Inhibition of cysteine peptidase activity in ascitic fluid in pancreatic cancer patients.

The work's objective is to answer the question whether there is any possibility of activity inhibition of cysteine peptidases inhibitors playing an important role in key processes accompanying cancer formation, including pancreas. There is a justified speculation that specific inhibitors of these enzymes may inhibit development of cancer processes by inhibiting their activity. In vitro studies confirmed that these enzymes in ascitic fluid were inhibited with egg whites inhibitors even to 90% of their original activity

Members of the emergency medical team may have difficulty diagnosing rapid atrial fibrillation in Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syn­drome is potentially life-threatening as it may deteriorate into ventricular fibrillation. The aim of this study was to assess whether the emergency medical team members are able to diagnose AF with a rapid ventricular response due to the presence of atrioventricular bypass tract in WPW syndrome. Methods: The study group consisted of 316 participants attending a national congress of emergency medicine. A total of 196 questionnaires regarding recognition and management of cardiac arrhythmias were distributed. The assessed part presented a clinical scenario with a young hemodynamically stable man who had a 12-lead electrocardiogram performed in the past with signs of pre-excitation, and who presented to the emergency team with an irregular broad QRS-complex tachycardia. Results: A total of 71 questionnaires were filled in. Only one responder recognized AF due to WPW syndrome, while 5 other responders recognized WPW syndrome and paroxysmal su­praventricular tachycardia or broad QRS-complex tachycardia. About 20% of participants did not select any diagnosis, pointing out a method of treatment only. The most common diagnosis found in the survey was ventricular tachycardia/broad QRS-complex tachycardia marked by approximately a half of the participants. Nearly 18% of participants recognized WPW syn­drome, whereas AF was recognized by less than 10% of participants. Conclusions: Members of emergency medical teams have limited skills for recognizing WPW syndrome with rapid AF, and ventricular tachycardia is the most frequent incorrect diagnosis.

Inhibition of cysteine peptidase activity in ascitic fluid in pancreatic cancer patients.

The work's objective is to answer the question whether there is any possibility of activity inhibition of cysteine peptidases inhibitors playing an important role in key processes accompanying cancer formation, including pancreas. There is a justified speculation that specific inhibitors of these enzymes may inhibit development of cancer processes by inhibiting their activity. In vitro studies confirmed that these enzymes in ascitic fluid were inhibited with egg whites inhibitors even to 90% of their original activity

Effect of hemodialysis on lipid peroxidation and antioxidant system in patients with chronic renal failure

Plasma lipid peroxidation, activity of erythrocyte superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase, and serum antioxidant activity (AOA) in uremic patients were examined before and after hemodialysis. An increased level of lipid peroxidation, a decreased serum AOA level, and elevated SOD and normal catalase activity before hemodialysis were observed in uremic patients compared with controls. Hemodialysis was found to produce increased lipid peroxidation, a simultaneous decrease of SOD activity, and lack of any changes in serum AOA and erythrocyte catalase. It is suggested that intensification of lipid peroxidation during hemodialysis could account for accelerated progress of atherosclerosis in patients with renal insufficiency

The presence of pacing artifacts may impede diagnosis of ventricular fibrillation during cardiac arrest.

The aim of the study was to assess the ability to recognize ventricular fibrillation (VF) concomitant with pacing artifacts presented either alone or with clinical scenario indicating the cardiac arrest in a patient with implanted pacemaker by members of the medical emergency team

Members of the emergency medical team may have difficulty diagnosing rapid atrial fibrillation in Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome is potentially life-threatening as it may deteriorate into ventricular fibrillation. The aim of this study was to assess whether the emergency medical team members are able to diagnose AF with a rapid ventricular response due to the presence of atrioventricular bypass tract in WPW syndrome. Methods: The study group consisted of 316 participants attending a national congress of emergency medicine. A total of 196 questionnaires regarding recognition and management of cardiac arrhythmias were distributed. The assessed part presented a clinical scenario with a young hemodynamically stable man who had a 12-lead electrocardiogram performed in the past with signs of pre-excitation, and who presented to the emergency team with an irregular broad QRS-complex tachycardia. Results: A total of 71 questionnaires were filled in. Only one responder recognized AF due to WPW syndrome, while 5 other responders recognized WPW syndrome and paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia or broad QRS-complex tachycardia. About 20% of participants did not select any diagnosis, pointing out a method of treatment only. The most common diagnosis found in the survey was ventricular tachycardia/broad QRS-complex tachycardia marked by approximately a half of the participants. Nearly 18% of participants recognized WPW syndrome, whereas AF was recognized by less than 10% of participants. Conclusions: Members of emergency medical teams have limited skills for recognizing WPW syndrome with rapid AF, and ventricular tachycardia is the most frequent incorrect diagnosis

Assessment of three epigenotypes in colorectal cancer by combined bisulphite restriction analysis.

Background: Recent investigations have demonstrated the clear heterogeneity of sporadic colorectal cancer (CRC) with regard to CpG island methylation. Two unsupervised cluster analyses revealed that CRCs form three distinct DNA methylation subsets, which are referred to as the high-, intermediate- and low-methylation epigenotypes (HME, IME, and LME, respectively). A recent study by Yagi et al. found a fairly sensitive and specific identification of HME, IME and LME using two marker panels analysed by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry (MassARRAY). However, the expensive equipment required for this method substantially increases the cost and complexity of the assay. Findings: In this article, we demonstrate the assessment of HME, IME and LME in a group of 233 sporadic CRCs using seven markers proposed by Yagi et al. The DNA methylation of each marker was quantified using combined bisulphite restriction analysis (COBRA) together with an analysis of various genetic factors associated with CRC (the BRAF and KRAS mutations and microsatellite instability (MSI)). The baseline methylation of each marker was generated from pooled DNA isolated from 50 normal colon tissues. Conclusions: We demonstrate that the correlation of HME, IME and LME epigenotyped by COBRA using different molecular classifiers is similar to that achieved by MassARRAY. Therefore, epigenotyping CRCs using COBRA is a simple, specific and cost-effective method that has the potential to be widely used in CRC research