Esterase activity was investigated in several skeletal muscles of different rodent species employing as substrates a series of alpha and beta naphthyl esters of different aliphatic chain lengths. Results with these chemically homogenous substrates show there is marked heterogeneity in the levels of esterase activity in several skeletal muscles of the same animal and among the same muscles from different species depending also on the sex, and the type and stereospecificity of the substrate.

1-Naphthylamine↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Esterase activity in the skeletal muscles of dystrophic and normal mice.

Esterasic activity was measured in several muscles of dystrophic and littermate control Re 129/J mice employing as substrates a series of alpha and beta naphthyl esters of different aliphatic chain length (C2 to C5). Different skeletal muscles of normal and dystrophic mice varied markedly in their esterase activity when tested not only with different, closely related substrates but also with the same substrate. Dystrophic skeletal muscles showed higher esterase activity than the corresponding muscles of controls. No increase in enzymatic levels was seen in the heart and parenchymatous organs of dystrophic hosts.

1-Naphthylamine↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Serum CYFRA 21-1 assay in squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix.

Squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC) is the best known marker for squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix as well as of the lung, oesophagus, head and neck and anal canal. Elevated levels of cytokeratin 19-fragments (CYFRA 21-1) have recently been detected in a large proportion of patients with non small cell cancer of the lung, and in particular of those with squamous cell carcinoma. Serum levels of CYFRA 21-1 (cut-off = 1.06 ng/mL) and SCC (cut-off = 2 ng/mL) were measured in blood samples collected before treatment from 15 patients with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), 56 patients with cervical cancer, 48 patients with endometrial cancer, and 361 patients with benign uterine diseases. Serum CYFRA 21-1 values in patients with CIN were superimposable on those detected in patients with benign uterine diseases. Conversely, serum CYFRA 21-1 levels were higher in patients with cervical cancer (p < 0.05) and in patients with endometrial cancer (p < 0.05) than in those with benign uterine diseases. There was no significant difference in serum CYFRA 21-1 levels between cervical and endometrial cancer, and, as regards cervical cancer, there was no significant difference in antigen values between squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma. Among patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix, CYFRA 21-1 values correlated with FIGO stage (stage IIb-IV vs stage Ib-IIa, p = 0.0303). Elevated CYFRA 21-1 levels were found in 20.0% of patients with CIN, in 41.7% of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix, in 62.5% of patients with adenocarcinoma of the cervix, in 45.8% of patients with endometrial cancer, and in 13% of patients with benign uterine diseases. Serum SCC was more sensitive than serum CYFRA 21-1 for both early and advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix; these preliminary data seem to show that serum CYFRA 21-1 is of limited value for the management of patients with this malignancy.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Determination of serum levels of different cytokeratins in patients with uterine malignancies.

Tissue polypeptide antigen (TPA), TPS, Cyfra 21-1, Cytokeratins 8-18 (CTKRS 8-18), SCC and CA 125 were measured in blood samples drawn at diagnosis from 43 patients with endometrial cancer, 47 with cervical cancer, 11 with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), and 236 with benign uterine disease as controls. The cut-off values for all antigens were chosen at the 95th percentile of the standard Gaussian variate of controls; these limits were 98 U/L for TPA, 127 U/L for TPS, 1.6 ng/mL for Cyfra 21-1, 1.2 ng/mL for CTKRS 8-18, 48 U/mL for CA 125, and 2.8 ng/mL for SCC. TPA had the same sensitivity as SCC for squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix (42%) and a higher sensitivity than CA 125 for endometrial cancer (40% vs 12% respectively). TPA was more sensitive than TPS for both cervical (40% vs 13%) and endometrial cancer (40% vs 21%). TPA and SCC had a higher sensitivity than Cyfra 21-1 (34%) and CTKRS 8-18 (27%) for squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix. In conclusion, as for soluble cytokeratin fragments, the serum TPA seems to be the most reliable marker for the management of cervical and endometrial cancer.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Severe pulmonary gas embolism caused by intraoperative administration of hydrogen peroxide].

We report the case of a 3 year old boy who developed cardiac arrest during general anesthesia, immediately after the subcutaneous administration of hydrogen peroxide solution. Massive pulmonary embolization was hypothesized as the postoperative ECG showed an acute heart strain. However the occurrence of transient anisocoria, associated with a paresis affecting the left arm, remained unexplained. Since brain MR did not reveal any pathological data, a direct toxicity of hydrogen peroxide on a limited area of the CNS could be assumed.

Child, Preschool↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Serum interleukin-6 levels in uterine malignancies. Preliminary data.

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) was measured with an enzyme-immunoassay in blood samples drawn at diagnosis from 37 patients with endometrial cancer, 36 with cervical cancer, 9 with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and 68 with benign uterine disease. The minimal detectable dose of IL-6 was 3 pg/mL. Detectable serum IL-6 levels were found in 9% of patients with benign uterine diseases, 11% of patients with CIN, 44% of patients with cervical cancer and 11% of patients with endometrial cancer. As regards cervical cancer, serum IL-6 levels > 3 pg/mL were found in 36.0% of 25 patients with stage Ib-IIa disease and in 64% of 11 patients with stage IIb-IV disease. As regards endometrial cancer, serum detectable IL-6 levels were observed in 0% of 30 patients with stage I-II disease and in 57% of 7 patients with stage III-IV disease (p = 0.0005). These preliminary data suggest that IL-6 may be involved in the progression of uterine malignancies.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Serum soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R) assay in cervical and endometrial cancer. Preliminary data.

Pretreatment serum levels of soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R), CA 125, and SCC were measured in 183 patients with malignant or benign uterine diseases. Serum sIL-2R levels were higher in the 46 patients with cervical cancer (p < 0.05) or in the 35 patients with endometrial cancer (p < 0.05) than in the 102 patients with benign uterine diseases. Raised serum concentrations of sIL-2R (> or = 50 U/mL), CA 125 (> or = 35 U/mL) and SCC (> or = 2 ng/mL) were found in 50.0%, 15.0% and 67.5% of 40 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix, respectively. Serum sIL-2R values were > or = 50 U/mL in 83.3% of 6 patients with cervical adenocarcinoma. Elevated serum levels of sIL-2R, CA 125 and SCC were detected in 51.4%, 11.3% and 14.3% of 35 patients with endometrial cancer, respectively. The sensitivity of SCC for squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix was better than that of sIL-2R. On the other hand, we observed that sIL-2R was the most sensitive antigen for endometrial cancer; therefore it could represent a new tumor marker for the management of patients with this malignancy.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Perivascular localization of TRPM1- and TRPM2-positive cells in the rat brain.

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Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Free triiodothyronine (T3) index obtained from measurements of T3 resin uptake and total T3 serum concentration.

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Female↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Serum assay of soluble CD44 standard (sCD44-st), CD44 splice variant v5 (sCD44-v5), and CD44 splice variant v6 (sCD44-v6) in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer.

Different variants of the cell adhesion molecule CD44 have been involved in malignant transformation and cancer metastasis. In the present investigation we assessed the preoperative serum levels of soluble CD44 standard (sCD44-st), sCD44 splice variant 5 (sCD44-v5), and sCD44 splice variant 6 (sCD44-v6) in 51 patients with ovarian cancer. Median preoperative sCD44-st, sCD44v5, and sCD44-v6 levels were 417 ng/ml (range, 240- > 602 ng/ml), 78 ng/ml (range, 5-314 ng/ml), and 86 ng/ml (range, 1-243 ng/ml), respectively. No significant relationship was detected between sCD44-st concentrations and the common clinicopathological variables. Conversely, sCD44-v5 and sCD44-v6 levels were significantly lower in FIGO stage III-IV than in stage I disease (p < 0.0001 and p = 0.001, respectively). Moreover, with regard to advanced ovarian cancer, sCD44-v5 levels were lower in patients with poorly differentiated (G3) than in those with moderately (G2) or well (G1) differentiated tumors (p = 0.038), as well as in patients whose residual disease was > 2 cm than in those with smaller residuum (p = 0.025). Similarly, sCD44-v6 levels were lower in patients with large residual disease (p = 0.05). The median value of serum sCD44-v6 was lower in patients with G3 than in those with G1-G2 tumor, but the difference was not significant. In conclusion, sCD44-st, sCD44-v5, and sCD44-v6 are detectable in sera from patients with epithelial ovarian cancer. A reduction in preoperative sCD44-v5 and sCD44-v6 levels seems to be associated with advanced, poorly differentiated tumors and with large residual disease after first surgery, and it might reflect an increased biological aggressiveness of the malignancy.

Alternative Splicing↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The serum assay of soluble CD44 standard (sCD44-st), CD44 splice variant 5 (sCD44-v5), and CD44 splice variant 6 (sCD44-v6) in patients with cervical cancer.

The pretreatment serum levels of soluble CD44 standard (sCD44st), CD44 splice variant 5 (sCD44-v5), and CD44 splice variant 6 (sCD44-v6) were retrospectively measured in 37 patients with untreated cervical cancer and in 36 patients with benign gynecological diseases as controls. Median sCD44-st levels were significantly higher in patients with cervical cancer than in controls (547 ng/ml, range 244-880 ng/ml versus 400.5 ng/ml, range 217-723 ng/ml, p = 0.004), whereas sCD44-v5 and sCD44-v6 concentrations were significantly lower in the former (34 ng/ml, range 0-140 ng/ml versus 44 ng/ml, range 11-109 ng/ml, p = 0.038; and 37 ng/ml, range 1-191 ng/ml versus 52.5 ng/ml, range 11-173 ng/ml, p = 0.007, respectively). sCD44-st, sCD44-v5, and sCD44-v6 levels were not related to FIGO stage and histologic type. Moreover, among patients with stage Ib-IIa cervical cancer, the preoperative levels of these glycoproteins correlated with neither the common prognostic variables nor the clinical outcome. Therefore, the serum assay of sCD44-st, sCD44-v5, and sCD44-v6 seems to have no clinical relevance for the management of patients with cervical cancer.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Determination of brain death in Intensive Pediatric Therapy].

The subject of this paper is to report our experience in the determination of brain death in infants and children. We have retrospectively examined the incidence of brain death occurred in 504 consecutive children admitted to multidisciplinary pediatric ICU at "Bambino Gesù" Hospital of Rome during the years 1994 to 1997. According to current Italian Law, brain death was declared in 8 children (1.6%), whose primary diagnoses were: Meningitis (3 cases); nontraumatic intracerebral hemorrhage (2 cases); medulloblastoma (1 case); brain metastasis of neuroblastoma (1 case); SIDS (1 case). All brain death diagnoses were made using clinical criteria and confirmatory tests. A difficult problem was met in achieving the required Pa-CO2 values higher than 60 mmHg without unduly lowering O2 saturation. In order to obtain easily this objective we have recently switched the ventilator to intermittent mandatory volume ventilation at a rate of five stroke per minute using a FiO2 of 1 before starting the apnea test. In infants younger than one year the required cerebral circulatory arrest was documented in the pericallosal artery by doppler ultrasonography performed through the fonticuli cranii. The absence of cerebral blood flow was recorded for one to five days after clinical and electroencephalographic diagnosis of brain death, causing an unnecessary prolonged rianimative support. This also confirms that in young infants brain death may occur without a marked increase of intracranial pressure. Last, but not least, we believe that particular attention must be paid to psycho-emotional conditions of parents as well as of intensivists and nurses especially when brain death must be assessed in children.

Animals↗