impotent patients has been shown that may interfere with normal function and lead to impotence.     

Isolation and characterisation of Caribbean ciguatoxins from the horse-eye jack (Caranx latus)

The toxins involved in ciguatera (fish poisoning) in the Caribbean Sea were isolated from Caranx latus, a pelagic fish often implicated in ciguatera in the Caribbean region, and purified by mouse bioassay directed fractionation. Five toxins were separated by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). In order of increasing hydrophobicity, these toxins included a sleep-inducing fraction (< 1% of total toxicity), a major Caribbean ciguatoxin (C-CTX-1, 65% of toxicity), a minor Caribbean ciguatoxin (C-CTX-2, 13% of toxicity), a minor toxin (approximately 1% of toxicity) and a hydrophobic, fast-acting toxin (approximately 19% of toxicity). The i.p. injection into mice of each toxin induced signs typical of site-5 sodium channel activator toxins such as the Pacific ciguatoxins and brevetoxins. C-CTX-1 and C-CTX-2 were purified to homogeneity (LD50 = 3.6 and approximately 1 microgram/kg, respectively) and subjected to ion spray mass spectrometry. Both lost up to five H2O molecules and each had a [M+H]+ ion, m/z 1141.7, suggesting that C-CTX-1 and -2 are diastereomers that differ from the Pacific family of ciguatoxins. Turbo-assisted HPLC-mass spectrometry identified C-CTX-1, C-CTX-2 and three C-CTX-1-related compounds in an enriched fraction but no Pacific ciguatoxins were detected. The presence of different families of ciguatoxins in ciguateric fish from the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean probably underlies the clinical differences in the ciguatera syndrome reported in these two regions. A Caribbean strain of the benthic dinoflagellate, Gambierdiscus toxicus, is suspected as source of these ciguatoxins. The extent to which these toxins are biotransformed as they pass through the marine food chain remains to be determined.     

The in vivo metabolic pattern of low-grade brain gliomas: a positron emission tomographic study using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose and 11C-L-methylmethionine

OBJECTIVE: The object of the present study was to identify metabolic differences between low-grade astrocytomas and oligodendrogliomas and to improve their diagnosis and noninvasive assessment, because both types of tumors look very similar from the point of view of clinical and radiological data (as assessed by computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging). METHODS: Before any aggressive treatment, 22 patients with primary low-grade gliomas (astrocytomas in 12 patients and oligodendrogliomas in 10) were investigated with positron emission tomography for both glucose metabolism (18F-fluorodeoxyglucose) and amino acid uptake (11C-L-methylmethionine). An original software that allows a full metabolic analysis of the tumor region of interest (defined from the T1-weighted magnetic resonance image) and compares tumor tissue uptake tracer concentrations with average healthy tissue values has been implemented for data processing. Heterogeneity of each individual tumor has been taken into account and was expressed in histograms, which provided data about the mean and also extreme and intermediate values of tracer concentrations and the way these values are distributed among the full tumor mass. RESULTS: It has been shown that both tumor types exhibit a glucose hypometabolism (slightly more pronounced with astrocytomas), whereas they strongly differ in methionine uptake, which is high in all oligodendrogliomas and either decreased, normal, or moderately increased in astrocytomas. This latter metabolic difference between both tumor populations may be partially explained by their different cell densities. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that despite similar radiological and clinical presentations, these two kinds of low-grade gliomas are metabolically different and could therefore have specific responses to different therapies. Moreover, their in vivo metabolic follow-up with positron emission tomography should rely on different parameters, depending on their histological type; methionine uptake may be more relevant than glucose metabolism in the follow-up of oligodendrogliomas.