Search NEL Online

Journal Article 2012; 33(1): 90-97 PubMed PMID: 22467118 Citation  Keywords:  Double-Blind Method, Humans, Memory, Short-Term, Prefrontal Cortex, Schizophrenia:diagnosis, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation,.   

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to find out whether, under the conditions of a double-blind, placebo coil controlled study, high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the left prefrontal cortex will show positive effects on working memory with simultaneous assessment of respective changes in neuronal activation.r />r /> RESULTS: Stimulation treatment led to a reduction of seriousness of negative schizophrenia symptoms in both comparative groups. However, mutual comparison of real (n=19) and sham (n=11) rTMS, respectively, has shown that the effect of real rTMS was statistically significantly higher compared with placebo stimulation. During stimulation treatment an improvement in working memory performance was also found. No statistically significant difference between the real and placebo sham rTMS, respectively, was established. The rate of neuronal activation did not change at all during rTMS treatment.r />r /> CONCLUSIONS: From clinical point of view rTMS seems to be a well-tolerated neurostimulation method for treatment of negative schizophrenia symptoms with favourable of impact on cognitive functions....

Read abstract  Full text PDF

Journal Article 2012; 33(1): 81-89 PubMed PMID: 22467117 Citation  Keywords:  Aldosterone:blood, Blood Pressure, Female, Humans, Hypertension:blood, Hyperthyroidism, Renin:blood,.   

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to establish the concentration of blood pressure regulating hormones in premenopausal women with isolated systolic hypertension (ISH) related to hyperthyroidism (HT).r />r /> MATERIAL AND METHODS: 61 females with HT were enrolled in the study, including 28 with ISH (Group A), 33 with normal arterial blood pressure (Group B) and 34 healthy individuals (Group C). It was determined - plasma renin activity (PRA), plasma concentration of arginine vasopressin (AVP), atrial natriuretic hormone (ANH) and aldosterone (Aldo). PRA and Aldo tests were performed twice, firstly under basal conditions and then after a 3-day low-sodium diet. In hyperthyroid patients tests were repeated during thyreostatic treatment. Patients with sodium-sensitivity of blood pressure were selected. Cardiac index (CI) and total peripheral resistance index (TPRI) were calculated.r />r /> RESULTS: In ISH patients the basal PRA was lower than in patients of Groups B and C. The highest poststimulatory PRA was observed in patients of Group B. ANH concentration was higher in both HT groups compared to the Group C. AVP concentration in ISH patients was higher than in Group C. In HT patients blood pressure correlated with basal PRA, CI and TPRI. Sodium sensitivity of blood pressure was observed more frequently in patients from Group A.r />r /> CONCLUSIONS: In women, ISH in HT is the consequence of the increased cardiac output and the decreased peripheral vascular resistance. ISH related to HT results in the reduction in basal PRA probably as the result of intensified cardiac ejection function. ISH in hyperthyroid patients shows a higher sodium-sensitivity....

Read abstract  Full text PDF

Journal Article 2012; 33(1): 76-80 PubMed PMID: 22467116 Citation  Keywords:  Abortion, Habitual:epidemiology, Factor V, Female, Heterozygote, Humans, Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (NADPH2):genetics, Mutation, Pregnancy, Prothrombin, Thrombophilia,.   

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to evaluate the importance of screening for thrombophilic mutations after the first early pregnancy loss.r />r /> SETTING: Thrombophilic mutations were examined in a sample of 100 women with at least one miscarriage. DNA was isolated from venous blood sample. We used methods of microarray, fragmentation analysis, High Resolution Melting and PCR-ARMS with following gel electrophoresis and visualisation. Chi-square test and in cases of low expected frequencies Yates correction were used to compare relative frequencies of individual mutations. The comparison of averages was performed by t-test.r />r /> RESULTS: We detected prevalence of factor V and II mutation of 9% and 3%, respectively. Single MTHFR mutation was found in 59% and double heterozygous MTHFR mutation in 23% of cases. No mutation was present in only 6% of the study group. Heterozygous mutations of factor V occurred 1.8 times more frequently in our study group compared to the general Czech women population. Also, the frequency of factor II mutation was 1.5-3 times higher. No carrier of these mutations had overt coagulation disorder, history of thromboembolic disease or that of habitual abortions.r />r /> CONCLUSIONS: The frequency of thrombophilic mutations in the group of women with early pregnancy loss is 1.5-3 times higher than in the general population....

Read abstract  Full text PDF

Journal Article 2012; 33(1): 67-75 PubMed PMID: 22467115 Citation  Keywords:  Anisotropy, Diffusion Tensor Imaging, Humans, Multiple Sclerosis, Physical Therapy Modalities, Pilot Projects,.   

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to confirm the immunoregulatory and anti-inflammatory changes in the immunologic profile after two months of the facilitation physiotherapy in patients with multiple sclerosis; and to determine whether the changes in the immunologic profile correlate with the changes in dehydroepiandrosterone, the brain microstructure and clinical functions.r />r /> DESIGN & SETTING: A group of 12 patients with multiple sclerosis was examined twice: at the beginning and 2 months later after the patients had undergone the facilitation therapy. Standardized tests evaluating chosen clinical functions (balance, righting, equilibrium and protective reactions, tremor, dysdiadochokinesis, dysmetry, fine hand function and walking), immune parameters (parameters of the humoral and cellular immunity), dehydroepiandrosterone and diffusion tensor imaging (the fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity) were measured. The patients underwent the facilitation physiotherapy in two sessions lasting two hours each week for two months.r />r /> RESULTS: All clinical and diffusion tensor imaging parameters significantly improved following the therapy. Without the correction for multiple comparisons, there were significant changes in the IgG, IgG1 subclasses, in the numbers of Neutrophils and Lymphocytes, the T cells (CD3+) absolute number, the T cytotoxic subpopulation (CD3+CD8+) absolute number, B cells (CD19+) and the Natural killer cells. In addition, there was a significant correlation between the changes in the clinical functions and the changes in IgG1 (r=0.67), and between the changes in the mean diffusivity and the changes in CD3+CD8+ absolute (r=-0.61). The changes in the immune parameters and the mentioned correlations were not significant in view of the number of comparisons and thus necessitate further validation. No changes in the dehydroepiandrosterone concentration after the therapy were confirmed.r />r /> CONCLUSION: The study suggests new possibilities of physiotherapy to influence the psycho-neuro-endocrine-immune response in patients with multiple sclerosis....

Read abstract  Full text PDF

Journal Article 2012; 33(1): 53-59 PubMed PMID: 22467113 Citation  Keywords:  Cell Membrane:metabolism, Hippocampus:metabolism, Humans, Insulin:metabolism, Receptor, Insulin,.   

OBJECTIVES: Insulin receptors (IRs) are distributed in a region-specific fashion throughout the brain, and may play a role in processes related to learning and memory. The hippocampus, which participates in spatial memory formation, is one region in which the IR is abundantly expressed. Organotypic hippocampal slice cultures (OHSCs) are an in vitro model that permits the easy manipulation of growth conditions, yet retains much of the source structure's cytoarchitecture. To assess OHSCs as a model for the study of hippocampal IRs, ligand-binding and the expression and cellular distribution of the β-subunit (which transduces the insulin signal) were examined over time in culture. Design & Results: Fluorescently conjugated insulin was used to assess neural insulin receptor binding, and revealed that labelling remained similar over three weeks in culture (a typical length of OHSC maintenance). Cross-linking of surface proteins helped to show that approximately half of β-subunits were found at the cell surface, and that this relative proportion remained stable over several weeks. In contrast, expression of the β-subunit protein progressively declined to a plateau approximately 60% less than that seen when the cultures were prepared.r />r /> CONCLUSIONS: Our results provide a foundation for subsequent studies to employ OHSCs to explore neural IRs; for instance, the dissonance between the progressive decline in expression of the IR β-subunit and the relative stability of receptor-mediated binding suggests the presence of an active process to hold steady the ability of cells to respond to insulin stimulation....

Read abstract  Full text PDF

Journal Article 2012; 33(1): 48-52 PubMed PMID: 22467112 Citation  Keywords:  ADP Ribose Transferases, Case-Control Studies, Genotype, Humans, Infertility, Male, Male, Sperm Count, Spermatozoa,.   

OBJECTIVES: In about 50% of male infertility the underlying pathogenesis remains unknown. A recent Japanese study provided evidence that the rs6836703: G>A single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) from the ADP-ribosyltransferase 3 (ART3) gene is significantly associated with non-obstructive azoospermia. However, the functional significance of this association is unknown and replication studies in unrelated populations are thus necessary.r />r /> DESIGN: In this study, 257 fertile Czech controls of proven paternity and 98 sub-/infertile patients selected according to stringent exclusion / inclusion criteria were genotyped by High Resolution Melting (HRM) of small amplicons.r />r /> SETTING: This study was performed at University Hospital Motol - Laboratory of reproductive genetics using routinely analyzed cases.r />r /> RESULTS: Significant differences in allele distribution between fertile and sub-/infertile men were found (OR=1.78, 95% CI: 1.17-2.70; p=0.007). Following sub-stratification of cases according to their sperm counts we found that observed differences in allele distributions were increased in oligozoospermic men with sperm counts of <15 million sperm/mL (OR=1.98, 95% CI: 1.28-3.07; p=0.002). This difference was also reflected in genotype distributions between fertile and sub-/infertile men (p=0.008), and fertile versus oligozoospermic men (p=0.004).r />r /> CONCLUSIONS: Our study serves as a first replication of the original Japanese report and opens new avenues of research. Compared to the Japanese patient cohort, we provided evidence that the analyzed ART3 variant is associated with quantitative impairment of spermatogenesis....

Read abstract  Full text PDF

Journal Article 2012; 33(1): 42-47 PubMed PMID: 22467111 Citation  Keywords:  Adenoma:metabolism, Humans, Pituitary Neoplasms, Prevalence, Prolactinoma, Retrospective Studies,.   

OBJECTIVES: The prevalence of pituitary tumours has recently been identified to be higher than previously thought. The aim of our study was to assess the occurrence of hypothalamic-pituitary tumours in 20-year material of the Department of Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases, Polish Mother`s Memorial Hospital - Research Institute, Lodz, Poland.r />r /> METHODS: We analyzed medical data of 845 patients, hospitalized from 1990 to 2009 due to presumptive diagnosis of hypothalamic-pituitary tumour. Among 340 cases with confirmed diagnosis, 278 tumours were classified as micro- or macroadenomas. Tumour type and size, as well as patient gender and age, were evaluated. In 252 tumours the exact volume was calculated, and 4 volume subgroups were assessed for each aforementioned parameter separately.r />r /> RESULTS: Prolactinomas and - at the next place - non-functioning adenomas were the most frequent, followed by pituitary tumors of non-epithelial origin, and - finally, the rarest - other secreting adenomas. Prolactinomas were found mostly in females (p=0.028), while non-functioning adenomas in males (p=0.045). Prolactinomas and non-functioning adenomas were found to be predominantly microadenomas (p<0.0001 and p=0.0003, respectively), while mixed-type adenomas were mostly macroadenomas (p=0.028). In females microadenomas were the most frequent (p<0.0001). Moreover, in persons under 50 years of age microadenomas predominated, whereas in older adults macroadenomas mostly occurred.r />r /> CONCLUSION: To conclude, our retrospective, single-centre study provides relevant estimates of prevalence of hypothalamic-pituitary tumours in the era of modern diagnostic tools and indicates that our data are comparable with results regarding other populations worldwide....

Read abstract  Full text PDF

Journal Article 2012; 33(1): 37-41 PubMed PMID: 22467110 Citation  Keywords:  Child, Growth Disorders, Growth Hormone, Human Growth Hormone:deficiency, Humans, Insulin-Like Growth Factor I:secretion, Sleep,.   

OBJECTIVE: Growth hormone (GH) secretion is characterized by a pulsatile, circadian rhythm, with the highest concentrations at night hours. Evaluation of nocturnal GH secretion may be truncated to 6 hours. Growth hormone stimulating tests are the standard method of assessment of GH secretion. In Poland, the assessment of GH peak during 2 hours after falling asleep was introduced as a screening procedure in children, suspected for GH deficiency. The aim of current study was to compare the results of a screening test with GH secretion during 6-hour nocturnal profile and with the results of GH stimulating tests, as well as with IGF-I secretion in children with short stature.r />r /> METHODS: In 72 short children, GH concentrations were measured every 30 minutes during first 6 hours after falling asleep and in two GH stimulating tests (the cut-off level of GH peak for all the tests was 10.0 ng/ml). Also, IGF-I concentrations were measured and expressed as IGF-I SDS for age and sex.r />r /> RESULTS: The screening test results correlated significantly with both GH peak in 6-hour profile and mean GH concentration, and the area under the curve (AUC) in 6 hour profile (r= 0.94, r=0.90 and r=0.89, respectively, p<0.05) but not with GH peak in stimulating tests (r=0.07, NS). There was no correlation between IGF-I secretion and any of the analyzed parameters of spontaneous and stimulated GH secretion.r />r /> CONCLUSIONS: The results of screening test seem to reflect overnight GH secretion in short children, remaining, however, discordant with the results of GH stimulating tests and with IGF-I secretion....

Read abstract  Full text PDF