EFFECT OF THE C-TERMINUS OF TSHR ON T4 AND TRAB EXPRESSION IN BALB/C MICE

Context

The expression of TSHR-C on the serum tetraiodothyronine (T4) and TSH receptor antibody (TRAb) levels are rarely studied.

Objective

The effect of TSHR-c on T4 and TRAb levels and concomitant thyroid histological changes in mice was investigated.

Design

Animal experimental study.

Subjects and methods

Female BALB/c mice at 6-8 weeks of age were immunized with the thyroid stimulating hormone receptor antigen C-terminus (TSHR-C), and randomly divided into control group (treated with the corresponding concentrations of normal saline) and four experimental subgroups: TSHR-c1 subgroup (4 µg), TSHR-c2 subgroup (6 µg), TSHR-c3 subgroup (8 µg) and TSHR-c4 subgroup (10 µg). Serum T4 and TRAb levels were determined.

Results

The serum T4 level decreased significantly in the experimental mice as the concentration increased. All the experimental mice were positive for serum TRAb (experimental groups: 40 positive/40, 100% vs. control group: 3 positive/10, 30%) compared to the control group (P =0.000). HE staining showed that the follicles in the control mice were composed of small to medium-sized round follicles, whereas the follicles in the experimental mice were irregularly enlarged under light microscope.

Conclusions

TSHR-c immunization resulted in thyroid hormone changes like those observed in hypothyroidism, probably due to the induction of TRAb generation.

Patient motivation and satisfaction from orthognathic surgery-a case series

OBJECTIVE

This study attempted to understand the specific motivations of patients who undergo orthognathic surgery and determine their satisfaction with the surgery. The study also assessed the prevalence of complications and how they may impact patient satisfaction.

STUDY DESIGN

Patients who underwent orthognathic surgery at the University of California between 2016 and 2019 and had completed postoperative orthodontic treatment for ≥9 months were interviewed. They responded to an open-ended telephone interview regarding their motivations, satisfaction, and complications.

RESULTS

The patients showed a high level of satisfaction with the surgery, but there were persistent complications that affected satisfaction. The predominant complication was paresthesia over the distribution of the inferior alveolar nerve. The majority of patients who reported prior headaches and temporomandibular joint problems described improvement in those areas. Comparing the patients' motivations before and after surgery showed that before surgery, patients reported functional concerns, whereas postoperatively they were much more likely to recall aesthetic reasons for the surgery.

CONCLUSION

This study showed that although patients are generally satisfied after orthognathic surgery, patients need to be realistically informed of their expectations and adequately informed of possible complications.

Oral and anal sex are key to sustaining gonorrhoea at endemic levels in MSM populations: a mathematical model

OBJECTIVES

Despite early treatment of urethral infection, gonorrhoea is endemic in urban populations of men who have sex with men (MSM) in Australia. By contrast, gonorrhoea is not common in urban heterosexual populations. Sexual activities among MSM usually involve anal or oral sex, and as these behaviours are becoming increasingly common among heterosexuals, there is a need to investigate their roles in transmission of gonorrhoea.

METHODS

We developed individual-based models of transmission of gonorrhoea in MSM and heterosexuals that incorporate anatomical site-specific transmission of gonorrhoea. We estimated the probabilities of transmission for anal sex and oral sex by calibrating an MSM model against prevalence of gonorrhoea and sexual activity data. These probabilities were then applied to a heterosexual model in order to examine whether gonorrhoea can persist in a heterosexual population through the addition of anal sex and oral sex.

RESULTS

In the MSM model, gonorrhoea can persist despite prompt treatment of urethral infections. The probability of gonorrhoea persisting is reduced if use of condom for oral sex is increased to more than 15% of acts. Assuming that treatment of symptomatic infections is prompt, gonorrhoea is unlikely to persist in a heterosexual population even with the addition of anal and oral sex.

CONCLUSIONS

Our models suggest that oral sex has an important role in sustaining gonorrhoea in a population of MSM by providing a pool of untreated asymptomatic infection. The importance of anal sex or oral sex in sustaining gonorrhoea in a heterosexual population remains uncertain due to the lack of information linking different types of sex acts and transmissibility.

Degeneration of the mid-cingulate cortex in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis detected in vivo with MR spectroscopy

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Various lines of evidence implicate cerebral involvement beyond the motor cortex in ALS, including the cingulate gyrus and the thalamus. The purpose of this study was to assess neurodegeneration in these regions in vivo by using MRSI.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Fourteen patients with ALS and 14 healthy controls underwent MRSI by using a coronal acquisition scheme. The NAA/Cho ratio was quantified in the MCC, thalamus, and motor cortex (PCG).

RESULTS

NAA/Cho was reduced in the MCC in patients with ALS compared with the controls (P = .0004). There was no difference in NAA/Cho in the thalamus (P = .59). We also found a strong correlation of NAA/Cho among the PCG, MCC, and the thalamus in controls, which was absent in patients with ALS.

CONCLUSIONS

Neurodegeneration beyond the motor cortex is present in the MCC in ALS. The significant correlation of NAA/Cho among the PCG, MCC, and the thalamus in healthy subjects likely reflects the neuronal connectivity among these regions. The loss of these relationships in patients with ALS suggests that such connectivity is not responsible for the pattern of degeneration in these regions.

Over-expression of acetylcholinesterase stimulates the expression of agrin in NG108-15 cells

Several lines of evidence suggest the non-cholinergic functions of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in promoting neurite outgrowth of cultured neurons and in inducing the postsynaptic specializations of developing neuromuscular junctions. In order to support the hypothesis, a cholinergic synapse-forming cell line NG108-15 was over-expressed with chick AChE by cDNA transfection. The transfected NG108-15 cells secreted a approximately 105-kDa protein, recognized by anti-AChE antibody in Western blot analysis, corresponding to the chick AChE catalytic subunit. Over 80% of the recombinant enzyme were secreted into the conditioned medium and they were enzymatically active. In the NG108-15 cell-muscle co-cultures, the AChR-aggregating activity of NG108-15 cells was increased by the over-expression of AChE. The increase in AChR-aggregating activity of the transfected NG108-15 cells paralleled with the increase in agrin and neurofilament expression of the transfected cells as determined by their corresponding antibodies. However, the intracellular cAMP level remained unchanged in the AChE over-expressed NG108-15 cells. These results support the hypothesis that AChE could play a role in promoting neuron differentiation.

Chemical and electrochemical reduction rates of cyclic nitroxides (nitroxyls)

The reduction rates of five-membered pyrrolidine and pyrroline, and six-membered piperidine nitroxides (alternatively termed nitroxyls) containing various substituents were determined under homogeneous conditions using ascorbate, and electrochemically under heterogeneous conditions. The results were compared with data from the literature. It was shown that the increased rates of reduction of six-membered nitroxides, compared with those of the five-membered nitroxides, cannot be explained on the basis of differences in electrochemical potentials but, rather, can be ascribed to differences in the accessibility of the nitroxide group. A double bond in the five-membered nitroxyls increases the reduction rate. Within any ring system, the reduction rates of nitroxides using ascorbate can be correlated with the inductive substituent constants. The half-way potentials for electrochemical reduction within a series of nitroxides based on the same ring correlate with logarithms of the rates using ascorbate and with the inductive constants. The potentials for one-electron oxidation of the nitroxides were related to the inductive constants.