Nephroprotective effect of exercise training in cisplatin-induced renal damage in mice: influence of training protocol.

Cisplatin is an effective antineoplastic agent, but its use is limited by its nephrotoxicity caused by the oxidative stress in tubular epithelium of nephrons. On the other hand, regular exercise provides beneficial adaptations in different tissues and organs. As with many drugs, dosing is extremely important to get the beneficial effects of exercise. Thus, we aimed to investigate the influence of exercise intensity and frequency on cisplatin-induced (20 mg/kg) renal damage in mice. Forty male Swiss mice were divided into five experimental groups (n=8 per group): 1) sedentary; 2) low-intensity forced swimming, three times per week; 3) high-intensity forced swimming, three times per week; 4) low-intensity forced swimming, five times per week; and 5) high-intensity forced swimming, five times per week. Body composition, renal structure, functional indicators (plasma urea), lipid peroxidation, antioxidant enzyme activity, expression of genes related to antioxidant defense, and inflammatory and apoptotic pathways were evaluated. Comparisons considered exercise intensity and frequency. High lipid peroxidation was observed in the sedentary group compared with trained mice, regardless of exercise intensity and frequency. Groups that trained three times per week showed more benefits, as reduced tubular necrosis, plasma urea, expression of CASP3 and Rela (NFkB subunit-p65) genes, and increased total glutathione peroxidase activity. No significant difference in Nfe2l2 (Nrf2) gene expression was observed between groups. Eight weeks of regular exercise training promoted nephroprotection against cisplatin-mediated oxidative injury. Exercise frequency was critical for nephroprotection.

Nephroprotective effect of exercise training in cisplatin-induced renal damage in mice: influence of training protocol

Cisplatin is an effective antineoplastic agent, but its use is limited by its nephrotoxicity caused by the oxidative stress in tubular epithelium of nephrons. On the other hand, regular exercise provides beneficial adaptations in different tissues and organs. As with many drugs, dosing is extremely important to get the beneficial effects of exercise. Thus, we aimed to investigate the influence of exercise intensity and frequency on cisplatin-induced (20 mg/kg) renal damage in mice. Forty male Swiss mice were divided into five experimental groups (n=8 per group): 1) sedentary; 2) low-intensity forced swimming, three times per week; 3) high-intensity forced swimming, three times per week; 4) low-intensity forced swimming, five times per week; and 5) high-intensity forced swimming, five times per week. Body composition, renal structure, functional indicators (plasma urea), lipid peroxidation, antioxidant enzyme activity, expression of genes related to antioxidant defense, and inflammatory and apoptotic pathways were evaluated. Comparisons considered exercise intensity and frequency. High lipid peroxidation was observed in the sedentary group compared with trained mice, regardless of exercise intensity and frequency. Groups that trained three times per week showed more benefits, as reduced tubular necrosis, plasma urea, expression of CASP3 and Rela (NFkB subunit-p65) genes, and increased total glutathione peroxidase activity. No significant difference in Nfe2l2 (Nrf2) gene expression was observed between groups. Eight weeks of regular exercise training promoted nephroprotection against cisplatin-mediated oxidative injury. Exercise frequency was critical for nephroprotection.

Thickness-dependent electrocaloric effect in mixed-phase Pb0.87Ba0.1 La0.02(Zr0.6Sn0.33Ti0.07)O3 thin films.

Full-perovskite Pb0.87Ba0.1La0.02(Zr0.6Sn0.33Ti0.07)O3 (PBLZST) thin films were fabricated by a sol-gel method. These revealed both rhombohedral and tetragonal phases, as opposed to the full-tetragonal phase previously reported in ceramics. The fractions of tetragonal and rhombohedral phases are found to be strongly dependent on film thickness. The fraction of tetragonal grains increases with increasing film thickness, as the substrate constraint throughout the film decreases with film thickness. The maximum of the dielectric constant (εm) and the corresponding temperature (Tm) are thickness-dependent and dictated by the fraction of rhombohedral and tetragonal phase, with εm reaching a minimum at 400 nm and Tm shifting to higher temperature with increasing thickness. With the thickness increase, the breakdown field decreases, but field-induced antiferroelectric-ferroelectric (EAFE-FE) and ferroelectric-antiferroelectric (EFE-AFE) switch fields increase. The electrocaloric effect increases with increasing film thickness.This article is part of the themed issue 'Taking the temperature of phase transitions in cool materials'.

Tufted hair folliculitis after scalp injury.

We describe the case of a 38-year-old epileptic man with tufted hair folliculitis. The condition started 5 years ago after a scalp laceration that had been sustained 3 months earlier during an epileptic crisis. There then appeared a circumscribed inflammatory bulging lesion (with exudation and crusts) that evolved to scarring alopecia with tufts of 20 to 30 apparently normal hair shafts. Results of bacteriologic examination of pus extruding from the dilated follicular ostia revealed Staphylococcus aureus. The cutaneous pathologic examination showed polymorphous inflammatory exudate in the upper and mid dermis, which was mostly perifollicular, and the presence of normal and independent follicles in the deep dermis, which, while ascending, converged to a common dilated follicular channel. The patient was treated successively with oral flucloxacillin, erythromycin, ciprofloxacin, and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid and with topical application of erythromycin, clindamycin, povidone iodine, and ketoconazole. Transient improvement was followed by recurrence and enlargement of the affected area.

Successful treatment of Grover's disease with calcipotriol.

We report the case of an 84-year-old man with clinical, histological and electron-microscopic features of a Darier-like pattern of Grover's disease. The lesions had a persistent course, with a 5-month history before diagnosis and a clinical onset 2 years after the surgical removal of a cholangiocarcinoma. A significant clinical improvement was observed after a three-week course of calcipotriol ointment applied as a monotherapy regimen. Clinical uses of topical calcipotriol in dermatological conditions are reviewed with emphasis on dyskeratotic disorders.

[The Sézary syndrome]. / Síndrome de Sézary.

Sézary syndrome is a form of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma and, like mycosis fungoides, results from the malignant proliferation of mature post-thymic T-cell lymphocytes. The main features are the presence of abnormal mononuclear cells (Sezary cells) in the peripheral blood and exfoliative erythroderma. The authors present of a 70-year-old woman admitted to our clinic due to the case pruriginous and exfoliative erythroderma, subcutaneous nodes and lymphadenopathy. The clinical diagnosis of Sézary syndrome was confirmed through the identification of Sézary cells in the peripheral blood by cytochemistry and membrane marker studies and by lymph node histopathology. Genotypic studies excluded the presence of HTLV-I and HTLV-II sequences in DNA samples and confirmed the monoclonal nature and T-cell origin of this lymphoproliferative disease.

Quality assurance in liaison psychiatry. European Consultation-Liaison Workgroup. / Garantia de qualidade em psiquiatria de ligação. European Consultation-Liaison Workgroup.

As far as we know, there is no experience of quality management in mental health care in Portugal. This study fills a gap in the area of consultation-liaison psychiatry. Due to its multidisciplinarity and to the complexity of the problems it deals with, consultation-liaison psychiatry seems a privileged field for the development of this kind of programme. The authors describe the different steps necessary for the implementation of a quality management study in one of the national centres and report some preliminary results that show the success it has attained.

Patch testing in children: a study of 562 schoolchildren.

562 schoolchildren from Oporto were patch tested with the standard series of the Portuguese Contact Dermatitis Group (GPEDC). 13.3% of the children had positive reactions, the most common being to neomycin, thimerosal, para-tertiary-butylphenol-formaldehyde (PTBPF) resin and fragrance-mix. Thus contact allergy in children seems not to be as unusual as previously thought.