Search NEL Online

Comparative Study 2002; 23(4): 345-350 PubMed PMID: 12195239 Citation  Keywords:  Aging:metabolism, Animals, Antioxidants:metabolism, Darkness, Hippocampus:enzymology, Lighting, Lipid Peroxidation:physiology, Male, Pineal Gland:physiology, Rats, Rats, Wistar, Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate:metabolism, Superoxide Dismutase:metabolism,.   

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effects of pinealectomy on lipid peroxidation, antioxidant status and NMDA receptor subunits 2A and 2B concentrations in hippocampus.

DESIGN: Forty-eight male Wistar-albino rats were used.

SETTINGS: Animals were divided into three groups: 24 h dark throughout the study (highest melatonin release), 24 h light exposure (light-induced functional pinealectomy) and 12 h light/12 h dark exposure (control group). Thereafter, each group was divided into two groups as young and old animals.

RESULTS: There was an increase in NR2A and NR2B concentration in DY group compared to all other treatments. CuZn and Mn SOD activities were found to be increased in CO compared to CY group. Continual light exposure for 4 weeks did not change neural CuZn and Mn SOD activities. In old rats, light exposure reduced the activities of both CuZn and Mn SOD relative to those in the young animals. In addition, CuZn and Mn SOD activities were higher in dark exposed rats than in those in the continual light exposed or LD 12:12 rats. GSH-Px activity was found elevated in the DY rats compared to the CY groups. MDA levels were significantly higher in the CO than in the CY group.

CONCLUSIONS: NR2A and NR2B receptor concentrations in hippocampus of the rats maintained in dark showed significant increases compared to the control and functional pinealectomy groups but there was no significant increase in lipid peroxidation....

Read abstract

Clinical Trial 2002; 23(4): 341-344 PubMed PMID: 12195238 Citation  Keywords:  Adjuvants, Immunologic:administration & dosage, Aged, Antineoplastic Agents:administration & dosage, Carcinoma, Neuroendocrine:drug therapy, Carcinoma, Renal Cell:drug therapy, Digestive System Neoplasms:drug therapy, Female, Humans, Injections, Subcutane.   

OBJECTIVES: The preliminary applications of the psychoneuroimmunological knowledges to the treatment of human diseases have confirmed the possibility to amplify IL-2-dependent anticancer immunity by the pineal hormone melatonin (MLT) or by opioid antagonist, such as naltrexone (NTX), which act by activating TH1 lymphocytes or suppressing TH2 lymphocytes, respectively. At present, however, there are no data about the immunobiological effects of a concomitant administration of both MLT and NTX on IL-2-induced anticancer immunity. This preliminary study was carried out to evaluate whether the association of NTX may further enhance the lymphocytosis induced by the neuroimmunotherapy with IL-2 plus MLT.

MATERIALS & METHODS: The study included 14 consecutive untreatable metastatic solid tumor patients. According to a cross-over randomized study, the patients were treated during two consecutive immunotherapeutic cycles at 21-day intervals with IL-2 plus MLT alone or with IL-2 plus MLT plus NTX. IL-2 was injected subcutaneously at 3 MIU/day for 6 days/week for 4 weeks, MLT was given orally at 20 mg /day in the evening every day, and NTX was given orally at 100 mg in the morning every next day. For the immune evaluation, venous blood samples were drawn before the onset of treatment and at weekly intervals.

RESULTS: Lymphocyte mean number significantly increased after both IL-2 plus MLT and IL-2 plus MLT plus NTX. However, the concomitant administration of NTX induced a significantly higher increase in lymphocyte mean number with respect to that achieved with IL-2 plus MLT alone. In contrast, the increase in eosinophil mean number was significantly higher on IL-2 plus MLT alone.

CONCLUSIONS: This preliminary study shows that the association of NTX further amplifies the lymphocytosis obtained by IL-2 plus MLT. Since the lymphocytosis represents the most important favourable prognostic variable predicting the anticancer efficacy of IL-2 immunotherapy, it is probable that a cancer neuroimmunotherapy with IL-2 plus both MLT and NTX to activate TH1 and suppress TH2 cells respectively, may deserve more promising results in the treatment of human neoplasms according to the psychoneuroimnunological knowledge....

Read abstract

Journal Article 2002; 23(4): 329-334 PubMed PMID: 12195236 Citation  Keywords:  Alkaloids:analysis, Animals, Bivalvia:chemistry, Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid, Ganglia, Invertebrate:chemistry, Isoquinolines:analysis, Mass Spectrometry,.   

UNLABELLED: Tetrahydropapaveroline and reticuline, isoquinoline alkaloids, were purified and identified in the pedal ganglia of the marine mollusk Mytilus edulis.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the presence of tetrahydropapaveroline and reticuline, isoquinoline alkaloids, in animal tissues previously shown to express opiate receptors.

METHODS AND RESULTS: This was achieved by high performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrochemical detection and finally identified by electro-spray ionization quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (Q-TOF). The expression of these two terahydroisoquinoline alkaloids in the animals neural tissue is at the level of 2.5+/-0.64 ng/ganglion and 1.8+/-0.52 ng/ganglion, respectively.

CONCLUSION: This finding suggests that morphine biosynthesis may occur in Mytilus neural tissues, and that the biosynthesis pathway may be similar to that reported in the poppy plant....

Read abstract

Congresses 2002; 23(Suppl 2): 4-104 PubMed PMID: 12163856 Citation  Keywords:  Animals, Endocrine System:physiology, Humans, Light:adverse effects, Neoplasms:etiology,.   

...

Read abstract

Congresses 2002; 23(Suppl 2): 84-87 PubMed PMID: 12163855 Citation  Keywords:  Animals, Humans, Light:adverse effects, Neoplasms:epidemiology, Neurosecretory Systems:physiology, Risk Factors,.   

: The International Symposium "Light, Endocrine Systems and Cancer" was held on May 2-3 at Cologne University, Germany. The symposium was organized by Professor Claus Piekarski and Dr. Thomas C. Erren, Institute and Polyclinic for Occupational and Social Medicine. The main goal of the symposium was to evaluate the epidemiological and experimental data on the effect of the exposure to light-at-night on cancer risk and to indicate the main directions of future research in the field. The symposium covered also the mechanisms and epidemiology of skin cancer which, however, are not included in the present summary....

Read abstract  Full text PDF

Editorial 2002; 23(Suppl 2): 82-83 PubMed PMID: 12163854 Citation  Keywords:  Circadian Rhythm:physiology, Humans, Light:adverse effects, Neoplasms:epidemiology, Neurosecretory Systems:physiology, Risk Factors,.   

...

Read abstract  Full text PDF

Editorial 2002; 23(Suppl 2): 79-81 PubMed PMID: 12163853 Citation  Keywords:  Animals, Humans, Light:adverse effects, Neoplasms:epidemiology, Neurosecretory Systems:physiology, Risk Factors,.   

: A conference was held at the University of Cologne on May 2-3, 2002, to discuss the strength-of-the-evidence supporting a linkage between light, endocrine systems and cancer. This overview of the conference is intended to summarize some of the key elements of the conference and to indicate both conclusions and research gaps identified by this reviewer....

Read abstract  Full text PDF

Editorial 2002; 23(Suppl 2): 71-78 PubMed PMID: 12163852 Citation  Keywords:  Darkness, Decision Making, Humans, Light:adverse effects, Neoplasms:epidemiology, Neurosecretory Systems:physiology, Risk Factors,.   

: Research on light at night and cancer is evolving at an accelerating pace, fueled largely by exciting results in rodent toxicology and basic human biology. Epidemiologic research is at a relatively early stage of development in which the exposure surrogates such as shift work and blindness predominate. Causal graphs for shift work, light at night and breast cancer illustrate some of the subtleties that can arise in the use of exposure surrogates of different kinds. Baseline data on circadian rhythms and melatonin cycles among human populations living at different latitudes are needed. Epidemiologic study of this topic is expected to mature soon as studies begin to incorporate quantitative and semiquantitative measurements and personal histories of exposure to light at night. The current emphasis on breast cancer should widen to include other cancers and intermediate outcomes. An advance in epidemiologic studies of blind persons would be to compare cancer rates between the "cortically blind" and the "retinally blind" within levels of visual impairment. Without a proposed intervention to reduce exposure to light at night, attributable fraction and attributable caseload estimates are meaningless. In the near future, both epidemiologic and laboratory research in this area are expected to grow appreciably in scope and scale....

Read abstract  Full text PDF