Evaluation of Non-Invasive Multispectral Imaging as a Tool for Measuring the Effect of Systemic Therapy in Kaposi Sarcoma

Diffuse multi-spectral imaging has been evaluated as a potential non-invasive marker of tumor response. Multi-spectral images of Kaposi sarcoma skin lesions were taken over the course of treatment, and blood volume and oxygenation concentration maps were obtained through principal component analysis (PCA) of the data. These images were compared with clinical and pathological responses determined by conventional means. We demonstrate that cutaneous lesions have increased blood volume concentration and that changes in this parameter are a reliable indicator of treatment efficacy, differentiating responders and non-responders. Blood volume decreased by at least 20% in all lesions that responded by clinical criteria and increased in the two lesions that did not respond clinically. Responses as assessed by multi-spectral imaging also generally correlated with overall patient clinical response assessment, were often detectable earlier in the course of therapy, and are less subject to observer variability than conventional clinical assessment. Tissue oxygenation was more variable, with lesions often showing decreased oxygenation in the center surrounded by a zone of increased oxygenation. This technique could potentially be a clinically useful supplement to existing response assessment in KS, providing an early, quantitative, and non-invasive marker of treatment effect.     

Effect of cortisol on cyclic AMP production stimulated by 1-24 ACTH in adrenal cortex membranes

The effect of cortisol on cyclic AMP production by crude bovine adrenal cortex membrane preparations has been investigated. Results demonstrate that in the presence of cortisol, cyclic AMP production in response to 1-24 ACTH was enhanced up to a concentration of about 74 microM cortisol. At higher concentrations the effect was reversed. Cortisol had no effect on cyclic AMP production in the absence of 1-24 ACTH, and cyclic AMP production was completely inhibited when 5 mM EDTA was added to the incubation tubes with the cortisol.     

Analysis of serum heat shock protein 70 (HSPA1A) concentrations for diagnosis and disease activity monitoring in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Heat shock proteins (HSPs) have been repeatedly implicated in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The authors aimed to study applicability of heat shock protein 70 (HSPA1A) serum levels as a diagnostic factor and a severity indicator in patients with RA and to quantify cut-off point that predicts status of RA with highest specificity. A total of 76 patients with RA and 36 healthy adults were studied in this case-control analysis. Patients had a higher HSPA1A level than the control group (0.78 ± 0.13 vs. 0.12 ± 0.02 ng/mL, p = 0.006), irrespective of presence of absence of rheumatoid factor or anti-citrullinated cyclic peptide. Next, diagnostic accuracy of the HSPA1A in diagnosis of RA was evaluated (area under curve 0.71; p < 0.05). HSPA1A predicted status of having RA in levels above 0.42 ng/mL with more than 90 % specificity. In addition to diagnostic value, HSPA1A can distinguish between high disease activity (1.66 ± 0.75 ng/mL) and low (0.49 ± 0.1 ng/mL), moderate (0.52 ± 0.12 ng/mL), or remission phase (0.48 ± 0.11 ng/mL). Moreover, patients in remission still had a higher HSPA1A level compared to normal subject (0.48 ± 0.11 vs. 0.12 ± 0.02 ng/mL, p < 0.05). Our results showed that serum HSPA1A could be implemented as a specific tool to facilitate diagnosis and monitoring disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s12192-015-0578-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

The protective effect of carvacrol on acetaminophen-induced renal damage in male rats

Molecular Biology Reports - Acetaminophen overdose causes renal injury via oxidative stress and apoptosis induction. Carvacrol has several pharmacological properties such as antioxidant,...     

Multi-objective Task Scheduling in cloud-fog computing using goal programming approach

Cluster Computing - Fog Computing continues to extend its usage by solving cloud computing challenges about Internet of Things (IoT). Fog nodes as a processing resource, can perform tasks generated...