Antioxidant protection provided by different doses of alpha-tocopherol was compared by determining nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity in blood vessels of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) treated with alpha-tocopherol. SHR were divided into four groups namely hypertensive control (C), treatment with 17 mg of alpha-tocopherol/kg diet (alpha1), 34 mg of alpha-tocopherol/kg diet (alpha2), and 170 mg of alpha-tocopherol/kg diet (alpha3). Wister Kyoto (WKY) rats were used as normal control (N). Blood pressure were recorded from the tail by physiography every other night for the duration of the study period of 3 months. At the end of the trial, animals were sacrificed. The NOS activity in blood vessels was measured by [3H]arginine radioactive assay and the nitrite concentration in plasma by spectrophotometry at wavelength 554 nm using Greiss reagent. Analysis of data was done using Student's t test and Pearson's correlation. The computer program Statistica was used for all analysis. Results of our study showed that for all the three alpha-tocopherol-treated groups, blood pressure was significantly (P < .001) reduced compared to the hypertensive control and maximum reduction of blood pressure was shown by the dosage of 34 mg of alpha-tocopherol/kg diet (C: 209.56 +/- 8.47 mm Hg; alpha2: 128.83 +/- 17.13 mm Hg). Also, NOS activity in blood vessels of SHR was significantly lower than WKY rats (N: 1.54 +/- 0.26 pmol/mg protein, C: 0.87 +/- 0.23 pmol/mg protein; P < .001). Although alpha-tocopherol in doses of alpha1, alpha2, and alpha3 increased the NOS activity in blood vessels, after treatment only that of alpha2 showed a statistical significance (P < .01). Plasma nitrite concentration was significantly reduced in SHR compared to normal WKY rats (N: 54.62 +/- 2.96 mol/mL, C: 26.24 +/- 2.14 mol/mL; P < .001) and accordingly all three groups showed significant improvement in their respective nitrite level (P < .001). For all groups, NOS activity and nitrite level showed negative correlation with blood pressure. It was significant for NOS activity in hypertensive control (r = -0.735, P = .038), alpha1 (r = -0.833, P = .001), and alpha2 (r = -0.899, P = .000) groups. For plasma nitrite, significant correlation was observed only in group alpha1 (r = -0.673, P = .016) and alpha2 (r = -0.643, P = .024). Only the alpha2 group showed significant positive correlation (r = 0.777, P = .003) between NOS activity and nitrite level. In conclusion it was found that compared to WKY rats, SHR have lower NOS activity in blood vessels, which upon treatment with antioxidant alpha-tocopherol increased the NOS activity and concomitantly reduced the blood pressure. There was correlation of lipid peroxide in blood vessels with NOS and nitric oxide, which implies that free radicals may be involved in the pathogenesis of hypertension.
The present study was conducted to examine the effect of bradykinin and bradykinin 2 receptor antagonist on survival time in rats with coronary artery ligation for 15 min and continuously. We also evaluated the heart rate and blood pressure responses in the presence and absence of bradykinin and its antagonist. Bradykinin treatment (4 microg and 8 microg/kg IV) significantly (p < 0.05) increased the survival time of rats compared with saline-treated rats with coronary artery ligation for 15 min and continuously. The heart rate and blood pressure responses were significantly (p < 0.001) altered in the presence of coronary artery ligation. Bradykinin antagonist treatment (4 microg/kg IV) abolished the effect of bradykinin and thus reduced the survival time of rats with coronary artery ligation. The mean value of survival time between saline-treated and bradykinin antagonist- plus bradykinin-treated rats did not differ significantly (p > 0.05).
The 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11beta-HSD) protects the testis from the inhibitory effects of corticosterone on testosterone (T) production. The objectives of the present studies were to determine the effects of deoxycorticosterone (DOC) and its mechanism of actions on testicular 11beta-HSD activity and plasma T levels after 7 days of treatment. The results revealed that at the end of 7 days treatment, DOC significantly increased testicular 11beta-HSD activity and plasma T levels in normal rats. However, the time course showed that high plasma T levels lowered 11beta-HSD activity on day 14 and by 21 days both the levels normalized. In adrenalectomized (ADX) rats, only the enzyme activity increased significantly but not plasma T levels. Spironolactone, a competitive inhibitor of mineralocorticoid receptor (MR), did not change testicular 11beta-HSD activity in both normal and DOC treated rats suggesting that DOC did not act through MR in increasing 11beta-HSD activity. On the other hand, spironolactone significantly decreased plasma T levels in DOC treated rats. Progesterone (P), a competitive inhibitor of glucocorticoid receptors (GR) or corticosterone significantly suppressed testicular enzyme activity and plasma T levels in DOC treated normal rats. Carbenoxolone which is an inhibitor of 11beta-HSD activity significantly depressed testicular 11beta-HSD activity and plasma T levels in DOC treated normal rats. This paper suggests that DOC increased testicular 11beta-HSD activity through GR; whilst increase in plasma T levels required functioning adrenal glands. The testicular 11beta-HSD is one of the regulators of T levels and vice versa.
A novel Hendra-like paramyxovirus named Nipah virus (NiV) was the cause of an outbreak among workers from one abattoir who had contact with pigs. Two patients had only respiratory symptoms, while 9 patients had encephalitis, 7 of whom are described in this report. Neurological involvement was diverse and multifocal, including aseptic meningitis, diffuse encephalitis, and focal brainstem involvement. Cerebellar signs were relatively common. Magnetic resonance imaging scans of the brain showed scattered lesions. IgM antibodies against Hendra virus (HeV) were present in the serum of all patients. Two patients recovered completely. Five had residual deficits 8 weeks later.
MeSH terms: Adult; Aged; Brain/pathology; Brain/virology; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Malaysia; Male; Middle Aged; Nervous System Diseases/pathology*; Nervous System Diseases/virology*; Respirovirus Infections/pathology*; Encephalitis, Viral/pathology*
BACKGROUND: Pediculiasis is treated aggressively in the United States, mainly with permethrin- and pyrethrin-containing pediculicides. Increasingly frequent anecdotal reports of treatment failure suggest the emergence of insecticidal resistance by these lice.
OBJECTIVE: To confirm or refute the susceptibility of head lice sampled in the United States to permethrin.
DESIGN: Survey. Head lice were removed from children residing where pediculicides are readily available and where such products are essentially unknown. Their survival was compared following exposure to residues of graded doses of permethrin in an in vitro bioassay.
SETTING: School children from Massachusetts, Idaho, and Sabah (Malaysian Borneo).
SUBJECTS: In the United States, 75 children aged 5 to 8 years. In Sabah, 59 boys aged 6 to 13 years. Virtually all sampled US children had previously been treated with pediculicides containing pyrethrins or permethrin; none of the Sabahan children were so exposed.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Survival of head lice exposed to permethrin.
RESULTS: Permethrin did not affect head lice sampled from chronically infested US children who had previously been treated for pediculiasis. The slope of the dose-response regression line for these lice did not differ significantly from zero (P = .66). This pediculicide immobilized lice sampled in Sabah. Mortality correlated closely with permethrin concentration (P = .008).
CONCLUSIONS: Head lice in the United States are less susceptible to permethrin than are those in Sabah. The pyrethroid susceptibility of the general population of head lice in the United States, however, remains poorly defined. Accordingly, these relatively safe over-the-counter preparations may remain the pediculicides of choice for newly recognized louse infestations.
OBJECTIVE: To validate the Medical Outcomes Study Family and Marital Functioning Measures (FMM and MFM) in a multi-ethnic, urban Asian population in Singapore.
METHODS: English speaking Chinese, Malay or Indian SLE patients (n=120) completed a self-administered questionnaire containing the FFM and MFM at baseline, after 2 weeks and after 6 months. Lupus activity, disease-related damage and quality of life were assessed using the British Isles Lupus Assessment Group (BILAG), Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology (SLICC/ACR) Damage Index and SF-36 Health Survey respectively. Scale psychometric properties were assessed through factor analysis, Cronbach's alpha, quantifying test-retest differences and known-groups construct validity.
RESULTS: Factor analysis of scores obtained at baseline and after 6 months identified 3 factors corresponding to the FFM (1 factor) and the MFM (2 factors). Both scales showed acceptable internal consistency, with Cronbach's alpha of 0.95 for the FFM and 0.70 for the MFM. Mean (s.d.) test-retest differences were -0.31 (3.82) points for the FFM and -0.70 (4.26) points for the MFM. Eleven out of 13 a priori hypotheses relating both the FFM and MFM to demographic, disease and quality of life variables were confirmed, supporting the construct validity of these scales.
CONCLUSION: The FFM and MFM are valid and reliable measures of family and marital functioning in a multi-ethnic cohort of Asian SLE patients in Singapore.
MeSH terms: Adolescent; Adult; Child; China/ethnology; Culture; Ethnic Groups/psychology; Family Health*; Female; Health Status; Humans; India/ethnology; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic/ethnology; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic/psychology*; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic/therapy*; Malaysia/ethnology; Male; Marriage*; Middle Aged; Quality of Life*; Surveys and Questionnaires/standards; Singapore; Reproducibility of Results; Cohort Studies; Treatment Outcome
Dichloromethane extracts of the root bark and stem bark of Kigelia pinnata collected from Zimbabwe exhibited antitrypanosomal activity against Trypanosoma brucei brucei in vitro. Activity-guided fractionation led to the isolation of four naphthoquinones from both the root and stem bark of the plant. The compounds were identified as 2-(1-hydroxyethyl)-naphtho[2,3-b]furan-4,9-quinone (1), isopinnatal (2), kigelinol (3), and isokigelinol (4). Subsequently, the compounds were assessed for antitrypanosomal activity against T. brucei brucei and T. brucei rhodesiense bloodstream form trypomastigotes in vitro. Compound 1 with a furanonaphthoquinone structure was found to possess pronounced activity against both parasites with IC50 values of 0.12 and 0.045 microM, respectively, although it was less active than the standard drug pentamidine. Compounds 2, 3, and 4 also exhibited activity against the parasites, although to a lesser extent. The activities of the compounds were further assessed by comparison with the cytotoxic activities obtained against KB cell lines.
The unprecedented inclusion of culture-bound syndromes in DSM-IV provides the opportunity for highlighting the need to study such syndromes and the occasion for developing a research agenda to study them. The growing ethnic and cultural diversity of the U.S. population presents a challenge to the mental health field to develop truly cross-cultural approaches to mental health research and services. In this article, the authors provide a critique of previous analyses of the relationship between culture-bound syndromes and psychiatric diagnoses. They highlight the problems in previous classificatory exercises, which tend to focus on subsuming the culture-bound syndromes into psychiatric categories and fail to fully investigate these syndromes on their own terms. A detailed research program based on four key questions is presented both to understand culture-bound syndromes within their cultural context and to analyze the relationship between these syndromes and psychiatric disorders. Results of over a decade of research on ataques de nervios, a Latino-Caribbean cultural syndrome, are used to illustrate this research program. The four questions focus on the nature of the phenomenon, the social-cultural location of sufferers, the relationship of culture-bound syndromes to psychiatric disorders, and the social and psychiatric history of the syndrome in the life course of the sufferer.
MeSH terms: Mental Disorders/classification; Mental Disorders/diagnosis*; Cross-Cultural Comparison; Culture*; Ethnic Groups/psychology; Female; Humans; Malaysia; Male; Medicine, Traditional; Middle Aged; Terminology as Topic*; Research Design; Syndrome; United States; West Indies; Koro/diagnosis; Cultural Diversity
Hyperimmunoglobulin E syndrome (HIE) is a rare condition characterised by marked elevation of serum IgE level, chronic dermatitis, intense pruritus, and recurrent serious infection. The major organism is usually S aureus. We report a case of an infant with HIE, who had pulmonary nocardiosis. The clinical features, immunological abnormalities, and radiological features of the condition are described. The child finally succumbed to the complications of pulmonary nocardiosis.
MeSH terms: Mental Disorders/history*; Famous Persons; Great Britain; Homicide/history*; Humans; Literature, Modern/history*; Malaysia; Medicine in Literature*; Medicine, Traditional/history*; History, 19th Century
To determine the relationship between absenteeism rates and psychological intervention over a 6-month period in an agency with 334 employees in Klang Valley, Malaysia, which had the highest absenteeism rates.
Endometrial changes have been observed when tamoxifen is used as an adjuvant therapy for carcinoma of the breast in postmenopausal women with positive estrogen receptors status.
Late acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is associated with a mortality of more than 80%. Recent reports in adults have shown improved survival in late ARDS treated with prolonged course of steroids, however little data are available in children concerning its safety and efficacy. We report the successful treatment of a child dying from refractory late ARDS using a prolonged course of high-dose methylprednisolone instituted after 12 days of advanced mechanical ventilation. Progressive improvement was seen from days 3, 7, 10 and 14 after treatment with improvement in PaO2/fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2) ratios, lung injury score and chest radiographical score. Treatment was complicated by a fungal urinary tract infection that was easily controlled. There were no major metabolic side effects. Steroid therapy can be considered in the treatment of children with refractory late ARDS but larger prospective studies are needed to define indications, timing, dosing and safety of this mode of treatment in children.
A 62-year-old man presented with a 3-month history of chronic non-productive cough and unexplained fever. Further questioning revealed that he had headaches and myalgia. Bilateral thickened temporal arteries were noted on physical examination. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate was 96 mm in 1 h. A biopsy specimen of the left temporal artery showed inflammatory changes consistent with the diagnosis of giant cell arteritis. Commencement of prednisolone resulted in rapid and dramatic resolution of his symptoms. Physicians should be aware of respiratory symptoms in patients with giant cell arteritis in order to avoid delay in diagnosis and therapy of this condition.
Acanthamoeba sp. is a free-living amoeba known to cause chronic central nervous system infection or eye infection in humans. Many cases remain undetected for want of a good detection system. We report for the first time a rapid staining method to facilitate the identification of Acanthamoeba sp. using the modified Field's staining technique. A. castellanii, which was used in the present experiment, is maintained in our laboratory in mycological peptone medium (Gibco). The cultures were pooled together and smears were made on glass slides for staining purposes. Different types of stains such as Field's stain, modified Field's stain, Wright's stain, Giemsa stain, Ziehl-Neelsen stain, and trichrome stain were used to determine the best stain for the identification of this amoeba. The concentration of various stains and the duration of staining were varied to provide the best color and contrast for each stain. Acanthamoeba was also obtained from the brain of experimentally infected mice and was stained with various stains as mentioned above to determine the best stain for use in identifying the presence of this parasite in experimentally infected animals. The modified Field's stain gives a very good color contrast as compared with other stains. Furthermore, it takes only 20 s to be carried out using the least number of reagents, making it suitable for both laboratory and field use.