Search NEL Online

Journal Article 2012; 33(5): 499-504 PubMed PMID: 23090267 Citation  Keywords:  Adult, Erectile Dysfunction:blood, Follicle Stimulating Hormone:blood, Genetic Predisposition to Disease:genetics, Genotype, Humans, Luteinizing Hormone:blood, Male, Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (NADPH2):genetics, Middle Aged, Polymorphism, Single .   

OBJECTIVES: The methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) enzyme activity plays an important role in the metabolism of folate within methionine-homocysteine pathway and, consequently, in the development of vascular diseases. The C677T polymorphism (rs1801133) of the MTHFR gene affects the MTHFR activity, modifies the homocysteine plasma concentration and, among others, increases the risks for idiopathic male infertility, including erectile dysfunction (ED). As this sexual dysfunction is related to sex hormone levels, we investigated a possible relationship between the C677T polymorphism of the MTHFR gene and plasma concentrations of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) as well as luteinizing hormone (LH) in male patients with ED.r />r /> METHODS: We conducted our study on 90 healthy men with ED between the age of 32 and 61 (mean age was 51.1 ± 11.5) years. The subjects were genotyped and their FSH and LH plasma levels were analysed.r />r /> RESULTS: The analysis results of ED patients and their genotypes of the MTHFR gene did not provide evidence supporting any causal association of T allele in CT and TT genotypes with studied clinical parameters. However, we found that patients with the CC genotype had significantly higher plasma levels of LH than patients with the CT and/or TT genotypes.r />r /> CONCLUSIONS: Our observations suggest that the C677T polymorphism of MTHFR gene has no direct relationship to erectile dysfunction, but does exhibit a relationship between this rs1801133 polymorphism and plasma LH concentrations....

Read abstract  Full text PDF

Clinical Trial 2012; 33(5): 493-498 PubMed PMID: 23090266 Citation  Keywords:  Adult, Antipsychotic Agents:administration & dosage, Benzodiazepines:administration & dosage, Body Mass Index, Clozapine:administration & dosage, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2:chemically induced, Female, Humans, Hyperglycemia:chemically induced, Hyperlipidemi.   

OBJECTIVES: This study was undertaken to examine if patients exhibit more pronounced metabolic abnormalities after 8-year treatment with clozapine or olanzapine than before, and also to investigate whether there exist any differences between long-term clozapine and olanzapine therapies regarding metabolic side- effects.r />r /> METHODS: Fifty psychiatric outpatients diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and on treatment with clozapine or olanzapine were studied during 8 years. Fasting blood or serum samples for glucose, lipids, prolactin and antipsychotic drug concentrations were analyzed. In addition, body mass index was calculated.r />r /> RESULTS: More patients treated with olanzapine compared with those treated with clozapine ended with their medication, in most cases because of diabetes mellitus and/or hyperlipidemia, during the 8-year follow-up. Also more patients treated with olanzapine compared with those treated with clozapine developed manifest diabetes mellitus during the 8-year period. Prolactin levels were higher in the patients treated with olanzapine compared with in those treated with clozapine at study start, but there were no differences in the other parameters between the treatment groups at study start. In the patients remaining on their medication all 8 years, the glucose level increased over time in the clozapine group, but not in the olanzapine group, whereas body mass index and lipids were unchanged over time in both treatment groups.r />r /> CONCLUSIONS: Our findings point to that both olanzapine and clozapine long-term treatments cause development of hyperglycemia and/or hyperlipidemia. Furthermore, olanzapine long-term treatment seems to more often lead to development of manifest diabetes mellitus than long-term treatment with clozapine....

Read abstract  Full text PDF

Case Reports 2012; 33(5): 489-492 PubMed PMID: 23090265 Citation  Keywords:  Basal Ganglia Diseases:diagnostic imaging, Chorea:diagnostic imaging, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2:complications, Female, Humans, Hyperglycinemia, Nonketotic:complications, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Middle Aged, Putamen:diagnostic imaging, Tomography, X-Ra.   

: A case of a 61-year-old woman with hemichorea associated with nonketotic hyperglycemia is reported. The typical presentation of this disease is nonketotic hyperglycemia, hemichorea, hyper-intense signal on T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and high-density on computed tomography (CT) in the contralateral striatum. With good glycemic control, the clinical symptoms disappeared....

Read abstract  Full text PDF

Case Reports 2012; 33(5): 483-488 PubMed PMID: 23090264 Citation  Keywords:  Adult, Critical Illness, Dopamine Agonists:therapeutic use, Female, Humans, Neurosurgical Procedures:methods, Pituitary Apoplexy:drug therapy, Pituitary Neoplasms:drug therapy, Pregnancy, Pregnancy Complications:drug therapy, Prolactinoma:drug therapy, Sp.   

: Prolactinoma is the most common secreting pituitary adenoma. It is typically diagnosed in women of reproductive age and is common cause of infertility. Currently the treatment of choice is pharmacotherapy with dopamine agonists, whereas surgical treatment is reserved for a selected group of patients. Pituitary-tumor apoplexy is a rare, life-threatening condition associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The authors present the case of a 25-year-old woman with prolactinoma treated with dopamine agonist. In course of such a treatment the patient became pregnant. The bromocriptine was gradually withdrawn. In the 14th week of pregnancy she was admitted for symptoms suggesting pituitary tumor apoplexy. The treatment with bromocriptine was reinitiated. In the 20th week of pregnancy further deterioration of the patient's neurological condition and visual-field abnormalities were observed. The patient was qualified for surgical treatment - selective transsphenoidal adenomectomy. The successful surgery led to improvement of neurological condition. The early postoperative PRL level decreased significantly and hormonal function of the pituitary was preserved. The pregnancy ended in 38th week with a caesarean section. Endocrinological evaluation conducted after the uneventful delivery confirmed normal function of the pituitary. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) did not reveal tumor re-growth. The patient is kept under constant medical care. In this case study the authors discussed therapeutic management and reviewed literature regarding gestational pituitary-tumor apoplexy with particular emphasis on surgical treatment....

Read abstract  Full text PDF

Case Reports 2012; 33(5): 477-482 PubMed PMID: 23090263 Citation  Keywords:  Adult, Anorexia Nervosa:diagnosis, Anthropometry, Body Mass Index, Body Weight, Case-Control Studies, Female, Humans, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder:diagnosis, Outpatients:psychology, Pilot Projects, Thinness:diagnosis, Young Adult,.   

OBJECTIVE: Weight preoccupations have been frequently reported in normal-weight subjects. Subthreshold anorexia nervosa (s-AN, all DSM IV TR criteria except amenorrhea or underweight) is a form of eating disorder not otherwise specified that has received scarce scientific attention. Under a case-control design we compared the general characteristics, body composition, and psychopathological features of normal-weight patients with s-AN with those of BMI- and sex-matched controls.r />r /> DESIGN: Participants in this pilot study included 9 normal-weight women who met the DSM IV TR criteria for s-AN and 18 BMI-matched normal-weight controls. The general characteristics of the study participants were collected by questionnaire. Body composition was measured by bioelectrical impedance. Behavioral and psychological measures included the standardized symptom checklist (SCL-90-R) and the eating disorder inventory (EDI-2).r />r /> RESULTS: There were no differences in age, education, employment status, marital status, and history of previous slimming treatment in the two study groups. In addition, anthropometric measures and body composition of s-AN patients and BMI-matched normal weight controls were not significantly different. In the s-AN subgroup, we found a significant relationship between waist circumference and the SCL-90-R obsessivity-compulsivity scale (n=9, r=-0.69, p<0.05). After multiple regression analysis, the SCL-90-R obsessivity-compulsivity scale (beta = 0.61, t=2.7, p=0.017) was the only independent predictor of the presence s-AN in our study cohort.r />r /> CONCLUSIONS: These pilot results suggest that psychopathological criteria (particularly related to the obsessivity-compulsivity dimension) may be more useful than anthropometric measures for screening of s-AN in normal-weight women....

Read abstract  Full text PDF

Journal Article 2012; 33(5): 471-476 PubMed PMID: 23090262 Citation  Keywords:  Algorithms, Brain:physiology, Entropy, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging:methods, Models, Neurological, Signal-To-Noise Ratio,.   

: Entropy is a measure of information content or complexity. Information-theoretic modeling has been successfully used in various biological data analyses including functional magnetic resonance (fMRI). Several studies have tested and evaluated entropy measures on simulated datasets and real fMRI data. The efficiency of entropy algorithms has been compared to classical methods based on the linear model. Here we explain and summarize entropy algorithms that have been used in fMRI analysis, their advantages over classical methods and their potential use in event-related and block design fMRI....

Read abstract  Full text PDF

Case Reports 2012; 33(4): 372-374 PubMed PMID: 22936268 Citation  Keywords:  Alzheimer Disease:nursing, Antipsychotic Agents:therapeutic use, Caregivers:psychology, Female, Humans, Middle Aged, Psychotic Disorders:etiology, Risperidone:therapeutic use, Severity of Illness Index, Spouses:psychology, Stress, Psychological:complicati.   

OBJECTIVES: Caring for demented people has been associated with negative effect on caregiver health. One or more severe stress factors can precipitate brief reactive psychosis.r />r /> METHODS: A 59-year-old Caucasian married woman with no prior psychosis has been caring for her severely demented husband for more than 3 years. She was treated for anxiety disorder and reaction to severe stress in our clinic for 1 year.r />r /> RESULTS: Five days after husband's nursing home placement our patient developed the abnormal thought, that someone might tell her neighbours of her laziness and failures. She believed that she was under constant surveillance. These ideas grew rapidly into delusions and hallucinations. She was diagnosed as having transient psychosis with associated acute stress and was treated with risperidone. The psychosis lasted for two months.r />r /> CONCLUSION: Careful differential diagnosis is necessary in the cases of transient psychosis. Psychotic symptoms in overloaded individuals may be more common than was previously thought....

Read abstract  Full text PDF

Journal Article 2012; 33(4): 442-445 PubMed PMID: 22936267 Citation  Keywords:  Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Autoantibodies:blood, Female, Humans, Iodide Peroxidase:immunology, Male, Middle Aged, Thyroid Gland:immunology, Thyroid Nodule:blood, Thyrotropin:blood, Young Adult,.   

OBJECTIVES: The aim of our study was to evaluate the possible association between autoimmunity and thyroid nodular disease (TND).r />r /> DESIGN AND SETTING: We conducted a study on 58 patients who were treated in outpatient setting at the Department of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Internal Medicine. Serum samples were analyzed for TSH concentration and anti-TPO antibodies titers. Thyroid ultrasonography was performed in each subject in order to evaluate volume of the gland, and the number and size of nodules.r />r /> RESULTS: TND occurred in 70% of anti-TPO positive subjects and in 57.9% of anti-TPO negative subjects, but statistical analysis did not demonstrate a significant concordance between the presence of anti-TPO antibodies and prevalence of TND (p>0.05). We showed that the mean (0.82 vs 0.75; p=0.49), minimal (0.2 vs 0.3; p=0.89) and maximal (2.7 vs 2.4; p=0.49) diameters of a nodule were similar in both groups. Solely in anti-TPO positive patients, anti-TPO titers positively correlated with the number of nodules (p=0.04).r />r /> CONCLUSION: Our results favor the role of autoimmunity in TND development although associations between thyroid nodules and thyroid autoimmunity are complicated and may be the subject of much controversy. Increased anti-TPO may influence the number of nodules rather than the presence of TND itself....

Read abstract  Full text PDF