ABSTRACT
The request for fertility preservation has consistently increased in recent years. To our knowledge this case report is the first to describe the application of near-infrared intraoperative imaging using indocyanine green (NIR-ICG) during ovarian tissue transplantation (OTT), to assist surgeon choosing the site of implantation of ovarian fragments. OTT was performed in a 42-year-old woman using NIR-ICG to evaluate the vascularisation of peritoneal area as the site of implantation for the ovarian graft. we believe this new approach could be useful in identifying the best reimplantation site.
ABSTRACT
Monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) activity in platelets, serum dopamine-beta-hydroxylase (DBH) activity, and serum prolactin (PRL) were measured during a cross-sectional investigation in workers occupationally exposed to styrene. The study group consisted of 53 workers (33 men and 20 women) employed for 9.3 years on average (range 1-22) in reinforced plastics plants. Sixty industrial workers with no known exposure to chemicals and comparable as to age, sex and confounding variables were recruited as controls. The activities of MAO-B in platelet-rich plasma and of DBH in serum from exposed and control subjects were measured within the same run, using methods based on the liquid-chromatographic determination of the reaction products. Serum PRL was determined by both EIA and RIA. Blood samples had been collected between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m. A lower DBH activity was found in exposed as compared to control workers (GM: 7.25 U/ml serum vs. 10.11 U/ml serum; p < 0.01), whereas MAO-B activity was significantly lower in a heavily exposed subgroup (10.1 vs. 13.8 U/10(7) platelets; p = 0.05), but not in the whole sample (p = 0.07). Serum PRL was higher both in male (GM: 8.90 ng/ml vs. 6.05 ng/ml; p < 0.01) and female (GM: 12.6 ng/ml vs. 9.33 ng/ml; p < 0.05) styrene-exposed workers as compared to their respective controls. Dose-response relationships were found for abnormally low DBH and abnormally high PRL values, with a threshold occurring at metabolite levels corresponding to 8h-TWA styrene concentrations in air around 25 ppm. In summary, this study shows that long-term exposure to relatively low levels of styrene can affect DBH activity and basal serum PRL. Owing to its sensitivity, PRL is a useful biomarker to show impairments of dopaminergic control on pituitary secretion. Since DBH is expression of catecholamine secretion, its decreased activity could represent an indirect index of altered turnover rate of the physiological substrate (i.e.dopamine) at the neuronal level. However, a direct interference by styrene metabolites on enzyme activity cannot be ruled out. Platelet MAO-B activity seems to be less sensitive to styrene exposure.
Subject(s)
Blood Platelets/drug effects , Dopamine beta-Hydroxylase/drug effects , Monoamine Oxidase/drug effects , Neurotoxins/toxicity , Styrenes/toxicity , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Occupational Exposure , StyreneABSTRACT
The role of increased beta-endorphin activity in patients with silent myocardial ischemia has been postulated. To further investigate this hypothesis, 13 patients with silent myocardial ischemia (A) and 10 patients with exercise-induced angina (B) were studied. To be entered in groups A and B patients had to fulfill the following criteria: occurrence or not of anginal pain, according to history and clinical data, during a positive exercise ECG and associated imaging of reversible perfusion defect at thallium-201 scintigraphy. Basal plasma beta-endorphin levels showed significantly (p less than 0.05) higher values in group A as compared to group B. At the end of an exercise stress test, plasma beta-endorphin levels were measured in 9 patients from group A and in 7 from group B. Post-exercise beta-endorphin levels showed a mild increase in group A, but increased significantly in group B (p less than 0.02). The patients with silent or symptomatic myocardial ischemia were quite well-matched with regard to age, sex, number and localization of obstructed coronary vessels, positive exercise ECG and imaging of reversible perfusion defect at thallium-201 scintigraphy. The higher basal plasma beta-endorphin levels in patients with painless ischemia, compared to symptomatic patients, suggested that endogenous opioid peptides play a role in the perception of anginal pain during myocardial ischemia. The fact that post-exercise plasma beta-endorphin levels increased in symptomatic patients but remained unchanged in patients with silent myocardial ischemia does not lead to conclusive considerations.
