Adiponectin and chronic kidney disease.

Enhanced chronic inflammation and reduced insulin sensitivity are often present in chronic kidney disease (CKD). Cardiovascular disease remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in end-stage renal patients. Adiponectin (ADP) is a hormone exclusively produced by adipocytes and possesses anti-inflammatory and cardioprotective properties. Despite the high prevalence of insulin resistance and cardiovascular disease, levels of ADP are increased among end-stage renal disease patients on hemo or peritoneal dialysis but also among patients with moderate renal failure or with the nephrotic syndrome. Furthermore, lower ADP levels are associated with poor cardiovascular outcome. In this review, we examine ADP modifications in CKD and discuss the different factors that may have an impact on this adipokine metabolism in renal failure.     

Fatty acids platelets and oxidative markers following intravenous n-3 fatty acids administration in cystic fibrosis: An open pilot observational study.

BACKGROUND: An imbalance in the ratio of arachidonic acid and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) was found in cystic fibrosis (CF) affected tissues and was suggested to promote inflammation. Several studies have shown that the long chain n-3 fatty acids reduced inflammatory activity while others have highlighted prooxidant activity of DHA at high concentrations. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effects of an intravenous fish-oil emulsion enriched with n-3 FA in patients with CF on plasma and platelet FA composition and peroxidation markers. METHODS: 13 patients with CF received one IV emulsion per week of 2 mL/kg fish-oil n-3 emulsion for 12 weeks. RESULTS: There was a significant increase in 20:5 n-3 and 22:6 n-3 platelet FA composition, no variation in 20:4 n-6, a decrease in n-9. There was no variation in plasma FA composition. Specific urinary markers of lipid peroxidation derived from n-3 and n-6 showed a very high level before infusion compared with usual values in healthy subjects which was not affected by treatment. A significant weight loss and a decrease in reduced glutathione were observed in adult patients. CONCLUSIONS: The intravenous administration of n-3 FA in CF patients induced a significant modification in platelet FA composition but no modification of oxidative markers. However, the weight loss and the decreased level in reduced glutathione observed in adult patients may suggest a potential deleterious activity for some patients. Further studies are necessary to determine the optimal dose and route for long chain FA administration required to reach a potential beneficial effect.     

Expression of myosin heavy chain isoforms in Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients and carriers

The expression of MHC isoforms in the skeletal muscles of nine patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) (from 2.5 to 15 yr of age) and three DMD carriers was studied using different specific anti-MHC MAbs. We also analyzed muscle fiber size and fiber reactivity with acridine orange and/or with a surface antigen marker. One-quarter of all fibers of DMD patients, or less with age, were of normal size and contained only adult slow MHC. Half of the muscle fibers contained adult and developmental MHCs. Only half of these fibers were representative of an active regenerative process. MHC co-expression also altered the proportion of normal fast or slow fibers. Adult fast MHCs were expressed as unique MHC only in small and very small fibers in the oldest DMD patients. In DMD carrier muscles, the greatest alterations in MHC expression were observed in patients with the most reduced dystrophin expression. However, MHC changes in dystrophin-positive fibers were similar to those observed in dystrophin-free fibers. In conclusion, disruptions or delays in the switching of all genes coding for adult fast and slow MHC and developmental MHC coincided with dystrophin deletion and with perturbations in its expression.     

CASPER, a Computer ASsisted PERicardial puncture system: first clinical results.

Pericardial puncture is the percutaneous insertion of a needle into the pericardial space to drain a pathological pericardial effusion. The challenge for the operating surgeon is to reach percutaneously a target zone in the vicinity of the mobile heart, in a soft-tissue environment. The surgeon's ability to accomplish this depends on his own mental picture of the effusion. CASPER is a navigation software using an optical localizer which assists the surgeon by enhancing the representation of the effusion and guiding the needle's progress. Using a localized and calibrated echographic probe, the surgeon acquires a set of images in the region of interest. This zone is then manually segmented on each image, a common zone is computed, and the surgeon defines a trajectory for the needle. During the puncture procedure, the surgeon follows the position of the localized needle on a computer monitor. After initial validation on an experimental phantom, a feasibility study was performed using canine and porcine models. The optical localization device was changed from an Optotrak to a Polaris device for easier use in the clinical setting. Prior to clinical application, various tests were performed concerning the mobility of the thoracic cage, the reproducibility of the thoracic position over several apneas, and the stability of anatomic structures relative to the thoracic cage. Finally, a first clinical application was successfully performed using this system. The present paper reports on these last two stages.     

Visual recognition impairment follows ventromedial but not dorsolateral prefrontal lesions in monkeys

Visual recognition in monkeys appears to involve the participation of two limbothalamic pathways, one including the amygdala and the magnocellular portion of the medial dorsal nucleus (MDmc) and the other, the hippocampus and the anterior nuclei of the thalamus (Ant N). Both MDmc and Ant N project, in turn, to the prefrontal cortex, mainly to its ventral and medial portions. To test whether the prefrontal projection targets of the two limbothalamic pathways also participate in memory functions, performance on a variety of learning and memory tasks was assessed in monkeys with lesions of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (Group VM). Normal monkeys and monkeys with lesions of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (Group DL) served as controls. Group VM was severely impaired on a test of object recognition, whereas Group DL did not differ appreciably from normal animals. Conversely, the animals in Group VM were able to learn a spatial delayed response task, whereas 2 of the 3 animals in Group DL could not. Neither group was impaired in the acquisition of visual discrimination habits, even though the successive trials on a given discrimination were separated by 24-h intervals. The patterns of deficit suggest that ventromedial prefrontal cortex constitutes another station in the limbothalamic system underlying cognitive memory processes, whereas the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex lies outside this system. The results support the view that the classical delayed-response deficit observed after dorsolateral prefrontal lesions represents a perceptuo-mnemonic impairment in spatial functions selectively rather than a memory loss of a more general nature.     

Clustering patterns of LOD scores for asthma-related phenotypes revealed by a genome-wide screen in 295 French EGEA families

A genome-wide scan for asthma phenotypes was conducted in the whole sample of 295 EGEA families selected through at least one asthmatic subject. In addition to asthma, seven phenotypes involved in the main asthma physiopathological pathways were considered: SPT (positive skin prick test response to at least one of 11 allergens), SPTQ score being the number of positive skin test responses to 11 allergens, Phadiatop (positive specific IgE response to a mixture of allergens), total IgE levels, eosinophils, bronchial responsiveness (BR) to methacholine challenge and %predicted FEV(1). Four regions showed evidence for linkage (P相似文献   

Genetic epidemiology of cystic fibrosis in Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean (Quebec, Canada)

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an autosomal recessive disorder with a prevalence at birth estimated at 1/2000-1/2500 livebirths in Caucasian populations. Some 127 CF individuals are known in Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean (SLSJ), a geographically isolated region of Quebec. The prevalence at birth was estimated at 1/902 live borns, and the carrier rate was estimated at 1/15 inhabitants in the SLSJ region. The mean inbreeding coefficient was only slightly elevated in the CF group compared with three control groups, and was due to remote consanguinity. The mean kinship coefficient was 2.4 times higher in the CF group than in the control groups. In SLSJ region, the places of origin of the CF individuals and their parents did not show a clustered nonuniform distribution. Endogamy was not higher in the CF group than in control groups.     

Autoantibodies directed against the amino-terminal domain I of human calpastatin (ACAST-DI Ab) in connective tissue diseases. High levels of ACAST-DI Ab are associated with vasculitis in lupus

To identify new autoantibody populations in patients with rheumatic diseases, a cDNA expression library was immunoscreened with a rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patient's serum which contains autoantibodies binding to uncharacterized polypeptides by Western-blotting. One clone encoding the amino-terminal region (Nt) [domain L and half of domain I] of human calpastatin was selected. Different fragments of the selected cDNA were prepared and the corresponding recombinant polypeptides were produced by in vitro translation and analysed by Western blotting. Most RA sera bound to recombinant amino-terminal region and domain I but not to domain L. This prompted us to use a recombinant polypeptide corresponding to the domain I of calpastatin as the antigen in a solid-phase ELISA to test sera from patients with various systemic rheumatic diseases and healthy controls.Anti-calpastatin domain I antibodies (ACAST-DI Ab), were detected by ELISA in RA, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), Sj?gren's syndrome and control sera at respective frequencies of 10, 9, 0 and 1%. These Ab did not have prognostic value in early RA; high levels were significantly associated with vasculitis in SLE. Antibodies reacting with the calpastatin amino-terminal region are produced during systemic rheumatic diseases and are predominantly directed against domain I. High levels of these Ab may constitute a marker of vasculitis in SLE.