bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Hypotension caused by therapeutic doses of venlafaxine: case report and proposed pathophysiological mechanisms
Authors: Alexandrino-Silva Clóvis , Nadalini Mauá Fernando Henrique , de Andrade Arthur Guerra , de Toledo Ferraz Alves Tânia Corrêa 
Published: January 2008

Although venlafaxine is usually associated with modest increases in blood pressure and not so often clinical hypertension, there are a few reported cases of hypotension related to overdoses of this specific antidepressant. The case study of a young female patient with a history of Major Depressive Disorder who initiated treatment with venlafaxine 75 mg/day and developed hypotension when the dosage was titrated up to 225 mg/day is described. The patient did not present comorbid diseases nor use other medication. A temporal association and a dose-dependent relationship between the hypotension and the use of venlafaxine is shown. To the best of the knowledge of the authors, this is the first case report that specifically associates regular doses of venlafaxine with the presence of hypotension. A pathophysiological mechanism is proposed, involving the participation of presynaptic alpha2-adrenergic receptors and the presence of a possible genetic polymorphism of cytochrome P4502D6, which is associated with lower drug metabolization, to explain the relationship between venlafaxine in regular dosage and development of hypotension.
Linkage disequilibrium analyses within chromosome 19p in multiple sclerosis
Authors: Vyshkina T. , Kalman B. 
Published: January 2008

Objective The aim of this study was to determine if multiple sclerosis (MS) shows association with variants of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) within chromosome 19p, where previous studies resulted in conflicting observations. Subjects and methods The transmissions of 569 SNP variants and 608 haplotypes from unaffected parents to their affected children were tested in 257 Caucasian families by using the pedigree disequilibrium test (PDT), the TRANSMIT version 2.5 program and the family- and haplotype-based association tests (FBAT and HBAT). The distribution of linkage disequilibrium (LD) among SNPs in 19p was assessed by ldmax and correlated with the location of MS-associated haplotypes. Results Individual SNP alleles did not show association after correction for multiple testing in PDT. Several marker haplotypes within potential candidate genes of intracellular enzymes, transmembrane proteins and receptors and signaling and adhesion molecules appeared to be weakly associated with the disease in both TRANSMIT and HBAT. However, none of the associations was strong enough to survive correction for multiple testing. Conclusions The present study is in the line of previous studies with negative conclusions concerning the role of the 19p region in MS. Multiple Sclerosis 2008; 14: 433—439. http://msj.sagepub.com
Factors predicting incomplete recovery from relapses in multiple sclerosis: a prospective study
Authors: Leone MA , Bonissoni S. , Collimedaglia L. , Tesser F. , Calzoni S. , Stecco A. , Naldi P. , Monaco F. 
Published: January 2008

Objective To prospectively evaluate predictors of incomplete recovery after the first attacks in a cohort of patients with clinically isolated syndrome or relapsing—remitting multiple sclerosis. Methods Seventy-two consecutive patients recruited from January 2001 to December 2003, evaluated every six months or at any relapse up to 31 July 2005. Relapse intervals were calculated from the date of onset, nadir, onset of improvement and maximum improvement. Predictive factors analysed were relapse-related (age at relapse onset, season and severity of the relapse, type of symptoms, speed of onset, plateau and total duration, number of affected Functional systems, preceding infections) and individual-related (gender, age at first attack, season of birth and first attack, characteristics of first brain MRI and cerebrospinal fluid oligoclonal bands, Link Index, IgG). Results We counted 209 attacks: 44 (21%) left mild sequelae, and 27 (13%) severe. The highest probability of sequelae was associated with sphincteric symptoms (9/20; 45%), followed by sensitive (38/113; 34%), motor (20/84; 24%), visual (13/61; 21%), cerebellar (4/24; 17%), brainstem (5/44; 11%) and others (0/6) ( P 0.005). Four variables were still relevant to predict sequelae after multivariate analysis: mild, moderate or severe relapses versus very mild (Odds ratio = 17.2, 95% confidence limits = 2.2—136.4), intermediate or long relapses versus short (3.2, 1.5—6.9), age ≥ 30 at relapse onset (2.9, 1.5—5.7) and bi-polysymptomatic versus monosymptomatic (2.2, 1.1—4.3). Conclusions Factors predicting incomplete recovery are more closely linked to the characteristics of the single relapse (extension and duration of tissue damage) than to the patient's genetic and environmental background. Multiple Sclerosis 2008; 14: 485—493. http://msj.sagepub.com
Maximal respiratory static pressures in patients with different stages of COPD severity
Authors: Terzano Claudio , Ceccarelli Daniela , Conti Vittoria , Graziani Elda , Ricci Alberto , Petroianni Angelo 
Published: January 2008

Abstract

Background
In this study, we analyzed maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP) and maximal expiratory pressure (MEP) values in a stable COPD population compared with normal subjects. We evaluated the possible correlation between functional maximal respiratory static pressures and functional and anthropometric parameters at different stages of COPD. Furthermore, we considered the possible correlation between airway obstruction and MIP and MEP values.

Subject and methods
110 patients with stable COPD and 21 age-matched healthy subjects were enrolled in this study. Patients were subdivided according to GOLD guidelines: 31 mild, 39 moderate and 28 severe.

Results
Both MIP and MEP were lower in patients with severe airway impairment than in normal subjects. Moreover, we found a correlation between respiratory muscle function and some functional and anthropometric parameters: FEV1 (forced expiratory volume in one second), FVC (forced vital capacity), PEF (peak expiratory flow), TLC (total lung capacity) and height. MIP and MEP values were lower in patients with severe impairment than in patients with a slight reduction of FEV1.

Conclusion
The measurement of MIP and MEP indicates the state of respiratory muscles, thus providing clinicians with a further and helpful tool in monitoring the evolution of COPD.
Genetic marker anchoring by six-dimensional pools for development of a soybean physical map
Authors: Wu Xiaolei , Zhong Guohua , Findley Seth D , Cregan Perry , Stacey Gary , Nguyen Henry T 
Published: January 2008

Abstract

Background
Integrated genetic and physical maps are extremely valuable for genomic studies and as important references for assembling whole genome shotgun sequences. Screening of a BAC library using molecular markers is an indispensable procedure for integration of both physical and genetic maps of a genome. Molecular markers provide anchor points for integration of genetic and physical maps and also validate BAC contigs assembled based solely on BAC fingerprints. We employed a six-dimensional BAC pooling strategy and an in silico approach to anchor molecular markers onto the soybean physical map.

Results
A total of 1,470 markers (580 SSRs and 890 STSs) were anchored by PCR on a subset of a Williams 82 Bst Y I BAC library pooled into 208 pools in six dimensions. This resulted in 7,463 clones (~1× genome equivalent) associated with 1470 markers, of which the majority of clones (6,157, 82.5%) were anchored by one marker and 1106 (17.5%) individual clones contained two or more markers. This contributed to 1184 contigs having anchor points through this 6-D pool screening effort. In parallel, the 21,700 soybean Unigene set from NCBI was used to perform in silico mapping on 80,700 Williams 82 BAC end sequences (BES). This in silico analysis yielded 9,835 positive results anchored by 4152 unigenes that contributed to 1305 contigs and 1624 singletons. Among the 1305 contigs, 305 have not been previously anchored by PCR. Therefore, 1489 (78.8%) of 1893 contigs are anchored with molecular markers. These results are being integrated with BAC fingerprints to assemble the BAC contigs. Ultimately, these efforts will lead to an integrated physical and genetic map resource.

Conclusion
We demonstrated that the six-dimensional soybean BAC pools can be efficiently used to anchor markers to soybean BACs despite the complexity of the soybean genome. In addition to anchoring markers, the 6-D pooling method was also effective for targeting BAC clones for investigating gene families and duplicated regions in the genome, as well as for extending physical map contigs.
HLA class I supertypes: a revised and updated classification
Authors: Sidney John , Peters Bjoern , Frahm Nicole , Brander Christian , Sette Alessandro 
Published: January 2008

AbstractBackgroundClass I major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules bind, and present to T cells, short peptides derived from intracellular processing of proteins. The peptide repertoire of a specific molecule is to a large extent determined by the molecular structure accommodating so-called main anchor positions of the presented peptide. These receptors are extremely polymorphic, and much of the polymorphism influences the peptide-binding repertoire. However, despite this polymorphism, class I molecules can be clustered into sets of molecules that bind largely overlapping peptide repertoires. Almost a decade ago we introduced this concept of clustering human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles and defined nine different groups, denominated as supertypes, on the basis of their main anchor specificity. The utility of this original supertype classification, as well several other subsequent arrangements derived by others, has been demonstrated in a large number of epitope identification studies.ResultsFollowing our original approach, in the present report we provide an updated classification of HLA-A and -B class I alleles into supertypes. The present analysis incorporates the large amount of class I MHC binding data and sequence information that has become available in the last decade. As a result, over 80% of the 945 different HLA-A and -B alleles examined to date can be assigned to one of the original nine supertypes. A few alleles are expected to be associated with repertoires that overlap multiple supertypes. Interestingly, the current analysis did not identify any additional supertype specificities.ConclusionAs a result of this updated analysis, HLA supertype associations have been defined for over 750 different HLA-A and -B alleles. This information is expected to facilitate epitope identification and vaccine design studies, as well as investigations into disease association and correlates of immunity. In addition, the approach utilized has been made more transparent, allowing others to utilize the classification approach going forward.
Ovarian carcinoma associated with pregnancy: A clinicopathologic analysis of 23 cases and review of the literature
Authors: Behtash Nadereh , Karimi Zarchi Mojgan , Modares Gilani Mitra , Ghaemmaghami Fatemeh , Mousavi Azamsadat , Ghotbizadeh Fahimeh 
Published: January 2008

AbstractBackgroundThe aim of this study was to analyze and describe cases of ovarian cancer in pregnant women treated at our center and to review the literature concerned, and to discuss the rationale for therapy.MethodsTwenty-Three patients of ovarian malignancies during pregnancy were treated at Vali- Asr Hospital between 1991 and 2002. Data on treatment and follow-up were evaluated.ResultsThe incidence of ovarian carcinoma associated with pregnancy in our series was 0.083/1000 deliveries. Eleven (47.8%) were found with ovarian malignant germ cell tumors, five (21.7%) with low malignant potential tumors, four (17.4%) with invasive epithelial tumors, and three (13%) with sex cord stromal tumors. Seventeen (73.9%) of the patients were diagnosed in stage I and had complete remission. Five of the six in advanced stage died. The mean follow-up was 36.3 months. The prognosis was significantly related with stage and histological type (P< 0.05). Sixteen healthy live babies were recorded in this group, and two premature newborn died of respiratory distress syndrome. Chemotherapy was administered to 44% of the patients, in two cases during pregnancy. Overall survival at 5 years was 61%. In most of case conservative surgical treatment could be performed with adequate staging and debulking.ConclusionEarly finding of ascitis by ultrasound and persistent large ovarian mass during pregnancy may be related to malignancy and advanced stage. Pregnant women in advanced stage of ovarian cancer seem to have poor prognosis.
Polyamine depletion induces G1 and S phase arrest in human retinoblastoma Y79 cells
Authors: Ueda Akiko , Araie Makoto , Kubota Shunichiro 
Published: January 2008

Abstract

Background
Polyamines and ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) are essential for cell proliferation. DL-α-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), a synthetic inhibitor of ODC, induces G1 arrest through dephosphorylation of retinoblastoma protein (pRb). The effect of DFMO on cell growth of pRb deficient cells is not known. We examined the effects of DFMO on pRb deficient human retinoblastoma Y79 cell proliferation and its molecular mechanism.

Methods
Using cultured Y79 cells, the effects of DFMO were studied by using polyamine analysis, western blot, gel shift, FACS and promoter analysis.

Results
DFMO suppressed the proliferation of Y79 cells, which accumulated in the G1 and S phase. DFMO induced p27/Kip1 protein expression, p107 dephosphorylation and accumulation of p107/E2F-4 complex in Y79 cells.

Conclusion
These results indicate that p107 dephosphorylation and accumulation of p107/E2F-4 complex is involved in G1 and S phase arrest of DFMO treated Y79 cells.
Effect of a natural extract of chicken combs with a high content of hyaluronic acid (Hyal-Joint®) on pain relief and quality of life in subjects with knee osteoarthritis: a pilot randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial
Authors: Kalman Douglas S , Heimer Maria , Valdeon Anita , Schwartz Howard , Sheldon Eric 
Published: January 2008

Abstract
Background
Intra-articular hyaluronic acid represents a substantive addition to the therapeutic armamentarium in knee osteoarthritis. We examined the effect of dietary supplementation with a natural extract of chicken combs with a high content of hyaluronic acid (60%) (Hyal-Joint®) (active test product, AP) on pain and quality of life in subjects with osteoarthritis of the knee.

Methods
Twenty subjects aged ≥40 years with knee osteoarthritis (pain for at least 15 days in the previous month, symptoms present for ≥6 months, Kellgren/Lawrence score ≥2) participated in a randomized double-blind controlled trial. Ten subjects received AP (80 mg/day) and 10 placebo for 8 weeks. The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) and quality of life by the Short Form-36 (SF-36v2) were administered at baseline and after 4 and 8 weeks of treatment.

Results
WOMAC pain (primary efficacy variable) was similar in both study groups (mean [SD]) with 6.6 (4.0) points in the AP group and 6.4 (2.7) in the placebo group (P = 0.943). As compared with baseline, subjects in both groups showed statistically significant improvements in WOMAC pain, stiffness, physical function subscales, and in the aggregate score, but the magnitude of changes was higher in the AP group for WOMAC physical function (-13.1 [12.0] vs. -10.1 [8.6], P = 0.575) and total symptoms (-18.6 [16.8] vs. -15.8 [11.4], P = 0.694). At 4 weeks, statistically significant mean changes compared with baseline were observed in the SF-36v2 scales of role-physical, bodily pain, social functioning and role-emotional among subjects in the AP group, and in physical functioning, bodily pain, and social functioning in the placebo group. At 8 weeks, changes were significant for role-physical, bodily pain, and physical component summary in the AP group, and for physical functioning and role-emotional in the placebo arm. Changes in bodily pain and social functioning were of greater magnitude in subjects given AP.

Conclusion
This pilot clinical trial showed that daily supplementation with oral hyaluronic acid from a natural extract of chicken combs (Hyal-Joint®) was useful to enhance several markers of quality of life in adults with osteoarthritis of the knee. The results warrant further study in larger sample sizes.
Body composition in male elite athletes, comparison of bioelectrical impedance spectroscopy with dual energy X-ray absorptiometry
Authors: Svantesson Ulla , Zander Martina , Klingberg Sofia , Slinde Frode 
Published: January 2008

Abstract

Background
The aim of this study was to compare body composition results from bioelectrical spectroscopy (BIS) with results from dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in a population of male elite athletes. Body composition was assessed using DXA (Lunar Prodigy, GE Lunar Corp., Madison, USA) and BIS (Hydra 4200, Xitron Technologies Inc, San Diego, California, USA) at the same occasion. Agreement between methods was assessed using paired t-tests and agreement-plots.

Results
Thirty-three male elite athletes (soccer and ice hockey) were included in the study. The results showed that BIS underestimates the proportion of fat mass by 4.6% points in the ice hockey players. In soccer players the BIS resulted in a lower mean fat mass by 1.1% points. Agreement between the methods at the individual level was highly variable.

Conclusion
Body composition results assessed by BIS in elite athletes should be interpreted with caution, especially in individual subjects. BIS may present values of fat mass that is either higher or lower than fat mass assessed by DXA, independent of true fat content of the individual.
Measuring the impact of health problems among adults with limited mobility in Thailand: further validation of the Perceived Impact of Problem Profile
Authors: Misajon RoseAnne , Pallant Julie F , Manderson Lenore , Chirawatkul Siriporn 
Published: January 2008

Abstract

Background
The Perceived Impact of Problem Profile (PIPP) was developed to provide a tool for measuring the impact of a health condition from the individual's perspective, using the ICF model as a framework. One of the aims of the ICF is to enable the comparison of data across countries, however, relatively little is known about the subjective experience of disability in middle and low-income countries. The aim of this study was to assess the validity of the Perceived Impact of Problem Profile (PIPP) for use among adults with a disability in Thailand using Rasch analysis.

Methods
A total of 210 adults with mobility impairment from the urban, rural and remote areas of northeast Thailand completed the PIPP, which contains 23 items assessing both impact and distress across five key domains (Self-care, Mobility, Participation, Relationships, and Psychological Well-being). Rasch analysis, using RUMM2020, was conducted to assess the internal validity and psychometric properties of the PIPP Impact subscales. Validation of the PIPP Impact scales was conducted by comparing scores across the different response levels of the EQ5D items.

Results
Rasch analysis indicated that participants did not clearly differentiate between 'impact' and 'distress,' the two aspects assessed by the PIPP. Further analyses were therefore limited to the PIPP Impact subscales. These showed adequate psychometric properties, demonstrating fit to the Rasch model and good person separation reliability. Preliminary validity testing using the EQ5D items provided support for the PIPP Impact subscales.

Conclusion
The results provide further support for the psychometric properties of the PIPP Impact scales and indicate that it is a suitable tool for use among adults with a locomotor disability in Thailand. Further research is needed to validate the PIPP across different cultural contexts and health conditions and to assess the usefulness of separate Impact and Distress subscales.
Measurement properties of the Brazilian version of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL™) cancer module scale
Authors: Scarpelli Ana C , Paiva Saul M , Pordeus Isabela A , Ramos-Jorge Maria L , Varni James W , Allison Paul J 
Published: January 2008

AbstractBackgroundThe use of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) measurements has been increased progressively in health surveys. These measurements document the functional and psychosocial outcomes of health conditions and complement clinical indicators to provide a comprehensive description of individuals and populations' health. The Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory™ (PedsQL™) is a promising instrument with age-appropriate versions. The objective of the current paper was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the PedsQL™ 3.0 Cancer Module cross-culturally adapted for use in Brazil.MethodsA cross-sectional study was developed with 190 Brazilian families of individuals from 2 to 18 years of age, of both genders, with cancer in various phases of treatment or control. Subjects were recruited by means of convenience samples from the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Centers at two public hospitals. 'In-treatment' status was defined as individuals who were receiving medical care to induce remission. 'Off-treatment' status was defined as individuals for whom all therapy was completed for a period of at least one month. Reliability was determined through test-retest reliability and internal consistency. The validity of the Cancer Module was determined through discriminant and convergent validity. Correlations between the scores obtained by the children/adolescents with cancer and their guardians were assessed.ResultsTest-retest reliability demonstrated good correlation (0.69–0.90 for children/adolescents; 0.71–0.93 for guardians) and adequate agreement of the items (0.26–0.85 for children/adolescents; 0.25–0.87 for guardians). Internal consistency demonstrated adequate indices in comparisons between groups (α = 0.78–0.80 for children and adolescents; 0.68–0.88 for guardians). The 'pain and hurt', 'nausea', 'procedural anxiety' and 'treatment anxiety' subscales proved capable of distinguishing the groups of children in treatment and off treatment (p < 0.05). Positive significant correlations were observed between the scores of the PedsQL™ 3.0 Cancer Module and the PedsQL™ 4.0 Generic Core scales. Weak correlations were found between the reports of the children and those of the guardians.ConclusionThe Brazilian version of the PedsQL™ 3.0 Cancer Module exhibited good measurement properties regarding reproducibility and construct validity.