Int J Med Sci
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There are few studies investigating the association between BCG vaccination and atopy or asthma in adults. ⋯ Among 200 participants, neither the presence (intermediate vs. non-atopy: adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 0.83; 95% CI 0.26, 2.60; p = 0.75, atopy vs. non-atopy: aOR 0.89; 95% CI 0.33, 2.37; p = 0.81, respectively). nor the size of BCG scar was significantly associated with atopy status. However, among those patients who underwent either bronchodilator response testing or bronchial provocation testing, the presence of BCG scar (aOR 0.33; CI 0.14, 0.77; p = 0.01) and the size of BCG scar were inversely associated with asthma. (p = 0.01) CONCLUSIONS: We found a significant association between BCG scar and asthmatic status in Korean adults, although there was no significant association between either the presence or size of BCG scar and atopy.
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The reports submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) from 1997 to 2011 were reviewed to assess serious adverse events induced by the administration of antipsychotics to children. ⋯ It was suggested that there is a level of diversity in the strength of the association between various first- and second-generation antipsychotics with associated serious adverse events, which possibly lead to fatal outcomes. We recommend that research be continued in order to gather a large variety and quantity of related information, and that both available and newly reported data be placed in the context of multiple medical viewpoints in order to lead to improved levels of care.
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Genes involved in the IGF-1 aging pathways in the human ovary can be considered strong candidates for predictors of the natural menopause timing. This study evaluates the association between a cytosine-adenine (CA) microsatellite polymorphism in the IGF1 gene promoter P1 and age at natural menopause. ⋯ This study provides evidence that a common cytosine-adenine (CA) microsatellite repeat polymorphism in the P1 promoter region of the IGF1 gene is an independent predictive factor for age at natural menopause in Caucasian women also after adjusting for other menopause covariates.
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To investigate the expression of transcriptional factors (TFs) T-bet, GATA-3, RORγt and FOXP in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to evaluate the correlation between the imbalances of Th1/Th2, Th17/Treg at the expression levels and liver cancer Methods: The peripheral venous blood was drawn from 20 HCC-patients (HCC-group) and 20 health participants (C-group). The expression levels of Th1, Th2 and Th17 and the major Treg-specific TFs T-bet, GATA-3, RORγt and FOXP3 in the PBMC were measured with quantitative real-time PCR(RT-qPCR). ⋯ The mRNA level of Th1-specific TF T-bet in HCC-group was significantly lower than that of C-group (52.34±34.07 VS 104.01±56.00, P<0.01); the mRNA level of Th2-specifc TF, GATA-3, in HCC group was significantly higher than that in C-group (1.38±1.15 VS 0.58±0.65, P<0.05) and T-bet mRNA/GATA-3 mRNA ratio was significantly lower in HCC-group than in C-group (86.01±116.71 VS 461.88±708.81, P<0.05). The mRNA level of Th17-specific TF RORγt in HCC-group was significantly higher than that of C-group (72.32±32.82 VS 33.07±22.86, P<0.01). Treg-specific TF FOXP3 mRNA level was significant higher in HCC-group than in C-group (3.17±1.59 VS 1.39±1.13, P<0.01) CONCLUSION: T-bet mRNA level was reduced whereas GATA-3 mRNA level was increased and T-bet/GATA-3 ratio was significantly reduced in PBMC, indicating that Th1/Th2 ratio was of imbalance at TF levels in PBMC of HCC, displaying Th2 thrift phenomena. The mRNA levels of RORγt and FOXP3 in PBMC of HCC were significantly increased, indicating the existence of a predominant phenomenon of Th17- and Treg-expressing PBMC in HCC.
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The purposes of this study are to investigate somatic NKX2-5 mutations in Chinese children with congenital heart disease (CHD) and assess the reliability of somatic mutation detection in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues. The study cohort included frozen and FFPE cardiac tissues as well as blood samples from 85 Chinese children with CHD who had the cardiac operations. The right atrial appendage far from the diseased heart was used as normal control. ⋯ There were no significant differences in the allele frequencies of two SNPs between the cardiac diseased tissues and right atrial appendage (P > 0.05). PCR artefact as mutations was not found in the FFPE tissues stored for one year. Our findings demonstrate that somatic NKX2-5 mutations do not represent an important aetiologic pathway in Chinese children with congenital heart disease.