Search

Lycium barbarum is a famous plant in the traditional Chinese medicine. The plant is known to have health-promoting bioactive components. The properties of Lycium barbarum berries cultivated in Umbria (Italy) and their effect on human hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG2) have been investigated in this work. The obtained results demonstrated that the Lycium barbarum berries from Umbria region display high antioxidant properties evaluated by total phenolic content and ORAC method, on hydrophilic and lipophilic fractions. Moreover, on HepG2 cell line Lycium barbarum berries extract did not change cell viability analyzed by MTT and Trypan blue exclusion assay and did not induce genotoxic effect analyzed by comet assay. Furthermore, it was demonstrated, for the first time, that the berries extract showed a protective effect on DNA damage, expressed as antigenotoxic activity in vitro. Finally, Lycium barbarum berries extract was able to modulate the expression of genes involved in oxidative stress, proliferation, apoptosis, and cancer. In particular, downexpression of genes involved in tumor migration and invasion (CCL5), in increased risk of metastasis and antiapoptotic signal (DUSP1), and in carcinogenesis (GPx-3 and PTGS1), together with overexpression of tumor suppressor gene (MT3), suggested that Umbrian Lycium barbarum berries could play a protective role against hepatocellular carcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is highly recommended to promptly assess depression in heart disease patients as it represents a crucial risk factor which may result in premature deaths following acute cardiac events and a more severe psychopathology, even in cases of subsequent nonfatal cardiac events. Patients and professionals often underestimate or misjudge depressive symptomatology as cardiac symptoms; hence, quick, reliable, and early mood changes assessments are warranted. Failing to detect depressive signals may have detrimental effects on these patients' wellbeing and full recovery. Choosing gold-standard depression investigations in cardiac patients that fit a hospitalised cardiac setting well is fundamental. This paper will examine eight well established tools following Italian and international guidelines on mood disorders diagnosis in cardiac patients: the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Cognitive Behavioural Assessment Hospital Form (CBA-H), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the two and nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2, PHQ-9), the Depression Interview and Structured Hamilton (DISH), the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D/HRSD), and the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). Though their strengths and weaknesses may appear to be homogeneous, the BDI-II and the PHQ are more efficient towards an early depression assessment within cardiac hospitalised patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article compares the accuracy of transvaginal sonography (TVS) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the preoperative staging of endometrial carcinoma. Results reveal that TVS demonstrates good accuracy in the local staging of endometrial carcinoma. MRI, due to its high costs, should be offered only to those in whom TVS produces images of poor quality.

Objectives: Peritoneal carcinomatosis involves the dissemination of intra-abdominal tumor tissue often associated with gynecological malignancies. The objective of this study was to describe the transvaginal sonographic appearance of this condition. Methods: The data of 60 patients with surgically and histologically proven peritoneal carcinomatosis were analyzed. Transvaginal sonograms performed within 7 days of admission to the operating theater were re-evaluated in order to identify the sonographic features associated with peritoneal carcinomatosis. Results: Carcinomatosis was revealed in 53/60 cases (88%) by the presence of hypoechoic nodules attached to the peritoneum and visible on transvaginal sonography (TVS). The pouch of Douglas was the site most frequently involved. Power Doppler sonography showed the presence of blood vessels in 48 (91%) of these metastases. Ascites was found in 50 (83%) women. An adnexal mass suggestive of being the primary tumor was present in only 41 women (68%). Conclusions: Peritoneal carcinomatosis has typical features on TVS and, in the vast majority of cases, its genital origin can be correctly hypothesized. Power Doppler sonography strengthens the diagnosis by showing vascularity of the peritoneal implants. In a patient with a known pelvic malignancy or whenever peritoneal carcinomatosis is suspected, TVS can give useful information in order to better assess the presence and extension of metastatic nodules within the abdominal cavity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

β-Dystrobrevin, a member of the dystrobrevin protein family, is a dystrophin-related and -associated protein restricted to non-muscle tissues and is highly expressed in kidney, liver and brain. Dystrobrevins are now thought to play an important role in intracellular signal transduction, in addition to providing a membrane scaffold in muscle, but the precise role of β-dystrobrevin has not yet been determined. To study β-dystrobrevin's function in brain, we used the yeast two-hybrid approach to look for interacting proteins. Four overlapping clones were identified that encoded KifSA, a neuronal member of the Kif5 family of proteins that consists of the heavy chains of conventional kinesin. A direct interaction of β-dystrobrevin with Kif5A was confirmed by in vitro and in vivo association assays. Co-immunoprecipitation with a monoclonal kinesin heavy chain antibody precipitated both α- and β-dystrobrevin, indicating that this interaction is not restricted to the β-dystrobrevin isoform. The site for KifSA binding to β-dystrobrevin was localized in a carboxylterminal region that seems to be important in heavy chainmediated kinesin interactions and is highly homologous in all three Kif5 isoforms, Kif5A, Kif5B and Kif5C. Pull-down and immunofluorescence experiments also showed a direct interaction between β-dystrobrevin and Kif5B. Our findings suggest a novel function for dystrobrevin as a motor protein receptor that might play a major role in the transport of components of the dystrophin-associated protein complex to specific sites in the cell. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: A number of studies have suggested that transvaginal sonography can be successfully used in estimating the depth of myometrial invasion of endometrial cancers, thus permitting to tailor the surgical treatment to the needs of the patient. We undertook this study with the aim of evaluating, in a large group of patients, the accuracy of a well-established method for preoperative sonographic staging of endometrial cancer. Patients and methods: A total of 136 patients with endometrial carcinoma consecutively admitted to the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics from 1991 to 2000 underwent a transvaginal sonography within 7 days before surgery. The maximum thickness of endometrial echoes (d1) and the antero–posterior diameter of the uterus (d2) were recorded. As regards depth of myometrial invasion, staging was performed by means of calculating the ratio between the thickness of endometrial echoes and the antero–posterior diameter of the uterus (d1/d2). Results: Mean age of the study population was 63 years (35–88). Invasion of >50% of the myometrium was histologically found in 60 (44%) women. Transvaginal sonography demonstrated a sensitivity of 57% (34/60) and a specificity of 67% (51/76) for deep invasion, with a PPV of 58% (34/59) and a NPV of 66% (51/77). Overall accuracy was 62% (85/136). Conclusions: Although the technique for sonographic staging of endometrial cancer might be of value in the preoperative assessment of myometrial invasion, its diagnostic performance, when applied to a large group of patients, is not as good as that reported in the original publication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To assess the transvaginal sonographic pattern of peritoneal inclusion cysts, a common consequence of adhesions formation often related to pelvic surgery, endometriosis and pelvic inflammatory disease. Patients and methods: Twenty-two patients (mean age: 40 years; range: 22–56 years) with surgically proved peritoneal inclusion cysts, examined by transvaginal sonography with power Doppler within 7 days before surgery were retrospectively recruited. Indication to surgery was pelvic pain (55%), an adnexal mass (50%) or abdominal discomfort and increasing abdominal girt (27%). Ten patients (45%) had been previously submitted to some form of pelvic surgery, nine (41%) had ovarian endometriosis and two patients had a positive anamnesis for pelvic inflammatory disease. Results: In 20 cases (91%), peritoneal inclusion cysts appeared as a pelvic mass close but separated from the ovary. Mean cyst diameter was 6 cm (range 3–20 cm) and the walls were irregular in 18 (82%) cases, due to invaginations of surrounding pelvic organs (bowel loops, uterus, broad ligaments ...). Cystic content was anechoic in 16 (77%) and hypoechoic in 5 (23%) cases. In one case of multilocular cyst, both hypo- and anechoic content was seen. A mean of five septa were found inside each cyst (range 1–15): these appeared as being of <3 mm in thickness in 17 (85%) cases and >3 mm in 3 (15%), while in two cysts both thick and thin septa were present. Septa were complete in 15 patients, incomplete in one while in six cases both complete and incomplete septa were detected. Septa had a random distribution in 12 cysts with more than one septum (67%) and a spider appearance in 6 (33%) cases, departing from the ovary and reaching the opposite wall of the cyst. Echoic projections of the cystic walls were detected in 41% of the cases, usually of few millimeters in diameter. Conclusion: Peritoneal inclusion cysts show a wide range of dimensions and morphology and can mimic... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]