The behaviour of the peripheral natural killer cells in the foetal growth restriction.

AIM: To study the behaviour of the peripheral lymphocyte subsets in foetuses affected by growth restriction. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thirty consecutive pregnant women with an ultrasound diagnosis of foetal growth restriction were included in this study (group A) while 30 women with a physiologic pregnancy were recruited as control group (group B). The diagnosis was performed during the ultrasound of the third trimester and confirmed at birth. Blood samples were drawn after the ultrasound of the third trimester for all patients. The analyzed populations were: WBC, total lymphocytes, CD2+, CD3+, CD4+, CD5+, CD8+, CD19+, CD56+, HLA-DR+, CD45+, CD3+HLA-DR+, CD4+CD3+, CD3+CD8+, CD2+CD56+, CD19+CD5+, ratio (CD4+CD3+)/(CD3+CD8+). RESULTS: The percentage and absolute value of the NK cells was higher in the group A [(20.90 vs. 15.09)%, p = 0.0005; (419.55 vs. 341.40) UI/µl, p = 0.0005]. This trend was confirmed by the CD2+CD56+ natural killer (NK) subset [(18.84 vs. 13.42) UI/µl, p = 0.0005]. Instead, the CD4+ percentage value was lower in the group A [(41.15 vs. 44.84)%, p = 0.03] through the CD4+CD3+/CD3+CD8+ ratio was not significantly different. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings reinforce the concept of pregnancy as a controlled systemic inflammatory state that if altered can have adverse consequences for the mother and the foetus.

Low dose of betamethasone throughout the whole course of pregnancy and fetal growth: a clinical study.

AIM: To assess the eventual influence of low dose betamethasone throughout pregnancy on fetal growth. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 320 patients - admitted to the Section of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Ferrara University from January 2005 to December 2010 - were subdivided in two groups: 160 patients affected by recurrent spontaneous abortion (Group A), treated by low dose of betamethasone (0.5 mg/daily) throughout pregnancy for preventive purposes, 160 patients with physiological pregnancy as control group (Group B). Primary measured outcomes were neonatal biometric parameters such as birth weight, head circumference and neonatal length. Unpaired t-test was used to compare the neonatal biometric parameters. RESULTS: Birth weight, length and circumference head resulted significantly lower in groups treated by GCs. However, excluding bias as pregnancy complicated by diseases, which could affect fetal growth, biometric neonatal parameters were not different between two groups. Furthermore, analyzing the distribution of the value of birth weight we observed that in the group A there were 44 newborns with a weight even higher than fiftieth percentile. CONCLUSIONS: Betamethasone seems not to influence fetal growth. Our analysis demonstrates that fetal growth is influenced by several factors, therefore, homogeneous study population is essential to have convincing results.

Pancreatic cancer with liver metastases in a pregnant patient: case report and review of the literature.

In this case report, the authors discuss clinical presentation, surgical procedure and early results of chemotherapy of pancreatic carcinoma with liver metastases diagnosed a few days after delivery. Pancreatic adenocarcinoma occurs infrequently in pregnant and childbearing women: only ten cases have been reported in the literature. The early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer is difficult because symptoms appear when cancer is about to reach an advanced stage. In pregnancy, it is even more difficult because symptoms like dyspepsia, vomiting and epigastric pain may result confusing. The authors outline the difficulties in diagnosis and treatment of this kind of disease during pregnancy.

WT1 transcript amount discriminates secondary or reactive eosinophilia from idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome or chronic eosinophilic leukemia.

Idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndromes (HES) comprise a spectrum of indolent to aggressive diseases characterized by persistent hypereosinophilia. Hypereosinophilia can result from the presence of a defect in the hematopoietic stem cell giving rise to eosinophilia, it can be present in many myeloproliferative disorders or alternatively it may be a reactive form, secondary to many clinical conditions. The hybrid gene FIP1L1-PDGRFalpha was identified in a subset of patients presenting with HES or chronic eosinophilic leukemia (CEL). In spite of this, the majority of HES patients do not present detectable molecular lesions and for many of them the diagnosis is based on exclusion criteria and sometimes it remains doubt. In this study we explored the possibility to distinguish between HES/CEL and reactive hypereosinophilia based on WT1 transcript amount. For this purpose, 312 patients with hypereosinophilia were characterized at the molecular and cytogenetic level and analyzed for WT1 expression at diagnosis and during follow-up. This study clearly demonstrates that WT1 quantitative assessment allows to discriminate between HES/CEL and reactive eosinophilia and represents a useful tool for disease monitoring especially in the patients lacking a marker of clonality.

The NF-kappaB pathway blockade by the IKK inhibitor PS1145 can overcome imatinib resistance.

Imatinib represents at present the most attractive therapy for BCR-ABL positive leukemias, even though a percentage of CML patients develop resistance to this compound. For these resistant patients a therapeutic approach based on a combination of drugs is more likely to be effective. In the last years, constitutive NF-kappaB/Rel activity has been demonstrated in several hematological malignancies. As a result, NFkB/Rel-blocking approaches have been proposed as antineoplastic strategies. Furthermore, the identification of specific kinases within the NF-kappaB activation pathway offers a selective target to address tailored therapies. In the current study, we show that the IKK inhibitor PS1145 is able to inhibit the proliferation of CML cell lines and primary BM cells. Moreover, the addition of Imatinib increases the effects of PS1145 in resistant cell lines and BM cells from resistant patients, with a further increase of apoptosis and inhibition of proliferation and colony growth. Our data provide the rational for a new therapeutic approach, which combines Imatinib and the IKK inhibitor PS1145 in CML resistant patients.

Immediate increase in benzodiazepine binding in rat brain after a single brief experience in the plus maze: a paradoxical effect.

A single drug-free experience in the elevated plus-maze is well documented to reduce the behavioral effects of benzodiazepines (BZs) in subsequent tests. To ascertain the possible role of altered BZ receptor binding to in this phenomenon, rats received a 5-min exposure to the elevated plus maze and were immediately sacrificed. Receptor autoradiography revealed that [3H]flunitrazepam binding was significantly elevated in several amygdaloid and hippocampal nuclei (range: 13-23%); [3H]muscimol binding in adjacent sections was not significantly altered. These results suggest that BZ receptors can change very rapidly in response to anxiogenic conditions. However, the unexpected finding that [3H]flunitrazepam binding is increased by maze exposure suggests that the subsequent loss of BZ anxiolytic effects in the plus-maze is probably unrelated to alterations in BZ binding in brain.

Evaluation of three disinfectants after in-use stress.

Solutions of 2.0% and 3.4% glutaraldehyde, and of 0.5% phenate with 0.18% glutaraldehyde were stressed with a microbial and organic soil load for the periods advocated by the respective manufacturers. The disinfecting efficacy of the stressed solutions was challenged with Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis, Mycobacterium bovis (BCG), a water Mycobacterium sp. and Candida albicans. The three disinfectants were active against the fast-growing bacteria in appropriate dilutions; lesser dilutions of the glutaraldehyde solutions killed the mycobacteria and the yeast, while stressed phenate with glutaraldehyde did not. One hour exposure of the stressed disinfectants failed to kill the spore preparations while reducing the number of survivors.

Collaborative clinical laboratory evaluation of an individual MIC strip system.

Susceptibility results obtained with individualized MIC strips (MICRO-MIC) agreed with the standard microdilution broth method at a level of 96% or greater for each of the 10 antimicrobial agents tested.