[Acute abdominal pain of the upper abdomen: which imaging to choose?]. / Douleurs abdominates aiguës hautes: quelle imagerie?

The aim of this article is to review the imaging modalities to be performed in patients with acute diffuse upper abdominal pain. Conventional radiography, ultrasound and computerized tomography (CT) are most often used in this setting. The choice of the initial imaging technique will depend from the localization of the pain and the probability of a particular pathology in the involved area.

Purification and biochemical characterization of functional complement factor H from human plasma fractions.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Complement factor H (CFH) acts as major regulator of the alternative pathway of complement and its mutations and polymorphisms predispose to various human diseases. We aimed to develop a scalable purification process of CFH from human plasma fractions to supply a pathogen-safe and functional CFH concentrate. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Starting with intermediates of cold ethanol fractionation of plasma, CFH purification was performed with three chromatographic steps including solvent detergent treatment and nanofiltration. CFH functionality was tested by a haemolysis assay using sheep erythrocytes, by determining decay acceleration activity on C3 convertases and cofactor activity of C3b cleavage. CFH identity was confirmed by Western blot and mass spectrometry. RESULTS: Three scalable chromatographic steps highly purified full-length and native CFH from human plasma fractions. The purification process enabled the removal of truncated and dysfunctional CFH species, yielding a native CFH concentrate as demonstrated in sensitive functional in vitro assays. CONCLUSION: This novel process provides a pathogen-safe and functional CFH concentrate that can be produced on an industrial scale and is suitable for pre-/clinical studies.

[Interpretation of 24h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring by primary care physicians]. / Lecture de la mesure ambulatoire de la pression artérielle (MAPA) par le médecin de premier recours.

Comparatively to office blood pressure measurement, 24h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) provides a more accurate evaluation of the patient's blood pressure and of the burden of the arterial pressure in real life. This measurement is better correlated with cardiovascular risk, with hypertension-related organ damage and its changes with treatment, than does office blood pressure. It allows diagnosis of white coat and masked hypertension, and of alteration in blood pressure's circadian rhythm. This article aims to summarise ABPM's indications, to point out its advantages and give some key practical messages to realize and properly interpret this exam.

High-throughput fluorescence screening of antioxidative capacity in human serum.

Diphenylhexatriene-labeled phosphatidylcholine and propionic acid have been established as selective fluorescence markers for the continuous determination of oxidation processes in the lipid and aqueous phases of unfractionated human serum. Oxidation of the respective fluorophores leads to a decrease in fluorescence intensity from which the time-dependent degradation of the marker molecule can be determined. The lag times preceding the propagation of oxidation are representative for the antioxidative capacity of the system, which may be influenced by exogenous factors, e.g., the antioxidants from the diet. Supplementation of human serum by quercetin, rutin, vitamin E, vitamin C, or total apple phenolics in vitro led to a decrease in oxidizability depending on the oxidation marker and the hydrophobicity of the antioxidant. Quercetin and vitamin E showed a higher in vitro capacity of protecting lipoproteins against oxidation. In contrast, rutin and vitamin C were more efficient as inhibitors in the aqueous phase. The same effect on serum was found after dietary consumption of apples. This result is in line with the known observation that intake of plant polyphenols leads to an increase in serum levels of hydrophilic antioxidants.