Silibinin Reduces the Impact of Obesity on Invasive Liver Cancer.

Obesity is associated with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Obesity and metabolic abnormalities resulting in low-grade inflammation can increase the risk of developing NASH and HCC. NASH, a risk factor for HCC, is characterized by increased inflammation, lipid accumulation, and liver injury. Obesogenic proteins modulate signaling pathways that induce physiological changes including lipogenesis, ROS, and inflammation. Silibinin, a polyphenol in milk thistle seed, has been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties. Studies have yet to determine whether silibinin can be used to dissect the obesity-cancer link to delay progression of liver cancer. Using an in vitro model, sera from obese (OB), overweight (OW), or normal weight (NW) males (based on BMI) were used to determine the efficacy of silibinin to reduce the pro-tumorigenic properties of obesity. HepG2 cells were exposed to OB, OW, NW ± silibinin and tested for growth, ROS, lipogenesis, MMP-9, invasion and protein expression. Silibinin suppressed obesity-induced growth, ROS, lipogenesis, MMP-9, and cell invasion. These physiological changes corresponded with decreased FASN, IL-6, IL-1B, and phosphorylated Erk. We describe the differential effect of sera from OB, OW, and NW males on characteristics relevant for liver cancer and the potential use of silibinin to mitigate these effects.

[Thymectomy in myasthenia gravis]. / Die Thymektomie bei Myasthenia gravis.

Myasthenia gravis is a relatively uncommon autoimmune disorder of neuromuscular transmission. Surgical therapy plays an important role in addition to medical treatment. Follow-up results of 52 patients with thymectomy are presented. Between 1984-1996 thymectomy via median sternotomy was performed in 52 patients with myasthenia gravis (female = 28, male = 24). The score described by Ossermann and Genkins was used for classification. According to this classification, we found 12 patients in class II(I), 21 in class IIA, 17 in class IIB and 2 in class III, respectively. A thymoma was found in 19, follicular lymphoid hyperplasia in 24 and an atrophic thymus in 9 cases, respectively. There was no mortality. Severe postoperative complications consisted of bleeding and reoperation in one patient and another patient developed a sternal instability with consecutive operative refixation. Follow-up evaluation after a mean period of 36 months (min. 6 months, max. 130 months) revealed a relief of myasthenic symptoms in 37 patients. Thymectomy is effective in the treatment of myasthenia gravis with a low complication rate.

Environmental predictions and distributional limits of chromosomal taxa in the Australian grasshopperCaledia captiva (F.).

Correlations between environmental parameters and the distribution of four chromosomal taxa in the acridine grasshopperCaledia captiva (F.) have been analyzed. A bioclimate prediction system (BIOCLIM) was used as a model to determine their bioclimatic envelopes and to predict their probable geographic distributions, based on climatic similarities with actual distributions. New, and formerly unsuspected, distribution areas are predicted. Parapatric boundaries are defined that actually coincide with known limits. The general distribution of the four taxa is correlated with rainfall seasonality and a temperature gradient. Their distributional boundaries are mostly in accordance with extreme values in rainfall in an east-west direction and temperature in a north-south direction. A nonmetric multidimensional scaling analysis of one selected narrow parapatric boundary confirms the nature of the geographic correlation with several climatic extreme values. The climatic and vegetation analyses suggest that sharp parapatric distributions can be maintained by gradual environmental influences and that coincidence with abrupt ecotones is not necessary. At least one of the parapatric boundaries seems to be relatively recent in origin (2000-6000 years) and on the basis of the location of extreme climatic values as well as chromosomal and genetic markers it is expected to slowly move further south and east of its present location apparently following a climatically established boundary.