Circulating Levels of Sex Steroid Hormones and Gastric Cancer.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Men develop gastric cancer more frequently than women, yet little is known about the mechanisms underlying this sex difference. Sex steroid hormones may influence gastric cancer risk. We therefore assessed whether major circulating adrenal precursors, androgens and estrogens were associated with gastric cancer in a high-risk Mexican population. METHODS: Blood samples were collected at time of diagnosis from 50 noncardia gastric cancer patients and 50 histologically confirmed non-atrophic gastritis controls. Serum levels of estradiol, testosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) measured with a validated mass spectrometry method were categorized in tertiles as low (T1), middle (T2), and high (T3). Unconditional logistic regression models were used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI), adjusting for age, sex, and education. RESULTS: Levels of DHEA were inversely associated with gastric cancer (p-trend per tertile increase: <0.0001), with adjusted ORs (95% CI) of T2 and T3 (vs. T1) of 0.25 (0.09-0.70) and 0.10 (0.03-0.34), respectively. Levels of estradiol and testosterone were not significantly associated with gastric cancer. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides evidence that higher concentration of circulating DHEA may be associated with lower risk of noncardia gastric cancer. Longitudinal studies are needed to evaluate the temporality of this association and investigate mechanisms of disease pathogenesis.

Hepatoprotective Effect of Low Doses of Caffeine on CCl4-Induced Liver Damage in Rats.

Several studies have shown the hepatoprotective effect of the consumption of coffee and tea, which is mainly attributed to caffeine. Many experimental studies have demonstrated this effect; however, these studies used high caffeine doses that are not related to human consumption. The aim of this study was to evaluate the hepatoprotective effect of low doses of caffeine on carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-treated rats. Low doses of caffeine (CAFF) 5 and 10 mg/kg (CAFF5 and CAFF10) were evaluated in chronic liver damage induced by CCl4 (0.75 mL/kg) in rats. CAFF treatment was administered once a day and CCl4 administration was twice weekly for 10 weeks. Liver function tests (biochemical markers) and functional (sleeping time) and histological (hematoxylin-eosin and Masson trichrome stains) parameters were carried out at the end of damage treatment. Daily treatments of CAFF5 and CAFF10 exhibited a hepatoprotective effect supported by a decrease of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alkaline phosphatase (AP) serum activities and bilirubin serum levels compared with control and also restored serum albumin levels and liver glutathione (GSH). Moreover, CAFF prevented CCl4-induced prolongation in pentobarbital sleeping time and a decrease of liver fibrosis and cell death. Our results demonstrated that low doses of CAFF exert a hepatoprotective effect against CCl4 -induced liver damage in rats.

The Paraoxonase 1 Gene c.-108C>T SNP in the Promoter Is Associated with Risk for Glioma in Mexican Patients, but Not the p.L55M or p.Q192R Polymorphisms in the Coding Region.

AIM: To evaluate the association of the paraoxonase 1 (PON1) gene polymorphisms c.-108C>T, p.L55M, and p.Q192R with the risk of glioma in Southeast Mexico. Decreased PON1 activity caused by polymorphisms has been observed in gliomas, thus supporting the theory that PON1 is involved in tumorigenesis in the brain. METHODS: Sixty-seven glioma patients and 58 control individuals were included. Three PON1 polymorphisms were genotyped by real-time PCR allelic discrimination using TaqMan probes: c.-108C>T in the promoter region, p.Q192R and p.L55M, both of which were in the coding region. Allele, genotype, and haplotype frequencies were assessed in cases and controls to test for statistical associations (STATA 10.2 package). RESULTS: Significant differences were found for the PON1 c.-108C>T polymorphism between the cases and controls. Compared to the controls the cases were more likely to be CT heterozygous (p = 0.002) or TT homozygous (p = 0.036); similarly cases were more likely to possess a T allele (p = 0.032). In contrast, the p.L55M and p.Q192R polymorphisms did not show significant differences between the glioma cases and controls (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The PON1 c.-108C>T polymorphism in the promoter region is associated with genetic risk for glioma. Conversely, p.L55M and p.Q192R polymorphisms in the coding region do not seem to have an influence in this population.

Prevalencia de anticuerpos contra el virus de la inmunodeficiencia humana (CAC-VIH) en su expresión clínica en un grupo de homosexuales del sexo masculino de Mérida, Yucatán / Prevalence of antibodies against human inmunodeficiency virus and its clinical expression in a homoxesual group from Mérida, Yucatán, México

Se reporta la prevalencia de anticuerpos contra el virus de la inmunodeficiencia humana (Ac-VIH) y su expresión clínica en una población homosexual masculina residente en Mérida, Yucatán, México. Se estudiaron 61 sujetos de septiembre de 1985 a octuble de 1986. La edad promedio del grupo fue de 27 años (14-52). En 15 sujetos (24.6%) se encontraron Ac-VIH (detectados a través de ensayo inmunoenzimático y comprobados por inmunoelectrotransferencia). Estos resultados se relacionaron con la edad, medio socioeconómico, hábitos sexuales, número de parejas y relaciones sexuales, relaciones sexuales con extranjeros, viajes al extranjeros y drogadicción intravenosa. Se encontró relación directa entre el nivel socioeconomico (x2 = 31.4, p<0.,003) y el hecho de tener relaciones sexuales con extranjeros (x2 = 4.93, p<0.026) con la presencia de Ac-VIH. En cinco casos el contagio fue autóctono. En seis sujetos seronegativos el único dato anormal fue la adenopatía cervical. En cinco sujetos seropositivos se ha documentado síndrome de inmunodeficiencia adquirida (dos desde la primera evaluación, dos más al año de vigilancia y el otro caso a los seis meses) y en ocho más alguna expresión del espectro clínico de la infección del VIH. Dos sujetos seropositivos permaneceran asintomáticos a los 7 y 9 meses de vigilancia médica (ASU)

Lipoma bronquial: descripción de un caso pediátrico / Bronchial lipoma: report of a pediatric case

Se presenta el caso de un paciente de sexo femenino de seis años de edad con tumor de Wilms y lesiones pulmonares, a quien se realizó lobectomía media e inferior derechas donde se hallaron varios lipomas bronquiales. Se describen las lesiones y se discuten las características clínicas y patológicas

Carcinoma nasofaríngeo en niños: un estudio de ocho casos / Nasopharyngeal carcinoma in children. A study of eight cases

En ocho pacientes pediátricos con carcinoma nasofaríngeo se hizo una análisis histológico, inmunohistoquímico y con cxitometría de flujo. Fueron seis niños y dos niñas con edades entre 1 y 15 años. La evolución de los síntomas hasta el momento del diadnóstico fue de 5 meses o menos en siete de ellos y uno mas tenía tres años de evolución. El diagnóstico se hizo en ganglios linfáticos cervicales en 5 casos y en el tumor primario en tres. Se hallaron tres carcinomas epidermoides no queratinizantes y cinco carcinomas indiferenciados. De los cinco casos estudiados con inmunohistoquímica, todos resultaron positivos para antígeno de membrana epitelial y queratina policlonal, cuatro para queratina de alto peso molecular y tres para queratina de bajo peso molecular. La citometría de flujo para determinar el contenido de ADN mostró picos hipodiploides en tres de cinco casos estudiados. Tres de los pacientes se presentaron con cefalea y lesiones de pares craneales, los otros siete tenían extensa infiltración neoplásica local y de huesos del craneo. Tres fallecieron con actividad tumoral, uno está en remisión total y tres tenían actividad tumoral caundo se examinaron por ultima vez. El carcinoma nasofaríngeo es una neoplasia rara que tiene mal pronóstico por el diagnóstico tardío y la extensa infiltración local.