A simple and rapid method of isolation of active polypeptide complex, yolkin, from chicken egg yolk.

A large number of bioactive peptides isolated from natural sources are known to play important physiological roles in the human body. It is possible to use these as alternative therapy agents. One example is yolkin which can be useful as a food supplement, a natural therapeutic agent for preventing and treating cognitive disorders of various origins, preferably in patients with unsatisfactory responses to known therapies. A new simple method of isolation of yolkin based on precipitation with ethanol or acetone was developed. The best precipitation efficiency of both ethanol and acetone was achieved when stirred into the starting material to a final concentration of 70%. These methods preserved the ability of yolkin to stimulate human whole blood cells to release anti-inflammatory cytokines and neurotrophins. At first we indicated that yolkin displayed a potential neuroprotective effect by the ability to stimulate cells to produce pro-survival brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF).

Incidence of antibodies in women after failure of assisted reproduction.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to determine to what degree antisperm allo-antibodies (ASA), anti-ovarian antibodies (AOA), anti-zona pellucida antibodies (AZPA) and seven anti-phospholipid antibodies (APLA) can explain the failure of assisted reproduction technology (ART) in women. BACKGROUND: Among the causes of reproductive failure are allo- and autoimmune reactions of the organism against reproductive tissues and cells. METHODS: We examined a sample of 43 selected women aged 27 to 45 after failure of assisted reproduction technology (ART) via intrauterine insemination (IUI), in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Sera from these women were tested by ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) (total Ig) for the presence of anti-sperm allo-antibodies (ASA), anti-ovarian antibodies (AOA), anti-zona pellucida antibodies (AZPA) and seven anti-phospholipid antibodies (APLA). RESULTS: We found 22 (51 %) patients positive for the examined antibodies. Among patients with positive results were 3 miscarriages, 3 biochemical pregnancies (↑ hCG) and 16 with no evidence of conception. Positive APLA was found in 17 patients. Selected immunological parameters were negative in 21 (49 %) patients, which means that the tested allo- and auto-antibodies did not cause the failure of ART. CONCLUSION: This demonstrates that the range of diagnostic tests limits the success of diagnosis and the method of dealing with infertile couples. The use of cardiolipin as a screening test appears to be insufficient, because in our sample it would have caused a 35 % error rate. Investigation of antibodies against seven phospholipids is thus considered to be reasonable and is beneficial for infertility diagnosis (Tab. 2, Ref. 36).

[Corelation between hyperviscosity of the ejaculate and physical-morphological and biochemical parameters]. / Hyperviskozita ejakulátu v kooperácii (asociácii) s niektorými fyzikálno-morfologickými a mikrobiologickými parametrami.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study was to investigate the corelation between hyperviscosity and physical-morphological and biochemical parameters of the ejaculate and potential influence of local infections on spermatic plasma viscosity and observed parameters. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis. SETTING: Associated Tissue Bank of P. J. Safárik University of Faculty of Medicine and L. Pasteur Faculty Hospital, Kosice, Slovak Republic. METHODS: The study was based on semen samples showing increased viscosity obtained from 100 consecutive men undergoing fertility assessment (median 35 years, range 27-49 years) in Associated Tissue Bank between years 1996 and 2006. The ejaculates were obtained by masturbation after 2-7 days of sexual abstinence (median 5 days). RESULTS: Increased viscosity correlated with lower motility and increased pathology (95% and 91%, respectively). Within the diagnosis of asthenozoospermia there was a correlation between PMN (polymorphonuclear granulocytes) (95%), higher seminal fluid pH (94%), decreased sperm vitality (100%), decreased total seminal plasma fructose (100%) and positive microbiology (95%). There was significant positive correlation between high visco-elasticity and positive microbiology (85%), although a leukocytospermia (>1 x 106/mL) was present just in 10% of the semen samples. CONCLUSION: Hyper-visco-elasticity is simple but important parameter of men fertility assessment and is associated with the diagnosis of asthenoteratozoospermia. It is suggested from our patient data that decrease of the leukocytospermia cutoff criteria could detect a chronic and/or latent infection of the urogenital tract. Furthermore, combination of the diagnoses of viscopathy and asthenoteratozoospermia seems as potential marker and indication, respectively, for microbiology examination.

Adjuvant therapy with hydrolytic enzymes in recurrent laryngeal papillomatosis.

The subject of this study is systemic enzymotherapy as adjuvant treatment in recurrent laryngeal papillomatosis. The authors analyze their observations of 5 adult patients with recurrent laryngeal papillomatosis when after surgical extirpation and subsequent application of peroral proteases there was a significant improvement of their clinical state and laboratory results. The patients have been disease-free from 10 to 18 months. In the authors' experience, the adjuvant enzymotherapy seems to be a suitable replacement of the supplementary treatment in larynx papillomatosis, and it promises to decrease the recurrence rate as well.

[Comparison of the reactivity of pulmonary tissue and pulmonary vessels in ontogenesis]. / Porovnanie reaktivity pl'úcneho tkaniva a pl'úcnych ciev v ontogenéze.

Reactivity of the lung tissue and of a. pulmonalis has been followed by means of isometric contraction of isolated strips. Histamine, acetylcholine and prostaglandin F2 alfa (PGF2 alfa) contracted the lung strips, the amplitude of histamine and acetylcholine induced contraction being significantly higher in grown guinea pigs than in foetuses. Strips of a. pulmonalis reacted with contraction in response to histamine and PGF2 alfa, they were non-reactive against acetylcholine. Magnitude of response of the strips of a. pulmonalis obtained from grown animals was significantly greater only after administration of PGF2 alfa in concentration of 10(-4) mol.l-1. Values of EC50 were significantly changed only by influence of acetylcholine on the lung strips. Isolated preparations of lung and vessel strips allow to characterize pharmacodynamic properties of the lung tissue. They represent a contribution to the evaluation of lung reactivity to xenobiotics.

Pericardial effusion diagnosed by echocardiography. Clinical and electrocardiographic findings in 171 patients.

Clinical and electrocardiographic findings in 171 patients with pericardial effusion diagnosed by echocardiographic studies were reviewed. In 70 patients the effusion was unsuspected. There were 87 small, 50 moderate, and 31 large effusions. Cardiac tamponade was present in three patients. Congestive heart failure was the most common cause of pericardial effusion and occurred in 37 patients. Other frequently noted conditions included cardiac disease without congestive heart failure, neoplasms, acute nonspecific pericarditis, renal failure, and acute myocardial infarction. A pericardial friction rub was present in 23 patients, two-thirds of whom had moderate or large effusions. Atrial arrhythmias were common. Low voltage occurred in 31 of 136 patients and was more common with large effusions. The ability to distinguish between a small effusion and the quantity of pericardial fluid present normally is a problem requiring further clarification.