Thyroid function and serum electrolytes: does an association really exist?

Thyroid hormone is a central regulator of body functions. Disorders of thyroid function are considered to be a cause of electrolyte disorders. Only few data on the association between thyroid function and electrolyte disorders exists.

Diagnosis and treatment outcomes for patients with lymphoma of the parotid gland

Lymphoma of the parotid gland (LPG) is a rare disease. Clinical diagnosis is difficult, due to a lack of specific symptoms and findings. The aim of this study is to evaluate the diagnostic workup based on the analysis of our cases of LPG and to present the stage-dependent treatment outcome.

The impact of body mass index on the physiology of patients with polytrauma

Obesity is a growing problem in industrial nations. The aim was to test the hypothesis that overweight patients face early physiologic impairment.

Subclinical thyroid dysfunction and the risk of heart failure events: an individual participant data analysis from 6 prospective cohorts

American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines for the diagnosis and management of heart failure recommend investigating exacerbating conditions such as thyroid dysfunction, but without specifying the impact of different thyroid-stimulation hormone (TSH) levels. Limited prospective data exist on the association between subclinical thyroid dysfunction and heart failure events.

Subclinical thyroid dysfunction and the risk of heart failure in older persons at high cardiovascular risk

Subclinical thyroid dysfunction is common in older people. However, its clinical importance is uncertain.

TRPM4 channels in the cardiovascular system: physiology, pathophysiology, and pharmacology

The transient receptor potential channel (TRP) family comprises at least 28 genes in the human genome. These channels are widely expressed in many different tissues, including those of the cardiovascular system. The transient receptor potential channel melastatin 4 (TRPM4) is a Ca(2+)-activated non-specific cationic channel, which is impermeable to Ca(2+). TRPM4 is expressed in many cells of the cardiovascular system, such as cardiac cells of the conduction pathway and arterial and venous smooth muscle cells. This review article summarizes the recently described roles of TRPM4 in normal physiology and in various disease states. Genetic variants in the human gene TRPM4 have been linked to several cardiac conduction disorders. TRPM4 has also been proposed to play a crucial role in secondary hemorrhage following spinal cord injuries. Spontaneously hypertensive rats with cardiac hypertrophy were shown to over-express the cardiac TRPM4 channel. Recent studies suggest that TRPM4 plays an important role in cardiovascular physiology and disease, even if most of the molecular and cellular mechanisms have yet to be elucidated. We conclude this review article with a brief overview of the compounds that have been shown to either inhibit or activate TRPM4 under experimental conditions. Based on recent findings, the TRPM4 channel can be proposed as a future target for the pharmacological treatment of cardiovascular disorders, such as hypertension and cardiac arrhythmias.

NADPH-cytochrome P450 oxidoreductase: roles in physiology, pharmacology, and toxicology

This is a report on a symposium sponsored by the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics and held at the Experimental Biology 2012 meeting in San Diego, California, on April 25, 2012. The symposium speakers summarized and critically evaluated our current understanding of the physiologic, pharmacological, and toxicological roles of NADPH-cytochrome P450 oxidoreductase (POR), a flavoprotein involved in electron transfer to microsomal cytochromes P450 (P450), cytochrome b(5), squalene mono-oxygenase, and heme oxygenase. Considerable insight has been derived from the development and characterization of mouse models with conditional Por deletion in particular tissues or partial suppression of POR expression in all tissues. Additional mouse models with global or conditional hepatic deletion of cytochrome b(5) are helping to clarify the P450 isoform- and substrate-specific influences of cytochrome b(5) on P450 electron transfer and catalytic function. This symposium also considered studies using siRNA to suppress POR expression in a hepatoma cell-culture model to explore the basis of the hepatic lipidosis phenotype observed in mice with conditional deletion of Por in liver. The symposium concluded with a strong translational perspective, relating the basic science of human POR structure and function to the impacts of POR genetic variation on human drug and steroid metabolism.

Impact of surgical technique on operative morbidity and its socioeconomic benefit in thyroid surgery

The aim of this retrospective cohort study was to evaluate the rate of complications in relation to the extent of surgery and some of its consequences.

Equine insect bite hypersensitivity: immunoblot analysis of IgE and IgG subclass responses to Culicoides nubeculosus salivary gland extract

Insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) is an allergic dermatitis of horses caused by IgE-mediated reactions to bites of Culicoides and sometimes Simulium spp. The allergens causing IBH are probably salivary gland proteins from these insects, but they have not yet been identified. The aim of our study was to identify the number and molecular weight of salivary gland extract (SGE) proteins derived from Culicoides nubeculosus which are able to bind IgE antibodies (ab) from the sera of IBH-affected horses. Additionally, we sought to investigate the IgG subclass (IgGa, IgGb and IgGT) reactivity to these proteins. Individual IgE and IgG subclass responses to proteins of C. nubeculosus SGE were evaluated by immunoblot in 42 IBH-affected and 26 healthy horses belonging to different groups (Icelandic horses born in Iceland, Icelandic horses and horses from different breeds born in mainland Europe). Additionally, the specific antibody response was studied before exposure to bites of Culicoides spp. and over a period of 3 years in a cohort of 10 Icelandic horses born in Iceland and imported to Switzerland. Ten IgE-binding protein bands with approximate molecular weights of 75, 66, 52, 48, 47, 32, 22/21, 19, 15, 13/12 kDa were found in the SGE. Five of these bands bound IgE from 50% or more of the horse sera. Thirty-nine of the 42 IBH-affected horses but only 2 of the 26 healthy horses showed IgE-binding to the SGE (p<0.000001). Similarly, more IBH-affected than healthy horses had IgGa ab binding to the Culicoides SGE (19/22 and 9/22, respectively, p<0.01). Sera of IBH-affected horses contained IgE, IgGa and IgGT but not IgGb ab against significantly more protein bands than the sera of the healthy horses. The cohort of 10 Icelandic horses confirmed these results and showed that Culicoides SGE specific IgE correlates with onset of IBH. IBH-affected horses that were born in Iceland had IgGa and IgGT ab (p< or =0.01) as well as IgE ab (p=0.06) against a significantly higher number of SGE proteins than IBH-affected horses born in mainland Europe. The present study shows that Culicoides SGE contains at least 10 potential allergens for IBH and that IBH-affected horses show a large variety of IgE-binding patterns in immunoblots. These findings are important for the future development of a specific immunotherapy with recombinant salivary gland allergens.

Use and relevance of a bovine mammary gland explant model to study infection responses in bovine mammary tissue

Our aim was to develop an explant model to define more precisely the early response of bovine mammary epithelial cells to infection. Therefore we investigated the mRNA expression encoding for some soluble immunological factors in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated bovine mammary gland explants. Explants were taken out from the mammary gland of eight lactating cows after slaughter then incubated with LPS (10 mug/ml) for 6 h. The mRNA expression of alpha-lactalbumin (alpha-la), various cytokines, tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, interleukin (IL)-1beta, IL-6, IL-8, and two immunoglobulin receptors, the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) and polymeric immunoglobulin receptor (pIGR), were assessed with qPCR before and after 3 h and 6 h of LPS challenge. Both immunoglobulin receptors and alpha-la increased at 3 h then recovered their initial level at 6 h whereas IL-1beta, IL-6 and IL-8 increased only after 6 h (P<0.05). Surprisingly, TNF-alpha transcripts did not show any regulation in response to the LPS treatment. We nevertheless concluded that our model was valid to examine the short-term response of mammary epithelial cell challenged with LPS.

Metastatic disease to the parotid gland

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to review the clinico-pathologic findings and outcome of patients with metastasis to the parotid lymph nodes and gland. METHODS: Retrospective study. Thirty-four out of 520 patients with a parotid mass treated at our institution met the criteria for this study. Age, gender, clinical findings, histopathology, treatment. and outcome were analyzed. RESULTS: Twenty-three patients had metastases to parotid lymph nodes from a squamous cell carcinoma of the skin, seven from a cutaneous malignant melanoma after a mean interval of 15 months, two from a ductal breast carcinoma, one with a metastatic disease from a rhabdomyosarcoma of the lower limb, and one from a Merkel cell carcinoma. The 5-year cause-specific and absolute survival for squamous cell carcinoma was 64% and 48% respectively and 71% and 57% for malignant melanomas. CONCLUSIONS: Metastatic disease to the parotid gland is mostly caused by squamous cell carcinoma. Despite combined treatment modalities long-term survival remains poor.

Nutritional physiology of neonatal calves

The gastrointestinal tract of neonatal calves is relatively mature but still requires morphological and functional changes. The intake of colostrum with its nutrient and non-nutrient components exerts marked effects on gastrointestinal development and function. Colostrum intake provides immunoprotection (passive immunity by immunoglobulins) and is essential for survival of neonates of most species. Furthermore, there are important transient as well as long-lasting systemic effects on the nutritional status, on metabolism, and on various endocrine systems due to intake of nutrient and non-nutrient colostral components that contribute to survival in the stressful postnatal period. Colostrum is much more than just a supplier of immunoglobulins.

[Radiotherapy of the prostate gland--old wine in a new bottle?]

The outcome and morbidity in the treatment of prostate cancer by radiation therapy depends on the balance between tumour control and normal tissue damage. Recent technological advances have allowed to reduce the amount of normal tissue included in target treatment volumes. This diminishes morbidity and provides an opportunity for dose escalation, increasing tumour control rates. The new application techniques are discussed along with their integration in treatment concepts. Although there are no randomised studies to provide evidence of increased survival, the available evidence supports the hypothesis that the introduction of novel radiation techniques leads to survival rates equivalent to surgical series with sufficient safety.