Clinical and pathological factors associated with Ehrlichia canis in companion dogs

INTRODUCTION

Canine monocytic ehrlichiosis (CME) is a disease caused by the Gram-negative bacteria Ehrlichia canis, a bacterium that affects domestic dogs but can also infect humans. The diagnosis implies a challenge due to its diversity in clinical manifestations.

METHODOLOGY

The frequency of E. canis infection, risk factors, and clinical-pathological parameters associated with seropositivity were calculated with the PROC FREQ TABLES and PROC LOGISTIC procedures of the SAS statistical software.

RESULTS

The study showed a seroprevalence of 26.62% (156/586). Association between seropositivity and risk factors was found. The age and the presence of ticks including clinical signs such as anorexia, seizures, cough, petechiae, epistaxis, and hematochezia, as well as multiple blood and biochemical alterations were analyzed. The logistic regression analysis showed a high predictive power (c = 0.98) for CME for thrombocytopenia, leukopenia, and anemia.

CONCLUSIONS

The high prevalence of E. canis in endemic areas makes its diagnosis difficult. Thus, clinical signs must be considered, along with blood and biochemical alterations, as a possible predictor of the disease.

[Dietary supplements as a treatment for cervical cancer: a systematic review]

INTRODUCTION

Cervical cancer and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) require a careful selection of conventional and complementary therapies. The inclusion of dietary supplements within the aforementioned treatments set the tone within treatments. However, there are no reports of what kind of supplements could be used to provide a better response to the disease in these patients.

OBJECTIVE

In this review, we analyze clinical trials of the past 20 years that evaluated dietary supplements on this population, with the objective to raise awareness on which of them are viable to be administered.

METHODS

We performed a search for clinical trials that used a dietary supplement in women with cervical cancer and some degree of NIC analyzing them how to use the supplement, the conventional treatment, deficiency of the nutrient or compound to be evaluated, the characteristics of the population, the clinical trial and the supplement, as well as dosage and their effects.

RESULTS

Twenty were in total the number of studies reviewed. The articles were classified according to the nature of the supplement: Retinoids, vitamin E, probiotics, indoles, multivitamin, folic acid and selenium.

CONCLUSION

Some supplements were found to be effective in the treatment of cervical cancer and CIN. However, their effect depends on specific factors of the disease. The correct management of dietary supplements is an effective aid to help the patient with cancer and therefore, it is important to define what complementary therapies can be used for this population.

Origin and environmental setting of ancient agriculture in the lowlands of Mesoamerica

Archaeological research in the Gulf Coast of Tabasco reveals the earliest record of maize cultivation in Mexico. The first farmers settled along beach ridges and lagoons of the Grijalva River delta. Pollen from cultivated Zea appears with evidence of forest clearing about 5100 calendar years B.C. (yr B.C.) [6200 (14)C years before the present (yr B.P.)]. Large Zea sp. pollen, typical of domesticated maize (Zea mays), appears about 5000 calendar yr B.C. (6000 yr B.P.). A Manihot sp. pollen grain dated to 4600 calendar yr B.C. (5800 yr B.P.) may be from domesticated manioc. About 2500 calendar yr B.C. (4000 yr B.P.), domesticated sunflower seeds and cotton pollen appear as farming expanded.

Genetic abnormalities and microsatellite instability in colorectal cancer

Our purpose was to investigate different genetic abnormalities, such as K-ras mutations, p53 alterations, and c-myc RNA overexpression, as well as microsatellite instability in 63 colorectal tumors obtained from patients that had undergone surgery. K-ras point mutations were analyzed by PCR-RFLP technique, followed by sequencing; p53 protein accumulation by immunohistochemistry; p53 gene mutations in exons 5-9 were studied by the SSCP and sequencing techniques, and c-myc overexpression by Northern blot. Microsatellite instability was performed at chromosomes 2p, 3p, and 11p by a PCR-based technique. Our data indicate a trend toward a poorer prognosis in patients who had K-ras transversions; besides, we have obtained a prevalence of c-myc RNA overexpression and p53 exon 7 mutations in the latest stages of tumor progression. In conclusion, our findings suggest that the recognition of molecular abnormalities might be used in colorectal cancer as a prognostic indicator or to determine the metastatic potential of colorectal adenocarcinomas.

p53 exon 7 mutations as a predictor of poor prognosis in patients with colorectal cancer

We have studied 61 resected colorectal adenocarcinomas in order to investigate p53 mutations as a prognostic factor for this pathology. Mutations in exons 5-9 of the p53 gene were analyzed by the polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) technique followed by sequencing. Our data indicate that p53 exon 7 mutations were prevalent in the latest stages of colorectal carcinogenesis and patients bearing this alteration had the worst prognosis. Therefore, according to our results, mutations affecting exon 7 of the p53 gene could be considered as a useful marker of biological aggressiveness for colorectal cancer.

Prognostic value of genomic damage in non-small-cell lung cancer

Genomic alterations have been analysed in 65 non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tissue samples by using the arbitrarily primed polymerase chain reaction (AP-PCR), which is a PCR-based genomic fingerprinting. We have shown that AP-PCR may be applied as a useful and feasible practical method for detection of the genomic alterations that accompany malignancy in NSCLC. Genomic changes detected by us consisted of: allelic losses or gains in anonymous DNA sequences, homozygously deleted DNA sequences and polymorphic DNA sequences. According to these genomic changes, lung tumours evaluated in the present study have been scored into three groups: low, moderate and high genomic damage tumours. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of genomic damage on patient survival. Survival analysis was carried out in 51 NSCLC patients. Our results revealed that high genomic damage patients showed a poorer prognosis than those with low or moderate genomic damage (P = 0.038). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that patients with higher genomic alterations displayed an adjusted-by-stage risk ratio 4.26 times higher than the remaining patients (95% CI = 1.03-17.54). We can conclude that genomic damage has an independent prognostic value of poor clinical evolution in NSCLC.

Comparative survival analysis of p53 gene mutations and protein accumulation in colorectal cancer

Immunohistochemical reactivity for p53 protein is common in various human malignancies. Increased intracellular concentration of p53, which is frequently, but not systematically, related to p53 mutation, has been proposed to be associated with poor prognosis in some tumor types. In colorectal cancer, this significance is still a matter of debate. To directly investigate the relationship between prognosis and p53 alterations, we screened a series of 72 colorectal carcinomas for overexpression and mutation of the p53 gene. Mutations in exons 5-9 of the p53 gene were assayed by single-strand conformation polymorphism and direct DNA sequencing, whereas p53 protein accumulation was detected in 10-microm frozen tissue by immunostaining using 2 different monoclonal antibodies (PAb 1801 and DO7). Thirty-six tumors (50%) showed p53 overexpression. Nineteen of the 36 tumors which contained high levels of p53 protein were found to have missense point mutations. Using a multivariate survival analysis, stage, differentiation, p53 immunoreactivity and p53 mutation emerged as risk factors, but only the stage was significant. In univariate analysis, stage, differentiation and p53 immunoreactivity were significant prognostic indicators, while p53 mutation was at the borderline of significance.

p53 exon 5 mutations as a prognostic indicator of shortened survival in non-small-cell lung cancer

Inactivation of the tumour-suppressor gene p53 has been described as one of the most common molecular changes found in lung tumours. Our purpose was to study the prognostic value of p53 alterations and to determine whether some specific mutation type in the p53 gene could be associated with poor clinical evolution in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. To this end, we studied 81 resected primary NSCLCs in order to detect p53 alterations. p53 protein accumulation was analysed using immunohistochemistry methods; p53 gene mutations in exons 5-9 were studied using polymerase chain reaction-single-strand conformation polymorphism and sequencing techniques. p53 protein was immunodetected in 46.9% of lung carcinomas and 44.7% of p53-immunopositive tumours showed p53 mutations. Survival analysis was performed on 62 patients. No survival differences were found for patients with or without p53 immunopositivity. A shorter survival was found in patients with underlying p53 gene mutations, mainly in patients with squamous cell lung tumours; the worst prognosis was found when mutations were located in exon 5 (P = 0.007). In conclusion, the location of p53 mutations might be considered as a prognostic indicator for the evaluation of poor clinical evolution in NSCLC patients.

A new species of Late Cretaceous crab (Brachyura: Carcineretidae) from Albion Island, Belize)

A new species of carcineretid crab, Carcineretes planetarius, is described from the Upper Cretaceous (lower Maastrichtian) Barton Creek Dolomite at Albion Island, Belize. The age is based on the stratigraphic range of associated nerineid gastropods and correlation with nannoplankton, benthic foraminifera, and the other known congeneric species of crab found in Jamaica. Confirmation of this age aids in constraining the timing of ejecta deposits of the Chicxulub impact found at the top of Barton Creek Dolomite exposed on Albion Island. Paleoenvironmental and paleoecological analyses suggest that these crabs were swimmers in lagoonal settings, capable of burrowing a few centimeters into the mud for protection.