Upsala journal of medical sciences
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Accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) components is an early sign of diabetic nephropathy. Also the glycosaminoglycan hyaluronan (HA) is elevated in the renal interstitium during experimental diabetes. The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway participates in the signaling of hyperglycemia-induced ECM accumulation in the kidney, but this has not yet been investigated for HA. We hypothesized that interstitial HA accumulation during diabetes may involve mTOR activation. ⋯ Regional renal accumulation of the ECM component HA is not sensitive to mTOR inhibition by rapamycin, while proteinuria is reduced in established STZ-induced diabetes. Whether the diabetes-induced renal accumulation of HA occurs through different pathways than other ECM components, or is irreversible after being established, remains to be shown.
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The purpose of this study was to analyse whether the parallel life situation between stroke patients and their informal caregivers (dyads) shown in cross-sectional studies prevails also in a longitudinal perspective. ⋯ There was an association within the dyads regarding anxiety score, NHP score, and activity score. CB score was generally high.
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Haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a rare clinical syndrome characterized by fever, hepatosplenomegaly, cytopenia, and progressive multiple-organ failure. HLH in adults is often secondary to autoimmune diseases, cancer, or infections in contrast to familial HLH. Treatment of secondary HLH is directed against the triggering disease in addition to immunosuppressive therapy, the latter commonly according to the HLH-2004 protocol. ⋯ HLH should be suspected in patients who present with fever, cytopenia, and ferritin >500 µg/L. Secondary HLH has a dismal prognosis. None of the patients with HLH triggered by malignancy survived. Achieving remission of the triggering disease seems to be important for a favourable outcome as, in all surviving patients, the haemophagocytic syndrome resolved after remission of the underlying infection.
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There is a growing consensus that similar neural mechanisms are involved in the reinforcing properties of natural rewards, like food and sex, and drugs of abuse. Rat lines selectively bred for high and low oral alcohol intake and preference have been useful for understanding factors contributing to excessive alcohol intake and may constitute proper animal models for investigating the neurobiological basis of natural rewarding stimuli. ⋯ The reason behind the low copulatory activity of sNP rats remains to be elucidated, but may in part be mediated by innate differences in brain transmitter systems. The comparison between sP and Wistar rats may also suggest that the inherent proclivity to excessive alcohol drinking in sP rats may mainly be dependent on its anxiolytic properties, as previously proposed, and not changes in the reward system.