Show me your body and I tell you how hold you are: a non-invasive methodto define 6 life history-classes in Risso's dolphins (Grampus griseus), using an identified trial population in the Atlantic

European Cetacean Society Conference Workshop, Galway, Ireland, 25th March 2012.

Efeitos da ingestão de simbiótico e indol-3-carbinol sobre o processo de carcinogênese química de cólon em ratos Wistar alimentados com dieta contendo heme

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Effectiveness of see-and-treat for approaching pre-invasive lesions of uterine cervix

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness between the see-and-treat (S&T) approach and the conventional one (with prior biopsy) for squamous intraepithelial lesions of uterine cervix. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 900 nonpregnant women with cytology suggestive of high grade squamous intraepithelial lesions in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Southeastern Brazil, between 1998 and 2004. The S&T approach consists of a large loop excision of the transformation zone procedure and is recommended when cytology is suggestive of high grade squamous intraepithelial lesion, satisfactory colposcopy with abnormalities compatible with the suspected cytological results, and the lesion is limited to the ectocervix or extends up to one centimeter of the endocervical canal. A subgroup of 336 patients whose colposcopy was considered satisfactory was analyzed, and they were divided into two groups for comparison: patients treated without prior biopsy (n = 288) and patients treated after a biopsy showing high grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (n = 48). Patients who were not treated or only treated more than a year later after recruitment at the colposcopy unit were considered dropouts. RESULTS: Of patients recruited during the study period, 71 were not treated or were only treated for at least a year. The overall dropout rate was 7.9% (95% CI: 6.1;9.7). Mean time elapsed between patient recruitment and treatment was 17.5 days in the S&T group and 102.5 days in the prior biopsy group. Dropout rates were 1.4% (95% CI: 0.04;2.7) and 5.% (95% CI: 0;12.3), respectively (p=0.07). The proportion of overtreated cases (negative histology) in the S&T group was 2.0% (95% CI: 0.4;3.6). CONCLUSIONS: The difference in the mean time elapsed between patient recruitment and treatment indicates that S&T is a time-saving approach The proportion of negative cases from using the S&T approach can be regarded as low.

Survival of a cohort of women with cervical cancer diagnosed in a Brazilian cancer center

OBJECTIVE: To assess overall survival of women with cervical cancer and describe prognostic factors associated. METHODS: A total of 3,341 cases of invasive cervical cancer diagnosed at the Brazilian Cancer Institute, Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil, between 1999 and 2004 were selected. Clinical and pathological characteristics and follow-up data were collected. There were performed a survival analysis using Kaplan-Meier curves and a multivariate analysis through Cox model. RESULTS: Of all cases analyzed, 68.3% had locally advanced disease at the time of diagnosis. The 5-year overall survival was 48%. After multivariate analysis, tumor staging at diagnosis was the single variable significantly associated with prognosis (p<0.001). There was seen a dose-response relationship between mortality and clinical staging, ranging from 27.8 to 749.6 per 1,000 cases-year in women stage I and IV, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The study showed that early detection through prevention programs is crucial to increase cervical cancer survival.

Non invasive ventilation during exercise in COPD patients: a systematic review with meta-analysis

COPD is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, representing a major public health problem due to the high health and economic resource consumption. Pulmonary rehabilitation is a standard care recommendation for these patients, in order to control the symptoms and optimize the functional capacity, reducing health care costs associated with exacerbations and activity limitations and participation. However, in patients with severe COPD exercise performance can be difficult, due to extreme dyspnea, decreased muscle strength and fatigue. In addition, hypoxemia and dyspnea during efforts and daily activities may occur, limiting their quality of life. Thus, NIV have been used as adjunct to exercise, in order to improve exercise capacity in these patients. However, there is no consensus for this technique recommendation. Our objective was to verify whether the use of NIV during exercise is effective than exercise without NIV in dyspnea, walked distance, blood gases and health status in COPD patients, through a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Detection of classic and invasive E. coli and Shigella serotypes in stools by indirect immunofluorescence

IIF in the detection of invasive and classic enteropathogenic E. coli and Shigella serotypes was compared with traditional coproculture methods. IIP results agreed with the coproculture findings in 128 out of 140 cases tested for enteropathogenic E. coli (91%) and in 108 out of 112 for Shigella (96%). All cases with positive reactions by coproculture were confirmed by IIP. In the control group it were obtained by IIF 12 cases with positive reactions for enteropathogenic E. coli and 4 cases for Shigella, including two cases of mixed infection by E. coli 026/Sh. dysenteriae and E. coli 0124/Sh. dysenteriae. It was discussed the high sensitivity and specificity of the IIF when compared with the traditional methods, being suggested that IIF is a valuable tool in epidemiological studies involving these organisms and an important aid in the stablishment of an early presumptive diagnosis of the acute infantile diarrhea.

Characterization of the glycosylation of human tumor cells

Ovarian cancer is within the most lethal gynecological malignancies in woman. Therefore, many investigators study its biological aspects with the purpose of discovering more rapid diagnostic methods and efficient treatment. Resembling many other tumors, in ovarian cancer, aberrant glycosylation occurs with the appearance of novel or altered carbohydrate structures. These can be terminal motifs, such as the Lewis determinants, or entire carbohydrate sequences, which have been related to tumorigenesis and its outcome.(...)

P53 and Cancer-Associated Sialylated Glycans Are Surrogate Markers of Cancerization of the Bladder Associated with Schistosoma haematobium Infection

BACKGROUND: Bladder cancer is a significant health problem in rural areas of Africa and the Middle East where Schistosoma haematobium is prevalent, supporting an association between malignant transformation and infection by this blood fluke. Nevertheless, the molecular mechanisms linking these events are poorly understood. Bladder cancers in infected populations are generally diagnosed at a late stage since there is a lack of non-invasive diagnostic tools, hence enforcing the need for early carcinogenesis markers. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Forty-three formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded bladder biopsies of S. haematobium-infected patients, consisting of bladder tumours, tumour adjacent mucosa and pre-malignant/malignant urothelial lesions, were screened for bladder cancer biomarkers. These included the oncoprotein p53, the tumour proliferation rate (Ki-67>17%), cell-surface cancer-associated glycan sialyl-Tn (sTn) and sialyl-Lewisa/x (sLea/sLex), involved in immune escape and metastasis. Bladder tumours of non-S. haematobium etiology and normal urothelium were used as controls. S. haematobium-associated benign/pre-malignant lesions present alterations in p53 and sLex that were also found in bladder tumors. Similar results were observed in non-S. haematobium associated tumours, irrespectively of their histological nature, denoting some common molecular pathways. In addition, most benign/pre-malignant lesions also expressed sLea. However, proliferative phenotypes were more prevalent in lesions adjacent to bladder tumors while sLea was characteristic of sole benign/pre-malignant lesions, suggesting it may be a biomarker of early carcionogenesis associated with the parasite. A correlation was observed between the frequency of the biomarkers in the tumor and adjacent mucosa, with the exception of Ki-67. Most S. haematobium eggs embedded in the urothelium were also positive for sLea and sLex. Reinforcing the pathologic nature of the studied biomarkers, none was observed in the healthy urothelium. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: This preliminary study suggests that p53 and sialylated glycans are surrogate biomarkers of bladder cancerization associated with S. haematobium, highlighting a missing link between infection and cancer development. Eggs of S. haematobium express sLea and sLex antigens in mimicry of human leukocytes glycosylation, which may play a role in the colonization and disease dissemination. These observations may help the early identification of infected patients at a higher risk of developing bladder cancer and guide the future development of non-invasive diagnostic tests.

Activation of effector immune cells promotes tumor stochastic extinction: A homotopy analysis approach

In this article we provide homotopy solutions of a cancer nonlinear model describing the dynamics of tumor cells in interaction with healthy and effector immune cells. We apply a semi-analytic technique for solving strongly nonlinear systems – the Step Homotopy Analysis Method (SHAM). This algorithm, based on a modification of the standard homotopy analysis method (HAM), allows to obtain a one-parameter family of explicit series solutions. By using the homotopy solutions, we first investigate the dynamical effect of the activation of the effector immune cells in the deterministic dynamics, showing that an increased activation makes the system to enter into chaotic dynamics via a period-doubling bifurcation scenario. Then, by adding demographic stochasticity into the homotopy solutions, we show, as a difference from the deterministic dynamics, that an increased activation of the immune cells facilitates cancer clearance involving tumor cells extinction and healthy cells persistence. Our results highlight the importance of therapies activating the effector immune cells at early stages of cancer progression.

Metal ions modulate the folding and stability of the tumor suppressor protein S100A2

Febs Journal (2009)276:1776-1786

Plasma levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha in patients with visceral leishmaniasis (Kala-Azar). Association with activity of the disease and clinical remisson following antimonial therapy

Evaluation of TNF-alpha in patients with Kala-azar has drawn increasing interest due to its regulatory role on the immune system, in addition to its cachetizing activity. The objective of this study was to examine the association between plasma levels of TNF-alpha, measured by immunore-activity (ELISA) and bioactivity (cytotoxicity assay with L-929 cells), and clinical manifestations of visceral leishmaniasis. Plasma samples from 19 patients with Kala-azar were obtained before, during and at the end of antimonial therapy. TNF-alpha determinations was done by using the cytotoxicity assay (all patients) and the enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA - 14 patients). A discrepancy between results obtained by ELISA and cytotoxicity assay was observed. Levels of circulating TNF-alpha, assessed by ELISA, were higher in patients than in healthy controls, and declined significantly with improvement in clinical and laboratory parameters. Plasma levels before treatment were 124.7 ± 93.3 pg/ml (mean ± SD) and were higher than at the end of therapy 13.9 ± 25.1 pg/ml (mean ± SD) (p = 0.001). In contrast, plasma levels of TNF-alpha evaluated by cytotoxicity assay did not follow a predicted course during follow-up. Lysis, in this case, might be not totally attributed to TNF-alpha. The discrepancy might be attributed to the presence of factor(s) known to influence the release and activity of TNF-alpha.

Tumor-like lesion due to Chagas' disease in a patient with lymphocytic leukemia

A 73 year-old white male, living in the interior of the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, in central Bra­zil, after an initial diagnosis of sinusitis was transferred to the neurology service with a 3-day evolution of intracranial hypertension. Exams showed lymphocytic leukemia and a tumor-like lesion, either an expanding inflammatory process such as an abscess or a neoplasm. Treatment with Ceftriaxone and Decadron was started and intracranial hypertension was controlled. Methotrexate was injected on the occasion of the next puncture considering a possible leukemia infiltration. Flagellate forms of T. cruzi were observed in the CSF and treatment with Benznidazole was started. After 4 days the CSF presented fractionated forms of trypomastigotes. The protein level was 27%. Signs of intracranial hypertension ceased. Tomography and magnetic resonance images showed an important reduction of the tumor-like lesion. The clinical condition of the patient improved.

Presence of Circulating Levels of Interferon-g, Interleukin-10 and Tumor Necrosis Factor-a in Patients with Visceral Leishmaniasis

Experimental murine L. major infection is characterized by the expansion of distinct CD4+ T cell subsets. The Th1 response is related to production of IFN-g and resolution of infection, whereas Th-2 response with production of IL-4 and IL-10 and dissemination of infection. The objective of this study was to measure the circulating levels of IFN-g, IL-10 and TNF-a in patients with visceral leishmaniasis (VL) before, during and at the end of therapy and to examine the association between cytokine levels and activity of VL. Fifteen patients with VL were evaluated. The cytokine determinations were done by using the enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) before, during and at the end of therapy. At baseline, we detected circulating levels of IFN-g in 13 of 15 patients (median = 60 pg/ml); IL-10 in 14 of 15 patients (median = 141.4 pg/ml); and TNF-a in 13 of 14 patients (median = 38.9 pg/ml). As patients improved, following antimonial therapy, circulating levels of IL-10 showed an exponential decay (y = 82.34 e–0,10367x, r = –0.659; p < 0.001). IFN-g was no longer detected after 7/14 days of therapy. On the other hand, circulating levels of TNF-a had a less pronounced decay with time on therapy, remaining detectable in most patients during the first seven days of therapy (y = 36.99-0.933x, r = –0.31; p = 0.05). Part of the expression of a successful response to therapy may, therefore, include reduction in secretion of inflammatory as well as suppressive cytokines. Since IL-10 and IFN-g are both detected prior to therapy, the recognized cellular immune depression seen in these patients may be due to biological predominance of IL-10 (type 2 cytokine), rather than lack of IFN-g (type 1 cytokine) production.