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Case Reports 2008; 29(3): 295-302 PubMed PMID: 18580843 Citation  Keywords:  Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic:therapeutic use, Bipolar Disorder:drug therapy, Brain:pathology, Clomipramine:therapeutic use, Depression:drug therapy, Electroencephalography, Humans, Magnetoencephalography, Male, Middle Aged, Parietal Lobe:physiology, R.   

BACKGROUND: QEEG cordance and low-resolution electromagnetic tomography (LORETA) are relatively new applications of QEEG. Four small-scale studies have shown that decreases of QEEG prefrontal theta cordance after the first week on new antidepressants predict clinical response to treatment in patients with unipolar depression.r />r /> METHODS: We calculated prefrontal theta cordance and changes in 3D distribution of brain electrical activity using LORETA in the case of a 54-year old man experiencing his third depressive episode.r />r /> RESULTS: We did not detect a decrease of prefrontal theta cordance after one week of new treatment and the patient did not respond to this therapy after four weeks. However, we observed a decrease of prefrontal theta cordance after the first week of clomipramine therapy. Manic symptoms emerged after two weeks of clomipramine treatment. A decrease of prefrontal theta cordance preceded the clomipramine induced switch to hypomania during the next episode of depression also. LORETA before and during clomipramine therapies detected a significant increase of theta in the right postcentralis gyrus in the parietal lobe, and a borderline increase of alfa2 in the right middle frontal gyrus.r />r /> DISCUSSION: In a patient with bipolar spectrum disorder we found that a treefold change in theta prefrontal cordance preceded mood changes in a similar way as in patients with unipolar depression. We speculate that the changes detected by LORETA can attributed to the anticholinergic activity of clomipramine and the specific effects of a mood switch. Our data suggest that the new applications of QEEG can be sensitive to mood changes and have potential in bipolar disorder research....

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Journal Article 2008; 29(3): 303-311 PubMed PMID: 18580842 Citation  Keywords:  Adult, Amniotic Fluid:physiology, Bayes Theorem, Biomarkers, Cesarean Section, Cytokines:blood, Delivery, Obstetric, Female, Fetal Blood:chemistry, Humans, Infant, Newborn, Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1:blood, Interleukin-6:blood, Interleukin-8:blood,.   

BACKGROUND: Intraamniotic infections negatively affect the mortality and morbidity in parturients and newborns. The prognosis of the disease is associated with a timely diagnosis of these conditions. One of approaches to providing timely information on the risk of the initiation of intra-amniotic infection and early-onset neonatal sepsis is the examination of cytokine levels.r />r /> OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the work was to evaluate the importance of the cytokines, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-alpha, and the adhesive molecule, sICAM-1, as risk factors for early-onset neonatal sepsis and intra-amniotic infections.r />r /> METHODS: In a group of 152 women we sampled the blood from the umbilical cord vein immediately after delivery for the determination of the cytokines IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-alpha, and the adhesive molecule, sICAM-1, in newborns.r />r /> RESULTS: The sensitivity and specificity results are as follows, respectively: IL-6, 0.800 and 0.972; TNF-alpha, 0.364 and 0.943; IL-8, 0.875 and 0.965; and sICAM-1, 0.833 and 0.952.r />r /> CONCLUSIONS: For screening purposes, it is suitable to determine levels of IL-8, IL-6, and sICAM-1. For the screening examination, one of the cytokines mentioned is sufficient, i.e., IL-8 or IL-6, or the level of the adhesive molecule, sICAM-1. It is unnecessary to combine these markers....

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Journal Article 2008; 29(3): 281-286 PubMed PMID: 18580841 Citation  Keywords:  Autistic Disorder:pathology, Brain:pathology, Child, Diagnostic Imaging, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging,.   

: Structural neuroimaging studies done by means of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have provided important insights into the neurobiological basis for autism. The aim of this article is to review the current state of knowledge regarding structural brain abnormalities in autism. Results of MRI studies dealing with total brain volume, the volume of the cerebellum, caudate nucleus, thalamus, amygdala, hippocampus and the area of the corpus callosum are summarized. Existing research suggests that autistic individuals have larger total brain, cerebellar and caudate nucleus volumes; however, the area of the corpus callosum is reduced. Results of studies involving the amygdala and hippocampus volume in autistic subjects remain inconsistent and no changes have been detected in thalamic volume....

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Journal Article 2008; 29(3): 287-291 PubMed PMID: 18580840 Citation  Keywords:  Animals, Anti-Inflammatory Agents:pharmacology, Antidepressive Agents:pharmacology, Biomarkers, Brain Chemistry:drug effects, Cytokines:physiology, Depression:drug therapy, Humans, Inflammation:drug therapy, Intestinal Absorption:physiology, Intestinal Mu.   

: This paper hypothesizes that inflammatory, oxidative and nitrosative (IO&NS) pathways, and an increased translocation of LPS from gram-negative bacteria are causally related to depression following external (psychological) and internal (organic) stressors and that IO&NS pathways are novel targets for antidepressant development. We review that depression is accompanied by an inflammatory reaction as indicated by an increased production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), IL-6, tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interferon-gamma (IFN)-gamma. These cytokines are stress-sensitive and may cause depressive behaviors. The latter may be induced by an increased catabolism of tryptophan, the precursor of serotonin, to neurotoxic TRYCATs (tryptophan catabolites along the indoleamine oxidase pathway). Inflammatory biomarkers are detected in animal models of depression. Newly developed animal models of depression are based on induced inflammation. Most if not all antidepressants have specific anti-inflammatory effects. Anti-inflammatory compounds may augment the clinical efficacy of antidepressants. Depression is also accompanied by an IgM-related (auto)immune response directed against disrupted lipid membrane components, such as phosphatidyl-inositol, by-products of lipid peroxidation, e.g. azelaic acid and malondialdehyde, and NO-modified amino-acids, which are normally not detected by the immune system but due to damage caused by O&NS have become immunogenic. Increased translocation of lipopolysaccharide from gram-negative bacteria, which may be induced by internal and external stressors, may further aggravate the induced IO&NS pathways....

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Journal Article 2008; 29(3): 347-350 PubMed PMID: 18580839 Citation  Keywords:  ACTH-Secreting Pituitary Adenoma:metabolism, Adenoma:metabolism, Adrenocorticotropic Hormone:metabolism, Adult, Cushing Syndrome:blood, Female, Humans, Immunohistochemistry, Ki-67 Antigen:blood, Male, Nelson Syndrome:blood, Paraffin Embedding, Pituitary H.   

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to evaluate the ACTH-immunopositive pituitary adenomas, especially those without manifestation of Cushing's diseaser />r /> MATERIAL AND METHODS: 148 pituitary adenomas removed surgically in years 1994--2007 were studied. The paraffin sections were immunostained with antibodies against the pituitary hormones. In 79 adenomas the immunostaining with anti-ACTH antibody was performed Additionally, 23 tumors were also immunostained with anti-Ki-67 (MIB-1) antibody. Visualization of reactions was done by means of streptavidin-biotin-peroxidase technique with use of 3,3'-diaminobenzidine as chromogen.r />r /> RESULTS: ACTH immunopositivity was found in 34 cases (23%). Fourteen ACTH-immunopositive tumors manifested themselves as Cushing's disease (including 1 case of Nelson's syndrome). In the remaining 20 cases in spite of the positive immunostaining for ACTH of the tumor cells, no features of hypercortisolism were observed (in several cases even hypocortisolism was found). Thus, those tumors represented so-called "silent" corticotropinomas. Over one third (37%) of "clinically" nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas, when immunostained with anti-ACTH antibody, showed ACTH immunopositivity. Three adenomas in patients with Cushing's disease (21.4%) and 7 "silent" corticotropinomas (35%) were recurrent tumors. In contrast, the recurrence rate in the group of ACTH-immunonegative clinically nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas was 14.7%. The "silent" corticotropinomas exhibited a tendency towards the higher expression of a proliferation marker, Ki-67 antigen as compared to the "active" corticotropinomas.r />r /> CONCLUSIONS: (i) "Silent" corticotropinomas are rather frequent. (ii) This adenoma type should be considered as aggressive. (iii) It is hypothetized that--like in Nelson's syndrome--the lack of hypercortisolism or even presence of hypocortisolism favorizes the exaggerated growth of tumoral corticotrophs....

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Comparative Study 2008; 29(2): 240-245 PubMed PMID: 18404145 Citation  Keywords:  Adult, Aged, CD4 Lymphocyte Count, CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes:cytology, Case-Control Studies, Female, Flow Cytometry, Humans, Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit:metabolism, Male, Middle Aged, Neoplasms:blood, Phenotype, Prognosis, Survival Analysis, T-L.   

AIM: Regulatory T cells (Treg) that prevent autoimmune diseases by suppression of self-reactive T cells may also suppress the immune response against cancer. Experimental tumor models in mice revealed that Tregs are potent inhibitors of an antitumor immune response. The purpose of the study was to identify a CD4+ population of regulatory T cells expressing high levels of CD25(CD4+CD25 high) in the peripheral blood of cancer patients and provide the opportunity to determine whether cancer patients exhibit an expanded CD4+CD25high pool.r />r /> METHODS: The frequency of CD4+CD25high in the peripheral blood of 62 cancer patients and 15 healthy donors was determined by flow cytometry.r />r /> RESULTS: Compared with healthy donors, cancer patients have an increasing prevalence of CD4+CD25high T cells in the peripheral blood with characteristics of Tregs, i.e. they are CD45-RA(), CD69(-). Among patients, those with higher percentages of CD4+CD25high T cells had a poor prognosis than did those with lower percentages.r />r /> CONCLUSION: We provide evidence of an increased pool of CD4+CD25high in the peripheral blood of cancer patients, which may be related to immunosuppression and tumor progress in cancer patients. This finding suggests that the use of immunomodulatory therapy to treat cancer patients may be an effective strategy....

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Journal Article 2008; 29(2): 256-260 PubMed PMID: 18404143 Citation  Keywords:  Adolescent, Adult, Complement System Proteins:analysis, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Multiple Sclerosis:blood, Neuromyelitis Optica:blood, Thyroxine:blood, Triiodothyronine:blood,.   

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to assess serum levels of thyroid hormones (TH) and complement C3, C4, CH50 in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and neuromyelitis optica (NMO), and investigate whether there is a correlation between serum TH and complement factors in these patients.r />r /> METHODS: One hundred and eighty-eight MS patients and sixty-five NMO patients were included in this study. The levels of serum TH were measured by magnetic antibody enzyme linking immunoassay and complement C3, C4 and CH50 were determined by immunoturbidimetry.r />r /> RESULTS: The levels of TT4, complement C4 and CH50 in the serum were significantly higher in NMO patients than that in the MS. There were no significant differences in serum TT3, FT3, FT4 concentrations between NMO and MS patient. In MS patients, significant correlations between mean EDSS levels and serum C3 (r=0.223, p=0.014), and serum C4 (r=0.216, p=0.017) were found, and serum TT3 was positively correlated with serum CH50 (r=0.342, p=0.01). In NMO patients, the positive association between serum FT4 and C4 (r=0.533, p=0.006) were also found.r />r /> CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that NMO patients has different serum TH and complement C3, C4 and CH50 levels from MS patients, and that serum TH levels is correlated with CH50 and C4 in these patients, suggesting TH may play a different role in modulating the complement activation in MS and NMO....

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Journal Article 2008; 29(2): 235-239 PubMed PMID: 18404142 Citation  Keywords:  Adult, Depressive Disorder:blood, Dissociative Disorders:blood, Female, Humans, Hydrocortisone:blood, Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System:physiopathology, Male, Middle Aged, Pituitary-Adrenal System:physiopathology, Somatoform Disorders:blood, Stress, Physiolo.   

OBJECTIVE: According to recent findings neuroendocrine response related to dissociative symptoms is related to dysregulation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis but HPA axis functioning as related to dissociation is only partially understood.r />r /> METHOD: With the aim to test the relationship between basal serum cortisol and dissociative symptoms measured as somatoform and psychic dissociation we performed clinical testing and biochemical analysis in 30 inpatients with diagnosis of unipolar depression (mean age 41.46, SD=13.68).r />r /> RESULTS: The results show that cortisol as an index of HPA axis functioning manifests significant relationship to somatoform dissociative symptoms (r=-0.40; p=0.014).r />r /> CONCLUSIONS: The result indicates relationship between HPA-axis reactivity and somatoform dissociative symptoms in unipolar depressive patients and suggests that somatoform dissociation presents a defense mechanism related to a passive coping response....

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