Plos One
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Vitamin A is a critical micronutrient for regulating immunity in many organisms. Our previous study demonstrated that gestational or early-life vitamin A deficiency decreases the number of immune cells in offspring. The present study aims to test whether vitamin A supplementation can restore lymphocyte pools in vitamin A-deficient rats and thereby improve the function of their intestinal mucosa; furthermore, the study aimed to identify the best time frame for vitamin A supplementation. ⋯ Additionally, vitamin A supplementation during late gestation increased the numbers of CD8+ intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes and decreased the numbers of B lymphocytes in the mesenteric lymph nodes. However, no significant differences in lymphocyte levels were found between the rats in the other two vitamin A supplement groups and the vitamin A-deficient group. In conclusion, the best recovery of a subset of lymphocytes in the offspring of gestational vitamin A-deficient rats and the greatest improvement in the intestinal mucosal immune response are achieved when vitamin A supplementation occurs during the early postnatal period.
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Sleep related disordered breathing (SDB) in pediatric Prader-Willi Syndrome is gaining increased attention due to the possible association of growth hormone therapy, SDB and sudden death. However data on the patterns of SDB and their management, particularly in infants in this population, is lacking. ⋯ Central sleep apnea with associated oxygen desaturations is more prevalent in infants compared with older children with Prader-Willi Syndrome. Supplemental oxygen was efficacious in treating central sleep apnea in infants. Routine sleep surveillance for all children with Prader-Willi Syndrome and treatment with oxygen for central sleep apnea should be considered.
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Overexpressed CEACAM6 in tumor tissues plays important roles in invasion, metastasis and anoikis resistance in a variety of human cancers. We recently reported that CEACAM6 expression is upregulated in Gastric cancer (GC) tissues and promoted GC metastasis. Here, we report that CEACAM6 promotes peritoneal metastases in vivo and is negatively correlated with E-cadherin expression in GC tissues. ⋯ CEACAM6 also increased the levels of phosphorylated AKT, which is involved in the progression of a variety of human tumors. We further observed that LY294002, a PI3K inhibitor, could reverse CEACAM6-induced EMT via mesenchymal-epithelial transition. These findings suggest that CEACAM6 enhances invasion and metastasis in GC by promoting EMT via the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Impact of osteopathic treatment on pain in adult patients with cystic fibrosis--a pilot randomized controlled study.
Pain is a common complication in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) and is associated with shorter survival. We evaluated the impact of osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) on pain in adults with CF. ⋯ This pilot study demonstrated the feasibility of evaluating the efficacy of OMT to treat the pain of patients with CF. The lack of difference between the group treated with OMT and the control group may be due to the small number of patients included in this trial, which also precludes any definitive conclusion about the greater decrease of pain in patients receiving OMT or sham OMT than in those with no intervention.
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Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Importance of cough and M. tuberculosis strain type as risks for increased transmission within households.
The degree to which tuberculosis (TB) is transmitted between persons is variable. Identifying the factors that contribute to transmission could provide new opportunities for TB control. Transmission is influenced by host, bacterial and environmental factors. However, distinguishing their individual effects is problematic because measures of disease severity are tightly correlated, and assessing the virulence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates is complicated by epidemiological and clinical confounders. ⋯ We found differential transmission among otherwise clinically similar patients with advanced TB disease. We propose that distinct strains may cause differing patterns of cough strength and cavitation in the host leading to diverging infectiousness. Larger studies are needed to verify this hypothesis.