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This work analysed the expression of prostate polysaccharides in rats with age-related benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) for a better understanding of the possible relationship between prostate polysaccharides secretion and BPH onset. For this, prostatic glands from 1 month-old, 3 months-old, 6 months-old and 12 months-old Sprague-Dawley rats were processed in order to identify their overall polysaccharide content. Additionally, serum testosterone was also determined. One-month old rats showed significantly (P < 0.05) lower testosterone levels (0.77 ng/mL±0.12 ng/mL) compared with the other groups, which showed no significant difference among them. PAS staining showed positive polysaccharides markings in both the prostatic lumen and inside of luminal prostatic cells in all groups. Semiquantitative analysis of intraluminal PAS showed that one month-old rats had significantly (P < 0.005) lower PAS intensity when compared with all other groups (100.0 ± 0.5, arbitrary units vs. 107.3 ± 0.6, arbitrary units in 3 months-old ones), whereas 12 months-old ones showed significantly (P < 0.005) higher values when compared with all other groups (133.6 ± 3.5, arbitrary units in 12 months-old rats vs. 108.6 ± 1.4, arbitrary units in 6 months-old ones). The PAS + content practically disappeared when tissues were pre-incubated with either α-amylase or amyloglucosidase, regardless of a previous incubation with proteinase K. Incubation of prostate extracts from 12 months-old rats for 2 h with α-amylase yielded a significantly higher amount of free glucose (1.47 nmol/mg protein±0.23 nmol/mg protein vs. 0.32 nmol/mg protein±0.01 nmol/mg protein in untreated extracts). Similar results were obtained when extracts were pre-incubated with amyloglucosidase. Contrarily, pre-incubation with N-glycosidase induced a significantly (P < 0.05), much lower increase of free glucose. Pre-treatment with proteinase K did not significantly modify these results, which indicate that BPH is related to an increase in the secretion of low ramified ductal α-glycosydic polysaccharides that were not protected against lysis by any type of protein protective core. These changes seem to not be related with concomitant variations in serum testosterone levels.

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The onset of age-related benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) is linked with changes in the expression of specific prostatic chemokines. The aim of this work was to characterize those most relevant changes through the simultaneous analysis of 34 chemokines in both prostatic tissue and serum in rats at different ages with the aim to identify clinically workable parameters for the detection of early prostatic alterations. The study included 28 healthy Sprague-Dawley male rats that were distributed in four groups, 1 month-old (prepuberal; n = 7), 3 months-old (young; n = 7), 6 months-old (mature; n = 7) and 12 months-old (elder; n = 7). Chemokines were analyzed through a commercial mini-array system specially designed for rat tissues. Serum testosterone levels and prostatic histological status were also evaluated. Histological lesions indicative of BPH were detected in three mature rats and in all elder ones. Mini-arrays from prostatic tissue showed that young animals had an overall decreased expression of most of the analyzed chemokines when compared with prepuberal rats, with the exception of agrin, which showed a significant (P < 0.05) increase (100.0 ± 1.3, arbitrary units in prepuberal rats vs.148.2 ± 4.1, arbitrary units in young ones). Older animals showed further specific changes in 4 out 34 analyzed chemokines, namely agrin, platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Additionally, elder rats showed the lowest intensity levels of agrin combined with the highest ones for PDGF, TIMP1 and VEGF when compared with all other groups. Finally, a significant increase of serum VEGF was detected in elder, BPH-affected rats when compared with young ones. Results indicated that the onset of both rat puberty and BPH would be related with specific changes in the prostatic expression of chemokines such as VEGF. Otherwise, the observed changes in serum VEGF levels could suggest the future possible utilization of serum VEGF levels to detect early pathological prostatic processes.

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Introducción: Desde un punto de vista global, los poliquetos que habitan en la comunidad pelágica han sido poco estudiados, aunque son un eslabón importante en las cadenas alimentarias de los ecosistemas marinos. Objetivo: Este trabajo contribuye al conocimiento de esta importante comunidad, analizando la riqueza y la densidad de los poliquetos. Métodos: Las muestras de plancton se tomaron en 17 localidades durante mayo y diciembre de 2013 en el área de estudio, mediante arrastres superficiales en una embarcación con un motor fuera de borda. Utilizamos una red con un diámetro de boca de 0.3 m, una longitud de 1.30 m y una abertura de malla de 0.3 mm. De cada muestra recolectada, los poliquetos se separaron y determinaron al nivel taxonómico más bajo posible. Resultados: Cuantificamos un total de 1873 individuos, con una variación importante en la densidad relativa, ya que en mayo se registraron 7 952.0 ind/100m3, mientras que en diciembre solo hubo 882.1 ind/100m3. Se analizaron las diferencias en la composición y densidad de los poliquetos determinados, de los cuales la proporción más alta pertenece a las formas larvales de las poblaciones bentónicas (meroplancton) y la más baja a los organismos del holoplancton. Durante los dos periodos de estudio se observaron trece familias, de las cuales, Sabellariidae, Spionidae, Chaetopteridae, Magelonidae, Iospilidae y Typhloscolecidae fueron comunes en ambos periodos, mientras que Aphroditidae, Syllidae, Phyllodocidae y Alciopidae fueron exclusivas de mayo y Serpullidae, Sabellidae y Lopadorhynchidae solo se encontraron en diciembre. Conclusiones: Es importante señalar que las variaciones observadas proporcionan valiosa información sobre los ciclos de vida y los aspectos biogeográficos de los poliquetos en el área de estudio.

Introduction: From a global point of view, polychaetes that inhabit in the pelagic community have been little studied, although they are an important link in the food chains of marine ecosystems. Objective: To analyze the local richness and density of polychaetes. Methods: Plankton samples were taken in 17 localities during May and December 2013, through surface trawls in a barge with an outboard motor. We used a net with 0.3 m mouth diameter, 1.30 m long and a 0.3 mm aperture mesh. From each collected sample, polychaetes were separated and determined at the lowest possible taxonomic level. Results: We collected a total of 1 873 individuals, with an important variation in relative density, since in May 7 952.0 ind/100m3 were recorded, while in December there were only 882.1 ind/100m3. The differences in the composition and density of the determined polychaetes, were analyzed, of which the highest proportion belongs to the larval forms of the benthic (meroplankton) populations, and the lowest proportion to holoplankton organisms. During the two periods of study were observed thirteen families, from which Sabellariidae, Spionidae, Chaetopteridae, Magelonidae, Iospilidae and Typhloscolecidae were common in both periods, while Aphroditidae, Syllidae, Phyllodocidae and Alciopidae were observed only in May, and Serpulidae, Sabellidae and Lopadorhynchidae were observed only in December. Conclusions: It is important to point out that the observed variations provide valuable information about the life cycles and the biogeographic aspects of the polychaetes in the study area.

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Copper complexes with N3S donors mimic the CuM site of copper monooxygenases and react with O2 affording side-on cupric-superoxo complexes capable of H-abstraction from dihydroanthracene and THF. Spectroscopic and DFT data of the Cu-superoxos support a spin triplet ground state for the side-on complexes, as well as a hemilabile thioether.

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OBJECTIVE: To investigate the influence of -308 tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNFalpha) promoter polymorphism and circulating TNFalpha levels in the clinical response to adalimumab treatment in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: Eighty-one patients with active RA were genotyped for the -308 TNFalpha polymorphism by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis and subdivided into two groups for each polymorphism (G/A and G/G genotype). All received 40 mg of adalimumab subcutaneously every other week. We compared the groups' clinical responses to adalimumab at 8, 16, and 24 weeks using the Disease Activity Score in 28 joints (DAS28). RESULTS: Both groups showed a significant improvement from baseline. A significant difference between groups was found at week 24. We found that 88.2% of G/G versus 68.4% of G/A for the -308 polymorphism were DAS28 responders (p = 0.05). The score improvement at week 24 was 2.5 +/- 1.3 in the G/G group and 1.8 +/- 1.3 in the G/A group for the -308 polymorphism (p = 0.04). The median of serum TNFalpha levels of the G/A group were lower than those of the G/G group, and statistically different at weeks 8 and 24 (p < 0.039 and p < 0.043). When comparing baseline levels to those achieved at 8, 16, and 24 weeks for the whole group, only responder patients showed a statistically significant overall increase in TNFalpha over time (p < 0.000001). CONCLUSION: A relationship between DAS28 improvement, the -308 G/G polymorphism, and increased circulating TNFalpha levels was found in Chilean RA patients treated with adalimumab.

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BACKGROUND: Local infiltration with corticoids is a simple therapy for rheumatic disorders devoid of systemic adverse reactions. AIM: To compare the efficacy of two betametasone preparations from two different pharmaceutical laboratories in the treatment of patients with osteoarthritis or epicondylitis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fourty patients with knee osteoarthritis and 12 patients with epicondylitis were studied. Using a double blind protocol, one of the two betametasone preparations was used for local infiltration of the lesions. The change in a global score of clinical variables including pain and disability was assessed after 30 days of the infiltration. RESULTS: In patients with osteoarthritis, the global score decreased significantly with both preparations, but no differences were observed between preparations (7.3 +/- 1.8 to 3.9 +/- 2.3 with preparation A and 7.8 +/- 1.9 to 3.6 +/- 2.3 with preparation B). In patients with epicondylitis, pain was also significantly reduced but no differences between preparations was observed (7 +/- 2.1 to 1.4 +/- 2.5 for preparation A and 4.6 +/- 2.8 to 1.2 +/- 1.6 for preparation B). CONCLUSIONS: Local infiltration with both betametasone preparations was equally effective in the treatment of patients with knee osteoarthritis or epicondilytis.

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A list of the species and taxa of some pelagic animals from a tropical upwelling region, based on collections made off the coast of Costa Rica is presented. The list includes a total of 224 species, 53 genera and 11 subspecific forms in Cnidaria, Annelida, Mollusca, Artropoda (Crustacea), Chaetognatha and Pisces.

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We report two female patients with adult respiratory distress syndrome and severe respiratory failure in whom extracorporeal membrane oxygenation was used. Its indication was due to a bad response to conventional treatment with mechanical ventilation and high levels of positive end expiratory pressure. A 2.0 or 2.2 m2 membrane oxygenator in a veno-venous circuit with systemic anticoagulation was used, maintaining mechanical ventilation. In the first patient, the procedure was done early and was successful, increasing hemoglobin saturation from 39 to 87%. The patient was withdrawn from the procedure 48 hours later and died one week later due to a septic shock. The second patient was connected to the procedure after three weeks of respiratory distress syndrome and no increase in arterial oxygenation was achieved. The patient died due to an intracranial hemorrhage, probably hastened by systemic anticoagulation. The real benefits of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation are not defined yet.

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A patient with AIDS developed pulmonary infiltrates typical of infection by P. carinii. However, therapy for this agent was unsuccessful. Further studies including blood cultures revealed the presence of C neoformans. Specific therapy for this agent led to recovery. Concomitant opportunistic infections may cause diagnostic and therapeutic problems in patients with AIDS.

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Methotrexate may be effective in patients with rheumatoid arthritis refractory to other treatments (gold salts, d-penicillamine and antimalarial drugs). Success rates from 39 to 88% have been reported. The mechanism of action is unknown, but is supposedly related to anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive effects. Frequent side effects are observed on prolonged treatment. Most of these are mild and disappear with dose reduction. An exception is pneumonitis, a hypersensitivity reaction that may appear early and at low doses. Hepatotoxic effects are milder than those observed in patients with psoriasis. Intraarticular administration is not effective. No carcinogenic effects have been observed in humans. The drug should be administered with caution in fertile males and females due to possible teratogenic effects. New studies involving larger number of patients may help establish a significant role for methotrexate in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

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