How Immunocontraception Can Contribute to Elephant Management in Small, Enclosed Reserves: Munyawana Population as a Case Study

Immunocontraception has been widely used as a management tool to reduce population growth in captive as well as wild populations of various fauna. We model the use of an individual-based rotational immunocontraception plan on a wild elephant, Loxodonta africana, population and quantify the social and reproductive advantages of this method of implementation using adaptive management. The use of immunocontraception on an individual, rotational basis stretches the inter-calving interval for each individual female elephant to a management-determined interval, preventing exposing females to unlimited long-term immunocontraception use (which may have as yet undocumented negative effects). Such rotational immunocontraception can effectively lower population growth rates, age the population, and alter the age structure. Furthermore, such structured intervention can simulate natural process such as predation or episodic catastrophic events (e.g., drought), which regulates calf recruitment within an abnormally structured population. A rotational immunocontraception plan is a feasible and useful elephant population management tool, especially in a small, enclosed conservation area. Such approaches should be considered for other long-lived, social species in enclosed areas where the long-term consequences of consistent contraception may be unknown

New therapeutic targets in Alzheimer's disease: brain deregulation of calcium and zinc

The molecular determinants of Alzheimer's (AD) disease are still not completely known; however, in the past two decades, a large body of evidence has indicated that an important contributing factor for the disease is the development of an unbalanced homeostasis of two signaling cations: calcium (Ca2+) and zinc (Zn2+). Both ions serve a critical role in the physiological functioning of the central nervous system, but their brain deregulation promotes amyloid-β dysmetabolism as well as tau phosphorylation. AD is also characterized by an altered glutamatergic activation, and glutamate can promote both Ca2+ and Zn2+ dyshomeostasis. The two cations can operate synergistically to promote the generation of free radicals that further intracellular Ca2+ and Zn2+ rises and set the stage for a self-perpetuating harmful loop. These phenomena can be the initial steps in the pathogenic cascade leading to AD, therefore, therapeutic interventions aiming at preventing Ca2+ and Zn2+ dyshomeostasis may offer a great opportunity for disease-modifying strategies

Acompanhamento de pacientes submetidos à cirurgia bariátrica : aspectos laboratoriais nos períodos pré e pós-operatório

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Farmácia, Florianópolis, 2017A obesidade é uma doença crônica e endócrino-metabólica caracterizada pelo acúmulo excessivo de triacilgliceróis no tecido adiposo, capaz de ser revertida ou amenizada através de intervenção cirúrgica. Epidemiologicamente têm sido descritas associações entre o excesso de peso, resistência à insulina e processo inflamatório crônico. Além disso, nas últimas décadas o sistema complemento foi associado a doenças metabólicas e cardiovasculares e intimamente relacionado com a obesidade e resistência à insulina. Sendo assim, a melhora do estado metabólico e a remissão da inflamação em pacientes obesos submetidos à cirurgia bariátrica foram avaliadas, bem como a associação dos fatores 3 e 4 (C3 e C4) do sistema complemento com a sensibilidade à insulina e a perda de peso após a cirurgia bariátrica. Para isso, a presença de comorbidades e as concentrações séricas de leptina, adiponectina, resistina e grelina foram avaliados em pacientes obesos mórbidos antes, 1, 3 e 6 meses após a cirurgia bariátrica. Também foram medidas as concentrações de IL-1ß, IL-6, TNF-a, proteína amiloide sérica A (SAA), proteína quimiotática de monócitos 1 (MCP-1), C3, C4, glicose, insulina, colesterol total, triacilglicerol, LDL- colesterol, HDL-colesterol e foi realizado o cálculo do modelo de avaliação da homeostase da resistência à insulina (HOMA-IR) durante o seguimento da cirurgia, bem como em comparação com um grupo de indivíduos não-obesos. Como resultado, observou-se uma redução significativa de peso acompanhada de melhora do perfil lipídico, da sensibilidade à insulina e das comorbidades. Ainda, houve diminuição de leptina e aumento de adiponectina no período pós-cirúrgico. IL-1ß, IL-6, TNF-a, MCP-1 e SAA não mostraram diferença no acompanhamento da cirurgia, porém SAA correlacionou-se com o IMC e apresentou-se muito mais alto no grupo de pacientes obesos. Além disso, C3 e C4 foram significativamente maiores em indivíduos obesos quando comparados aos indivíduos não-obesos e C3 e C4 foram positivamente correlacionados com HOMA-IR e as concentrações de C3 foram significativamente diminuídas após a cirurgia. Com base nesses resultados, a cirurgia bariátrica mostrou melhorar o estado metabólico melhorando as comorbidades associadas à obesidade e os biomarcadores de adiposidade leptina e adiponectina, mas não os demais hormônios e citocinas inflamatórias e C3 e C4 foram fortemente associados à sensibilidade à insulina.Abstract: Obesity is a chronic and endocrine-metabolic disease characterized by triacylglycerol accumulation in the adipose tissue, which can be reversed or improved through surgical intervention. Epidemiologically, associations between overweight, insulin resistance and chronic inflammatory process have been described. Furthermore, in the last decades the complement system was associated with metabolic and cardiovascular diseases and related to obesity and insulin resistance. Thus, metabolic status improvement and inflammation remission in obese patients undergoing bariatric surgery were evaluated, as well as the association of complement system factors 3 and 4 (C3 and C4) with insulin sensitivity and weight loss after bariatric surgery. For this, comorbidities and leptin, adiponectin, resistin and ghrelin serum concentrations were evaluated in morbidly obese patients before, 1, 3 and 6 months after bariatric surgery. IL-1ß, IL-6, TNF-a, serum amyloid A protein (SAA), monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP-1), C3, C4, glucose, insulin, total cholesterol, triacylglycerol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol concentrations and the calculation of the homeostasis model of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were performed during the surgery follow-up, as well in a group of non-obese individuals. As a result, significant weight loss followed by improvement in lipid profile, insulin sensitivity and comorbidities were observed. Still, there was a decrease in leptin and an increase in adiponectin in the postoperative period. IL-1ß, IL-6, TNF-a, MCP-1 and SAA showed no difference after surgery, but SAA correlated with BMI and was much higher in obese patients. In addition, both C3 and C4 were significantly higher in obese individuals when compared to lean individuals and positively correlated with HOMA-IR. C3 concentrations were significantly decreased after surgery. Based on these results, bariatric surgery has been shown to improve metabolic status by improving obesity-associated comorbidities and adiposity biomarkers leptin and adiponectin but not the other hormones and inflammatory cytokines and C3 and C4 were strongly associated with insulin sensitivity

Radioguided lymph node biopsy of a chemoresistant lymph node detected on interim FDG PET-CT in Hodgkin lymphoma

A 32-year-old male patient was diagnosed with nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin lymphoma. Staging FDG PET-CT detected a large right axillary lymph node conglomerate and splenic manifestation. Interim PET-CT following two cycles of ABVD chemotherapy revealed good metabolic response with the exception of a single axillary lymph node. A second "interim" PET-CT after two further cycles showed a similar result. A biopsy of the metabolically active non-palpable lymph node was performed using radioguided occult lesion localization (ROLL) with ultrasound guidance. The lymph node was successfully removed by minimally invasive surgery. Histological evaluation of the lymph node revealed a T cell-rich diffuse large B cell lymphoma. Based on this finding, a more aggressive treatment regimen followed by high dose chemotherapy with autologous stem cell rescue was adopted. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a lymphoma case in which the ROLL method was used in the radioguided biopsy of a chemoresistant lymph node detected by interim FDG PET-CT

Elevated levels of whole blood nickel in a group of Sri Lankan women with endometriosis: a case control study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Endometriosis is characterized by the persistence of endometrial tissue in ectopic sites outside the uterine cavity. Presence of nickel, cadmium and lead in ectopic endometrial tissue has been reported previously. While any association between blood levels of nickel and endometriosis is yet to be described in literature, conflicting reports are available with regards to cadmium and lead levels in blood and urine.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>In fifty patients with endometriosis and fifty age-matched controls confirmed by laparoscopy or laparotomy, whole blood samples were collected and digested using supra pure 65% HNO₃. Whole blood levels of nickel and lead were measured using Total Reflection X-ray Fluorescence (TXRF) while cadmium levels were evaluated using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy (GFASS). Women with endometriosis had significantly higher (<it>P</it>=0^.016) geometric mean (95% CI) whole blood nickel levels [2.6(1.9-3.3) μg/L] as compared to women without endometriosis [0.8 (0.7-0.9) μg/L]. Whole blood levels of cadmium and lead were similar between the two groups.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Although women with endometriosis in this study population had higher levels of nickel in whole blood compared to controls, whether nickel could be considered as an aetiological factor in endometriosis remains inconclusive in view of the smaller sample that was evaluated.</p

Associations of Parent–Child Anxious and Depressive Symptoms When a Caregiver Has a History of Depression

We examined the associations between parent and child anxious and depressive symptoms controlling for co-occurring symptoms in both. One hundred and four families participated, including 131 9–15 year old children considered at risk for anxiety and/or depression due to a history of depression in a parent. Parents and children completed questionnaires assessing depressive and anxious symptoms. Linear Mixed Models analyses controlling for the alternate parent and child symptoms indicated that both parent and child depressive symptoms and parent and child anxious symptoms were positively associated. Parental depressive symptoms were not positively associated with child anxious symptoms, and parental anxious symptoms were not positively associated with child depressive symptoms. The findings provide evidence for positive specific links between parent and child development of same-syndrome, but not cross-syndrome, symptoms when a caregiver has a history of depression