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Journal Article 2013; 34(Suppl 2): 21-24 PubMed PMID: 24362088 Citation  Keywords:  Animals, Carps:parasitology, Cestoda:chemistry, Environmental Pollution:analysis, Host-Parasite Interactions, Microcystins:analysis,.   

OBJECTIVES: Parasites have recently been recognized as accumulation indicators that take up and bio-concentrate substances from environmental pollution. Interestingly, helminths of fish are known to accumulate metals from the ambient environment and to contain several orders of magnitude higher concentrations than hosts. While the majority of reports mention inorganic toxin accumulation in parasites, studies concerning effects of organic pollution are infrequent and little is known about the potential of parasites to bio-accumulate microcystins.r />r /> METHODS: The parasite-host system of tapeworm Khawia sinensis and common carp (Cyprinus carpio) was used to address this issue. Both the tapeworms and livers were dissected from experimental carps orally exposed to cyanobacterial biomass for 20 days. The total dose of microcystins amounted to 27 mg/kg of feed, i.e., 0.4 mg/kg of fish mass a day. Microcystin concentrations in tapeworms and carp liver tissues were measured using the LC-MS/MS method.r />r /> RESULTS: Considering the three measured microcystin variants LR, YR and RR, only MC-RR was detected and its concentrations in tapeworms and carp liver tissue amounted to 5.78±3.78 ng/g and 2.11±0.74 ng/g fresh weight (p<0.05), respectively.r />r /> CONCLUSIONS: Here we show accumulation of microcystin MC-RR in the tapeworm Khawia sinensis, a parasite of common carp (Cyprinus carpio). As this is the first report addressing this issue, further studies will be necessary to examine this specific parasite-host system....

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Journal Article 2013; 34(Suppl 2): 11-20 PubMed PMID: 24362087 Citation  Keywords:  Animals, Carcinogens:toxicity, Cyanobacteria:chemistry, Food Chain, Kidney:drug effects, Liver:drug effects, Male, Microcystins:toxicity, Rats, Rats, Wistar, Spleen:drug effects,.   

OBJECTIVES: Cyanobacteria are producers of potent and environmentally abundant microcystins, representing an emerging global health issue. In the present study, we investigated the impact of pure microcystins and cyanobacterial biomass on laboratory rats (Wistar albino rats, males, 30 days old) under different exposure scenarios.r />r /> METHODS: The rats were fed diets containing fish meat with microcystins in various concentrations and forms (cyanobacterial biomass and isolated microcystins) for 28 days.r />r /> RESULTS: Although considerable amounts of microcystins (MCs) were administered to the rats, all levels of MCs in the liver were close to the detection limit (3-5 ng/g fresh weight) using liquid chromatography - tandem mass spectrometry. Only rats exposed to cyanobacterial biomass had clearly higher hepatic and splenic somatic indexes while markers of oxidative stress (glutathione-S-transferase, glutathione reductase, lipid peroxidatio) were significantly increased in the group exposed to the high dose of MCs. Most of the analysed biochemical parameters did not show clear differences among groups. Levels of bilirubin and lipases were significantly increased only after exposure to cyanobacterial biomass and MCs, respectively. Considering microscopic findings in the liver, kidney, thymus, spleen and brain, histopathology was dominated by alterations in the hepatic parenchyma and renal cortical tubular system.r />r /> CONCLUSIONS: The present study demonstrates that oral exposure to MCs and cyanobacterial biomass may induce biochemical and detoxification responses associated with damage to liver and kidneys and in the laboratory rat....

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Journal Article 2013; 34(Suppl 2): 5-10 PubMed PMID: 24362086 Citation  Keywords:  Animals, Arthropods:drug effects, Environmental Monitoring:methods, Palladium:toxicity, Platinum:analysis, Reproduction:drug effects, Rhodium:toxicity, Soil:chemistry, Soil Pollutants:analysis,.   

OBJECTIVES: Trace concentrations of the platinum group elements (PGE; Pt, Pd and Rh) are nowadays an irreplaceable part of environmental analysis and assessment. These rare elements are used as effective substances in automotive catalysts to reduce pollution by emissions originating from fuel combustion. Due to their harmful potential, it is necessary to monitor their content and behaviour in different samples. Effect assessment using ecotoxicological bioassays with organisms at different trophic levels can provide valuable pieces of information on the risk of chemical substances in the ecosystem.r />r /> DESIGN: The experiments were carried out as described in the OECD Guideline 232 [CSN ISO 11267 - Soil quality - Inhibition of reproduction of Collembola (Folsomia candida) by soil pollutants]. The reproductive effects of palladium (PdCl2) and rhodium (RhCl3) were examined. Concentrations of PGE tested were as follows: 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 µmol.L-1. The EC50 (medium effective concentration) was determined after 28 days of exposure. Inhibition of reproduction of PGE-exposed collembolans was compared against controls.r />r /> RESULTS: Values of 28dEC50 of PdCl2 and RhCl3 amounted to 21.0 µmol.L-1 and 266.22 µmol.L-1, respectively. We can confirm that the relative order of toxicities is Pd (II) > Pt(IV) > Rh(III).r />r /> CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to use Folsomia candida as an indicator species to assess the risk of soil contamination by palladium and rhodium. However, more toxicity data for various species are needed to evaluate the environmental risks of PGEs in soils....

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Journal Article 2013; 34(5): 436-445 PubMed PMID: 23922050 Citation  Keywords:  Adult, Aged, Depressive Disorder:complications, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1:complications, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2:complications, Female, Humans, Hypertension:complications, Male, Memory Disorders:complications, Memory, Short-Term, Middle Aged, Neuropsych.   

OBJECTIVES: Deterioration of the working memory is regarded as one of the most important deficits in a number of somatic diseases. The purpose of the present study was to compare the effectiveness of working memory in 4 groups of patients: 1) diagnosed with recurrent depressive disorder (rDD), 2) with diabetes type 1 (DM1), 3) with diabetes type 2 (DM2), 4) with arterial hypertension (HA) and in healthy controls (HC).r />r /> METHODS: The study comprised 300 subjects: rDD (n=99), DM1 (n=31), DM2 (n=31), HA (n=30) and HC (n=109).Cognitive function assessment was based on Trail Making Test (TMT) and the Stroop test.r />r /> RESULTS: Analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated statistically significant differences of the mean values among particular groups for each of the analysed results of the Stroop Test and TMT (p<0.0001). Patients with DM1 performed better in both TMT and Stroop tests, when compared to those diagnosed with HA. Patients with HA obtained better results than patients with DM2. Patients with rDD performed significantly worse than those with DM1 in both parts of TMT (A/time: p=0.022, B/time: p<0.001) and in the Stroop test (RCNb/time: p<0.001; NCWd/time: p=0.001; NCWd/errors: p=0.443). They also obtained worse results than patients with DM2 and HA, however, the differences were not statistically significant.r />r /> CONCLUSIONS: 1) Our study has confirmed previous results showing association between depressive disorder and cognitive impairment. 2) Patients with rDD had worse performance on working memory tasks than the patients with DM type 1, DM type 2 and HA. 3) Further investigation is needed to clarify the role of inflammatory and oxidative and nitrosative stress (O&NS) processes in neurocognitive dysfunctions occurring in recurrent depression and somatic disease....

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Journal Article 2013; 34(5): 409-417 PubMed PMID: 23922049 Citation  Keywords:  Adrenocorticotropic Hormone:blood, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone, Depressive Disorder:blood, Dexamethasone, Female, Humans, Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System:physiopathology, Male, Middle Aged, Pituitary-Adrenal Function Tes.   

OBJECTIVES: The underlying pathogenic mechanisms and predictors of recurrence in major depressive disorder are still largely unknown. Hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis and hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis dysregulation are thought to be related to the development and course of depression.r />r /> DESIGN AND SETTING: Over a ten-year period, we investigated whether the results of thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) testing and combined dexamethasone/corticotropin-releasing hormone (DEX/CRH) testing could be correlated with the recurrence of depression in 25 outpatients with clinically remitted major depression for at least 10 years.r />r /> MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-five patients (16 women and 9 men, 48.1 years of age, SD=11.4, range 22-84) with major depressive disorder were available for evaluation during hospitalization. TRH and DEX/CRH tests were administered at admission.r />r /> RESULTS: Patients who recurred within ten years after remission exhibited significantly higher thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) responses to TRH at the time of admission compared to those who did not recur. There was no significant correlation between recurrence and DEX/CRH levels after controlling for age, sex, and body mass index.r />r /> CONCLUSION: The findings of this study suggest that the TRH test may predict future recurrence in patients with depression....

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Journal Article 2013; 34(5): 383-387 PubMed PMID: 23922048 Citation  Keywords:  Animals, Autonomic Nervous System:drug effects, Cholinesterase Inhibitors:pharmacology, Heart Rate:drug effects, Indans:pharmacology, Male, Piperidines:pharmacology, Rats, Rats, Wistar,.   

OBJECTIVE: Donepezil, a cholinesterase inhibitor (ChEI) that is widely used to treat Alzheimer's disease, is thought to act by increasing extracellular acethylcholine (ACh) in the central nervous system. The effects of the administration of ChEIs on the autonomic nervous system, however, are complex and controversial.r />r /> METHODS: In this study we observed the effects of donepezil at a dose of 3 mg/kg intraperitoneally (i.p.) on the autonomic nervous system for two weeks using heart rate variability (HRV). In HRV, the high frequency (HF) band is influenced by cardiac parasympathetic tone, and the low frequency (LF) band is influenced by both sympathetic and parasympathetic activity. The ratio of LF and HF (LF/HF) is used for the assessment of the sympathetic nervous system.r />r /> RESULTS: In the current study the LF/HF was found to be significantly increased by day 1, but the magnitude of the response gradually decreased. The absolute power of HF increased after an i.p of donepezil of 3 mg daily in groups treated for 1 week and for 2 weeks compared to the single-dose groups.r />r /> CONCLUSION: Our results suggested that ChEI administration induced sympathetic nervous activation acutely, but chronic administration induced parasympathetic activation....

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Case Reports 2013; 34(5): 339-342 PubMed PMID: 23922047 Citation  Keywords:  Acromegaly:complications, Adenoma:complications, Adult, Diabetes Mellitus, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Pituitary Apoplexy:complications, Pituitary Neoplasms:complications, Remission, Spontaneous, Sella Turcica:pathology,.   

OBJECTIVES: Pituitary apoplexy is a rare clinical syndrome associated with rapid enlargement of a pituitary mass. We report the initial presentation, subsequent course and outcome of an acromegalic patient who developed spontaneous remission following pituitary apoplexy with pathologic findings of tumor infarction.r />r /> CLINICAL PRESENTATION: A 38 year-old man with typical acromegalic features was referred to our hospital. He had been diabetic and hypertensive. His basal GH and IGF-1 levels were high (80 µg/L and 747 ng/mL respectively). Sella MRI showed a macroadenoma about 19×20 mm in size. He admitted to emergency department with complains of severe frontal headache accompanied by nausea and vomiting two days after MRI was taken. His neurological examination and visual field test were normal. Emergent MRI of the sella disclosed an enhancing intrasellar mass of 24×23 mm compressing the optic chiasm. The patient underwent transsphenoidal decompression of the lesion. Histological examination revealed an adenomatous tissue showing nonhemorrhagic coagulation necrosis. Before surgery, his GH levels declined to 2.72 µg/L spontaneously and after surgery he was in remission even leading to a state of growth hormone deficiency.r />r /> CONCLUSION: When apoplexy occurs in functioning adenomas, it may cause spontaneous remission. However pituitary apoplexy due to tumor infarction is very rare. Various precipitating factors have been reported in 25-30% of pituitary apoplexy patients. Diabetes mellitus and diabetic ketoacidosis are one of these. The presence of contrast media induced endothelial swelling with the result of hypoperfusion and diabetes mellitus associated vasculopathy might be a precipitating factor in this patient....

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Journal Article 2013; 34(5): 388-394 PubMed PMID: 23922046 Citation  Keywords:  Adolescent, Child, Child, Preschool, Female, Ghrelin:blood, Humans, Leptin:blood, Male, Nephrotic Syndrome:blood,.   

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the serum and urinary levels of leptin and ghrelin in children with primary idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (NS), to compare these results between patients during the relapse and remission phase and to evaluate the possible role of leptin and ghrelin in the pathogenesis of NS.r />r /> PATIENTS AND METHODS: Forty-nine children with primary idiopathic NS (25 children with relapse and 24 children in remission), who were followed up at the Pediatric Nephrology Unit, enrolled. Twenty-eight age- and sex-matched healthy children served as controls. Serum and urinary leptin levels were determined by immunoenzymatic ELISA, and serum and urinary ghrelin levels were determined by the RIA method.r />r /> RESULTS: The serum leptin levels were significantly lower in the children with NS during the relapse phase than in the children with NS during remission or in the controls (1.42±0.34 ng/dl and 3.60±0.70 ng/ml; p<0.01, 1.42±0.34 ng/ml and 5.27±4.67 ng/ml; p<0.001, respectively). The urinary leptin excretion levels were significantly higher in the relapse group than in the controls (0.40±0.11 ng/ml and 0.12±0.06 ng/ml, p<0.01, respectively). The serum ghrelin levels were similar between the study groups (p>0.05). The urinary ghrelin excretion levels were significantly higher in the relapse group than in the remission group and the controls (965.0 pg/ml [93-3711] and 679.7 pg/ml [93-3783], p<0.05; 965.0 pg/ml [93-3711] and 387.7 pg/ml [114-1214], p<0.001, respectively). The urinary ghrelin levels were also significantly higher in the remission group than in the controls (679.7 pg/ml [93-3783] and 387.7 pg/ml [114-1214]), p<0.01, respectively). The serum leptin levels were positively correlated with the serum albumin levels (r=0.440, p<0.05) and were negatively correlated with the serum triglyceride levels during the relapse phase. The urinary leptin and ghrelin levels were positively correlated with proteinuria in the relapse group.r />r /> CONCLUSIONS: We propose that leptin plays a role in the pathophysiology of NS and is associated with proteinuria, hypoproteinemia and hyperlipidemia. The significant urinary excretion of ghrelin in children with NS is possibly due to underlying pathophysiological changes, and normal serum ghrelin levels might be associated with an unknown compensatory mechanism....

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