Effect of high pressure treatment on the color of fresh and processed meats: A review.

High pressure (HP) treatment often results in discoloration of beef, lamb, pork, and poultry. The degree of color changes depends on the physical and chemical state of the meat, especially myoglobin, and the atmospheric conditions during and after pressurization. A decreased redness is attributed to a large degree to the oxidation of the bright red oxymyoglobin or the purplish deoxymyoglobin into the brownish metmyoglobin, as well as to the denaturation of myoglobin. Surely, the high myoglobin content makes beef more exposed to this discoloration compared to the white chicken meat. In addition, HP treatment causes denaturation of myofibrillar proteins followed by aggregation, consequently, changing the surface reflectance and increasing lightness. Other intrinsic and extrinsic factors may affect the pressure-induced color changes positively or negatively. In this review, the pressure-induced color changes in meat are discussed in relation to modification of the myoglobin molecule, changes in the meat microstructure, and the impact of the presence of different chemical compounds and physical conditions during processing.

Influence of systemic bone mineral density on atlantoaxial subluxation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Osteopenia and osteoporosis were independent predictive factors for higher atlantoaxial subluxation occurrence in patients with lower body mass index. Our findings suggest that patients with rheumatoid arthritis with osteopenia or osteoporosis, particularly those with lower body mass index (BMI), should be screened regularly to determine the status of their cervical spines. INTRODUCTION: Cervical spine involvement in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients may cause serious adverse effects on quality of life and overall health. This study aimed to evaluate the association between atlantodental interval (ADI), atlantoaxial subluxation (AAS), and systemic bone mineral density (BMD) based on BMI variations among established patients with RA. METHODS: The ADI was transformed to the natural log scale to normalize distributions for all analyses. Multivariable linear regression analyses were used to identify independent predictive factors for ADI based on each BMD classification. Multivariate Cox regression analyses were also performed to identify independent predictive factors for the risk of AAS, which were classified by tertile groups of BMI. RESULTS: A total of 1220 patients with RA who had undergone at least one or more cervical radiography and BMD assessments were identified and enrolled. We found that the association between BMD and ADI (ß, -0.029; 95% CI, -0.059 to 0.002; p = 0.070) fell short of achieving statistical significance. However, the ADI showed a 3.6% decrease per 1 BMI increase in the osteoporosis group (ß, -0.036; 95% CI, -0.061 to -0.011; p = 0.004). The osteopenia and osteoporosis groups showed about a 1.5-fold and a 1.8-fold increased risk of AAS occurrence among the first tertile of the BMI group. CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed a possible association between lower BMD and AAS occurrence in patients with RA with lower BMI. Further studies are needed to confirm our findings.

Expression of the proliferating cell nuclear antigen and clinicopathological features in intracranial meningiomas.

PC10, a monoclonal antibody (mAb) to proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) is known to show immunoreactivity in paraffin-embedded specimens. The authors present the relation between PCNA expression and clinicopathological features in 38 intracranial meningiomas. PCNA scores were obtained by immunohistochemical staining of the paraffin-embedded sections using a streptavidin-biotin immunoperoxidase method with PC10 mAb. Univariate analysis showed that high PC10 scores were associated with old age (> or = 50 years old), male, recurrent tumours, and meningothelial type. However, these high scores did not reach a statistical significance (P> 0.05). PC10 scores of the basal meningioma tended to be higher than that of the hemispheric meningioma (P< 0.05). The staining intensity of PCNA was also markedly increased in basal meningiomas. It is suggested that the proliferative potential is higher in basal meningiomas than in hemispheric meningiomas. Moreover, these results could reflect high recurrence and difficulty in management of the skull base meningiomas.

Multiple intracranial aneurysms associated with branchio-oto-dysplasia.

Branchio-oto-dysplasia is characterized by abnormalities of embryonic branchial arch system and deafness inherited as autosomal dominant with variable gene expression. We present a rare case of multiple intracranial aneurysms associated with branchio-oto-dysplasia. A 40-yr-old man with severe headache presented as spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage on brain computed tomographic scan. The patient also manifested clinical features of branchio-oto-dysplasia and right hemifacial hypoplasia. Carotid angiogram confirmed an aneurysm in the anterior communicating artery. Intraoperative findings demonstrated multiple aneurysms in the anterior communicating artery and in the left posterior communicating artery, which were clipped successfully. Postoperative course was uneventful. This condition has not been reported previously. We also reviewed literatures to discuss whether the intracranial aneurysm was as a coincidental finding or a part of this malformation.

Expression of tenascin-C in astrocytic tumors: its relevance to proliferation and angiogenesis.

BACKGROUND: The expression and distribution of the extracellular matrix protein tenascin-C (TN-C) may be enhanced in human astrocytomas. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the expression of TN-C according to histological malignancy of tumor cells and its relevance to neoplastic angiogenesis in human astrocytic tumors. METHODS: Between 1994 and 1998, 52 astrocytic tumor specimens including 4 pilocytic astrocytomas, 13 astrocytomas, 3 anaplastic astrocytomas, and 32 glioblastomas were used in this study. A retrospective analysis was performed to evaluate a statistical correlation between TN-C expression and proliferative indices. We characterized the expression of TN-C in neoplastic vessels, around individual tumor cells as a tumor network, and in tumor cells by immunohistochemistry using antibodies against human TN-C. The proliferative indices were also investigated by immunostaining with the MIB-1 antibody against the Ki-67 proliferation antigen. RESULTS: TN-C immunoreactivity was found to be enhanced in tumor vessels and tumor networks of high-grade astrocytic tumors. The vascular TN-C deposition was greater in high-grade than in low-grade astrocytic tumors (p < 0.05). Its expression was the most intense in glioblastomas. Proliferation indices increased with tumor grade and MIB-1 labeling index (LI) was highest in glioblastomas. Moreover, expression of TN-C in tumor vessels was correlated with proliferative indices. CONCLUSIONS: Our data show that TN-C in human astrocytic tumors may be identified as a factor contributing to malignant progression. And also, enhanced expression of TN-C in tumor vessels having a high proliferative index indicates that TN-C could be involved in neoplastic angiogenesis.

Metastatic tumors in the sellar and parasellar regions: clinical review of four cases.

Metastatic tumors in the sellar and parasellar regions are uncommon and rarely detected in clinical practice. We present four cases of sellar and parasellar metastatic tumors, which metastasized from distant organ in one case and extended directly from adjacent structures in three. Common presenting symptoms were cranial neuropathies, headache and facial pain. Invasion into the cavernous sinus was noted in all cases. We report rare cases of sellar and parasellar metastases. Also, we should consider the possibility of metastasis in these regions for patients who showed the above clinical presentations in systemic cancer patients. In extensive diseases, transient symptomatic relief could be obtained by direct surgical management, even in restricted degree.

Symptomatic sacral extradural arachnoid cyst associated with lumbar intradural arachnoid cyst.

A case of sacral extradural arachnoid cyst associated with lumbar intradural arachnoid cyst in a 35-year-old male is reported. The patient presented with a history of severe sacrococcygeal pain, constipation, and dysuria for several months. Computed tomographic (CT) myelograms and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans showed a huge sacral cyst without neural components. A favorable outcome could be achieved by decompression of the cyst, obliteration of the fistulous channel between the cyst and the thecal sac, and fenestration of the arachnoid cyst into the subarachnoid space. The relevant literatures are also reviewed.