562 research outputs found
Effects of epoetin alfa on the central nervous system
No full text: Erythropoietin (EPO) is a glycoprotein that has been shown to mediate response to hypoxia, and is most notably recognized for its central role in erythropoiesis. In a series of experiments using rodent models, the ability of systemically administered recombinant human erythropoietin (r-HuEPO, epoetin alfa) to cross the blood-brain barrier and affect the outcome of neuronal injury or cognitive function was evaluated. It was shown that EPO and EPO receptors are expressed at capillaries of the brain-periphery interface, and that systemically administered epoetin alfa crossed the blood-brain barrier. Compared with control animals, epoetin alfa significantly reduced tissue damage in an ischemic stroke model when administered 24 hours before inducing stroke, with significant protection still evident when epoetin alfa was administered 6 hours poststroke. Epoetin alfa reduced injury by blunt trauma when administered 24 hours before trauma, with a significantly smaller volume of tissue necrosis noted when compared with controls. The observation that epoetin alfa may reduce nervous system inflammation was confirmed when an experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis model in which rats were shown to have significantly delayed onset and reduced severity of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis symptoms after treatment with epoetin alfa. Epoetin alfa also was shown to ameliorate the latency and severity of seizures, and significantly increase survival versus controls when exposed to kainate. These findings suggest future potential therapeutic uses for epoetin alfa beyond its current use to increase erythropoiesis
Metodi variazionali nello studio di problemi al contorno con parte non lineare discontinua
No full textThe main purpose of this paper is to use variational methods in the study of problems of following type: {Mathematical expression} Here Ω is supposed to be a bounded domain with smooth boundary ∂ Ω, L an elliptic operator, λ∈IR and f(x, t) a real function defined on {Mathematical expression} having one or several simple discontinuities on t. Mainly we are interested in solutions which satisfy (.) a. e., which are most meaningful in physical problems, and we prove various existence theorems for several choices of L, f and λ. The main difficulty consists in the fact that the functionals related to (.) are not Fréchet differentiable in every point, since f is discontinuou
On some Schrödinger equations with non regular potential at infinity
No full textIn this paper we study the existence of solutions u is an element of H(1) (R(N)) for the problem -Delta u + a(x)u = vertical bar u vertical bar(p-2)u, where N >= 2 and p is superlinear and subcritical. The potential a(x) is an element of L(infinity) (R(N)) is such that a(x) >= c > 0 but is not assumed to have a limit at infinity. Considering different kinds of assumptions on the geometry of a(x) we obtain two theorems stating the existence of positive solutions. Furthermore, we prove that there are no nontrivial solutions, when a direction exists along which the potential is increasing
Periodontal disease and nitric oxide levels in low risk women with preterm labor
No full textThe aims of the study were to evaluate the possible association between periodontal disease (PD) and preterm labor (PTL), to assess whether the presence of periodontal disease in women with PTL increases the risk of preterm birth (PTB), and to evaluate the role of nitric oxide (NO) in this possible association.This study included 820 nulligravid women with low risk socioeconomic status: 400 cases with PTL and 420 controls with normal pregnancy, between 25 and 33 weeks+6 days of weeks' gestation. At enrollment, periodontal examination and detection of plasma, gingival and cervical NO levels were performed. We compared the periodontal status of the two groups; we detected the presence of PD and compared NO levels. We then followed the outcome of women with PTL and compared obstetric status and PTB rate between patients with and without PD.Logistic regression analysis revealed a strong association between PD and PTL (adjusted odds ratio: 2.83, 95\% confidence interval (CI) 1.86-4.23; P<0.0001). Non parametric Mann-Whitney U-test demonstrated significant differences in gingival and cervical NO levels between women with PTL and controls (respectively, median 85.1 μmol/L, interquartile range (i.r.) 51.2-177 vs median 50.5 μmol/L, i.r. 34.5-109.65, P<0.0001; and median 102 μmol/L, i.r. 53.05-182.7 vs median 38.9 μmol/L, i.r. 32.87-46.1, P<0.0001). The ability of mean-gingival NO levels to predict PTL was examined by ROC curve analysis: the area under the curve was 0.817 (95\% CI 0.774-0.854; P<0.0001). The cut-off level for the greatest sensitivity and specificity for mean-gingival NO levels was 116.04 μmol/L (sensitivity 0.57, specificity 0.94). Positive and negative predictive values were, respectively, 90.65\% and 69.73\%. Among women with PTL, the risk of PTB increased in women with PD (adjusted relative risk: 3.85, 95\% CI 2.11-6.06; P<0.0001).In this tested population, PTL is associated with PD. The presence of PD in women with PTL increases the risk of premature delivery. NO may be a new marker to explain this association
Parasitic abdominal wall leiomyoma after open myomectomy
No full textParasitic abdominal wall leiomyoma (AWL) is a rare event after myomectomy. In the literature, this occurrence was reported after a laparoscopic approach with an incidence of less than 1%. The present authors report an unusual case of parasitic AWL after open myomectomy in a 46-year-old woman. Also during a laparotomy, where fibroids are usually removed intact, particular care is mandatory to avoid myoma fragments in the surgical scar. Furthermore, differential diagnosis of an abdominal wall neoformation after laparotomy for fibroid removal should include the occurrence of a parasitic myoma
Nitric oxide metabolite levels and assessment of cervical length in the prediction of preterm delivery among women undergoing symptomatic preterm labor.
No full textOBJECTIVE: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of measuring cervical length (CL) in combination with cervical and plasma nitric oxide metabolite (NOx) levels to identify women undergoing preterm labor (PTL) who will deliver preterm. METHODS: A hospital-based prospective cohort study of 730 women undergoing spontaneous PTL between 24 and 33weeks+6days of pregnancy was conducted. Measurement of cervical and plasma NOx levels and ultrasonographic assessment of CL were performed to find the best model to predict preterm delivery (PTD). Optimal cut-off values were calculated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Logistic regression analysis and rank correlation tests were also performed. RESULTS: CL of 15mm or less, cervical NOx levels greater than 87.6μmol/L, and plasma NOx levels greater than 123μmol/L (P<0.0001) were the only factors significantly associated with PTD within 7days of sampling. This combined model provided high diagnostic accuracy (sensitivity 80.0\%; specificity 99.2\%). Both cervical and plasma NOx levels were negatively correlated with CL (r=-0.453, P<0.0001 and r=-0.362, P<0.0001, respectively). CONCLUSION: Combined measurement of CL and levels of cervical and plasma NOx could help identify women undergoing symptomatic PTL who are at increased risk of PTD
Does uterine position affect pain intensity during outpatient diagnostic hysteroscopy?
No full textObjective: To assess the impact of uterine position on pain intensity during outpatient diagnostic hysteroscopy. Materials and Methods: Retrospective data from 312 diagnostic hysteroscopy patients were evaluated. Pain was measured using a 10-cm visual analog scale (VAS). Analyses were performed to determine associations between uterine position [anteverted-anteflexed (AA), anteverted-retroflexed (AR), retroverted-anteflexed (RA), retroverted-retroflexed (RR)], and pain intensity during the procedure (VAS > 3 vs. VAS ≤ 3). Patient characteristics and clinical variables were evaluated using univariate and multivariate analysis. Results: Logistic regression analysis revealed no association between uterine position and pain intensity during outpatient diagnostic hysteroscopy [AA uterus, adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 0.82, confidence interval (CI): 0.39–1.72; AR uterus, AOR = 0.65, CI: 0.25–1.71; RA uterus, AOR = 1.37, CI: 0.38–4.84; RR uterus, AOR = 0.84, CI: 0.22–3.17]. Conclusion: The present data suggest that uterine position does not affect pain intensity during diagnostic hysteroscopy
Positive solutions of semilinear elliptic problems in unbounded domains with unbounded boundary
No full textThis paper is concerned with the existence and multiplicity of positive solutions of the equation - Delta u + u = u(p-1), 2 < p < 2* 2N/N-2, with Dirichlet zero data, in an unbounded smooth domain Omega subset of R-N having unbounded boundary. Under the assumptions: (h(1)) there exists tau(1), tau(2),...,tau(k) is an element of R+\{0}, 1 <= k <= N - 2, such that (x(1), x(2),...,x(N)) is an element of Omega double left right arrow (x(1),...,x(i-1), x(i) + tau(i),...,x(N)) is an element of Omega, for all i = 1, 2,...,k, (h(2)) there exists R is an element of R+\{0} such that R-N\ Omega subset of {(x1, x2,...,x(N)) is an element of R-N: Sigma(N)(j=k+1) x(j)(2) <= R-2} the existence of at least k + 1 solutions is proved
Erythropoietin crosses the blood-brain barrier to protect against experimental brain injury
No full text: Erythropoietin (EPO), recognized for its central role in erythropoiesis, also mediates neuroprotection when the recombinant form (r-Hu-EPO) is directly injected into ischemic rodent brain. We observed abundant expression of the EPO receptor at brain capillaries, which could provide a route for circulating EPO to enter the brain. In confirmation of this hypothesis, systemic administration of r-Hu-EPO before or up to 6 h after focal brain ischemia reduced injury by approximately 50-75%. R-Hu-EPO also ameliorates the extent of concussive brain injury, the immune damage in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, and the toxicity of kainate. Given r-Hu-EPO's excellent safety profile, clinical trials evaluating systemically administered r-Hu-EPO as a general neuroprotective treatment are warranted
- …
