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Journal Article 2010; 31(4): 524-529 PubMed PMID: 20802441 Citation  Keywords:  Adult, Analysis of Variance, Humans, Hydrocortisone:analysis, Immunoenzyme Techniques, Male, Saliva:chemistry, Sound,.   

OBJECTIVE: Recently, a parametric speaker system has been developed. However, the safety of the parametric speaker for the human body has not yet been demonstrated. Therefore, we studied the effects of parametric speaker sound on salivary hormones and carried out a subjective evaluation.

METHODS: Nine male subjects participated in this study. They completed three consecutive sessions: a 20-min quiet period as a baseline, a 45-min mental task period with either a general or parametric speaker, and a 20-min recovery period. The subjects were evaluated by the salivary cortisol and chromogranin A (CgA) concentrations. In addition, they took the Kwansei-Gakuin sleepiness scale (KSS) test before and after the task and also a sound quality evaluation test after it. Two experiments, one with a general speaker (general condition) and the other with a parametric speaker (parametric condition), were conducted at the same time of day on separate days. To examine the effects of the parametric speaker, a two-way repeated measures ANOVA (speaker factor and time factor) was conducted.

RESULTS: The results showed that the cortisol concentration was significantly lower during the parametric condition than during the general condition. Furthermore, the sound quality evaluation found a "warm" sensation during the parametric condition to be lower than that during the general condition. A "noisy" sensation during the parametric condition tended to be higher than during the general speaker. However, the CgA concentration and the KSS score were not significantly different for either the speaker factor or the time factor.

CONCLUSION: The results suggested that the burden of the parametric speaker was smaller than that of general speaker, especially on the HPA-axis in the endocrine system....

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Journal Article 2007; 28(3): 326-332 PubMed PMID: 17627271 Citation  Keywords:  Animals, Contraceptive Agents, Female:pharmacology, Drug Implants, Estradiol:analysis, Feces:chemistry, Female, Immunoenzyme Techniques, Levonorgestrel:administration & dosage, Macaca, Perineum:pathology, Progesterone:analysis,.   

OBJECTIVE: Administered levonorgestrel enables contraception under normal cyclicity of the ovaries and does not suppress the development of cyclic perineal swellings. This study investigated the influence of levonorgestrel on fecal gonadal steroid excretion rates and the expression of perineal swelling size.

SETTINGS: Two groups of Barbary macaque females were observed: Twenty-four implanted individuals under semifree conditions and five non-implanted individuals under caged conditions. Eight of the implanted females had large expressions of the perinea and sixteen reduced. The non-implanted group had no perineal swellings.

METHODS: To determine the individual steroid excretion rates and exzymeimmunoassay for decal samples was established.

RESULTS: Estradiol excretion rates did not differ in distinctively swollen implanted females, but were increased when compared to non-implanted individuals (df=2; p=0.0002). Implanted females with large perineal swellings had lower progesterone concentrations in the feces compared to individuals with reduced swellings and did not differ from the non-swollen group (df=2; p=0.054). Females with large perineal swellings showed a higher calculated estradiol to progesterone ratio index than the other groups (df=2; p=0.0005). Non-implanted individuals showed increased testosterone excretion rates (df.=2; p=0.0001).

MAIN FINDINGS: The results indicate a positive relationship between the perineal swelling size and levonorgestrel implantation.

CONCLUSION: The ratio of fecal estradiol and progesterone titers can be judged as an endocrine indicator for the expression rate of perineal swelling size....

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Journal Article 2005; 26(4): 373-376 PubMed PMID: 16136006 Citation  Keywords:  Adenoma:blood supply, Apoptosis, Humans, Hyperplasia, Immunoenzyme Techniques, Neovascularization, Pathologic:metabolism, Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II:metabolism, Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III:metabolism, Parathyroid Glands:blood supply, Parathyroid Neo.   

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the presented study was to perform the immunohistochemical detection of endothelial (eNOS) and inducible (iNOS) isoform of nitric oxide synthase in the adenomatous and hyperplastic parathyroid gland in relation to the apoptotic process.

DESIGN AND SETTING: Tissue samples from 12 patients with parathyroid gland adenoma (PGA) and 10 patients with secondary parathyroid gland hyperplasia (PGH) were collected during surgery at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery of The First Faculty of Medicine in Prague.

METHODS: Three-step immunoperoxidase reaction on acetone-fixed cryostat sections was performed using both polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies against eNOS and iNOS. The detection of apoptotic cells was done using antibody against cleaved caspase-3 as an apoptotic marker.

RESULTS: The immunoreactivity to eNOS antibody was observed in the endothelial lining of vessels in PGA, PGH and in the rim of normal parathyroid gland adjacent to PGA sample. Variable expression of eNOS was confirmed in arteries, arterioles, capillaries and veins in the glandular parenchyma as well as in the surrounding connective tissue. There was no iNOS immunoreactive cell detected in any examined sample. No apoptotic cells were detected.

MAIN RESULT: Our findings confirm that eNOS is regularly expressed in the vasculature of PGA and PGH.

CONCLUSION: eNOS observed in the vasculature of the enlarged parathyroid glands can serve as a factor that contributes to the viability of hypertrophic pathologic tissue. The lack of stimulating signals may be a reason for negative iNOS detection and negligible apoptotic rate....

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Journal Article 2003; 24(3-4): 203-208 PubMed PMID: 14523358 Citation  Keywords:  Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Alzheimer Disease:blood, Cohort Studies, Dementia:blood, Follicle Stimulating Hormone:blood, Gonadotropins:blood, Humans, Hypogonadism:blood, Immunoenzyme Techniques, Luteinizing Hormone:blood, Male, Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin:m.   

OBJECTIVES: Sex steroids such as testosterone and estradiol might protect the brain against Alzheimer's disease (AD). We previously found lower levels of testosterone in men with AD compared with controls. We wanted to assess levels of pituitary gonadotropins that regulate sex steroid levels, to determine whether primary or secondary hypogonadism was responsible for low levels of testosterone in cases.

METHOD: We included 45 men with AD (McKhann, 1987), 15 men with other types of dementia and 133 elderly controls from the Oxford Project to Investigate Memory and Ageing. Gonadotropins (follicle stimulating hormone or FSH and luteinizing hormone or LH), sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG, which determines the amount of free testosterone) and testosterone were measured using enzyme immunoassays.

RESULTS: We found no difference in average LH (8.7 +/- 9 UI/L), FSH (13 +/- 17 UI/L) or SHBG (44 +/- 18 nmol/L) levels between AD cases and controls. Similar to our earlier findings, testosterone levels were significantly lower in men with AD (13 +/- 6 nmol/L) compared with controls (17 +/- 8, O.R. = 0.92, 95% C.I. = 0.87 to 0.97, p<0.005). Results were unchanged when controlled for age, SHBG and gonadotropin levels.

CONCLUSION: Although normal, the levels of gonadotropins were inappropriately low for the levels of testosterone. Our results support a preliminary conclusion that secondary hypogonadism occurs in men with AD. This could be a consequence of brain degeneration. This is contrary to an earlier study (Bowen, 1999) that found raised levels of gonadotropins in cases with AD, suggesting primary hypogonadism. Our cohort was younger than theirs and gonadotropin levels increase with age. We are enlarging our data set to investigate whether primary hypogonadism occurs in older cases with AD or whether secondary hypogonadism precedes cognitive dysfunction in men at risk for AD. If this is true, testosterone replacement therapy for hypogonadal men at risk for dementia may be indicated....

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