Fibroblastic Subtype has a Favourable Prognosis in Appendicular Osteosarcoma of Dogs.

Osteosarcoma (OS) is an aggressive malignant bone neoplasm that occurs mostly in the appendicular skeleton of dogs and people. OS is classified based on the presence of malignant stroma and the formation of extracellular matrix into osteoblastic, chondroblastic and fibroblastic forms. This study investigated the correlation between the three histological subtypes of canine OS and clinical outcome. Additionally, we examined whether there was any difference in the immunolabelling of desmin, S100 and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) between the three histological subtypes. Formalin-fixed and paraffin wax-embedded tissues from 87 dogs with primary OS were available for this study. The survival times were correlated with appendicular OS subtypes in dogs that were treated surgically, received adjuvant chemotherapy and had no pulmonary metastasis at the time of diagnosis. Dogs with an appendicular fibroblastic OS had significantly prolonged mean average survival times (546 ± 105 days) in comparison with dogs having appendicular osteoblastic (257 ± 48 days) or appendicular chondroblastic (170 ± 28 days) OS (P = 0.003, Log Rank). The results also revealed that the appendicular chondroblastic subtype is a significant indicator for poor prognosis in dogs compared with the fibroblastic or osteoblastic subtypes (P = 0.006, Cox regression). Moreover, the findings indicated that there was no significant correlation between the localization of desmin, NSE or S100 and histological subtypes. Importantly, dogs with appendicular fibroblastic OS were found to have a better prognosis when compared with dogs with other subtypes. This may suggest that histological subtypes of appendicular OS have diverse behaviour and could be used to categorize patients for risk-based assessment.

Immunohistochemical Validation of Spontaneously Arising Canine Osteosarcoma as a Model for Human Osteosarcoma.

Osteosarcoma (OS) originates from bone-forming mesenchymal cells and represents one of the primary bone tumours. It is the most common primary bone tumour in dogs and man. The characterization of an appropriate natural disease animal model to study human OS is essential to elucidate the pathogenesis of the disease. This study aimed to validate canine OS as a model for the human disease by evaluating immunohistochemically the expression of markers known to be important in human OS. The immunohistochemical panel included vimentin, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), desmin, S100, neuron-specific enolase (NSE), runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2) and bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4). Immunohistochemistry was conducted on formalin-fixed, paraffin wax-embedded tissue sections from 59 dogs with confirmed primary OS. Vimentin, ALP, Runx2 and BMP4 were highly expressed by all tumours, while desmin, S100 and NSE were expressed variably. The findings were similar to those described previously for human OS and suggest that canine OS may represent a useful model for the study of the human disease.

Canine Mixed Mammary Tumour as a Model for Human Breast Cancer with Osseous Metaplasia.

Canine mixed mammary tumours (CMMTs) and human metaplastic breast carcinomas (HMBCs) share several histopathological features and risk factors. In both species, these tumours display epithelial and stromal components. HMBCs are rare malignant tumours, but CMMTs are one of the most common mammary tumours in dogs and are more often benign than malignant. In this study, benign (n = 88) and malignant (n = 13) CMMTs were characterized using specific antibodies against oestrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, cytokeratin 5/6, cytokeratin AE1/AE3, vimentin, Ki67, E-cadherin and p63. Cartilage and bone matrices associated with benign and malignant CMMTs were characterized using specific antibodies against BMP4, Runx2, Sox9 and osteopontin. The current study suggested that CMMTs are of epithelial origin, but display a myoepithelial-like differentiation. The findings suggest key roles for Sox9, Runx2 and BMP4 in chondrogenesis and bone formation in CMMTs. The high expression of osteopontin in CMMTs appears to be unrelated to tumour malignancy.

Evaluation of the Protective Role of Vitamin C on the Metabolic and Enzymatic Activities of the Liver in the Male Rats After Exposure to 2.45 GHz Of Wi-Fi Routers.

BACKGROUND: The use of devices emitted microwave radiation such as mobile phones, wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) routers, etc. is increased rapidly. It has caused a great concern; the researchers should identify its effects on people's health. We evaluated the protective role of Vitamin C on the metabolic and enzymatic activities of the liver after exposure to Wi-Fi routers. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 70 male Wistar rats weighing 200-250 g were randomly divided into 7 groups (10 rats in each group).The first stage one -day test: Group A (received vitamin C 250 mg/kg/day orally together with 8- hour/day Wi-Fi exposure).Group B (exposed to Wi-Fi radiation). Group C (received vitamin C). Group D or Control (was neither exposed to radiation of Wi-Fi modem nor did receive vitamin C). The second phase of experiment had done for five consecutive days. It involved Group E (received vitamin C), Group F (exposed to Wi-Fi radiation), Group G (received vitamin C together with Wi-Fi radiation). The distance between animals' restrainers was 20 cm away from the router antenna. Finally, blood samples were collected and assayed the level of hepatic enzymes including alkaline phosphatase(ALP), alanine amino transferase(ALT) aspartate amino transferase (ASL), gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT) and the concentration of Blood Glucose, Cholesterol , Triglyceride(TG),High density lipoprotein (HDL)and low density lipoprotein (LDL). RESULTS: Data obtained from the One day test showed an increase in concentration of blood glucose, decrease in Triglyceride level and GGT factor (P<0.05), however no observed significant difference on the Cholesterol , HDL , LDL level and hepatic enzymes activities in compare to control group. Groups of the five-day test showed reduction in the amount of blood glucose, elevation of cholesterol level and LDL relative to control group(P<0.05). CONCLUSION: WiFi exposure may exert alternations on the metabolic parameters and hepatic enzymes activities through stress oxidative and increasing of free radicals, but the use of vitamin C protects them from changing induced. Also taking optimum dose of vitamin C is essential for radioprotective effect and maintaining optimum health.

Production of a Novel Mineral-based Sun Lotion for Protecting the Skin from Biohazards of Electromagnetic Radiation in the UV Region.

BACKGROUND: Sun protection materials have been one of the major concerns in pharmaceutical in-dustry since almost one century ago. Various materials have been found to have such an effect but there are still many unknown substances that have not been discovered. Objective : To introduce a novel mineral-based sun lotion with considerable UV absorption properties compared to commercially available sunscreens. METHOD:  UV absorption properties of transparent plas-tic sheets covered by a uniform cream layer of different mineral-based sun lotions and a commercially available sun lotion were tested. RESULTS: Sun lotions containing specific proportion of bentonite and zeolite minerals were capable of absorbing the highest level of UV light com-pared to that of the commercially available sun lotion. CONCLUSION: Mineral-based sun lotions can be considered as cost effective alternatives for current commercial sunscreens.

Scorpion stings in one province of Morocco: epidemiological, clinical and prognosis aspects

The present study aimed at verifying the impact of a Moroccan strategy against scorpion stings and, specifically, at identifying the epidemiological features of the patients envenomed or just stung by scorpions. The investigation included 4089 patients from a province of Morocco which were evaluated over three years (2001, 2002 and 2003). Most stings occurred during the hot period and mainly at night (between 6:00 p.m. and 12:00 p.m.). The average incidence was 2.8‰, the average age of the patients was 26.7±18.2 years, and the envenomation rate was 6.7%. Mortality rate was 0.05‰, and average lethality rate was 0.7%. Analysis of variance showed that young age, symptoms at admission, and long time elapsed between sting and admission were correlated with poor outcome. Comparison among data of the three years revealed an increasing number of reported cases and decreasing morbidity and mortality.(AU)

Antibody-mediated neuronal apoptosis: therapeutic implications for prion diseases.

Neuronal cell death is considered to be a hallmark in prion diseases. These disorders are believed to result from the post-translational conversion of a normal cell membrane sialoglycoprotein PrPC, composed primarily of alpha-helical structure, into a disease specific isoform, PrPSc that is rich in beta-sheet and partially proteinase-resistant. Recent in vivo studies indicate that prion replication can be inhibited by anti-PrP monoclonal antibodies that led to the indefinite delay in the development of prion disease. The recent report by Solforosi and colleagues has increased the need to understand pathway(s) leading to prion-associated apoptosis and neuronal death thought to be the cause of death in transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) individuals. Furthermore, these reports increased momentum about the use of antibody-based therapy in prion diseases, although great caution should be exerted when using anti-prion antibodies directly into the central nervous system (CNS) with special emphasis on refined strategies such as specific targeting of regions of the prion protein thought not to be involved in signalling pathways.