ABSTRACT
It has been proposed that tumor suppressor genes may have a role in the mechanisms of proliferation and differentiation during human placental development. The Retinoblastoma gene family is a well known family of tumor suppressor genes. Many studies have pointed out a role of this family not only in cell cycle progression, but also during development and differentiation. On the light of these observations we have investigated the immunohistochemical expression pattern of the Retinoblastoma family members, p107 and Rb2/p130 in human placenta samples in first trimester and full-term placental sections. p107 and pRb2/p130 showed the most abundant expression levels during the first trimester of gestation and progressively declined to being barely detectable in the placenta by late gestation. These results indicate that the expression of the above genes is modulated during placental development and suggest a mechanism for controlling trophoblast proliferation.
Subject(s)
Genes, Retinoblastoma/genetics , Genes, Tumor Suppressor , Nuclear Proteins/biosynthesis , Nuclear Proteins/genetics , Phosphoproteins/biosynthesis , Phosphoproteins/genetics , Placenta/metabolism , Proteins , Retinoblastoma Protein/metabolism , Adult , Decidua/metabolism , Female , Humans , Immunohistochemistry , Pregnancy , Retinoblastoma-Like Protein p107 , Retinoblastoma-Like Protein p130 , Trophoblasts/metabolismABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To describe ophthalmic complications after nasal and sinus surgery. METHODS: Four cases with orbital complications were retrospectively selected from among more than 2000 cases of orbital pathologies. RESULTS: Motility disturbances due to extraocular muscle injury occurred in two patients after intranasal ethmoidectomy and in one patient after a Caldwell-Luc procedure. In the fourth case an orbital apex syndrome was noted after intranasal ethmoidectomies. CONCLUSIONS: Ophthalmic complications may occur after nasal and sinus surgery, even using an endoscopic procedure. Successful handling of these complications could be reached by on their early recognition and treatment.
Subject(s)
Eye Injuries/etiology , Nasal Polyps/surgery , Ocular Motility Disorders/etiology , Oculomotor Muscles/injuries , Orbit/injuries , Orbital Fractures/etiology , Adult , Eye Injuries/diagnosis , Eye Injuries/surgery , Female , Humans , Middle Aged , Ocular Motility Disorders/diagnosis , Ocular Motility Disorders/surgery , Orbital Fractures/diagnosis , Orbital Fractures/surgery , Postoperative Complications , Retrospective Studies , Tomography, X-Ray Computed , Visual AcuityABSTRACT
Kinematics variables of pointing movements where assessed in five adult subjects exposed acutely (30 min) and chronically (10 days) to a low O2 mixture (13.5% O2 in N2). Amplitude of displacement did not vary in both experimental conditions but movement duration markedly increased compared to pre and post exposure conditions. While in acute hypoxia the times of acceleration and deceleration are almost equal, in chronic hypoxia deceleration time exceeded of 100 ms the time of acceleration. The time from the peak acceleration to the peak of deceleration ("switch" time) increased in both experimental conditions and was about 50% of the movement duration. This time lengthening at hypoxia may be explained either by alteration of propioceptive loops or by a different strategy elaborated by the CNS to generally slow accurate movements.
Subject(s)
Hypoxia/physiopathology , Movement , Adult , Biomechanical Phenomena , Humans , MaleABSTRACT
We tested whether cutaneous afferents from the skin field close to an upper limb muscular region would carry information to spinal neurons at the onset or at the offset of a voluntary elbow extension movement lasting 1 s. We detected a depression of EMG activity both at onset and at the offset of the reaching movement but in the latter case depression was significantly larger and immediate. The marked depression of EMG activity suggests an inhibition, via spinal neurons, of the descending excitation to the motoneurones supplying the triceps brachii. This spinal control might be a very efficient mechanism for the termination of voluntary movement.
Subject(s)
Elbow/physiology , Motor Neurons/physiology , Radial Nerve/physiology , Spinal Nerves/physiology , Adult , Arm/physiology , Electric Stimulation , Female , Humans , Male , Muscle Contraction/physiology , Reflex, Stretch/physiologyABSTRACT
Lung cancer is a worldwide problem and in many countires it is the most lethal malignancy. Because relapse is frequent after resection of non small cell lung cancer, an urgent need exists to define prognostic factors which could help in choosing the best therapeutic approach. We performed immunohistochemistry on 60 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded non small cell lung cancer specimens in order to evaluate the frequency of cyclin D1 overexpression, and to relate it to the degree of malignancy of these tumors and to the overall survival time of the patients. All specimens were positive for cyclin D1 immunostaining. We found cyclin D1 overexpression in 30 (50%) of our specimens, with no significant difference among the different histological types. Cyclin D1 overexpression correlates in a statistical manner with short-term patient survival. Mantel-Cox analysis of these data generated a significant P value = 0.003. The mean survival time and the five-year survival rate also differed statistically. We did not find any statistically significant correlation between cyclin D1 overexpression and histological grading, tumor stage or TNM status. We concluded that cyclin D1 overexpression in 30 patients is a frequent event in non small cell lung cancer pathogenesis and may have prognostic relevance.
