Factors related with low back pain and pelvic pain at the early stage of pregnancy in Japanese women

The aim of this study was to clarify the proportion of women with low back and/or pelvic pain (LBPP) and LBPP-related factors at the early stage of pregnancy and to clarify the differences between LBPP-related factors in primiparous women and multiparous women in Japan. 157 pregnant women were recruited. Information about the presence of LBPP, degree of pain by using a visual analog scale (VAS), location of pain, past history of LBPP and background characteristics were collected. Physical status was assessed by the pregnancy mobility index (PMI). The Ethics Committee of Tokushima University Hospital approved the study. The proportion of women who complained of LBPP was 65.6%. PMI score in women with LBPP was significantly higher than that in women without LBPP (p<0.001). The proportions of women with a past history of LBPP before pregnancy and with a past history of LBPP in the previous pregnancy were significantly higher in women with LBPP (p<0.001 and p=0.002, respectively). In women with LBPP, the score of VAS in multiparous women was significantly higher than that in primiparous women (p=0.019). Early management for women with a past history of LBPP before pregnancy and with a past history of LBPP in the previous pregnancy is important. Management for lumbar pain according to parity is needed for health guidance at the early stage of pregnancy

Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor Induced Radiation Sensitization Effects on Human Cancer Cells after Photon and Hadron Radiation Exposure

Suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) is a histone deacetylase inhibitor, which has been widely utilized throughout the cancer research field. SAHA-induced radiosensitization in normal human fibroblasts AG1522 and lung carcinoma cells A549 were evaluated with a combination of γ-rays, proton, and carbon ion exposure. Growth delay was observed in both cell lines during SAHA treatment; 2 μM SAHA treatment decreased clonogenicity and induced cell cycle block in G1 phase but 0.2 μM SAHA treatment did not show either of them. Low LET (Linear Energy Transfer) irradiated A549 cells showed radiosensitization effects on cell killing in cycling and G1 phase with 0.2 or 2 μM SAHA pretreatment. In contrast, minimal sensitization was observed in normal human cells after low and high LET radiation exposure. The potentially lethal damage repair was not affected by SAHA treatment. SAHA treatment reduced the rate of γ-H2AX foci disappearance and suppressed RAD51 and RPA (Replication Protein A) focus formation. Suppression of DNA double strand break repair by SAHA did not result in the differences of SAHA-induced radiosensitization between human cancer cells and normal cells. In conclusion, our results suggest SAHA treatment will sensitize cancer cells to low and high LET radiation with minimum effects to normal cell

Ultrastructural and immunohistochemical study of the basal apparatus of solitary cilia in the human oviduct epithelium

The basal apparatus of the solitary cilium is composed of the basal body, an associated centriole and the basal body-associated structures. To see the connection between the basal body and the centriole, we studied the basal apparatus of solitary cilia in human oviductal secretory cells by electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry. A single centriole was present in the vicinity of the basal body of a solitary cilium. The basal body and the single centriole were interconnected by one or two bundles of thin filaments with a few periodic striations. We have called these bundles the striated connector. The periodicity of striations in the striated connector measured 55 ± 6 nm, about 15 nm shorter than that of striated rootlets. The striated connector was immunolabelled with R67 antibody specific to striated rootlets, indicating that they are composed of common molecule(s). Although the true function of the connector is unknown as yet, it could play an important role for stabilising the basal body in the apical cytoplasm