Avascular necrosis of scaphoid-Preiser’s syndrome

Preiser’s syndrome is a rare avascular necrosis affecting the carpal scaphoid. Osteoarthritic changes of the articular cartilage, local synovitis, and loose fragments are the most common findings associated with this syndrome. We report a case of patient with Preiser’s syndrome, without a traumatic history, presenting with pain, swelling and functional impairment of the wrist. Radiography wasn’t sufficient for the diagnosis, so MRI and scan were done to clearly establish type and extension of the lesion. Differential diagnosis may be sometimes difficult and the therapeutic approach mainly depends on the stage of disease. Idiopathic avascular necrosis of the scaphoid must be included in the differential diagnosis of persistent pain on the radial side of the wrist with no history of injury, although rare cases have been reported in the literature

Cytogenetic behavior of cryoprotectant DMSO

IVF (in vitro fertilization) is now used worldwide to overcome female or male infertility. Cryopreservation of human embryos provides the clearest opportunity to improve the clinical results obtained with IVF. Cryoprotective agents (CPA) are used to minimize freezing injuries. DMSO has been the most widely used CPA, however, high concentrations of CPAs in the vitrification solution have been shown to be detrimental to the cell. In order to determine the effect of DMSO solutions (5%, 10% and 20%) on genetic stability and/or subsequent DNA repair, we have investigated its ability to induce Sister Chromatid Exchanges (SCEs) and Proliferation Rate Index (PRI) in normal human lymphocyte cultures of peripheral blood, due to the fact that the study cannot be conducted on embryos and to the limited number of spare available embryos, the corresponding accessible experimental material was T lymphocyte. The blood samples were taken from three different healthy donors (conducting experimental procedure in triplicate). After the effect of DMSO solutions on blood according to the instructions of kit K-SIBV-500, lymphocytes are harvested and cultured with suitable technique to assess SCEs and PRI. The results show that all three DMSO concentrations cause a statistically dose depended significant increase of SCE frequency of the lymphocytes (p<0.001) and raise the need for more research regarding the safe and effective use of cryoprotectant

Bilateral synchronous occurrence of three different histological types of renal tumor: a case report

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Serum levels of interleukin-6, inteleukin-1B and human chorionic gonadotropin in women with pre-eclampsia and normal pregnancy

Pre-eclampsia (PE) is a pregnancy-specific syndrome of unknown etiology. It is believed to involve an inflammatory process. The aim of the study was to investigate and compare the concentrations of two proinflammatory cytokines interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and to evaluate the possible interaction between them and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in women with normotensive pregnancy and PE. A prospective case-control study was carried out in 30 women with PE and 30 normotensive controls. Serum IL-1β, IL-6 and hCG levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunoabsorbant assay (ELISA) and automated immunofluorescent assay, respectively. Serum IL-6, IL-1β, and hCG levels were significantly increased in women with PE compared to controls (P<0.001 for each), however no correlation was found between IL-6, IL-1β and hCG. Our results highlight the inflammatory origin of PE and reinforce the possible role of hCG in the complex etiology of its pathogenesis.Η προεκλαμψία είναι σύνδρομο που εμφανίζεται στην εγκυμοσύνη, αγνώστου αιτιολογίας. Πιστεύεται ότι σε αυτήν εμπλέκεται μια φλεγμονώδης διαδικασία. Σκοπός αυτής της μελέτης ήταν να διερευνήσει και να συγκρίνει τις συγκεντρώσεις δύο προφλεγμονωδών κυτταροκινών της ιντερλευκίνης 6 (IL-6) και της ιντερλευκίνης 1β (IL-1β) και να διερευνήσει τη πιθανή αλληλεπίδραση μεταξύ τους, αλλά και με την ανθρώπινη χοριακή γοναδοτροπίνη (hCG) σε γυναίκες με φυσιολογική πίεση κατά τη διάρκεια της εγκυμοσύνης και με προεκλαμψία. Πραγματοποιήθηκε προοπτική μελέτη ασθενών-μαρτύρων, σε 30 γυναίκες με προεκλαμψία και 30 άτομα με φυσιολογική πίεση της ομάδας ελέγχου. Οι συγκεντρώσεις στον ορό της IL-1β, IL-6 και hCG προσδιορίστηκαν με την μέθοδο την ανοσοενζυμική μέθοδο ELISA και με τη μέθοδο ανοσοφθορισμού, αντίστοιχα. Οι συγκεντρώσεις στον ορό της IL-1β, IL-6 και hCG ήταν σημαντικά αυξημένες στις γυναίκες με προεκλαμψία σε σύγκριση με αυτές τις ομάδας ελέγχου (P<0,001 για κάθε σύγκριση), παρ’ όλα αυτά καμία συσχέτιση δε βρέθηκε μεταξύ της IL-6, IL-1β και hCG. Τα αποτελέσματα της παρούσας μελέτης υπογραμμίζουν το φλεγμονώδες υπόβαθρο της προεκλαμψίας και ενισχύουν τον πιθανό ρόλο της hCG στην παθογένεση της προεκλαμψίας

Urinary tract infection during pregnancy: current concepts on a common multifaceted problem

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the most common bacterial infection in pregnancy, increasing the risk of maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality. Urinary tract infections may present as asymptomatic bacteriuria, acute cystitis or pyelonephritis. Escherichia coli is the most common pathogen associated with both symptomatic and asymptomatic bacteriuria. If asymptomatic bacteriuria is untreated, up to 30% of mothers develop acute pyelonephritis, with an increased risk of multiple maternal and neonatal complications, such as preeclampsia, preterm birth, intrauterine growth restriction and low birth weight. Urinary tract infection is a common, but preventable cause of pregnancy complications, thus urinary tests, such as urine culture or new technologies such as high-throughput DNA sequence-based analyses, should be used in order to improve antenatal screening of pregnant women