The use of Maytenus ilicifolia to prevent cisplatin-induced ototoxicity

Maytenus ilicifolia é uma planta sul americana apresenta várias propriedades medicinais, entre elas, a ação antioxidante. OBJETIVO: Por meio de um modelo original de ototoxicidade induzida pela cisplatina, verificar uma possível ação otoprotetora do extrato aquoso desta planta. MATERIAL E MÉTODO: Estudo clínico e experimental com cobaias fêmeas, albinas divididas em 5 grupos: 9 animais recebendo somente 3 doses de 7,5mg/kg/d do protocolo de cisplatina, 4 animais somente com o extrato, 10 animais com cisplatina e 1g/kg/d de extrato por 8 dias, 5 animais com cisplatina e 3g/kg/d do extrato por 8 dias e 5 animais recebendo extrato por 3 semanas e cisplatina na última semana. Os exames foram emissões otoacústica por produtos de distorção, potencial de tronco encefálico pré e após administração de cisplatina e, microscopia eletrônica de varredura. RESULTADOS: Os animais que receberam a cisplatina com o extrato, independente da dose, obtiveram alterações em todos os testes, com lesões na região basal na microscopia eletrônica. CONCLUSÃO: Apesar do efeito antioxidante da Maytenus ilicifolia, ela não foi suficiente para bloquear o efeito ototóxico da cisplatina.Maytenus ilicifolia is a native plant from South America, with several medicinal properties including antioxidant effects. AIM: using an original cisplatin induced ototoxicity model, we evaluated a possible otoprotection caused by Maytenus ilicifolia extract. MATERIALS AND METHODS: clinical and experimental study design with female albino guinea pigs divided in groups as follows: 9 animals receiving cisplatin only (three doses of 7.5mg/kg/day), 4 animals receiving the plant extract only, 10 animals receiving the cisplatin protocol and 1g/kg/day of extract for 8 days, 5 animals with cisplatin and 3g/kg/day of extract for 8 days, and 5 animals receiving extract for 3 weeks and cisplatin in the last week. The tests were distortion product otoacoustic emissions, brainstem auditory response, before and after medication and scanning electron microscopy. RESULTS: the animals receiving cisplatin plus plant extract, had alterations in all the tests, showing lesions on the basal cochlear region under electron microscopy. CONCLUSIONS: Despite of the plant extract's antioxidant effect, it was not sufficient to protect the cochlea against cisplatin ototoxicity

Labyrinthine fístulae in chronic otitis media with cholesteatoma

The chronic otitis media with cholesteatoma (COMC) may evoluate to intracranial and extra cranial complications, including the labyrithine fístulae. In this study, we present the evolution of our patients with labyrinthine fístulae. STUDY DESIGN: Clinical prospective. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Ten out 82 patients with COMC had labyrinthine fístulae and underwent surgery from January/2001 to April/2002. They were assessed by clinical exam, computed tomography scans, and pre and postoperative audiogram. RESULTS: Hearing loss, otorrhea, tinnitus and dizziness were present in 100%, 90%,80%, and 40% of the cases. In one patient the fístulae was seen only in the coronal CT-scan, in another patient the fístulae was not seen neither in coronal nor axial images. Among the patients who had tinnitus, 66% referred improvement of this complaint after surgery. DISCUSSION: in the cases without invasion of the perilymphatic space, we noticed a tendency of improvement of the postoperative audiogram pattern and clinical outcome. In the extensive fístulae, on the other hand, there were no clinical changes. CONCLUSION: The CT-scan remains the best exam to assess the COMC with 90% of sensitivity for labyrinthine fístulae. In the stage II we had a good postoperative outcome.A otite média crônica colesteatomatosa (OMCC) pode cursar com complicações intra e/ou extracranianas, entre elas a fístula labiríntica. Neste trabalho, mostramos a incidência e a evolução dos casos de fístula labiríntica decorrentes da OMCC em nosso serviço. FORMA DE ESTUDO: Clínico prospectivo. MATERIAL E MÉTODO: Dez pacientes com fístula labiríntica, do total de 82 pacientes com OMCC, foram submetidos à cirurgia no período de janeiro de 2001 a abril de 2002 e avaliados através de exame otorrinolaringológico completo, tomografia computadorizada e audiometria pré e pós-operatória. RESULTADOS: Perda auditiva, otorréia, zumbido e vertigem estavam presentes em 100%, 90%, 80% e 40% dos casos respectivamente na avaliação clínica pré-operatória. Em um paciente a fístula aparecia apenas nos cortes tomográficos coronais e tivemos um caso de falso-negativo. Dos pacientes com zumbido, 66% apresentaram melhora deste quadro no pós-operatório. DISCUSSÃO: Nos casos de fístula sem invasão do espaço perilinfático (até grau II), notamos uma tendência de melhora dos quadros clínico e audiométrico após a cirurgia. Nas fístulas extensas, por outro lado, o resultado audiométrico se manteve inalterado. CONCLUSÃO: A tomografia continua sendo o exame de escolha para os quadros de OMCC com sensibilidade de 90% para fístulas labirínticas. Nas fístulas grau II a cirurgia apresenta bom resultado funcional.Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Escola Paulista de Medicina Departamento de Otorrinolaringologia e Distúrbios da Comunicação HumanaUNIFESP, EPM, Depto. de Otorrinolaringologia e Distúrbios da Comunicação HumanaSciEL

A Radial Sclerosing Lesion Mimicking Breast Cancer on Mammography in a Young Woman

A spiculated mass on a mammogram is highly suggestive of malignancy. We report the case of a 32-year-old woman with a radial sclerosing lesion that mimicked breast cancer on mammography. She visited her physician after palpating a lump in her left breast. Mammography showed architectural distortion in the upper inner quadrant of the left breast. Ultrasonography showed a low echoic area with an ambiguous boundary. Core needle biopsy was performed because of the suspicion of malignancy. Histological examination did not reveal any malignant cells. After 6 months, the breast lump became larger and the patient was referred to our hospital. Mammography performed in our hospital showed a spiculated mass, and therefore mammotome biopsy was performed. Histological examination revealed dense fibroelastic stroma with a wide variety of mastopathic changes, leading to a diagnosis of a radial sclerosing lesion. One year after the biopsy, the lump on her left breast had disappeared and mammography showed no spiculated mass

Effects of alcohol preload on attentional bias towards cocaine-related cues

Background Drug and alcohol users have an ‘attentional bias’ for substance-related cues, which is likely to reflect the incentive-motivational properties of those cues. Furthermore, administration of an alcohol preload increases attentional bias for alcohol and tobacco-related cues in heavy drinkers and tobacco smokers, respectively. The present study investigated attentional bias for cocaine cues in cocaine users and non-users following administration of either alcohol or placebo. Method Thirty-two regular cocaine users and 40 non-users took part. Participants were administered alcohol or placebo, and administration was double blind. After drink administration, a Visual Probe task and Modified Stroop task were used to assess attentional bias. Subjective craving and alcohol outcome expectancies were also measured. Results There was a significant interaction between group and drink type on the visual probe task indicating that cocaine users who had received alcohol had increased attentional bias for cocaine pictures compared to non-users and cocaine users who received placebo. The cocaine Stroop revealed no differences between cocaine users and non-users, and no effects of alcohol in either group. Conclusions Alcohol preload in regular cocaine users increases attentional bias for cocaine cues. However, cocaine users who received placebo did not show attentional bias for cocaine stimuli. Future research should investigate the effects of alcohol preload on attentional bias in cocaine-dependent individuals

Attentional Processing of Food Cues in Overweight and Obese Individuals

The incentive sensitization model of obesity hypothesizes that obese individuals in the western world have acquired an enhanced attention bias to food cues, because of the overwhelming exposure to food. This article gives an overview of recent studies regarding attention to food and obesity. In general, an interesting approach-avoidance pattern in food-related attention has been found in overweight/obese individuals in a number of studies. However, it should be noted that study results are contradictory. This might be due to methodological issues, such as the choice of attention measurements, possibly tapping different underlying components of information processing. Although attention research is challenging, researchers are encouraged to further explore important issues, such as the exact circumstances in which obese persons demonstrate enhanced attention to food, the directional relationship between food-related attention bias, overeating and weight gain, and the underlying involvement of the reward system. Knowledge on these issues could help improve treatment programs

Revealing Dissociable Attention Biases in Chronic Smokers Through an Individual-Differences Approach

Addiction is accompanied by attentional biases (AB), wherein drug-related cues grab attention independently of their perceptual salience. AB have emerged in different flavours depending on the experimental approach, and their clinical relevance is still debated. In chronic smokers we sought evidence for dissociable attention abnormalities that may play distinct roles in the clinical manifestations of the disorder. Fifty smokers performed a modified visual probe-task measuring two forms of AB and their temporal dynamics, and data on their personality traits and smoking history/ status were collected. Two fully dissociable AB effects were found: A Global effect, reflecting the overall impact of smoke cues on attention, and a Location-specific effect, indexing the impact of smoke cues on visuospatial orienting. Importantly, the two effects could be neatly separated from one another as they: (i) unfolded with dissimilar temporal dynamics, (ii) were accounted for by different sets of predictors associated with personality traits and smoking history and (iii) were not correlated with one another. Importantly, the relevance of each of these two components in the single individual depends on a complex blend of personality traits and smoking habits, a result that future efforts addressing the clinical relevance of addiction-related AB should take into careful consideration.This study was supported by funding provided by the University of Verona to CDL, CC and L

Altered Neurocircuitry in the Dopamine Transporter Knockout Mouse Brain

The plasma membrane transporters for the monoamine neurotransmitters dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine modulate the dynamics of these monoamine neurotransmitters. Thus, activity of these transporters has significant consequences for monoamine activity throughout the brain and for a number of neurological and psychiatric disorders. Gene knockout (KO) mice that reduce or eliminate expression of each of these monoamine transporters have provided a wealth of new information about the function of these proteins at molecular, physiological and behavioral levels. In the present work we use the unique properties of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to probe the effects of altered dopaminergic dynamics on meso-scale neuronal circuitry and overall brain morphology, since changes at these levels of organization might help to account for some of the extensive pharmacological and behavioral differences observed in dopamine transporter (DAT) KO mice. Despite the smaller size of these animals, voxel-wise statistical comparison of high resolution structural MR images indicated little morphological change as a consequence of DAT KO. Likewise, proton magnetic resonance spectra recorded in the striatum indicated no significant changes in detectable metabolite concentrations between DAT KO and wild-type (WT) mice. In contrast, alterations in the circuitry from the prefrontal cortex to the mesocortical limbic system, an important brain component intimately tied to function of mesolimbic/mesocortical dopamine reward pathways, were revealed by manganese-enhanced MRI (MEMRI). Analysis of co-registered MEMRI images taken over the 26 hours after introduction of Mn^(2+) into the prefrontal cortex indicated that DAT KO mice have a truncated Mn^(2+) distribution within this circuitry with little accumulation beyond the thalamus or contralateral to the injection site. By contrast, WT littermates exhibit Mn^(2+) transport into more posterior midbrain nuclei and contralateral mesolimbic structures at 26 hr post-injection. Thus, DAT KO mice appear, at this level of anatomic resolution, to have preserved cortico-striatal-thalamic connectivity but diminished robustness of reward-modulating circuitry distal to the thalamus. This is in contradistinction to the state of this circuitry in serotonin transporter KO mice where we observed more robust connectivity in more posterior brain regions using methods identical to those employed here

Comparative characterization of phenolic and other polar compounds in Spanish melon cultivars by using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry

Melon (Cucumis melo L.), belonging to the Cucurbitaceae family, is a significant source of phytochemicals which provide human health benefits. High-performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization mass spectrometry quadropole-time of flight (HPLC-ESIQTOF-MS) was used for the comprehensive characterization of 14 extracts from 3 Spanish varieties of melon (Galia, Cantaloupe, and Piel de Sapo). A total of 56 different compounds were tentatively identified, including: amino acids and derivatives, nucleosides, organic acids, phenolic acids and derivatives, esters, flavonoids, lignans, and other polar compounds. Of these, 25 were tentatively characterized for the first time in C. melo varieties. Principalcomponent analysis (PCA) was applied to gain an overview of the distribution of the melon varieties and to clearly separate the different varieties. The result of the PCA for the negative mode was evaluated. The variables most decisive to discriminate among varieties included 12 of the metabolites tentatively identified.CIDAF (Centro de Investigación y desarrollo del Alimento Funcional), Departamento de química analítica. Grupo FQM-297