Astrocytomas and miRNAs: Are They Useful?

Tumours in the central nervous system are a heterogeneous group of neoplasms originating in the neural ectoderm and other layers of the embryo. In the Children’s Hospital of Mexico Federico Gómez, in accordance with what has been described in corresponding literature, these tumours occupy the third place, after leukaemia and lymphoma, in cancer cases. MiRNAs are non-codifying RNA molecules, of 18–24 nucleotides which regulate the expression of genes in a post-transcriptional level. Recently, the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the development of different types of cancer has been taken into consideration. In the case of astrocytomas, several target molecules of miRNAs have been determined, and their participation in the development of tumours has been proved since they are involved in differentiation, proliferation and apoptosis processes. MiRNAs are less susceptible to chemical modifications and degradement by ribonucleases by comparison with RNAm. The level of expression of miRNAs starting from bodily fluids represents the most promising advance for a non-invasive diagnosis and allows for their use as biomarkers to detect tumours in early stages and correlating them with clinical development

Alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma: origin and prognostic implications of molecular findings

We present the case of a 2-year-old male patient with a facial tumor partially treated with chemotherapy before his admission to our institution. The tumor involved from the frontal region to the maxillary floor, the orbit, and the maxillary and sphenoid sinuses. The histopathological diagnosis revealed a stage IV alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma with infiltration to bone marrow and cerebrospinal fluid. He was managed with four cycles of adriamycin, actinomycin, cyclophosphamide and vincristine; cisplatin and irinotecan were added to the last cycle. The tumor had a 50% size reduction, but the patient died after a neutropenia and fever episode. The aggressive behavior of alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma has been associated with the expression of oncogenic fusion proteins resulting from chromosomal translocations, particularly t(2;13) (q35;q14) PAX3/FOXO1, and t(1;13) (p36;q14) PAX7/FOXO1 which were present in this patient

Myocardial Protection from Ischemia-Reperfusion Damage by the Antioxidant Effect of Hibiscus sabdariffa Linnaeus on Metabolic Syndrome Rats

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) constitute one of the most prevalent health problems worldwide, being strongly associated with metabolic syndrome (MS). Oxidative stress (OS) is present in both CVD and MS. Infusions of Hibiscus sabdariffa Linnaeus (HSL) have antioxidant properties and could therefore decrease the presence of OS in these diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate myocardial protection during ischemia/reperfusion due to the antioxidant effect of HSL infusion (3%) on a MS rat model induced by the administration of 30% sucrose in drinking water. We determined in control, MS, and MS+HSL rat hearts (n=6 per group) cardiac mechanical performance (CMP), coronary vascular resistance (CVR), and activities of manganese and copper/zinc superoxide dismutases (Mn and Cu/Zn-SOD), peroxidases, glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT), glutathione s-transferase (GST), glutathione reductase (GR), and glutathione (GSH). We also determined lipoperoxidation (LPO), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and the nitrate/nitrite ratio (NO3-/NO2-). The treatment with the HSL infusion restored the CMP (p=0.01) and CVR (p=0.04) and increased the Mn- (p=0.02), Cu/Zn-SOD (p=0.05), peroxidases (p=0.04), GST (p=0.02) activity, GHS (p=0.02), TAC (p=0.04), and NO3-/NO2- (p=0.01) and decreased the LPO (p=0.02) in the heart of MS rats undergoing ischemia/reperfusion. The results suggest that the treatment with an infusion from HSL calices protects the cardiac function from damage by ischemia and reperfusion through the antioxidant activities of the substances it possesses. It favors antioxidant enzymatic activities and nonenzymatic antioxidant capacity