North American Journal of Medicine and Science
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Maternal Employment and Childhood Obesity among Immigrant Families
Get PDFThere are continued interests to examine the relationship between maternal employment and childhood obesity. However, little research has been focused on childhood obesity among immigrant families with working mothers. This study used the Panel Survey of Income Dynamics (PSID) and Child Development Supplement (CDS) in 2002 and compared the impact of maternal employment on childhood obesity between immigrant families and US-born families. The positive effect of maternal employment on children’s body weight status was much stronger in immigrant families than in US-born families. The full-time employment status of mothers had strong and significant effect on immigrant children’s BMI (beta = 3.33, P<0.05). In immigrant families, unemployed mothers had a significantly positive effect on the likelihood of childhood overweight (OR = 4.09, P<0.01). However, in US-born families, unemployed mothers had a significantly negative effect on childhood overweight (OR = 0.87, P<0.01). Acculturation and lack of access to social welfare might explain the additional positive contributions of working mothers to childhood obesity in immigrant families
A New Connection: Myeloid Mineralocorticoid Receptor and Cardiovascular Disease
Get PDFMineralocorticoid Receptor (MR) is a classic steroid hormone receptor. Its traditional role is to mediate aldosterone to control electrolyte homeostasis and blood pressure via renin-angiotensin system. Besides aldosterone, MR can also bind to glucocorticoids. In aldosterone sensitive tissues such as kidney, 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11βHSD2) inactivates glucocorticoids and makes MR binding to aldosterone possible. In tissues lack 11βHSD2, MR is presumably occupied by glucocorticoids. The functions of MR in these tissues are largely unknown. Randomized Aldactone Evaluation Study (RALES) and Eplerenone Post-Acute Myocardial Infarction Heart Failure Efficacy and Survival Study (EPHESUS) successfully demonstrated cardiovascular benefits of blocking MR with antagonists. However, the mechanisms have not been clearly delineated. Macrophage polarization, a phenotype that macrophages polarize to distinct functional states such as classically activation and alternatively activation, has emerged as an important control element in cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Recent studies have shown that MR controls macrophage polarization and that deletion of MR in myeloid cells protects cardiac and vascular damages under pathological stress. These studies present a great opportunity for developing new antagonists to target myeloid MR specifically in order to improve specificity and effectiveness of this class of drug in CVD
Urate and Parkinson’s Disease: A Novel Biomarker with Potential Prognostic and Therapeutic Values
Get PDFUrate is a potent antioxidant that effectively scavenges reactive nitrogen and oxygen radicals,1 and therefore, has been thought to have a favorable role in pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Experimental studies showed that urate reduced oxidative stress primarily through its actions as an effective scavenger of peroxynitrite (ONOO-) and hydroxyl radicals.1, 2 Urate completely prevented the death of the dopaminergic cells in culture induced by homocysteine plus rotenone or by homocysteine plus iron.3 To test the hypothesis that urate is neuroprotective for PD, several epidemiologic studies have been conducted. [N A J Med Sci. 2009;2(2):39-40.
Telomere Length and Skin Cancer
Get PDFTelomere length in peripheral blood lymphocytes has emerged as a potential biomarker of aging and risk of age-related diseases such as cancers. However, telomere shortening is implicated in several aspects of tumorigenesis, including senescence, apoptosis, and genomic instability. Because of the distinct proliferative features of different cells, telomere length may play roles in both suppressing and facilitating carcinogenesis. Understanding this heterogeneity is key for the development of targeted cancer-preventative and -therapeutic interventions. We use skin cancer as one example to elucidate that distinct genetic constitutions among different types of cells and tissues evoke different DNA damage responses against telomere shortening and malignant transformation
2010 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium Highlights for Internists
Get PDFThis year’s Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, co-sponsored by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the American Society for radiation Oncology (ASTRO) and the Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO), was held in San Francisco, March 5-7. The symposium brought together specialists from different disciplines to discuss the diagnosis and management of genitourinary cancers. In the spirit of multidisciplinary management of genitourinary cancer patients, this brief communication will highlight some of the notable presentations relevant for internists and primary care physicians
Rivastigmine Adverse Effects: Complete Heart Block
Get PDFContext: Rivastigmine (Exelon), a brain selective cholinesterase inhibitor, is used in the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) to improve cognitive functions.Case Report: We report a case in which the addition of rivastigmine to memantine and metoprolol resulted in complete heart block and possibly predisposing a patient to syncope.Conclusion: Rivastigmine should be used with caution, especially in patients with such structural heart diseases as aortic stenosis and those taking other medications that may contribute to bradycardia
Diagnostic Challenges of Benign Fibro-Osseous Lesions and Psammomatous Meningiomas of the Craniofacial Region: A Comparative Review of their Clinico-pathological Features
Get PDFConventional ossifying fibroma (COF), juvenile psammomatoid ossifying fibroma (JPOF), juvenile trabecular ossifying fibroma (JTOF), fibrous dysplasia (FD), cemento-osseous dysplasia (COD) and psammomatous meningioma (PM) share overlapping clinico-pathologic characteristics. This can be diagnostically challenging for pathologists. Although remarkable progress has been made over the years using ancillary studies like immunohistochemistry and molecular cytogenetics to distinguish histologically similar diseases; such diagnostic aids are yet to be successfully employed within this group of lesions. The implication is that pathologists have to rely heavily on traditional H&E stained sections in differentiating these lesions. It is important to make the distinction because of differences in their clinical behavior, modes of treatment and prognosis. In this article, the clinico-pathologic features of each entity are reviewed.
Telomere in Cancer Development
Get PDFTelomeres are long hexameric (TTAGGG)n repeats at the ends of the p and q arms of linear eukaryotic chromosomes. Telomeres play a critical role in maintaining the structural integrity of chromosomes by preventing fusion of chromosomal ends, nucleolytic decay, end-to-end fusion, and atypical recombination. Telomere length in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) has emerged as a potential biomarker of aging and risk of age-related diseases such as cancers. Telomere length is a complex trait that is shaped by genetic and environmental determinants. In this review, we summarize the previous studies on the association of telomere length and telomere-related genetic variants with the risk of various cancers
Inappropriate Supplementation of Vitamin D and Calcium Resulting in Hypercalcemic Crisis and Acute Pancreatitis in a Patient with Primary Hyperparathyroidism
Get PDFObjectives: To report a case of inappropriate supplementation of vitamin D and calcium inducing hypercalcemic crisis and acute pancreatitis in a 30-year-old man with primary hyperparathyroidism. These life-threatening complications of hyperparathyroidism and the co-occurrence of thyroid nodular disease are discussed. Methods: Detail clinical description, laboratory, pathology and medical imaging findings are presented
The Epithelioid Variant of Angiomyolipoma in Kidney Expresses a Higher Level of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Than Its Conventional Type
Get PDFThe epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a transmembrane tyrosine kinase that plays an important role in tumor growth, invasion and metastasis. EGFR Positive immunoreactivity ranged from focal to diffuse in overexpression has been shown in many different tumors and multiple EGFR-targeted therapies are currently being investigated. Renal epithelioid angiomyolipoma (epiAML) is an aggressive and potentially malignant variant of conventional angiomyolipoma (cAML). Currently, the status of EGFR expression in epiAML is unknown. We compared EGFR protein expression, as well as expression levels of several other tumor regulatory proteins including c-Kit, p53, alpha-catenin, beta-catenin and osteopontin in 6 cases of cAML and 10 cases of epiAML by semiquantitative immunohistochemistry (IHC). EGFR gene amplification was analyzed by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). Within epiAML, EGFR immunostaining was significantly higher when compared to cAML (90% vs. 16.7%, p<0.01). epiAML, whereas no diffuse reactivity was found in cAML. EGFR gene amplification was not identified in either cAML or epiAML as illustrated by FISH. Expression levels of c-Kit, osteopontin, p53, alpha-cateni