Women's knowledge of toxoplasmosis infection and basic prevention measures

Introduction: Toxoplasmosis is a disease caused by Toxoplasma gondii protozoan. Toxoplasmosis is particularly dangerous for the foetus and any infection, regardless of the period of pregnancy, may cause disorders in the extra-fetal life. The paper assesses the knowledge of women about toxoplasmosis infection, basic definitions and prophylactic measures. Aim: The aim of the study was to investigate the level of knowledge of women about Toxoplasma gondii infection, as well as the basic preventive actions. Material and method: The study was conducted in the period from February to June 2016 by means of a diagnostic survey. 63 women aged 20 and over took part in the survey. The tool used in the study was a questionnaire. The most numerous group were the respondents aged 20-29 years and the least aged 40-49 years. The research results were developed in Microsoft Excel and Statistica 13.1. Results: The analysis of the collected data shows that women with higher and secondary education have the greatest knowledge of both defining and basic preventive measures. Conclusions: The level of women's knowledge about Toxoplasma gondii infections varies according to the education of the respondents. The knowledge about basic preventive measures that can significantly reduce the serious consequences of Toxoplasma gondii infections for the developing fetus should be disseminated

Women's knowledge on Cytomegalovirus infection and prophylactic measures in the light of own research

Introduction: Recently an increasing number of infections caused by Cytomegalovirus (CMV) have been observed worldwide. A human being is the reservoir of the infection. The infected person releases viruses in saliva, tears, semen and urine. Pregnant women, newborns, AIDS patients and immunocompromised persons are the most exposed to the severe clinical course of the infection. Preventive measures play an important role in limiting the spread of CMV infections. Aim of the study: The aim of the study was to investigate the knowledge of women about Cytomegalovirus infection and preventive actions taking into account variables such as age, education and number of children. Material and method: The study was conducted in the period from February to June 2016 by means of a diagnostic survey. 63 women aged 20 and over took part in the survey. The tool used in the study was a questionnaire. The most numerous group were the respondents aged 20-29 years and the least aged 40-49 years. The research results were developed in Microsoft Excel and Statistica 13.1. Results: The data analysis shows that women with higher and secondary education have greater knowledge about Cytomegalovirus than women with vocational education. Conclusions: The level of knowledge of women about Cytomegalovirus infection varies according to the education of the women who have undergone the study. It is extremely important to disseminate knowledge about the prophylactic measures that can significantly affect the proper development of the foetus

ADN-1184, a monoaminergic ligand with 5-HT_{6/7} receptor antagonist action, exhibits activity in animal models of anxiety

Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) include apathy, sleep problems, irritability, wandering, elation, agitation/aggression, and mood disorders such as depression and/or anxiety. Elderly patients are usually treated with second-generation antipsychotics; however, they present not enough efficacy against all symptoms observed. Hence, there still is an unmet need for novel pharmacotherapeutic agents targeted BPSD. A novel arylsulfonamide derivative ADN-1184 has been developed that possesses a preclinical profile of activity corresponding to criteria required for treatment of both psychosis and depressive symptoms of BPSD without exacerbating cognitive impairment or inducing motor disturbances. To broaden its pharmacological efficacy toward anxiety symptoms, its anxiolytic properties have been examined in common animal preclinical models in rats and mice. ADN-1184 significantly increased the number of entries into open arms measured in the elevated plus-maze test; however, it simultaneously increased parameters of exploratory activity. In the Vogel conflict drinking test, ADN-1184 dose-dependently and significantly increased the number of shocks accepted and the number of licks. Moreover, in mice, it also had specific anxiolytic-like activity in the four-plate test, and only negligible one at a specific mid-range dose measured in the spontaneous marble burying test. The obtained findings reveal that ADN-1184 displays anxiolytic-like activity in animal models of anxiety which employed punished stimuli. In its unusual combination of some anxiolytic action with already proven antipsychotic and antidepressant properties, and lack of any disruptive impact on learning and memory processes and motor coordination, ADN-1184 displays a profile that would be desired for a novel therapeutic for BPSD

Lurasidone — novel atypical neuroleptic with antidepressant activity

Lurasidon to nowy lek przeciwpsychotyczny II generacji (SGA) o dodatkowej aktywności przeciwdepresyjnej, zatwierdzony przez Food and Drug Administration do leczenia schizofrenii i objawów depresyjnych w przebiegu choroby afektywnej dwubiegunowej (ChAD). Podobnie jak inne, atypowe neuroleptyki, lurasidon posiada wysokie powinowactwo do receptorów D2 i 5-HT2A, jak również do 5-HT7 oraz umiarkowane wobec receptorów 5-HT1A i alfa2C. Stosując zwierzęce modele zaburzeń pamięci i uczenia wykazano, że lurasidon poprawia funkcje poznawcze zaburzone podaniem MK-801 czy fencyklidyny oraz przejawia aktywność przeciwdepresyjną w krótko- i długoterminowych modelach depresji u gryzoni. Skuteczność i profil bezpieczeństwa lurasidonu w aktywnej i przewlekłej fazie schizofrenii oraz epizodów depresyjnych w przebiegu ChAD były szacowane w kilkunastu randomizowanych, wykonanych metodą podwójnie ślepej próby badaniach klinicznych, z wykorzystaniem różnych dawek. Lurasidon w porównaniu z kontrolą (placebo) powodował istotną poprawę w zakresie redukcji objawów pozytywnych i negatywnych schizofrenii oraz osiowych objawów depresji w przebiegu ChAD. Lurasidon jest dobrze tolerowany; do najczęściej obserwowanych działań niepożądanych należą: nudności, senność i akatyzje (5–15%). W porównaniu z innymi SGA, lurasidon wywiera słabszy wpływ na parametry metaboliczne, powodując nieznaczny przyrost masy ciała u pacjentów, klinicznie nieistotne zmiany w stężeniu glukozy, lipidów czy długości odcinka QT. Wygodne dawkowanie (raz dziennie z posiłkiem) oraz poszerzony profil aktywności czynią z lurasidonu konkurencyjnego kandydata w farmakoterapii chorób psychicznych.Lurasidone is a novel second generation antipsychotic (SGA) with antidepressant-like activity, approved by FDA for the treatment of schizophrenia and depressive symptoms in the bipolar disorder type 1 (BP I). Similar to other atypical antipsychotics, lurasidon has a potent affinity for D2, 5-HT2A and 5-HT7 receptors, and moderate for 5-HT1A and alfa2C ones. Using animal models of learning and memory it has been shown that lurasidone displays ability to improve memory dysfunctions caused by MK-801 or fencyclidine and evokes potential antidepressant activity in short- and long-term rodent models of depression. The efficacy and tolerability of lurasidone for treatment of acute and chronic schizophrenia as well as major depressive episodes occurring in BP I have been evaluated in few double-blind randomized, fixed-dose clinical trials. Lurasidone, compared to placebo, showed a significantly greater improvement in reduction of positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia and core symptoms of depression in BP I. Lurasidone is well tolerated; nausea, somnolence and akathisia are the most common adverse effects (with 5–15% of frequency). In comparison to other SGA, lurasidone seems to have no significant influence on metabolic parameters like glucose and lipids level or QT lenght, producing only slight weight gain in patients. Comfortable dosing (once daily with meal) and wider activity profile make lurasidone a competitive candidate for pharmacotherapy of psychiatric disorders

Lymphocytes sensitivity to Fas stimulation in healthy and asthmatic children.

The T cell hypothesis of asthma is based on the concept that the disease is driven and maintained by the persistence of a specialized subset of chronically activated T memory cells sensitized against an array of allergenic, occupational or viral antigens. Overreaction of CD4+ T cells in the peripheral blood and airway tissues is an invariant feature of asthma; therefore a potent mechanism for augmenting the number of activated T cells in this disease would be the resistance to the normally programmed pathway for cell death. The aim of the study was to evaluate the presence of apoptotic markers on peripheral blood lymphocytes from healthy and asthmatic children before and after stimulation with antiCD95 antibodies. The blood was collected from 21 children with atopic asthma suffering from allergic rhinitis because of house dust mite and/or grass pollen allergens and 8 healthy children matched for their age and sex. Blood was mixed with purified monoclonal antibody antiCD95 (Beckman Coulter), incubated for 24 hours and than stained with Annexin V andPI (Becton Dickinson). Prepared suspensions were analyzed with Cytomics FC 500 (Beckman Coulter) flow cytometer. Annexin V(+)/PI(-) cells were characterized as early apoptotic, Annexin V(+)/PI(+) as late apoptotic and Annexin V(-)/PI(+) as dead. In unstimulated sample from asthmatic children 21.09+/-11.20% cells were characterized as Annexin V positive/PI negative. After stimulation with antiCD95 Annexin V positive/PI negative cells constituted 18.72+/-9.42% of cells, p=0.1. In unstimulated sample from healthy children 11.69+/-6.70% cells were characterized as Annexin V positive/PI negative. In the sample stimulated with antiCD95 16.54+/-2.98% of cells were Annexin V positive/PI negative, p=0.02. There were no differences between results of late apoptotic and necrotic lymphocytes from healthy and asthmatic children. Performed research indicates that lymphocytes from asthmatic children are resistant to Fas mediated apoptosis

Characterization of the newly isolated lytic bacteriophages KTN6 and KT28 and their efficacy against Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm

We here describe two novel lytic phages, KT28 and KTN6, infecting Pseudomonas aeruginosa, isolated from a sewage sample from an irrigated field near Wroclaw, in Poland. Both viruses show characteristic features of Pbunalikevirus genus within the Myoviridae family with respect to shape and size of head/tail, as well as LPS host receptor recognition. Genome analysis confirmed the similarity to other PB1-related phages, ranging between 48 and 96%. Pseudomonas phage KT28 has a genome size of 66,381 bp and KTN6 of 65,994 bp. The latent period, burst size, stability and host range was determined for both viruses under standard laboratory conditions. Biofilm eradication efficacy was tested on peg-lid plate assay and PET membrane surface. Significant reduction of colony forming units was observed (70-90%) in 24 h to 72 h old Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 biofilm cultures for both phages. Furthermore, a pyocyanin and pyoverdin reduction tests reveal that tested phages lowers the amount of both secreted dyes in 48-72 h old biofilms. Diffusion and goniometry experiments revealed the increase of diffusion rate through the biofilm matrix after phage application. These characteristics indicate these phages could be used to prevent Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections and biofilm formation. It was also shown, that PB1-related phage treatment of biofilm caused the emergence of stable phage-resistant mutants growing as small colony variants

ZAP-70 and CD38 expression are independent prognostic factors in patients with B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and combined analysis improves their predictive value.

Recently identified biological risk factors in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) include ZAP-70 and CD38 expression. The present study was conducted to clarify whether a combined analysis could improve predictive impact of these two parameters. We examined the expression of ZAP-70 and CD38 by flow cytometry method in 217 newly diagnosed, consecutive, unselected and well characterized B-CLL patients in relation to laboratory parameters and clinical outcome. We confirmed that both ZAP-70 as well as CD38 were independent of prognostic factors. There was a significant correlation between the percentage of leukemic cells positive for ZAP-70 and the percentage of CD38+CD19+ cells (R=0.629; p=0.000001). Combined analysis of ZAP-70 and CD38 showed concordant results in 158/217 patients (72.8%), while in 59 patients the results were discordant (27.2%). A mean treatment free survival (TFS) was the longest in ZAP-70-CD38-patients (45.6 months, comparing to 13.6 months in ZAP-70+CD38+ group). Also a mean overall survival was the longest in ZAP-70-CD38- patients (224.7 months compared to 77.9 months in ZAP-70+CD38+ patients)

Treatment of multiple myeloma patients with autologous stem cell transplantation — a fresh analysis

Patients with multiple myeloma (MM) treated with conventional chemotherapy have an average survival of approximately three years. High dose chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT), first introduced in the mid-1980s, is now considered the standard therapy for almost all patients with multiple myeloma, because it prolongs overall survival and disease free survival. Between November 1997 and October 2006, 122 patients with MM (58 females, 64 males, median age 51.0 years [± 7.98] range: 30–66 years) were transplanted in the Department of Hematooncology and Bone Marrow Transplantation at the Medical University of Lublin: 47 patients were in complete remission or in unconfirmed complete remission, 66 patients were in partial remission, and nine had stable disease. Of these, there were 95 patients with IgG myeloma, 16 with IgA myeloma, one with IgG/IgA, one with IgM myeloma, five with non secretory type, two with solitary tumor and two with LCD myeloma. According to Durie-Salmon, 62 patients had stage III of the disease, 46 had stage II and four had stage I. Most patients (69/122) were transplanted after two or more cycles of chemotherapy, 48 patients were transplanted after one cycle of chemotherapy, one patient after surgery and rtg- -therapy and four patients had not been treated. In mobilisation procedure, the patients received a single infusion of cyclophosphamide (4–6 g/m2) or etoposide 1.6 g/m2 followed by daily administration of G-CSF until the peripheral stem cells harvest. The number of median harvest sessions was 2.0 (± 0.89) (range: 1–5). An average of 7.09 (± 33.28) × 106 CD34+ cells/kg were collected from each patient (range: 1.8–111.0 × 106/kg). Conditioning regimen consisted of high dose melphalan 60–210 mg/m2 without TBI. An average of 3.04 (± 11.59) × 106 CD34+ cells/kg were transplanted to each patient. Fatal complications occured in four patients (treatment- -related mortality = 3.2%). In all patients there was regeneration of hematopoiesis. The median number of days for recovery to ANC > 0.5 × 109/l was 13 (± 4.69) (range: 10–38) and platelets recovery to > 50 × 109/l was 25 days (± 11.65) (range: 12–45). Median time of hospitalization was 22 days (± 7.14) (range: 14–50). Patients were evaluated on day 100 after transplantation: 74.9% achieved CR and nCR, 14.3% were in PR, 5.4% had SD and 5.4% had progressed. Median of OS was 45 months (± 30.67). OS at 3-years was 84% and at 7-years 59%. Median PFS was 25 months (± 26.13). PFS at 3-years was 68%, and at 7-years was 43%. At present (November 2009) 52 patients (42%) are still alive. High-dose chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation is a valuable, well tolerated method of treatment for patients with MM that allows the achievement of long- -lasting survival. (Folia Histochemica et Cytobiologica 2011; Vol. 49, No. 2, pp. 248–254