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Letter 2005; 26(4): 327-335 PubMed PMID: 16136015 Citation  Keywords:  Adult, Antipsychotic Agents:adverse effects, Depressive Disorder:drug therapy, Female, Humans, Hyperprolactinemia:blood, Male, Middle Aged, Prolactin:blood, Sulpiride:adverse effects,.   

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Journal Article 2005; 26(4): 355-360 PubMed PMID: 16136009 Citation  Keywords:  Adaptation, Psychological, Adult, Aggression:physiology, Female, Hostility, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Personality:physiology, Reference Values, Stress, Psychological:blood, Testosterone:blood,.   

OBJECTIVES: Many studies assessing the role of sex hormones, like testosterone, on stress and hostility factors have been primarily conducted in selected atypical populations such as violent criminals as well as androgen users and abusers. Therefore, the main aim of the current study was to investigate the association between testosterone levels and two psychosocial variables: stress and hostility in a cohort of healthy individuals who were members of a health maintenance organization (HMO).

METHODS: At five quarterly visits, psychosocial scales and blood draws were collected. Psychological stress was measured by using several scales that assessed different types of stress, including daily hassles, major life events and perceived stress. Similarly, different aspects of hostility were measured, among them cynicism, hostile affect and aggressive responding. Plasma collected from each visit was used for testosterone level determinations.

RESULTS: Testosterone levels were significantly associated with stress in both males and females. However, whereas this association exhibited a "threshold effect" in males, it demonstrated a direct and continuous linear relationship between these variables in females. Hostility was not correlated with testosterone levels in neither males nor females.

CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that testosterone levels in normal males and females may be more reflective of an intricate balance between physiological responding and emotional coping to stressors than the hostility profile of the individual....

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Journal Article 2005; 26(4): 393-396 PubMed PMID: 16136003 Citation  Keywords:  Adult, Aged, Case-Control Studies, Female, Haplotypes, Humans, Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular:genetics, Linkage Disequilibrium, Logistic Models, Male, Middle Aged, Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A:genetics, Polymorphism, Genetic, Retrospective Studies,.   

: The angiotensin converting enzyme gene (ACE) is a candidate gene for an individual's genetic susceptibility to left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). LVH has long been thought to be an end point of essential hypertension (EH), rather than a separate entity, though it is influenced by a unique set of hormonal, vascular and genetic factors. In this study, we attempted to determine whether two representative polymorphisms of the ACE gene, ACE I/D and 2350 G>A, known to be associated with EH and to influence plasma ACE levels most significantly, could implicate ACE as a quantitative trait locus (QTL) for LVH. We carried out a retrospective, case-control study of the two ACE polymorphisms amongst 180 nationals (50 LVH patients and 130 controls) from the United Arab Emirates--an ethnic group characterized by no alcohol intake and no cigarette smoking--for correlations with LVH. Clinical diagnosis of LVH was based on echocardiographic and ECG criteria. ACE I/D and 2350 G>A genotypes were determined by PCR and restriction digestion. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed an association between ACE polymorphisms and LVH. Haplotype analysis further supported this finding. ACE I/D and ACE 2350 G>A polymorphisms are in strong linkage disequilibrium and are associated with LVH, suggesting that ACE is likely to be a QTL for LVH....

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Case Reports 2005; 26(4): 401-406 PubMed PMID: 16136001 Citation  Keywords:  Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Carcinoma:pathology, Embolization, Therapeutic:methods, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Palliative Care, Thyroid Gland:blood supply, Thyroid Neoplasms:pathology, Treatment Outcome,.   

OBJECTIVES: Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is one of the most aggressive solid tumors in humans. Despite intense application of multimodality of treatment with surgery and/or external beam radiotherapy and chemotherapy, the survival rates remain low--generally the mean survival is about six (6) months after diagnosis. Rapid development--particularly over the last decade--of interventional radiology, provides methodology that allows examining thyroid arterial embolization as an alternative approach to ablating thyroid tissue. The aim of the present study was to evaluate selective embolization of the thyroid arteries (SETA) as a possible alternative for the palliative treatment of advanced, inoperable ATC.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study group comprised five (5) patients with advanced stage of inoperable ATC. All the patients underwent SETA of the superior and/or inferior thyroid arteries. SETA was performed using polyvinyl alcohol particles, ranging from 500-710 microm in diameter. After SETA, selective angiography of thyroid arteries was performed to ensure that the targeted arteries were completely occluded.

CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present study suggest that SETA is minimally invasive and save method of palliative treatment of ATC and, as such, may be recommended in cases of intractable hemorrhage and pain caused by ATC progression....

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Journal Article 2005; 26(4): 293-296 PubMed PMID: 16135994 Citation  Keywords:  Adult, Energy Metabolism:physiology, Female, Humans, Insulin:blood, Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins:blood, Leptin:blood, Middle Aged, Neuropeptide Y:blood, Neuropeptides:blood, Obesity:blood, Orexins, Radioimmunoassay,.   

OBJECTIVE: It has been reported that the peptides such as orexins, neuropeptide Y (NPY) and leptin may play an important role in the regulation of appetite and energy metabolism. The interaction between leptin, orexins and NPY, as well as between peptides and insulin and cortisol in the different nutritional states have been investigated in animals. However, at present this relationship is poorly understood in humans.

RESEARCH METHODS: Material consisted of 36 obese women and 16 lean women. Plasma orexin A, orexin B, neuropeptide Y (NPY), leptin, insulin concentrations were measured with RIA methods.

RESULTS: Plasma orexin A concentrations were significantly lower in obese women as compared with control group. Plasma orexin A was significantly lower in severe obesity (BMI > 40 kg/m2) than that in moderate obesity (BMI < 40 kg/m2). Plasma orexin B concentrations did not change. However, plasma NPY, leptin and insulin levels were markedly higher in obese women, especially in severe obesity.

CONCLUSIONS: Our results confirmed the thesis that orexin A, NPY, leptin play an important role in the regulation of energy metabolism in humans. In obesity the activity of these peptides is disturbed....

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Journal Article 2005; 26(3): 261-263 PubMed PMID: 15990733 Citation  Keywords:  Aged, Alzheimer Disease:blood, Cognition Disorders:blood, Depression:blood, Female, Folic Acid:blood, Humans, Lipoproteins:blood, Male, Risk Factors, Severity of Illness Index, Smoking:blood,.   

: The risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD) is associated with lifestyle factors, especially cigarette smoking. In this study we investigated the influence of smoking on the serum levels of folic acid, LDL and HDL in AD patients, patients with minimal cognitive impairment (MCI) and patients with major depression. We investigated a total of n = 374 patients in the diagnostic categories:, AD: n = 272, MCI: n = 60, Major depression: n = 42. We found significantly lower HDL levels in smokers and previous smokers in comparison to non-smokers, p<0,05. The LDL: HDL ratio in smokers was significant higher (+20%) compared to previous smokers and non-smokers, p < 0.05. The mean levels of folic acid were statistically significant (p<0.05) lower (-24%) in smokers compared to non-smokers. Patients with MCI and Alzheimer;s disease (and also major depression) who are "smokers" show serum levels of HDL and folic acid that are known to be strong risk factors for vascular damage and increased risk for vascular brain damage and impaired cognitive function. Therefore cessation of smoking, substitution with folate or statin therapy of smoking patients with MCI or AD might be beneficial to slow down further cognitive decline....

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Journal Article 2005; 26(3): 257-260 PubMed PMID: 15990732 Citation  Keywords:  Adult, Aged, Empty Sella Syndrome:blood, Female, Hormones:blood, Humans, Hypoglycemia:blood, Hyponatremia:blood, Hypopituitarism:blood, Hypothyroidism:blood, Middle Aged, Turkey:epidemiology,.   

: Sheehan syndrome (SS) or post-partum pituitary necrosis is a pituitary insufficiency secondary to excessive post-partum blood losses. SS is a very significant cause of maternal morbidity and mortality in developing countries although it is a rarity in developed countries in which obstetrical care has been improved. In this study, we reviewed 20 cases retrospectively who were diagnosed as SS in our clinic. The patients aged 40 to 65 years with a mean age of 51.12 +/- 9.44 years (mean +/- SD). Time to make a definitive diagnosis of the disease ranged between 5 and 25 years with a mean of 16.35 +/- 4.74 years. Three of our patient (15%) had a previous diagnosis of SS. Three patients (15%) were referred to emergency service for hypoglycemia, three patients (15%) for hypothyroidism and one patient (5%) for hyponatremia. Dynamic examination of the pituitary revealed GH, Prolactin, FSH, TSH and ACTH insufficiency in all of the patients. One of our patients had a sufficient LH response to LHRH challenge. All of the patients were imaged with pituitary MRI. Eleven patients had empty sella and 9 patients had partial empty sella. SS is still a common problem in our country, especially in rural areas. Considering the duration of disease, important delays occur in diagnosis and treatment of the disease....

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Journal Article 2005; 26(3): 209-212 PubMed PMID: 15990723 Citation  Keywords:  Acromegaly:genetics, Adenoma:genetics, Adult, Aged, Biomarkers, Tumor:genetics, Female, Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic, HeLa Cells, Humans, Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins, Male, Microtubule-Associated Proteins:genetics, Middle Aged, Neoplasm Prot.   

UNLABELLED: Survivin has received great attention due to its expression in many human tumours and its potential as a therapeutic target in cancer. Its expression is developmentally regulated: present during fetal development, it is undetectable in terminally differentiated normal adult tissue. Survivin expression has been described to be cell cycle-dependent and restricted to the G2-M checkpoint, where it inhibits apoptosis in proliferating cells.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of our study was to determine the survivin expression in different types of pituitary adenomas.

METHODS: Tissue samples were obtained during surgical removal of the tumour from 12 patients with diagnosed: acromegaly in seven cases, non-functioning pituitary tumours in four cases and prolactinoma in one case. Six patients with acromegaly received long-acting somatostatin analogues before tumour resection. After RNA extraction and cDNA synthesis, the amplification of specific survivin's gene fragment was performed.

RESULTS: In agreement with the current view that survivin is a tumor-associated antigen, highly expressed in various tumours, we found the presence of survivin expression as a characteristic feature of human pituitary adenomas. The findings of our study demonstrated the presence of an active survivin gene in all twelve analysed pituitary tumours.

CONCLUSIONS: Based on these findings, we conclude that the estimation of survivin expression in human pituitary tumours may help predict tumour growth and prognosis....

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