Bártlová S, Tóthová V, Brabcová I, Prokešová R, Kimmer D. The hospitalized patient as a partner in the survey on safe care in the Czech Republic. Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2014 Jan; 35(Suppl 1): 5-10
OBJECTIVE: We investigate the effect of 6 months aerobic training alone or in combination with diet on adiponectin in circulation and in adipose abdominal tissue (AT) in obese women.
METHODS: Twenty obese subjects were randomized into a 24 weeks intervention: 1) training (TR) and 2) training and diet (TRD). Blood samples were collected at baseline, after 12 wk and 24 wk. AT biopsies were obtained only at baseline and after 24 wk.
RESULTS: In the TRD group the fat loss was after 12 wk -13.74% (p<0.01) and after 24 wk -21.82% (p<0.01) with no changes in the TR group. After 12 and 24 wk, VO2max was increased by 21.81-39.54% (p<0.05) in the TRD group and 18.09-40.95% in the TR group (p<0.05). After 12 wk, plasma adiponectin was raised only in the TRD group (55.8%, p<0.05). After 24 weeks, circulating adiponectin was elevated by 110.4% (p<0.01) in the TRD group and by 27% (p<0.05) in the TR group. In AT biopsies, subjects in the TRD and TR groups exhibited a significant increase in adiponectin (p<0.05 and p<0.01, respectively). The two indices HOMA-IR and HOMA-AD for assessing insulin resistance were strongly affected by protocols. HOMA-IR decreased (p<0.05) only after 24 wk in the TRD group. HOMA-AD increased in both groups after 12 (p<0.05) and 24 wk (p<0.01).
CONCLUSION: Six months chronic aerobic exercise alone or combined with diet result in a significant increase in circulating and adipose tissue adiponectin levels in obese women independent of changes in body composition and/or in HOMA-IR....
Lakhdar N, Denguezli M, Zaouali M, Zbidi A, Tabka Z, Bouassida A. Six months training alone or combined with diet alters HOMA-AD, HOMA-IR and plasma and adipose tissue adiponectin in obese women. Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2014 Jan; 35(5): 373-379
: A 62-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital because of unconsciousness and hypoglycaemia. She had a history of weakness and fatigue after postpartum haemorrhage in 1983. Unfortunately, she was not diagnosed with Sheehan's syndrome and did not receive sufficient professional treatment due to the limited medical resources in her hometown. A laboratory examination at the local hospital revealed severe hypoglycaemia (1.8 mmol/L) with relatively low serum potassium (2.9 mmol/L). The woman appeared twice in the hospital with cardiac arrest, and her medical history, and the later laboratory investigations were consistent with Sheehan's syndrome. Empty sella was also found by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We conclude that Sheehan's syndrome may lead to cardiac arrest with the complication of hypokalaemia and deserves the vigilance of clinicians....
Cao L, Lu Z, Zheng Y. Sheehan's syndrome with cardiac arrest: a case report and review of the literature. Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2014 Jan; 35(5): 352-354
: Alzheimer disease (AD) represents a group of multifactorial disorders characterized by a progressive decline of mental faculties eventually leading to dementia and death. Aging of human populations is behind the rapid worldwide increase in the prevalence of AD in recent decades. AD prevention critically depends on reliable AD-predictive genetic testing but its further development is delicately poised at present. New DNA-analyzing technologies such as the Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) have allowed rapid and comprehensive analysis of the genome and might have aided the research into the genetics of AD. However, discoveries of epigenetic mechanisms and non-coding forms of DNA and RNA - while helping to explain complexities of AD etiologies - have imposed additional challenges onto the AD diagnostics based on DNA analyses. Environmental factors can, via epigenetic mechanisms, modify both coding and non-coding DNA and this has to be respected in DNA testing, including NGS. Risk calculations based on the known odds and risk ratios for selected DNA polymorphisms are viable options at present, while the applications of neural network methodology seems the most promising way forward in the development of predictive AD tests in future....
Šerý O, Povová J, Balcar V. Perspectives in genetic prediction of Alzheimer's disease. Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2014 Jan; 35(5): 359-366
BACKGROUND: The main clinical manifestations of autoimmune thyroid diseases are Graves' disease (GD) and Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT). Graves' disease is the cause of most cases of hyperthyroidism in childhood. Indications for radical therapy (surgery or 131I treatment) in children are still a matter of discussion, as sustained (sometimes very long) remission of GD is possible, while the radical therapy almost always leads to hypothyroidism. Spontaneous evolution from GD with hyperthyroidism to HT with hypothyroidism may also be observed.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to analyze the clinical course of 6 cases of hyperthyroid girls with GD in whom a normalization of previously increased autoantibodies against thyrotropin (TSH) receptor (anti-TSHR) was observed together with a significant increase in autoantibodies against thyroid peroxidase (anti-TPO) and thyroglobulin (anti-Tg), with concomitant hypo- or euthyroidism but no recurrence of hyperthyroidism.
SUBJECTS: Patients' age at diagnosis ranged from 5.0 to 16.5 years. Two (2) patients had Turner syndrome, another one (1), diabetic, was on insulin therapy.
RESULTS: In all the girls, antithyroid drugs were administered and euthyroid state was achieved during the first 2.0-3.5 months of the treatment. Mild side effects were observed in only one case. The therapy was continued up to 1.5-4.0 years. Relapses during the therapy were observed in 2 cases. Up to now, no relapses have been observed for 0.5-7.5 years since the therapy withdrawal in 5 patients (1 patient was lost to follow-up), 2 patients are currently treated with levothyroxine due to hypothyroidism.
CONCLUSIONS: It seems that the prolonged pharmacotherapy with antithyroid drugs, followed by observation after remission of hyperthyroidism, may be an appropriate therapeutic option at least in some children with GD as they can be cured without radical therapy and the potential risks of such treatment....
Smyczńyska J, Cyniak-Magierska A, Stasiak M, Karbownik-Lewińska M, Lewiński A. Persistent remission of Graves` disease or evolution from Graves' disease to Hashimoto's thyroiditis in childhood - a report of 6 cases and clinical implications. Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2014 Jan; 35(5): 335-341
OBJECTIVE: Lumbar facet joints (FJ) is a common source of low back pain and contributes approximmately on one third of chronic low back pain. Medial branch radiofrequency neurotomy is considered as a gold standard in the treatment of facet joint pain. Corticosteroid injections have also presented effect in FJ pain. As an interventional procedures, they carry not-negligible risk of possible complications including infection, damage to nerve root or medial branch structures. Shockwave therapy (SWT) is a non-invasive method for treatment of various musculoskeletal disorders. Its effect is based on transduction of mechanical energy, transferred to cascade of various biochemical processes in target tissue. Its efficacy was proved in the treatment of different painful conditions. The efficacy of SWT was not yet studied in FJ pain. Aim of our work was to compare the efficacy of SWT against interventional treatment procedures - radiofrequency neurotomy and corticosteroid FJ injections.
METHODS: A retrospective study was done on 62 selected patients with unilateral chronic lumbar facet pain. There were 32 women and 30 men, divided into SWT group, corticosteroid injections group radiofrequency group. Nociceptive and neuropathic pain intensity and severity of pain were measured.
RESULTS: Shockwave therapy had shown better longterm results compared to FJ injections group and little inferior efficacy compared to RMBN. We did not observe any adverse effects and complications in SWT group. Moreover, in SWT and RMBN groups, significant longterm improvement in daily activities limitation, was observed.
CONCLUSIONS: SWT appears to be a safe and perspective option in the treatment of FJ pain with negligible side effects....
Nedelka T, Nedelka J, Schlenker J, Hankins C, Mazanec R. Mechano-transduction effect of shockwaves in the treatment of lumbar facet joint pain: comparative effectiveness evaluation of shockwave therapy, steroid injections and radiofrequency medial branch neurotomy. Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2014 Jan; 35(5): 393-397
OBJECTIVES: Authors evaluated quality of sleep and daytime vigilance in patients with nocturnal epilepsy and compared it to those with daytime epilepsy.
BACKGROUND: Nocturnal seizures are an important type of epilepsy. They can result in morbidity due to disruption of sleep architecture. Daytime sleepiness, as a serious consequence of nocturnal seizures, has negative influence on quality of life in patients with epilepsy.
METHODS: Authors examined 100 patients with epilepsy. The occurrence of epileptic seizures in circadian rhythm, type of epilepsy and epileptic seizures, as well as aetiology of epilepsy were evaluated. Patients were divided in two groups, 17 patients with nocturnal epilepsy and 83 patients with epileptic seizures not related to sleep. All of them underwent overnight video-EEG-polysomnography and they filled in the Epworth Sleepiness Scale questionnaire (ESS) as well as The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index questionnaire (PSQI).
RESULTS: Overnight video-EEG-polysomnography detected significant changes in the sleep architecture in patients with nocturnal epilepsy. Significant decrease of N3 stage of NREM sleep (14.31%±8.07 in the group of nocturnal epilepsy vs. 20.12%±9.24 in the group of daytime epilepsy, p=0.01). Concurrently, significantly poorer sleep quality according to PSQI (18.52±7.51 in the group of nocturnal epilepsy vs. 6.21±3.62 in the group of daytime epilepsy, p=0.01) and tendency to increased daytime sleepiness according to ESS was revealed in these patients.
CONCLUSION: Remarkable changes in sleep architecture associated with poor quality of sleep and increased daytime sleepiness were detected in patients with nocturnal epilepsy. In conclusion, we emphasize the importance of sleep history taking in patients with epilepsy and their further evaluation in sleep laboratory....
Klobucníková K, Carnická Z, Wagnerová H, Siarnik P. Is nocturnal epilepsy cause of disturbed quality of sleep and elevated daytime sleepiness? Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2014 Jan; 35(5): 405-410
OBJECTIVE: Parkinson disease (PD) is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system, and in the majority of cases, the causes of PD are unknown. Coupled with impressive advances in statistical tools for analyzing large, complex data sets, well-designed microarray experiments are poised to make a big impact in the field of diseases. So we set the study to identify distinct PD-associated candidates.
METHODS: Candidate genes, with statistical significant changes of expression in PD patients' samples, were extracted from a transcriptome-wide microarray data in 105 individuals, which were downloaded from GEO, NCBI, by using statistical methods; Selected findings were confirmed by principal component analysis (PCA) and functional and pathway enrichment analysis were used to further study about the distinct candidates.
RESULTS: A total of 10 distinctly differentially expressed genes were identified in PD patitents' samples. After PCA confirmation, we specifically pointed out 4 genes (PRKAG2, DLG1, DDX3Y, RPS4Y) as the high confidence distinct candidates in PD. Network and functional categories showed that they were most related to translational elongation(GO:0006414) and participated in mTOR signaling pathway(hsa04150).
CONCLUSION: Among 10 distinct genes which are identified in PD patients' samples, DLG1, XIST, DDX3Y and RPS4Y1 genes can classify samples into different group clearly, and they are regarded as high confidence distinct gene biomarkers of PD. Our results provide a systematic view of the functional alterations of PD that may help to elucidate the mechanisms of PD and lead to improved treatments for PD patients....
Sun A, Wang J, Shan Y, Yu W, Li X, Cong C, Wang X. Identifying distinct candidate genes for early Parkinson's disease by analysis of gene expression in whole blood. Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2014 Jan; 35(5): 398-404