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Journal Article 2005; 26(6): 699-703 PubMed PMID: 16380677 Citation  Keywords:  Adenoma:diagnosis, Adolescent, Adult, Biomarkers, Tumor:genetics, Carcinoma:diagnosis, Female, Goiter:diagnosis, Humans, Insulin-Like Growth Factor I:genetics, Male, Middle Aged, Polymorphism, Genetic:genetics, Promoter Regions, Genetic:genetics, Risk Ass.   

OBJECTIVES: Due to the recent increase of incidence of thyroid nodules and the known risk of malignant transformation, there is an elevated risk of thyroid cancer in Poland. Several approaches, including molecular, have been proposed to support fine needle aspiration biopsy in the early detection of malignant lesions. Although the IGF-I system in thyroid cancer has been studied, little is known about the gene and its promoter structure changes. Our aim was to assess, whether the analysis of the IGF-I gene promoter region and 5'UTR exon 1 structure may be useful in assessing the risk of thyroid carcinoma.

MATERIAL: Our study included 46 patients that underwent strumectomy due to a presence of thyroid nodules.

METHODS: All patients underwent clinical examination and laboratory investigations to assess their thyroid structure and function. Tissues obtained during the surgery were used for DNA extraction, PCR, SSCP and direct sequencing.

RESULTS: Among 46 patients, 14 had a nucleotide difference in one of the examined regions. In our study we revealed no significant difference between carcinomatous and non-carcinomatous groups of patients in terms of presence of nucleotide change, but Fisher's exact test gave a significant result in terms of the efficacy of detecting follicular adenoma. Moreover, the patients with nucleotide change had thyroid glands significantly smaller in volume.

CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the molecular analysis of the IGF-I gene promoter is thought to be of a functional significance, but probably could not be considered useful in the assessment of risk of thyroid cancer in thyroid nodules....

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Clinical Trial 2005; 26(5): 493-498 PubMed PMID: 16264413 Citation  Keywords:  Adult, Circadian Rhythm:physiology, Humans, Light, Lighting, Male, Melatonin:blood, Middle Aged, Photic Stimulation, Pupil:physiology, Retina:physiology, Signal Transduction:physiology,.   

OBJECTIVES: Published data, both on nocturnal melatonin suppression in humans and on widely accepted retinal structure and function, suggest that spectral opponency plays a role in human circadian phototransduction. We directly test subadditivity, implied by spectral opponency, in human circadian phototransduction in response to nearly monochromatic and to polychromatic light.

METHODS: Adult male human subjects were exposed for 60 minutes to two intensities each of two lighting conditions, during nighttime experimental sessions. One condition consisted of light from mercury vapor lamps (450 and 1050 lx), and one condition consisted of light from these lamps filtered such that only the spectral line from this lamp at 436 nm was presented to subjects (7.5 and 15 lx).

RESULTS: Melatonin suppression from the filtered illumination at 436 nm alone was greater than mercury lamp illumination (containing energy at 436 nm in addition to other wavelengths), even when the sources exposed subjects' retinae to equal amounts of irradiance at 436 nm.

CONCLUSION: This direct test of subadditivity, together with evidence from neuroanatomy, supports the inference that spectral opponency is a fundamental characteristic of human circadian phototransduction....

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Journal Article 2005; 26(5): 521-525 PubMed PMID: 16264407 Citation  Keywords:  Adult, Aged, Aging:physiology, Carcinoma, Papillary:genetics, Chromosomes:genetics, Genetic Markers, Humans, Loss of Heterozygosity:genetics, Microsatellite Repeats, Middle Aged, Protein-Tyrosine Kinases:genetics, RNA, Messenger:biosynthesis, Reverse Tran.   

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to establish the LOH frequency of selected polymorphic markers in different histological types of thyroid tumors: 18 colloid goiters (CG), five follicular adenomas (FA), nine follicular carcinomas (FTC), 40 papillary carcinomas (PTC), and one anaplastic carcinoma (ATC). For PTC, tumors negative for RET/PTC rearrangements were preferred.

METHODS: LOH studies were performed using 14 highly polymorphic markers previously described as frequently lost in thyroid tumors.

RESULTS: In 20 cases (27%) the loss of at least one marker was found. No difference between the frequency of the LOH in FTC and PTC tumors was revealed (33% v. 33%). No differences between histopathological subtypes of PTC in LOH were found. Papillary thyroid carcinomas showed a tendency to higher LOH frequency from patients older than 45 years of age compared to younger ones (9/23 v. 4/17) although it was not statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that papillary thyroid cancers, particularly those diagnosed in patients older than 45 years of age, do exhibit LOH at least with the same frequency as follicular cancers. This increased number of LOH events may contribute to the clinical aggressiveness of cancer in older patients....

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Journal Article 2005; 26(5): 567-574 PubMed PMID: 16264399 Citation  Keywords:  Adenocarcinoma:metabolism, Adult, Aged, Breast Neoplasms:metabolism, Carcinoma, Squamous Cell:metabolism, Female, Head and Neck Neoplasms:metabolism, Humans, Immunohistochemistry, Lymphatic Metastasis, Male, Metallothionein:metabolism, Middle Aged, Stroma.   

INTRODUCTION: An accumulation of genetic alterations forming the field of cancerization is an important event for the transformation from normal to cancer cell in multistep carcinogenesis. Histopathologically healthy tumor adjacent tissue might be considered as a cancerization field which is typified by genetic changes required for the development of cancer. Metallothionein (MT) is considered to be a protective and anti-apoptotic protein. The aim of our study was to evaluate the MT expression in head and neck squamous cells carcinoma and breast adenocarcinoma and their histologically healthy adjacent tissue.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We have sampled 29 tissue samples in total derived from head and neck cancers and 29 samples of their clear surgical margins, 33 breast adenocarcinomas and 33 clear surgical margins. Antibody recognizing MT-1 was used for immunohistochemical analysis.

RESULTS: MT expression was revealed in 85,7% of head and neck cancers and 94% of breast adenocarcinomas. It was found in all tumor adjacent tissue. MT expression was statistically significantly higher in tumor adjacent tissue than in cancer tissue in cases with the presence of lymph node metastases in both, breast adenocarcinoma and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Generally stroma seems to respond to the presence of cancer by the expression of MT, even in tissues which normally do not express MT.

CONCLUSIONS: MT might be a normal or protective reaction of healthy adjacent tissue to the presence of tumor....

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Journal Article 2005; 26(5): 593-598 PubMed PMID: 16264396 Citation  Keywords:  Adolescent, Adult, Brain:diagnostic imaging, Cerebrovascular Circulation:physiology, Female, Humans, Klinefelter Syndrome:diagnostic imaging, Male, Middle Aged, Radiopharmaceuticals, Skull:diagnostic imaging, Technetium Tc 99m Exametazime, Temporal Lobe:d.   

OBJECTIVES: In patients with Klinefelter syndrome dissocial behaviour, learning difficulties and low intelligence are common. Thus, the aim of our study was to perform brain perfusion studies and cranial cephalometry in 27 cases of Klinefelter syndrome and compare the results with those in a group of 26 healthy subjects.

METHODS: Single photon emission tomography (SPECT) was performed after injection of 20 mCi 99mTc-HMPAO and the data from transaxial slices were analyzed for 46 regions of interest in the cerebellar, thalamic, ventricular and parietal planes. Right/ left ratios were calculated and differences above 10 per cent were considered abnormal. Skull radiographs in frontal and lateral view were taken and measurements of the cerebral part were made.

RESULTS: SPECT imaging in 27 Klinefelter patients revealed 82 hypoperfusion foci, most frequently in temporal regions, less frequently in temporoparietal and frontal regions, whereas only 11 hypoperfusion foci in 6 of the 26 control subjects were found. Skull radiography revealed the following abnormalities : flattening of the temporal regions, reduced width of the vault, shortening of the anterior cranial fossa and definitely reduced angle of the cranial base; all these anomalies differed significantly from those in the skulls of the control subjects.

CONCLUSIONS: The high coincidence of the location on the temporal regions of brain perfusion defects and the neurocranial shape anomalies indicate that an extra X chromosome in Klinefelter patients has detrimental effects on the temporal lobe development and function....

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Journal Article 2005; 26(4): 321-325 PubMed PMID: 16136017 Citation  Keywords:  Adult, Anticonvulsants:therapeutic use, Depressive Disorder:diagnosis, Dissociative Disorders:complications, Epilepsy, Complex Partial:diagnosis, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic:complications,.   

OBJECTIVES: According to recent findings trauma and stress are important etiological factors in pathogenesis of depression. As characteristic features of depressive cognition have been reported intrusive thoughts and memory disturbances similar to posttraumatic symptoms known in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder or dissociative disorders. Hypothetically is also suggested a close relationship of traumatic dissociation and epileptic-like phenomena.

SETTINGS AND DESIGN: In the clinical study were assessed 70 adult people with a diagnosis of depression and 50 healthy controls. In the assessment were used 6 measures for symptoms of dissociation, depression, traumatic stress and psychosenzoric symptoms of epileptic origin (the so-called complex partial seizure-like symptoms).

RESULTS: Reported data show that a great number of depressive patients who met the cut-off score for dissociative disorders (34.2%, N=24) had significantly higher traumatization, depression, subjectively experienced stress and complex partial seizure-like symptoms than the whole group of patients and the controls. Most significant traumatization has been found in patients who met the cut-off score of psychosenzoric epileptic-like symptoms which is characteristic for the epilepsy spectrum disorder (5.7%, N=4).

MAIN FINDINGS: Significant correlations of these assessed symptoms suggest close relationship between traumatic stress and dissociation in depression. This close relationship of dissociative symptomatology and traumatic stress also implicates an important role of dissociative processes in depression as a typical manifestation of depressive cognition. Assessed relationship between traumatic distress and complex partial seizure-like symptoms suggests a possible role of epileptic-like phenomena in dissociative states related to depression.

CONCLUSIONS: Assessed relationship between traumatization, depression and epileptic-like phenomena in the patients who met cut-off score for epilepsy spectrum disorder can contribute to the problem of indication of several depressive patients to anticonvulsant therapy because of reported evidence that a clear majority of patients with epilepsy spectrum disorder respond well to anticonvulsant treatment. Careful assessment of this test battery thus may be useful also for anticonvulsant treatment strategy....

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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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