Epileptiform activity in alcohol dependent patients and possibilities of its indirect measurement

Background

Alcohol dependence during withdrawal and also in abstinent period in many cases is related to reduced inhibitory functions and kindling that may appear in the form of psychosensory symptoms similar to temporal lobe epilepsy frequently in conditions of normal EEG and without seizures. Because temporal lobe epileptic activity tend to spread between hemispheres, it is possible to suppose that measures reflecting interhemispheric information transfer such as electrodermal activity (EDA) might be related to the psychosensory symptoms.

Methods and Findings

We have performed measurement of bilateral EDA, psychosensory symptoms (LSCL-33) and alcohol craving (ACQ) in 34 alcohol dependent patients and 32 healthy controls. The results in alcohol dependent patients show that during rest conditions the psychosensory symptoms (LSCL-33) are related to EDA transinformation (PTI) between left and right EDA records (Spearman r = 0.44, p<0.01).

Conclusions

The result may present potentially useful clinical finding suggesting a possibility to indirectly assess epileptiform changes in alcohol dependent patients.     

Assessing Risk Factors for Migraine: Differences in Gender Transmission

Aim

Our aim was to assess which specific factors are contributing to an increased risk of migraine in a group of 131 Portuguese families.

Methods

We studied 319 first-degree relatives, using a multilevel approach to account for the dependency among members from the same family. We included in the model relative’s gender, the proband’s gender and age-at-onset, to evaluate if any of these variables were associated with relative’s affection status. We also included in the model proband’s migraine subtype. We further assessed female and male transmissions within the proband nuclear family.

Results

Relatives’ gender was found to be a risk factor for migraine (Odds Ratio = 2.86; 95% CI = 1.75–4.67), with females at a higher risk. When splitting probands according to their migraine subtype, we found that none of the variables studied contributed to relatives of MA-probands affection-status. Our results also show a significant difference between proband’s transmission and the gender of the parents and offspring.

Conclusions

With this study, we showed that gender is truly a risk factor for migraine and that a gender-biased transmission is also observed. This reinforce the importance of identifying genes associated with migraine that are modulated by genes located in the sex chromosomes and the study of mitochondrial DNA or X-chromosome and hormonal-related effects associated with migraine susceptibility.     

The role of probiotics and natural bioactive compounds in modulation of the common molecular pathways in pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and cancer

Atherosclerosis and cancer are ranked among the most serious health problems in human medicine. Various predictive and etiological factors, biomarkers and molecular pathways of disease development and progression common to atherosclerosis and cancer suggest that the two most common diseases in worldwide dimension are far more closely aligned than previously believed. It is hypothesized that atherosclerosis and cancer are variants of a similar disease process. Shared disease progression in atherosclerosis and cancer is the emergence of similar novel approaches to therapy. On previous knowledge, it may be hypothesized that not only common approaches to therapy but also preventive strategies could be efficacious in both diseases. The results of in vitro and in vivo animal experiments, clinical and epidemiological studies and also the results of our experiments using animal experimental models of atherosclerosis and carcinogenesis indicate that probiotics, prebiotics, plants and their extracts and poly-unsaturated fatty acids could be effectively used in prevention of both atherosclerosis and colorectal cancer and decrease the disease risk. Future research should answer the question whether probiotic microorganisms and natural bioactive substances could effectively influence the molecular mechanisms in pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and cancer.     

Co-stimulatory and adhesion molecules of dendritic cells in rheumatoid arthritis

Dendritic cells (DCs) in the rheumatoid arthritis (RA) joint mediate the immunopathological process and act as a potent antigen presenting cell. We compared the expression of co-stimulatory and adhesion molecules on DCs in RA patients versus controls with traumatic joint lesions and evalulated the correlation between the immunophenotypical presentation of DCs and the clinical status of the disease. Samples of peripheral venous blood, synovial fluid (SF) and synovial tissue (ST) were obtained from 10 patients with RA at the time of hip or knee replacement and from 9 control patients with knee arthroscopy for traumatic lesions. Clinical status was appreciated using the DAS28 score. Blood, SF and dissociated ST cell populations were separated by centrifugation and analyzed by flow cytometry. Cells phenotypes were identified using three-color flow cytometry analysis for the following receptors HLA-DR, CD80, CD83, CD86, CD11c, CD18, CD54, CD58, CD3, CD4, CD8, CD19, CD20, CD14, CD16, CD56. HLA-DR molecules, co-stimulatory receptors CD80, CD86, CD83 and adhesion molecules CD18, CD11c, CD54, CD58, were analyzed by two-color immunofluorescence microscopy on ST serial sections. In patients with active RA (DAS28>5.1) we found a highly differentiated subpopulation of DCs in the ST and SF that expressed an activated phenotype (HLA-DR, CD86+, CD80+, CD83+, CD11c+, CD54+, CD58+). No differences were found between circulating DCs from RA patients and control patients. Our data suggest an interrelationship between clinical outcome and the immunophenotypical presentation of DCs. Clinical active RA (DAS28>5.1) is associated with high incidence of activated DCs population in the ST and SF as demonstrated by expression of adhesion and co-stimulatory molecules.     

A new role in hemostasis for the adhesion receptor P-selectin

The adhesion receptor P-selectin has long been known to support leukocyte rolling and emigration at sites of inflammation. Recently, P-selectin was also revealed to be a key molecule in hemostasis and thrombosis, mediating platelet rolling, generating procoagulant microparticles containing active tissue factor and enhancing fibrin deposition. Elevated levels of plasma P-selectin are indicative of thrombotic disorders and predictive of future cardiovascular events. Because the interaction between P-selectin and its receptor P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 (PSGL-1) represents an important mechanism by which P-selectin induces the formation of procoagulant microparticles and recruits the microparticles to thrombi, anti-thrombotic strategies are currently aimed at inhibiting this interaction. Recent developments also suggest that the procoagulant potential of P-selectin could be used to treat coagulation disorders such as hemophilia A.     

Fibronectin-coated beads are endocytosed by cells and align with microfilament bundles

Carboxylated latex beads coated with fibronectin bind to the surfaces of NIL8 hamster cells. Similar beads coated with bovine serum albumin, gelatin or normal rabbit immunoglobulin do not bind to the cells, whereas beads coated with polylysine or rabbit anti-hamster immunoglobulin bind, as do fibronectin-coated beads. Surface-bound beads are endocytosed by the cells. This endocytosis is inhibited by N-ethyl maleimide or low temperatures. The endocytosed beads form arrays aligned with the microfilament bundles inside the cells and after extended incubations (18–24 h) become concentrated in the perinuclear region. These results suggest that, after phagocytosis of large particles, the endocytic vesicles align with microfilament bundles, as previously reported for coated pits involved in receptor-mediated endocytosis. The system described here offers possibilities for the analysis of membrane and transmembrane interactions involved in cell-substratum binding and phagocytosis.     

Zu den phytozönologischen Problemen der AssoziationCaricetum gracilis Almquist 1929

Caricetum gracilis Almquist 1929 ist eine Assoziation mit ausgedehnter eurosibirischer Verbreitung, es bewahrt sich jedoch in seinem ganzen Areal eine mehr oder weniger konstante zönotische Zusammensetzung, die durch das Grundmerkmal—die Anwesenheit vonCarex gracilis als Dominante (Kondominante) und Ädifikator, bedingt ist. Als ausschlaggebonder Faktor für die Entstehung der Gesellschaft kommt der Wasserhaushalt mit charakteristischer Abwechslung der Überschwemmungen und Austrocknungen zur Geltung. Die geographischen, klimatischen und bodenökologischen Unterschiede der Standorte ermöglichen eine weitere Gliederung der Assoziation inCaricetum gracilis Subass.typicum mit grösstem Verbreitungsgebiet, die in drei Varianten zerfällt, weiter inCaricetum gracilis comaretosum, dessen Areal an nördliche Teile Mittel- und Osteuropas gebunden ist und das in zwei Varianten zerfällt, und schliesslich inCaricetum gracilis naumburgietosum, das vor allem an das Herzynische Gebiet und den Nordrand der Karpaten gebundon ist.     

Vegetation of vesicular lava cavities in Northern Iceland

Vesicular cavities in the lava fields of Northern Iceland communicate by small openings with the ground surface. Aeolian sediments, called the Icelandic Ioess, deposit over the bottom of these cavities, together with the reduced light intensity and equable microclimate, create specific biotopes occupied by sciophilous bryophytes andCystopteris fragilis. A new association within the allianceCtenidion Stefureac 1941—Cystopteri-Distichietum capillacei Bla?ková ass. nova— is described in the present paper.