Síndrome de moyamoya associada a neurofibromatose tipo I em paciente pediátrico

CONTEXT: Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF-1) is the most prevalent autosomal dominant genetic disorder among humans. Moyamoya disease is a cerebral vasculopathy that is only rarely observed in association with NF-1, particularly in the pediatric age range. The present study reports an occurrence of this association in an infant. CASE REPORT: An eight-month-old female presented convulsive seizures with clonic movements. The patient suffered an ischemic stroke with hemiparesis. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed radiological findings compatible with moyamoya disease. The diagnosis of NF-1 was made at the age of 20 months. CONCLUSION: Despite the rarity of this association in childhood, children with focal neurological symptoms and a diagnosis of NF-1 deserve to be investigated for moyamoya syndrome.CONTEXTO: Neurofibromatose tipo 1 (NF-1) é a doença genética autossômica dominante mais prevalente no ser humano. A doença de moyamoya é uma vasculopatia cerebral que raramente se encontra associada à NF-1, particularmente na faixa etária pediátrica. Este estudo descreve a ocorrência desta associação em um lactente. RELATO DE CASO: Paciente feminina, aos oito meses de idade, apresentou quadro de crise convulsiva com movimentos clônicos. Evoluiu com acidente vascular encefálico isquêmico e com hemiparesia à direita. Ressonância nuclear magnética mostrou achados compatíveis com a doença de moyamoya. O diagnóstico de NF-1 foi realizado aos 20 meses de vida. CONCLUSÃO: Apesar da raridade desta associação na faixa etária infantil, crianças com sintomas neurológicos focais e diagnóstico de NF-1 merecem ser investigadas para síndrome de moyamoya.The authors would like to thank Dr. Maria Sol A. Brassesco for assistance in the literature revie

Cytogenetic Instability in Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Survivors

Contemporary anticancer therapies have largely improved the outcome for children with cancer, especially for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). Actually, between 78% and 85% of patients achieve complete remission and are alive after 5 years of therapy completion. However, as cure rates increase, new concerns about the late effects of genotoxic treatment emerge, being the risk of developing secondary neoplasias, the most serious life-threatening rising problem. In the present paper, we describe and review the cytogenetic findings in peripheral lymphocytes from ALL survivors, and discuss aspects associated to the occurrence of increased chromosome rearrangements in this growing cohort

Antiproliferative effects of Tubi-bee propolis in glioblastoma cell lines

Propolis is a resin formed by a complex chemical composition of substances that bees collect from plants. Since ancient times, propolis has been used in folk medicine, due to its biological properties, that include antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antitumoral and immunomodulatory activities. Glioblastoma is the most common human brain tumor. Despite the improvements in GBM standard treatment, patients’ prognosis is still very poor. The aim of this work was to evaluate in vitro the Tubi-bee propolis effects on human glioblastoma (U251 and U343) and fibroblast (MRC-5) cell lines. Proliferation, clonogenic capacity and apoptosis were analyzed after treatment with 1 mg/mL and 2 mg/mL propolis concentrations for different time periods. Additionally, glioblastoma cell lines were submitted to treatment with propolis combined with temozolomide (TMZ). Data showed an antiproliferative effect of tubi-bee propolis against glioblastoma and fibroblast cell lines. Combination of propolis with TMZ had a synergic anti-proliferative effect. Moreover, propolis caused decrease in colony formation in glioblastoma cell lines. Propolis treatment had no effects on apoptosis, demonstrating a cytostatic action. Further investigations are needed to elucidate the molecular mechanism of the antitumor effect of propolis, and the study of its individual components may reveal specific molecules with antiproliferative capacity

Anticancer activity of 7-epiclusianone, a benzophenone from Garcinia brasiliensis, in glioblastoma

Abstract\ud \ud Background\ud Glioblastoma is the most common tumor of the central nervous system and one of the hardest tumors to treat. Consequently, the search for novel therapeutic options is imperative. 7-epiclusianone, a tetraprenylated benzophenone isolated from the epicarp of the native plant Garcinia brasiliensis, exhibits a range of biological activities but its prospect anticancer activity is underexplored. Thus, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of 7-epiclusianone on proliferation, clonogenic capacity, cell cycle progression and induction of apoptosis in two glioblastoma cell lines (U251MG and U138MG).\ud \ud \ud Methods\ud Cell viability was measured by the MTS assay; for the clonogenic assay, colonies were stained with Giemsa and counted by direct visual inspection; For cell cycle analysis, cells were stained with propidium iodide and analyzed by cytometry; Cyclin A expression was determined by immunoblotting; Apoptotic cell death was determined by annexin V fluorescein isothiocyanate labeling and Caspase-3 activity in living cells.\ud \ud \ud Results\ud Viability of both cell lines was drastically inhibited; moreover, the colony formation capacity was significantly reduced, demonstrating long-term effects even after removal of the drug. 7-epiclusianone treatment at low concentrations also altered cell cycle progression, decreased the S and G2/M populations and at higher concentrations increased the number of cells at sub-G1, in concordance with the increase of apoptotic cells.\ud \ud \ud Conclusion\ud The present study demonstrates for the first time the anticancer potential of 7-epiclusianone against glioblastoma cells, thus meriting its further investigation as a potential therapeutic agent.This study was supported by the following Public Research Agencies:\ud FAPEMIG, FAPESP, CNPq and CAPES

Does DKC1 Mutation Suffice to Define the Phenotype Severity of Hoyeraal-Hreidarsson Syndrome? *

ABSTRACT Both dyskeratosis congenita (DC) and Hoyeraal-Hreidarsson Syndrome (HHS) are rare inherited bone marrow failure conditions. HHS is considered to be a variant of DC in which neurological deficits and immunodeficiencies are also present. We describe a very interesting familial cluster where an invariant point mutation of DKC1 located in the exon 11 is observed in the carrier mother and in two decedent males. The older child developed the classical phenotype of HHS at a very early age. The second affected child remains poorly symptomatic, with only mild haematological changes. Telomere shortening, with different severity, is also present in both cases. This paper discusses the clinical spectrum of inherited BM failure syndromes from the perspective different clinical presentation within a family with a DKC1 mutation

Suppression of Inflammatory Cytokine Secretion by an NF-kappa B Inhibitor DHMEQ in Nasal Polyps Fibroblasts

Background: NF-kappa B is an essential transcription factor strongly associated to inflammatory response in chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP). DHMEQ is a NF-kappa B inhibitor that has been previously described with a greatpotential indecreasing inflammation in diseases other than CRSwNP. The aim of study isto evaluate the ability of DHMEQ to reducethe inflammatory recruiters on CRSwNP and to compare its anti-inflammatory profile as a single-agent or in association with fluticasone propionate (FP). Methods: nasal polyp fibroblasts were cultured in TNF-alpha enriched media. Cells were submitted to three different concentrations (1, 10 and 100nM) of either FP, DHMEQ or both. Inflammatory response was accessed by VCAM-1, ICAM-1 and RANTES expression (by RTQ-PCR) and protein levels by ELISA. Nuclear translocation of NF-kappa B was also evaluated. Results: both FP and DHMEQ inhibited inflammatory recruiters' production and NF-kappa B nuclear translocation. Interestingly, the anti-inflammatory effect from the association steroids plus DHMEQ was more intense than of each drug in separate. Conclusion: DHMEQ seems efficient in modulating the inflammatory process in CRSwNP. The synergic anti-inflammatory effect of DHMEQ and steroids may be a promising strategy to be explored, particularly in the setting of steroid-resistant NP. Copyright (c) 2012 S. Karger AG, BaselFAPESP [07/50359-4]FAPESPIRBIRB [4374/2007