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Journal Article 2010; 31(4): 489-496 PubMed PMID: 20802448 Citation  Keywords:  Analysis of Variance, Animals, Brain:drug effects, Kidney:drug effects, Lipid Peroxidation:drug effects, Lipopolysaccharides:pharmacology, Liver:drug effects, Male, Malondialdehyde:metabolism, Melatonin:pharmacology, Rats, Rats, Wistar, Serotonin:analogs .   

OBJECTIVE: Bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) causes lipid peroxidation (LPO). We have found that LPS induces LPO in vitro, in tissue homogenates in a concentration-dependent manner, the concentration of 400 µg/ml demonstrating the most efficient lipid damaging effect . Both melatonin and its precursor, N-acetylserotonin, must possess antioxidant activities, both in vivo or in vitro, however, following some claims, N-acetylserotonin is a more effective extra- and intracellular antioxidant than melatonin. The aim of our study was to compare the effects of melatonin and N-acetylserotonin on the LPS-induced LPO in vitro.r />r /> METHODS: Malondialdehyde (MDA) plus 4-hydroxyalkenal (4-HDA) concentrations were measured as the indices of induced membrane peroxidative damage in brain, liver and kidney homogenates. Both melatonin and N-acetylserotonin were used at increasing concentrations, starting from 0.01-5 mM, together with LPS at one concentration level of 400 µg/ml.r />r /> RESULTS: In all the examined tissues, LPS stimulated LPO, while both melatonin and N-acetylserotonin decreased LPS-stimulated LPO. Furthermore, the capacity of N-acetylserotonin reducing LPO was higher than that of melatonin.r />r /> CONCLUSIONS: The results of the reported study clearly indicate that N-acetylserotonin is a much stronger antioxidant in vitro than melatonin in terms of reducing oxidative damage to lipid membranes. However, it remains still unclear how the features relate to in vivo circumstances....

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Journal Article 2010; 31(4): 549-552 PubMed PMID: 20802447 Citation  Keywords:  Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Alleles, Czech Republic, Essential Tremor:genetics, Female, Gene Frequency, Genetic Association Studies, Genetic Heterogeneity, Genetic Loci, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Genotype, Haplotypes, Humans, Male, Microsatellite Re.   

OBJECTIVES: Essential tremor (ET) is one of the most common neurological movement disorders. In more than half of the cases, ET is inherited in an autosomal dominant manner, but no causative ET gene has been identified. However, several candidate loci have been reported, including the ETM2 locus that was originally found in a large American family of Czech descent.r />r /> METHODS: To ascertain the association with ETM2, we performed a genetic analysis of three polymorphic loci, etm1231, etm1234, and etm1240, located within the ETM2 candidate region in 61 Czech patients with a family history of ET and 68 healthy controls.r />r /> RESULTS: The allele frequencies were not significantly different between the patients and the controls, and we did not observe any haplotype specifically associated with ET.r />r /> CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report on the genetics of familial essential tremor in Czech patients. Our findings provide further evidence of genetic heterogeneity for ET....

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Case Reports 2010; 31(4): 451-453 PubMed PMID: 20802446 Citation  Keywords:  Adenoma:complications, Adult, Female, Humans, Parathyroid Neoplasms:complications, Quadriplegia:etiology, Treatment Outcome, Vitamin D:therapeutic use, Vitamin D Deficiency:complications,.   

OBJECTIVE: Parathyroid adenomas (PA) are benign tumors. We report an unusual case of delayed diagnosis of a PA and concomitant Vitamin D deficiency presenting as tetraparesia.r />r /> METHODS: A 30-year-woman was admitted to our clinic with an inability to walk. Our examination revealed tetraparesia and common, severe muscular atrophy.r />r /> RESULTS: Laboratory investigations showed the following: creatinine phosphokinase (CK): 37 IU/L (15-130), calcium (Ca): 11.5 mg/dL (9-11), phosphorus (P): 1.5 mg/dL (2.5-5), parathyroid hormone (PTH): 736.1 pq/mL (15-65), 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHvit D): 4 ng/mL (11-43), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP): 1029.5 lU (64-300). Parathyroid scintigraphy revealed PA. A year after Vitamin D replacement, the patient's neurological status and laboratory findings improved.r />r /> CONCLUSION: We suggest that the physicians always keep in mind the primary hyperparathyroidism (HPT) and concomitant Vitamin D deficiency in the differential diagnosis of hypercalcemia when facing atypical neurological symptoms such as tetraparesia....

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Journal Article 2010; 31(4): 573-576 PubMed PMID: 20802445 Citation  Keywords:  Adiponectin:blood, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, Female, Humans, Insulin:blood, Insulin Resistance, Leptin:blood, Organ Size, Placenta:anatomy & histology, Pregnancy, Pregnancy Trimester, First, Ultrasonography, Prenatal,.   

OBJECTIVE: The dysregulation of adiponectin and leptin is found in insulin resistance. There is evidence that both cytokines and insulin might contribute to the placental development and the fetal growth. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship of maternal plasma cytokine and insulin concentrations with the placental dimension in the first trimester of pregnancy.r />r /> METHODS: 34 women with singleton pregnancy, between 11th and 14th weeks, were included to the study. Plasma levels of adiponectin, leptin, insulin and glucose were quantified with ultrasound measurements of the placenta. HOMA-IR were calculated to assess the insulin sensitivity.r />r /> RESULTS: Mean concentrations of adiponectin, leptin and insulin were 18,39±13.99 µg/ml; 6.99±5.67 ng/ml and 43.98±23.89 pmol/l respectively. The placenta thickness was positively associated with the maternal adiponectin plasma concentration (r=0.36; p=0.037). There were no associations between placental measurements and leptin, fasting insulin, fasting glucose and HOMA-IR. There was not significant correlation between placental measurements and the fetal Crown Rump Length (CRL).r />r /> CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study imply that maternal adiponectin plasma concentration may have a role in placental growth....

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Journal Article 2010; 31(4): 438-445 PubMed PMID: 20802444 Citation  Keywords:  Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity:etiology, Brain:metabolism, Catecholamines:metabolism, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, Nerve Net:metabolism,.   

: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a most common psychiatric disorder in the childhood. The exact pathomechanisms related to ADHD core symptoms--hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattention--are still unclear. The developmental dysfunction of cortical-striatal-thalamic-cortical network combined with the dysregulation of catecholamine neurotransmitters could be responsible for symptoms of the disorder. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy is a method which allows a partial view on molecular mechanisms of biochemical and metabolic processes in human brain by in vivo measurement. We address the hypothesis of a potential pathomechanisms associated with ADHD symptoms which is based on the studies concerning magnetic resonance spectroscopy method and ADHD....

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Journal Article 2010; 31(4): 483-488 PubMed PMID: 20802443 Citation  Keywords:  Adolescent, Analysis of Variance, Autistic Disorder:blood, Body Mass Index, Child, Humans, Male, Testosterone:blood, Young Adult,.   

OBJECTIVE: Research on the biological pathophysiology of autism has found some evidence that alterations in androgenic hormones may play a role in the pathophysiology of that disorder. We studied morning concentrations of serum testosterone in a very homogenic group of postpubertal youngsters with autism and a group of normal controls.r />r /> METHODS: This study examines the serum testosterone concentration on 9 consecutive time points between 08.00 AM and 12.00 AM in 18 high- functioning male youngsters with autism (age 12-18) and 22 healthy volunteers participated in this study. All subjects passed the onset of puberty (Tanner-stage III-IV) and were of the Caucasian race.r />r /> RESULTS: Repeated measures ANOVA revealed a significant time effect, with a decline in the testosterone concentration during the test and time X diagnosis interaction.The total testosterone concentration was significantly lower in the autism group compared to the group of normal controls.r />r /> CONCLUSIONS: The significant decrease in serum testosterone concentration in male youngsters with autism suggest that the turnover of testosterone may take part in the pathophysiology of autism. Suggestions for further research are discussed....

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Journal Article 2010; 31(4): 577-581 PubMed PMID: 20802442 Citation  Keywords:  Educational Measurement, Female, Humans, Hydrocortisone:blood, Male, Radioimmunoassay, Statistics, Nonparametric, Students, Testosterone:blood, Universities,.   

OBJECTIVES: After dominance-related encounters, testosterone levels increase in winners and decrease in losers. In humans, many exceptions have been described. It is possible that the complicated patterns in humans result from the methods limitations--measurement of hormone concentrations in simulated competitive events or sport instead in real-life situations.r />r /> METHODS: Here we studied changes in hormonal levels and self-estimated attractivity in real situations, namely in students after written exams.r />r /> RESULTS: We observed that the testosterone and cortisol increased or decreased in relation to the number of wrong answers on the exam. The number of wrong answers was a better predictor of the hormonal changes (increase of both testosterone and cortisol in successful, decrease in unsuccessful students) than the self-estimated number of wrong answers or a subjectively opinionated impression from the exam. On the contrary, the concentration of hormones before the exam and self-estimated attractivity were better predictors of the subjective impression from the exam than the number of wrong answers.r />r /> CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the students' subconsciousness, which directly influences the concentration of hormones, is able to objectively estimate results of an exam better than their consciousness....

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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.r />r /> 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.r />r /> 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.r />r /> 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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