Journal of investigative medicine : the official publication of the American Federation for Clinical Research
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The falling percentage of doctors of medicine applying for National Institute of Health-funded research grants is 1 indicator that physician-scientists are a disappearing breed. This is occurring at a time when increased translational, disease-oriented, patient-oriented, and clinical research are national goals. One of the keys to providing sufficient numbers of physician-scientists to support this goal is the active targeting of medical students. We hypothesize that an improved research program infrastructure and responsiveness to changing student needs will increase student participation in research-oriented electives. ⋯ Although structured programs can provide step-wise research experiences of increasing intensity, students may not experience a training pipeline in which each stage relies on those before and after, and instead may sample an a la carte selection of research-based enrichment opportunities.
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The aim of the present study was to evaluate levels of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), a stress protein increased after renal and systemic stimuli, in a cohort of 15 patients with severe proteinuria secondary to idiopathic membranous nephropathy and conserved renal function. Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin levels and the fractional excretion of this protein were higher in patients than in healthy controls. Furthermore, a close correlation was found between serum NGAL and urinary (uNGAL) (r = 0.81; P < 0.01) and between uNGAL and daily proteinuria (r = 0.44; P < 0.03). ⋯ The findings made suggest that the NGAL balance is altered in patients with severe proteinuria who have not yet developed overt chronic renal failure, thus confirming the potential use of this protein as an early biomarker of kidney damage preceding the increase in serum creatinine levels. Furthermore, also extra-renal cells (neutrophils, endothelium) may hyper-release NGAL, expressing systemic stress related to severe proteinuria. This would explain the impressive decrease occurring in NGAL values after intravenous immunoglobulin infusion, thus providing further evidence of the antiinflammatory properties of this particular therapeutic approach and indicating the possible value of NGAL measurement in monitoring the efficacy of treatment of renal diseases.
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Adenosine (ADO) is an endogenous nucleoside, which has been involved in blood pressure failure during severe systemic inflammatory response syndrome (severe SIRS) after cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Adenosine acts via its receptor subtypes, namely A1, A2A, A2B, or A3. Because A2A receptors are implicated in vascular tone, their expression might contribute to severe SIRS. We compared adenosine plasma levels (APLs) and A2A ADO receptor expression (ie, B, K, and mRNA amount) in patients with or without postoperative SIRS. ⋯ High expression of A2A ADO receptor and high APLs may be a predictive factor of postoperative severe SIRS after CPB.
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Cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) plays an important role in lipoprotein metabolism. The present study was undertaken to compare the difference in the CETP TaqIB gene polymorphism and its association with serum lipid levels between the Guangxi Hei Yi Zhuang and Han populations. ⋯ There were significant differences in the interactions between the CETP TaqIB genotypes and several environmental factors in the Hei Yi Zhuang and Han populations. The polymorphism predicted differences in HDL-C and ApoAI in the Hei Yi Zhuang but not in the Han Chinese, even after adjustment for confounding variables. This means that the gene may not be truly involved in regulation of high-density lipoprotein metabolism or that there is an ethnic-specific effect.
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In October 2006, the Society for Women's Health Research convened a workshop that focused on the behavioral and social influences on obesity in women across the life span with an emphasis on ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and mental health. The purposes of the workshop were to examine the current state of the science related to behavioral influences on obesity in women across the life span; to determine the mechanisms, methods, and technical advances required for research progress in this area; and to develop an agenda for future research on behavioral influences on obesity in women. ⋯ Discussions during the workshop focused on 4 specific topics: (1) the relationship between mental or emotional health and obesity in women; (2) the impact of social, cultural, and environmental factors on obesity in women; (3) the improvement of obesity research methodology; and (4) the development of obesity prevention and intervention strategies. Based on these discussions, participants proposed recommendations for future research.