N-nitrosodiethylamine genotoxicity evaluation: a cytochrome P450 induction study in rat hepatocytes.

In rats, N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA) induces tumors mainly in the liver. This could be because various enzymes are responsible for the metabolic activation of NDEA, besides the hepatic NDEA metabolizing enzyme, CYP2E1. We examined NDEA genotoxicity and cytotoxicity in primary cultures of female rat hepatocytes; we also looked at how it affected CYP mRNA expression. Single incubation with 0.9% NaCl resulted in a mean of 0.2% apoptotic cells, which doubled with 105 µg NDEA/mL. The frequency of necrosis with NDEA treatment was also doubled. Besides the cytotoxic effects, there was also a 4-fold decrease in mitotic index and a 3-fold decrease in the percentage of cells with micronuclei. A significant increase in micronucleus cells when hepatocytes were incubated with 2.1 µg NDEA/mL suggests that DNA repair was inactive. The chromosomal aberration evaluation revealed a discrete dose-response curve. Treatment with NDEA induced increases in CYP mRNA: CYP2B2 (1.8 times) and CYP2E1 (1.6 times) with non-cytotoxic NDEA concentrations (0.21-21 µg/mL). CYP2B1 mRNA levels decreased at 0.21 µg NDEA/mL (2.5-fold), while CYP4A3 mRNA decreased 1.3-fold. NDEA treatment at 2.1 µg/ mL induced a 1.9-fold increase in CYP3A1 mRNA. Understanding the cumulative effects in target cells during precarcinogenesis is crucial to understanding the mode of action of potential carcinogens and in order to develop comprehensive chemical toxicity profiles.

Comparison between tympanic and anal temperature with a clinical infrared ray thermometer in dogs / Comparação entre a temperatura timpânica e a temperatura anal usando um termômetro clínico de raio infravermelho em cães

A clinical thermometer of infrared rays was used twice to record consecutively the temperature of the tympanic membrane in each ear and in the anus of 53 dogs. Temperatures did not differ significantly between organs, and were strongly correlated. The anal temperature measurement with an infrared thermometer in dogs is feasible and trustworthy, as well as the thermal checking of tympanic temperature.

Utilizou-se um termômetro clínico de emissão de raios infravermelhos para medir, duas vezes consecutivas, a temperatura da membrana timpânica de cada ouvido e duas vezes a temperatura no ânus de 53 cães. Não houve diferença entre as temperaturas quanto ao órgão estudado e a correlação entre as temperaturas foi alta. Em cães, a medida da temperatura anal com o termômetro clínico de emissão de raios infravermelhos é rápida e confiável tanto quanto a da temperatura timpânica.

[Neuropsychological tests of simple application for diagnosing dementia]. / Testes neuropsicológicos de aplicação simples para o diagnóstico de demência.

Thirty patients with dementia defined by DSM-III-R criteria (Alzheimer's disease (22), vascular dementia (3), Parkinson's disease, frontal lobe dementia, possible diffuse Lewy body dementia, normal pressure hydrocephalus and uncertain diagnosis), with scores below 24 points in the Mini-Mental Status Examination and more than 4 years of education were submitted to a neuropsychological evaluation. The scores in the neuropsychological tests were compared to those obtained by thirty normal volunteers paired for age, sex and education. Sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of the tests in the distinction of demented and normal volunteers were determined. The accuracies were calculated using ROC curves. Blessed's information-memory-concentration test showed greatest accuracy, followed by copy of simple figures, delayed memory of 10 figures (after 5 minutes), recognition of 10 figures and verbal fluency test (animals). A linear discriminant function, composed by 6 tests: visual perception, incidental memory, delayed memory (after 5 minutes), drawing of a clock, verbal fluency (animals) and calculation tests, was able to discriminate all controls from patients and only one patient was wrongly classified as normal control. These tests were chosen because they can be applied in less than 10 minutes and are very easy to interpret. This discriminant function must be applied in another group of patients and controls in order to demonstrate its value. When associated to the MMSE it may be useful to discriminate patients with dementia from normal people in epidemiological studies.