Antihepatoma Activity of Artocarpus communis

Extracts from natural plants have been used in traditional medicine for many centuries worldwide. Artocarpus communis is one such plant that has been used to treat liver cirrhosis, hypertension, and diabetes. To our knowledge, this study is the first to investigate the antihepatoma activity of A. communis toward HepG2 and PLC/PRF/5 cells and the first to explore the relationship between antihepatoma activity and the active compound artocarpin content in different fractions of A. communis. A. communis methanol extract and fractions induced dose-dependent reduction of tumor cell viability. DNA laddering analysis revealed that A. communis extract and fractions did not induce apoptosis in HepG2 and PLC/PRF/5 cells. Instead, acridine orange staining revealed that A. communis triggered autophagic cell death in a dose-dependent manner. The antihepatoma activity of A. communis is attributable to artocarpin. The fractions with the highest artocarpin content were also the fractions with the highest antihepatoma activity in the following order: dichloromethane fraction > methanol extract > ethyl acetate fraction > n-butanol fraction > n-hexane fraction. Taken together, A. communis showed antihepatoma activity through autophagic cell death. The effect was related to artocarpin content. Artocarpin could be considered an indicator of the anticancer potential of A. communis extract

Multidetector CT Findings of a Congenital Coronary Sinus Anomaly: a Report of Two Cases

Congenital coronary sinus anomalies are extremely rare, and they have received relatively little attention. This is probably due to the lack of both clinical symptoms and significant cardiac functional disturbance. We present two cases of a coronary sinus anomaly and briefly review the literature. Recognizing and being familiar with the variations of a congenital coronary sinus anomaly in congenital heart disease may avoid a misinterpretation of cardiac catheterization findings and the troublesome disruption of coronary sinus blood return during the surgical management of cardiac lesions

Nuclear Receptor Interaction Protein (NRIP) expression assay using human tissue microarray and immunohistochemistry technology confirming nuclear localization

Background: A novel human nuclear receptor interaction protein (NRIP) has recently been discovered by Chen SL et al , which may play a role in enhancing the transcriptional activity of steroid nuclear receptors in prostate (LNCaP) and cervical (C33A) cancer cell lines. However, knowledge about the biological functions and clinical implications of NRIP, is still incomplete. Our aim was to determine the distribution of NRIP expression and to delineate the cell types that express NRIP in various malignant tumors and healthy non-pathological tissues. This information will significantly affect the exploration of its physiological roles in healthy and tumor cells. Methods: By using tissue microarray (TMA) technology and an anti-NRIP monoclonal antibody immunohistochemical (IHC) survey, NRIP expression was examined in 48 types of tumors and in a control group of 48 matched or unmatched healthy non-neoplastic tissues. Results: Our survey results showed that ten cases were revealed to express the NRIP in six malignancies (esophageal , colon, breast, ovarian, skin, and pancreatic cancers), but not all of these specific tumor types consistently showed positive NRIP expression. Moreover, malignant tumors of the stomach, prostate, liver, lung, kidney, uterine cervix, urinary bladder, lymph node, testis, and tongue revealed no NRIP expression. Among the control group of 48 matched and unmatched nonneoplastic tissues, all of them demonstrated IHC scores less than the cut-off threshold of 3. In addition , ten cores out of thirty-six carcinomatous tissues revealed positive NRIP expression, which indicated that NRIP expression increases significantly in carcinoma tissue cores , comparing to the matched controlled healthy tissues. Conclusion: This is the first study to use a human TMA and IHC to validate the nuclear localization for this newly identified NRIP expression. In considering the use of NRIP as a potential diagnostic tool for human malignancies survey , it is important to note that NRIP expression carries a sensitivity of only 23%, but has a specificity of 100%. There is also a significant difference in positive NRIP expression between primary carcinomatous tissues and matched controlled healthy tissues. Although further large-scale studies will merit to be conducted to evaluate its role as a potential adjunct for cancer diagnosis, data from this study provides valuable references for the future investigation of the biological functions of NRIP in humans

Electroconvulsive Therapy and Risk of Dementia—A Nationwide Cohort Study in Taiwan

Background: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an effective treatment for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder, and a temporary memory loss may occur after ECT. However, the association between ECT in patients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder, and the risk of dementia is yet to be examined.Objective: This study aimed to clarify as to whether ECT is associated with the risk of dementia after ECT in patients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder, using Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD).Methods: A total of 3,796 enrolled participants (schizophrenia, 46.68%; bipolar disorder, 11.77%; and major depressive disorder, 41.55%) with 994 patients who had received ECT and 2,982 controls matched for sex and age, between January 1, and December 31, 2000, were selected from the NHIRD. After adjusting for confounding factors, Fine and Gray's survival analysis was used to compare the risk of developing dementia during the 10 years of follow-up.Results: Of the study patients, 45 (4.53%) of them developed dementia when compared to 149 (5.0%) in the control group. Fine and Gray's survival analysis revealed that the study patients were not associated with an increased risk of dementia [hazard ratio (HR) = 0.612, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.438–1.854, P = 0.325]. After adjusting for sex, age, monthly income, urbanization level, geographic region, and comorbidities, the adjusted HR was 0.633 (95% CI = 0.448 – 1.895, P = 0.304).Conclusion: This study supports that ECT was not associated with the increased risk of dementia in patients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder, using the NHIRD