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Journal Article 2010; 31(6): 852-856 PubMed PMID: 21196925 Citation  Keywords:  Cells, Cultured, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone:pharmacology, Humans, Interleukin-17:secretion, Leukocytes, Mononuclear:drug effects,.   

OBJECTIVES: Growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) plays a crucial role in the secretion of GH from the pituitary, acts as a growth factor in variety of cancer cells and possesses immunomodulatory activity. Interleukin(IL)-17 apart from its pro-inflammatory role has been also shown to play a role in carcinogenesis. The effect of GHRH on the IL-17 has not been studied so far.r />r /> AIM: To evaluate the effect of GHRH on the secretion of IL-17 from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in vitro.r />r /> MATERIALS AND METHODS: The concentrations of IL-17 in supernatants from PBMC cultured for 24 hrs were assessed using ELISA kit.r />r /> RESULTS: We show for the first time that GHRH can stimulate the secretion of IL-17 from human PBMC in 24 hrs culture, and that GHRH antagonist counteracts this effect.r />r /> CONCLUSION: Our study further elucidates the immunomodulatory role of GHRH....

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Journal Article 2010; 31(6): 725-727 PubMed PMID: 21196924 Citation  Keywords:  Education, Medical, Continuing, Faculty, Medical, Humans, Research, United States,.   

: Sabbaticals - i.e., academic sabbaticals, sabbatical leaves, sabbatical semesters - provide faculty members with a unique opportunity to engage in scholarly projects. Ranging from a year to shorter periods, these time windows - usually free of rigid day-to-day obligations - can be powerful means to reflect on past and present projects, to renew perspectives, and to receive fresh impetus for both your research and teaching. When reading the literature on sabbaticals, it is somewhat surprising that relatively small amounts of space are devoted to this important part of academic life. Here we provide practical recommendations [1-4: pre-sabbatical; 5-8: intra-sabbatical; 9-10: post-sabbatical] for making your sabbatical a satisfying endeavor....

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Journal Article 2010; 31(6): 747-753 PubMed PMID: 21196923 Citation  Keywords:  Anisotropy, Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity:diagnosis, Case-Control Studies, Child, Cognition, Diffusion Tensor Imaging, Executive Function, Female, Frontal Lobe:pathology, Functional Laterality, Humans, Male, Neuropsychological Tests,.   

UNLABELLED: Abnormalities of frontal white matter (WM) have been found in some children with ADHD. The purpose of this study was to explore the changes in WM in child patients with ADHD by DTI, which detects changes in WM microstructure based on properties of diffusion. We also expect to investigate the relationship between the changes in WM and executive function in child patients with ADHD. DTI was performed on 24 patients with ADHD and 20 healthy controls. A series of neuropsychological tests and a structural interview were conducted to assess the cognitive functions and clinical data of the ADHD patients and controls. Firstly, child patients with ADHD have higher fractional anisotropy (FA) values in WM in the right frontal region. Secondly, FA in right frontal WM is positively correlated with scores in the Stroop test.r />r /> CONCLUSIONS: Increased FA of right frontal WM implies a higher degree of myelination and lower degree of neural branching in WM, contributing to the neurological deficits of ADHD....

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Journal Article 2010; 31(6): 754-760 PubMed PMID: 21196922 Citation  Keywords:  Adolescent, Adult, Analysis of Variance, Antidepressive Agents:therapeutic use, Body Mass Index, Body Weight:drug effects, Combined Modality Therapy, Feeding and Eating Disorders:diagnosis, Female, Humans, Inpatients, Male, Personality Inventory, Precisio.   

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study is to determine how a comprehensive approach comprising a combination of a particular psychotherapeutic programme and antidepressant treatment influences the signs and symptoms of eating disorders.r />r /> METHODS: Inpatients entering a particular 6-week programme were assessed using body mass index (BMI), Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI), Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) and psychological symptoms using Symptom Checklist (SCL-90).r />r /> RESULTS: In the whole group (n=84) the mean BMI remained stable (17.9, 17.8). There was a significant effect of TIME in the repeated measures ANOVA with most of dependent variables. The "TREATMENT" had no effect (antidepressants, no antidepressants) and there was no significant interaction between "TREATMENT" and "TIME". Post-hoc analysis revealed significant differences between baseline and end-point values of all but two EDI, all EAT items and some SCL dimensions in the antidepressant-treated group.r />r /> CONCLUSIONS: The comprehensive and individualized approach is able to achieve weight stabilization, and improvement in attitudes, pathological eating behaviour and psychopathology....

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Journal Article 2010; 31(6): 818-822 PubMed PMID: 21196921 Citation  Keywords:  Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Anticonvulsants:therapeutic use, Diagnosis, Differential, Diagnostic Errors:statistics & numerical data, Drug Resistance, Electroencephalography, Epilepsy:classification, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Male, Middle Aged.   

OBJECTIVE: There is no universally accepted definition of pseudo-intractable epilepsy. Pseudo-intractability means that the resistance to treatment is, in fact, caused by clinical errors. The purpose of our study was to identify the reasons for intractability and subsequent effective therapeutic management approaches in a group of patients with established pseudo-intractable epilepsy.r />r /> METHODS: The study was designed as a retrospective audit of 100 adult patients who, in their past medical history, were diagnosed as having intractable epilepsy but, following adjustments to their medical management, were seizure free for at least 2 years. Patients underwent standard clinical evaluation, including EEG and/or video-EEG monitoring. We re-evaluated past medical, family, seizure and pharmacological history and morphological findings. Epilepsy was re-classified according to the ILAE classification.r />r /> RESULTS: We identified possible errors including incorrect diagnosis and/or inappropriate previous epilepsy management in all 100 patients. Incorrect diagnosis (seizure type and/or syndrome) was observed in 47 patients (47%). Thirty two patients (32%) with idiopathic generalized epilepsy were treated for complex focal seizures with inappropriate choice of medication. Therapeutic errors were identified in 48 patients (48%). Issues with medication compliance were found in 20 patients (20%). Potential seizure precipitating factors were detected in 23 patients (23%).r />r /> CONCLUSIONS: Our study of 100 patients confirmed that the problem of pseudo-intractability still exists. Every case of pharmacoresistance in epilepsy could potentially be caused by one or more clinical errors....

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Comment 2010; 31(6): 728; author reply 729-730 PubMed PMID: 21196919 Citation  Keywords:  Brain:pathology, Child, Diagnosis, Differential, Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Edema:diagnosis, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Nephrotic Syndrome:complications, Posterior Leukoencephalopathy Syndrome:diagnosis,.   

: Kabicek and colleagues described a case of nephritic-syndrome-associated posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) (Kabicek, et al. 2010). This adds to the accumulating evidence that PRES can be associated with disorders other than hypertension. However, we wonder how the authors would explain the neuroimaging findings unsuggestive of vasogenic oedema. PRES (also named reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome, RPLS) represents a clinicoradiological syndrome characterized by vasogenic oedema as revealed by apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) map of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) (Bartynski, 2008). The pathogenesis of PRES has been suggested to be autoregulation failure and endothelial dysfunction (Sharma, et al.). ......

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Journal Article 2010; 31(6): 848-851 PubMed PMID: 21196918 Citation  Keywords:  Age Factors, Animals, Animals, Newborn, Blotting, Western, Cerebral Cortex:metabolism, Disease Models, Animal, Female, Hypothyroidism:metabolism, Male, Mice, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Neurons:metabolism, Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II:genetics, Pregnancy, RNA, M.   

OBJECTIVES: The expression of iNOS mRNA and protein levels was studied in hypothyroid rat cerebral cortex during early days after postnatal life.r />r /> METHOD: The homogenate of the cerebral cortex was examined using Real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (real-time RT PCR) and Western blot analysis.r />r /> RESULT: ΔCt in hypothyroid group on day 7, 14, 21 was 18.89±0.92, 18.83±0.99, 16.48±0.29, separately. While in control group, ΔCt was 20.32±0.92, 20.07±0.86, 17.96±0.50, separately. Meanwhile, the protein level was detected only in hypothyroid group of 59 ± 5% on day 14. On day 21, iNOS protein expression showed a decrease (p<0.05) in hypothyroid group (37 ± 3%), compared with control group (58 ± 4%).r />r /> CONCLUSION: Our findings show the successive changes of the iNOS mRNA and protein levels in early postnatal days of hypothyroid rat brain, and confirm the cross-talk between the TH and NO signaling pathway in developing cerebral cortex of rats....

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Journal Article 2010; 31(6): 792-795 PubMed PMID: 21196917 Citation  Keywords:  Animals, Cerebral Cortex:drug effects, Disease Models, Animal, Disease Susceptibility, Dose-Response Relationship, Drug, Electrodes, Implanted, Electrophysiology, Evoked Potentials, Hippocampus:drug effects, Injections, Intraperitoneal, Motor Cortex:patho.   

OBJECTIVES: Nicotine is a widely used drug of abuse exerting number of effects on the central nervous system. The study was aimed at the effects of nicotine in various doses on the excitability of cerebral cortex and - by using the methods of histochemistry - to identify possible signs of neuronal degeneration after nicotine administration.r />r /> METHODS: Cortical afterdischarges were elicited by repeated stimulation of the right sensorimotor cortex. The duration of evoked ADs was monitored in animals treated with nicotine (0.75 or 1.0mg/kg) and in animals treated with saline. Methods of histochemistry (Fluoro-Jade B and bis-benzimide) were used to detect possible neuronal degeneration in hippocampus or in cerebral cortex.r />r /> RESULTS: No Fluoro-Jade B positive cells were found in hippocampi of control animals, or animals treated with nicotine. ADs length was significantly influenced by administration of nicotine.r />r /> CONCLUSION: Nicotine in 0.75 or 1.0 mg/kg dose leads to the decrease in ADs duration, influences the seizure susceptibility, and doesn't cause any detectable neuronal damage....

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