Nasal pillow vs. standard nasal mask for treatment of OSA: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of nasal pillows with standard nasal masks in the treatment of patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). METHODS: A digitalized search was carried out in four different databases including PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE, and CENTRAL using relevant keywords along with a manual search in relevant journals. All comparative studies comparing outcomes of using a nasal pillow with the use of standard nasal masks for continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment in patients with OSA were included. The qualitative analysis was carried out by tabulating the demographic data. The quantitative data were subjected to meta-analysis. The quality of comparative studies (both retrospective and prospective cohorts) was evaluated using New-castle Ottawa scale (NOS). RESULTS: A total of 14 studies (eight prospective and six retrospective) were included in the review. Of them, five studies were randomized and were of cross-over study design. No significant differences were observed in achieved CPAP and residual apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) levels between the nasal pillow and nasal mask with SMD - 0.05 95% CI [- 0.18, 0.09], p = 0.50 and SMD - 0.13 95% CI [- 0.28, 0.03], p = 0.12, respectively. However, nasal pillow usage was associated with better CPAP adherence with a difference of only + 0.29 min/night as compared to a standard nasal mask, with SMD 0.29 95% CI [0.07, 0.50], p = 0.009. CONCLUSION: Nasal pillow and standard nasal mask were equally effective in terms of residual AHI level and achieved similar therapeutic CPAP pressures. However, the difference in CPAP adherence between groups, though statistically significant, is of questionable clinical significance.

Extensive Carbon Contribution of Inundated Terrestrial Plants to Zooplankton Biomass in a Eutrophic Lake.

Organic carbon derived from terrestrial plants contributes to aquatic consumers, e.g., zooplankton in lakes. The degree of the contribution depends on the availability of terrestrial organic carbon in lake organic pool and the transfer efficiency of the carbon. Terrestrial organic carbon is poor-quality food for zooplankton with a mismatch of nutrition content and was incorporated to zooplankton with much lower efficiency than phytoplankton. Contributions of terrestrial carbon to zooplankton generally decrease with an increase in phytoplankton production, indicating a preferential incorporation of phytoplankton in previous investigations. However, in eutrophic lakes, the dominating cyanobacteria were of poor quality and incorporated to consumers inefficiently too. In that case, zooplankton in eutrophic wetlands, where cyanobacteria dominate the phytoplankton production and massive terrestrial plants are inundated, may not preferentially incorporate poor food-quality phytoplankton resource to their biomass. Therefore, we hypothesize that carbon contributions of terrestrial vegetation to zooplankton and to lake particulate organic pool should be similar in such aquatic ecosystems. We tested this hypothesis by sampling zooplankton and carbon sources in Ming Lake (Jinan University Campus, southern China) which was overgrown by terrestrial plants after drying and re-flooded. After 60 days of observations at weekly (or biweekly) intervals, applying stable carbon (13C), nitrogen (15 N), and hydrogen (2H) isotopic analysis and a stable isotope mixing model, we estimated the occurrence of extensive carbon contribution (≥ 50%) of flooded terrestrial plants to cladocerans and copepods. Contribution of inundated terrestrial plants to cladocerans was similar to that to lake particulate organic pool. Thus, our study quantified the role of terrestrial carbon in eutrophic wetlands, enhancing our understanding of cross-ecosystem interactions in food webs with an emphasis on the resource quality.

Case report of a rare giant bone island in a vertebral body combined with hemangioma.

This case report describes a rare giant bone island combined with hemangioma diagnosed in a patient with osteolytic vertebral metastases. The bone island's greatest diameter was 3.15 cm, and bone islands of this size are rare in the literature. This article aims to provide clinicians with information about the diagnosis and relevant literature of bone islands.

Pyridine analogues of curcumin exhibit high activity for inhibiting CWR-22Rv1 human prostate cancer cell growth and androgen receptor activation.

The concentrations required for curcumin to exert its anticancer activity (IC50, 20 µM) are difficult to achieve in the blood plasma of patients, due to the low bioavailability of the compound. Therefore, much effort has been devoted to the development of curcumin analogues that exhibit stronger anticancer activity and a lower IC50 than curcumin. The present study investigated twelve pyridine analogues of curcumin, labeled as groups AN, BN, EN and FN, to determine their effects in CWR-22Rv1 human prostate cancer cells. The inhibitory effects of these compounds on testosterone (TT)-induced androgen receptor (AR) activity was determined by performing an AR-linked luciferase assay and by TT-induced expression of prostate-specific antigen. The results of the current study suggested that the FN group of analogues had the strongest inhibitory effect of growth on CWR-22Rv1 cultured cells, and were the most potent inhibitor of AR activity compared with curcumin, and the AN, BN and EN analogues. Thus, the results of the present study indicate the inhibition of the AR pathways as a potential mechanism for the anticancer effect of curcumin analogues in human prostate cancer cells. Furthermore, curcumin analogues with pyridine as a distal ring and tetrahydrothiopyran-4-one as a linker may be good candidates for the development of novel drugs for the treatment of prostate cancer, by targeting the AR signaling pathway.

Mechanistic Study of Inhibitory Effects of Atorvastatin and Docetaxel in Combination on Prostate Cancer.

AIM: To investigate the effects and mechanisms of docetaxel and atorvastatin administered individually or in combination on prostate cancer cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cell growth and apoptosis were determined by the trypan blue exclusion assay and morphological assessment of cells was performed with propidium iodide. NF-κB activity was determined by luciferase reporter gene assay and the western blot assay was used to determine the levels of Bcl-2, phospho-Akt, VEGF, and phospho-Erk1/2. RESULTS: Results showed that following pre-treatment with cholesterol, resistance of PC-3 prostate cancer cells to docetaxel was increased. The combination of docetaxel with atorvastatin potently inhibited growth and induced apoptosis in PC-3 cells. Mechanistic studies indicated that induction of apoptosis in PC-3 cells was associated with significant decreases in the levels of Bcl-2, VEGF, phosphor-Akt, and phosphor-Erk1/2. CONCLUSION: Treatment with cholesterol decreased the sensitivity of prostate cancer cells to docetaxel. Docetaxel in combination with cholesterol-lowering drugs such as atorvastatin may be an effective strategy for inhibiting the growth of prostate cancer.

Synthesis and evaluation of curcumin-related compounds containing inden-2-one for their effects on human cancer cells.

Indanones are very useful molecules as starting building blocks for the synthesis of biologically active compounds. A series of novel curcumin-related compounds containing indan-2-one were synthesized and screened for anticancer activities. The structures were confirmed by spectral data (IR, NMR, and Mass). Inhibitory effects of these compounds on the growth of prostate cancer PC-3 cells, pancreatic cancer BxPC-3 cells, colon cancer HT-29 cells, lung cancer H1299 cells and non-tumorigenic human prostate epithelial RWPE-1 cells were determined by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The IC50 for compound IND-4 was lower than 1 µM in the four cancer cell lines. The present study indicates that IND-4 may have useful effects on human cancer cells.

Curcumin analogues with high activity for inhibiting human prostate cancer cell growth and androgen receptor activation.

The androgen receptor (AR) has a critical role in prostate cancer development and progression. Several curcumin analogues (A10, B10, C10, E10 and F10) with different linker groups were investigated for their effects in human prostate cancer CWR­22Rv1 and LNCaP cell lines. The ability of these compounds to inhibit testosterone (TT)­ or dihydrotestosterone (DHT)­induced AR activity was determined by an AR­linked luciferase assay and by TT­ or DHT­induced expression of prostate specific antigen. Compounds F10 and E10 had stronger inhibitory effects on the growth of cultured CWR­22Rv1 and LNCaP cell lines, and they also had enhanced stimulatory effects on apoptosis compared with curcumin and other curcumin analogues (A10, B10, C10) in CWR­22Rv1 cells. E10 and F10 were more potent inhibitors of AR activity than curcumin, A10 and B10. The higher activities of E10 and F10 may be correlated with a heteroatom linker. The results indicate that one of the potential mechanisms for the anticancer effect of the curcumin analogues was inhibition of AR pathways in human prostate cancer cells.

Effects of curcumin analogues for inhibiting human prostate cancer cells and the growth of human PC-3 prostate xenografts in immunodeficient mice.

Four curcumin analogues ((2E,6E)-2,6-bis(thiophen-3-methylene) cyclohexanone (AS), (2E,5E)-2,5-bis(thiophen-3-methylene) cyclopentanone (BS), (3E,5E)-3,5-bis(thiophen-3-methylene)-tetrahydropyran-4-one (ES) and (3E,5E)-3,5-bis(thiophen-3-methylene)-tetrahydrothiopyran-4-one (FS) as shown in Fig. 1) with different linker groups were investigated for their effects in human prostate cancer CWR-22Rv1 and PC-3 cells. Compounds FS and ES had stronger inhibitory effects than curcumin, AS and BS on the growth of cultured CWR-22Rv1 and PC-3 cells, as well as on the androgen receptor (AR) and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) activity. The strong activities of ES and FS may be correlated with a heteroatom linker. In animal studies, severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice were injected subcutaneously (s.c.) with PC-3 cells in Matrigel. After 4 to 6 weeks, mice with PC-3 tumors (about 0.6 cm wide and 0.6 cm long) received daily intraperitoneal (i.p.) injections of vehicle, ES and FS (10 µg/g body weight) for 31 d. FS had a potent effect in inhibiting the growth and progression of PC-3 tumors. Our results indicate that FS may be useful for inhibiting human prostate tumors growth.

Synthesis and evaluation of curcumin-related compounds containing benzyl piperidone for their effects on human cancer cells.

Eleven curcumin-related compounds containing a benzyl piperidone moiety were synthesized and evaluated for their effects on cultured prostate cancer PC-3 cells, pancreas cancer BxPC-3 cells, colon cancer HT-29 cells and lung cancer H1299 cells. Inhibitory effects of these compounds on the growth of PC-3, BxPC-3, HT-29 and H1299 cells were determined by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and trypan blue exclusion assay. Compounds benzyl piperidone 2 (P2), P4, P7, 4-bromo-2-fluoro-benzyl piperidone 2 (PFBr2), PFBr3 and PFBr4 (see syntheses and structures in Figs. 1, 2) exhibited potent inhibitory effects on the growth of cultured PC-3, BxPC-3, HT-29 and H1299 cells. The IC50 for these compounds was lower than 2 µM in all four cell lines. PFBr4 was 41-, 36-, 40- and 46-fold more active than curcumin for inhibiting the growth of PC-3, BxPC-3, HT-29 and H1299 cells, respectively. The benzyl piperidone-containing compounds studied also stimulated apoptosis in PC-3 cells. Mechanistic studies indicate that the effects of both curcumin and PFBr4 on PC-3 cells were associated with a decrease in phospho-Akt and phospho-extracellular signal-regulated kinase (Erk)1/2. The present study indicates that P2, P4, P7, PFBr2, PFBr3 and PFBr4 may have useful effects on human cancer cells.

Effects of pyridine analogs of curcumin on growth, apoptosis and NF-κB activity in prostate cancer PC-3 cells.

Twelve pyridine analogs of curcumin were studied for their effects on growth and apoptosis in human prostate cancer PC-3 cells. The ability of these compounds to inhibit the transcriptional activity of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and the level of phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinases (phospho-ERK1/2) in PC-3 cells was also determined. Treatment of PC-3 cells with the pyridine analogs of curcumin resulted in concentration-dependent growth inhibition and apoptosis stimulation. Only pyridine analogs of curcumin with a tetrahydrothiopyrane-4-one linker (FN compounds) exhibited a strong inhibitory effect on growth and a strong stimulatory effect on apoptosis at low concentrations (≤ 1 µM). Mechanistic studies showed that NF-κB transcriptional activity in PC-3 cells was strongly inhibited by treatment with group FN compounds. Treatment of PC-3 cells with 1 µM FN1 resulted in a decrease of activated ERK1/2. Results from the present study indicate that FN compounds warrant further in vivo studies using suitable animal models of prostate cancer.