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Journal Article 2009; 30(4): 530-534 PubMed PMID: 20010495 Citation  Keywords:  Alpha-Globulins:metabolism, Animals, Antineoplastic Agents:pharmacology, Beta-Globulins:metabolism, Immune System:drug effects, Lymphocyte Count, Male, Mice, Monocytes:cytology, Neutrophils:cytology, Plant Extracts:pharmacology, Plant Proteins:pharmacolog.   

OBJECTIVES: Anticancer preparations made from plants have been an object of scientific interest for many years. It is worth noting that as many as 25% of cytostatics used in the anticancer chemotherapy are obtained from plants. One of the medical preparations which significantly influences cell metabolism is Iscador. Iscador preparations are used as complementary therapy in the conventional anticancer treatment. These are aqueous extracts of mistletoe (Viscum album L.). One repeatedly finds that mistletoe (Viscum album L.) extracts show immune-modulating effects. THE AIM at the present work was to study the influence of iscador Qu, M, P at a dose 5 mg/kg b.w., on the total protein concentration in blood serum and proportions of blood protein fractions determined by electrophoresis. Additionally leukocyte activity was estimated, which, served as indicators of the immune system reactivity in mice treated with anticancer preparations of vegetable origin.r />r /> RESULTS: The experiment indicated statistically significant increase in albumin fraction level and lymphocyte count. Moreover, decrease of the total protein content, protein fractions globulins alpha2, beta, gamma and neutrophil, monocyte count in mouse serum was observed....

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Journal Article 2009; 30(4): 453-457 PubMed PMID: 20010494 Citation  Keywords:  Accidental Falls, Activities of Daily Living, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Fear:psychology, Female, Gait Disorders, Neurologic:physiopathology, Health Status, Humans, Linear Models, Male, Middle Aged, Parkinson Disease:physiopathology, Quality of Life,.   

: We assessed the influence of gait disorders (GD) on quality of life (QOL) in Parkinson's disease (PD). In a survey including the PDQ-39 and a new 8-item questionnaire of GD (8-QGD), 491 PD patients estimated their gait at the worst state, the effect of their GD on activities of daily living, compared the severity of GD with the other PD symptoms, evaluated the occurrence of freezing of gait (FOG), levodopa-resistant FOG, falls, activity limitation due to fear of falling (FOF), and the occurrence of injuries. Significant differences in PDQ-39 scores were found between three groups of patients divided with respect to the severity of GD. Linear multiple regression analysis showed that FOF had the highest impact on PDQ-39 scores (r=0.32, p<0.001). These results confirm that GD have a substantial impact upon the QOL in PD and suggest that FOF plays a major role in QOL deterioration....

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Journal Article 2009; 30(4): 462-469 PubMed PMID: 20010493 Citation  Keywords:  Adult, Antidepressive Agents:therapeutic use, Biomarkers:blood, Cardiovascular Diseases:epidemiology, Chronic Disease, Depressive Disorder, Major:blood, Drug Resistance, Fatigue:blood, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Oxidative Stress:physiology, Risk F.   

INTRODUCTION: There is now evidence that major depression is accompanied by an induction of inflammatory and oxidative and nitrosative stress (IO&NS) pathways and by a lowered antioxidant status. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a strong antioxidant that has anti-inflammatory effects.r />r /> METHODS: This paper examines the plasma concentrations of CoQ10 in 35 depressed patients and 22 normal volunteers and the relationships between plasma CoQ10 and treatment resistant depression (TRD), the severity of illness as measured by means of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) and the presence of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).r />r /> RESULTS: We found that plasma CoQ10 was significantly (p=0.0002) lower in depressed patients than in normal controls. 51.4% of the depressed patients had plasma CoQ10 values that were lower than the lowest plasma CoQ10 value detected in the controls. Plasma CoQ10 was significantly lower in patients with TRD and with CFS than in the other depressed patients. There were no significant correlations between plasma CoQ10 and the HDRS.r />r /> DISCUSSION: The results show that lower CoQ10 plays a role in the pathophysiology of depression and in particular in TRD and CFS accompanying depression. It is suggested that depressed patients may benefit from CoQ10 supplementation. The findings that lower CoQ10 is a risk factor to coronary artery disease and chronic heart failure (CHF) and mortality due to CHF suggest that low CoQ10 is another factor explaining the risk to cardiovascular disorder in depression. Since statins significantly lower plasma CoQ10, depressed patients and in particular those with TRD and CFS represent populations at risk to statin treatment....

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Journal Article 2009; 30(4): 496-500 PubMed PMID: 20010492 Citation  Keywords:  Cerebral Cortex:physiology, Decision Making:physiology, Emotions:physiology, Female, Game Theory, Games, Experimental, Gyrus Cinguli:physiology, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Social Behavior, Young Adult,.   

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the roles of the insula and the anterior cingulate activations in the rejection of unfair offers in the impunity game.r />r /> METHODS: Fifteen participants played the impunity game in ten trials as responders during neuroimaging.r />r /> RESULTS: About 45% of the unfair offers were rejected by the responders even when responders could not restore a fair outcome, which cannot be accounted for by social preference of inequity aversion. Imaging data showed that the right anterior insula was activated when participants faced and rejected unfair offers.r />r /> CONCLUSIONS: The insula activation during a rejection of the unfair offers is the reflection of an emotional response, rather than social preference of inequity aversion. The role of emotion in the neuroeconomics of fairness was demonstrated....

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Journal Article 2009; 30(4): 429-436 PubMed PMID: 20010491 Citation  Keywords:  Animals, Autistic Disorder:pathology, Cell Adhesion Molecules, Neuronal:physiology, Cell Movement:physiology, Disease Models, Animal, Extracellular Matrix Proteins:physiology, Humans, Nerve Tissue Proteins:physiology, Neuronal Plasticity:physiology, Neuro.   

: Autism is the most genetically influenced neuropsychiatric disorder with heritability of approximately 90%. Since genetic factors seem to play a crucial role in autism etiology, enormous attention is focused on genetic analyses of the disorder. Reelin, one of the autism candidates, is necessary in regulation of neuronal migration during brain development and also in maintaining synaptic plasticity during postnatal life period. Reduced reelin levels were observed in sera and brain cortices of autistic patients. In this review, abnormalities in reelin signaling and the relationship between reelin deficiency and principal neuroendocrine pathways are discussed....

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Case Reports 2009; 30(4): 450-452 PubMed PMID: 20010490 Citation  Keywords:  Adult, Albumins:therapeutic use, Cordocentesis, Female, Fetal Therapies, Humans, Hydrops Fetalis:diagnosis, Infant, Newborn, Paracentesis, Pregnancy, Pregnancy Outcome, Premature Birth,.   

BACKGROUND: Nonimmune hydrops fetalis (NHF) is an abnormal accumulation of fluid - especially serous - in visceral cavities and soft tissues. This condition may be caused by: cardiovascular diseases, chromosomal disorders, infections, lung, stomach, intestinal, kidneys, urinary tract and blood diseases, metabolic disorders and tumors. NHF may by diagnosed by an ultrasound scan. THE AIM of the study was to present diagnostic and therapeutic difficulties as well as management with reference to NHF.r />r /> CASE STUDY: An abnormal accumulation of fluid in visceral cavities and subcutaneous tissue of two fetuses was diagnosed by an ultrasound scan. Despite a detailed and specific diagnostic proceeding which included: infections, congenital malformations, chromosomal abnormalities etc. it was impossible to establish the cause of NHF. The symptomatic therapy was performed: periodic cordocentesis with an injection of human albumin solutions. In case of the first fetus therapeutic thoracocentesis was performed. The fetuses were delivered in 32nd and 31st week of pregnancy. Both neonates survived but even after the delivery it was impossible to establish the cause of NHF.r />r /> CONCLUSIONS: Multidirectional diagnostic approach is essential for the implementation of causal treatment of NHF. In case of idiopathic NHF the only management is symptomatic therapy, fetal monitoring and preterm delivery....

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Journal Article 2009; 30(4): 535-539 PubMed PMID: 20010489 Citation  Keywords:  Age of Onset, Biomarkers:blood, Fetal Blood, Humans, Infant, Newborn, Infant, Newborn, Diseases:blood, Infection:blood, Interleukin-6:blood, Morbidity, Pneumonia:blood, Prevalence, Sensitivity and Specificity,.   

UNLABELLED: Perinatal infections exert considerably negative effects on morbidity and mortality of newborns.r />r /> HYPOTHESIS: elevations of cytokine IL levels may be used as a marker of early-onset neonatal infections.r />r /> TARGETS: to establish relationships between elevated IL 6 cytokine levels and neonatal morbidity (cranial and pulmonary).r />r /> METHODS: examinations of the umbilical blood for IL 6 values in 392 newborns weighing under 1500 g treated in Ceské Budĕjovice at the Intensive Care Unit and Unit of Intensive Care and Resuscitation.r />r /> RESULTS: a statistically significant relationship was demonstrated between elevations of cytokine IL 6 levels and pulmonary morbidity in newborns.r />r /> DISCUSSION: the authors recommend examination of cytokine IL levels in the umbilical blood with a possibility to acquire the result within 2 hours after the delivery, which makes neonatologists possible to initiate goal-directed antibiotic therapy....

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Journal Article 2009; 30(4): 482-486 PubMed PMID: 20010488 Citation  Keywords:  Adult, Brain Diseases:complications, Child, Cohort Studies, Epilepsy:epidemiology, Hospitalization:statistics & numerical data, Humans, Incidence, Retrospective Studies, Seizures, Febrile:epidemiology, Slovakia:epidemiology, Substance-Related Disorders:co.   

BACKGROUND: Approximately 5% of the general population experiences at least one unprovoked epileptic seizure in the lifetime. This is in contrast to the cumulative incidence of epilepsy (approx. 3-4%) and incidence of acute symptomatic seizures (approx. 4%). Nearly 2% of the population experiences a febrile seizure before the 5 years of age. The aim of this article was evaluation of the distribution of acute symptomatic and unprovoked seizures in our patient cohort after the solitary epileptic seizures, as well as determination of particular etiological factors responsible for the occurrence of solitary epileptic seizure.r />r /> MATERIAL AND METHODS: Our patient cohort comprised 116 patients experiencing the solitary epileptic seizure, who were hospitalised at the 1st Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine of Comenius University and Faculty Hospital in Bratislava, Slovakia over a period of 10 years (January 1, 1997 - January 1, 2007). It is a retrospective analysis of data from case records and health records; eventually we contacted the patients by phone or by sending a questionnaire.r />r /> RESULTS: Of the 116 patients there were 32 cases (37.12%) of an acute symptomatic seizure and 84 cases (62.88%) of an unprovoked seizure. In the group of unprovoked solitary epileptic seizures the etiological conclusions were idiopathic and cryptogenic in 35 cases (41.7%) and late symptomatic in 49 cases (58.3%). The most frequent etiological factor in the group of acute symptomatic seizures was alcohol (40.6%). In the subgroup of late symptomatic seizures the etiology was mostly vascular (17.85%).r />r /> CONCLUSION: Data management of etiological factors responsible for the solitary epileptic seizure confirmed a need for a thorough evaluation of the first epileptic seizure....

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