[Recurrent voluntary ingestion of metallic objects in prison by a female patient]. / Ingestion volontaire d'objets métalliques à répétition chez une patiente en milieu carcéral.

INTRODUCTION: Recurrent and intentional ingestion of metallic objects is a rare but important phenomenon. It has attracted great interest among mental health professionals over the last decades. However, this issue is rarely reported in the literature. A deep exploration of its clinical and specific psychopathological aspects remains limited. CASE REPORT: We report the case of a 32-year-old female patient, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for homicide against her cousin, the daughter of an uncle who had raped her when she was 14. This affair was hushed by the patient's family and the patient was submitted to several acts of abuse by her family. Following her incarceration, she repeatedly ingested metallic objects requiring repeated admissions in a department of surgery for endoscopic extractions or surgical interventions. She impulsively ingested more than 30 times various metallic objects such as wire, razor blades, spoons, etc., under the pressure of impulsiveness and massive anxiety. Voluntary metal ingestions, associated with iterative self-mutilation behaviors, took place within the framework of a borderline personality disorder, the incarceration and the conditions of imprisonment playing a role in initiating and retaining the behavior. CONCLUSION: Through this case report, we examine the specific psychiatric aspects of intentional ingestion of metallic objects in order to better understand this behavior.

Anticandidal synergistic activity of Ocimum sanctum and fluconazole of azole resistance strains of clinical isolates.

Candida albicans is the most prevalent fungal pathogen in humans. It is the causative agent and most associated with serious fungal infection, accounting for more than 90% of cases. It is a most common cause of deep mycoses and vulvovaginal candidiasis. In the present study we found that methanolic extract of O. sanctum in combination of fluconazole shows higher zone of inhibition and lesser MIC values as compared to methanolic extract of leaves of O. sanctum or fluconazole when used alone. Synergistic antimicrobial activity was found when methanolic extract of leaves of O. sanctum was used in combination with fluconazole against C. albicans azole resistance strains isolated from catheter tip (CT) and high vaginal swab (HVS) (FIC≤0.5). Partial synergistic activity was observed against urine (U). Methanolic extract of stem of O. sanctum in combination with fluconazole gave indifferent antifungal results (FIC=1.0-4.0). Benzene extract of the leaf and stem of O. sanctum in combination with fluconazole showed indifferent antifungal results (FIC=1.0-4.0). Aqueous extract of leaves of O. sanctum in combination with fluconazole showed partial synergistic antimicrobial activity against catheter tip (CT) and high vaginal swab (HVS) and urine (U) (FIC=0.5-1.0). In the present study we evaluate the synergism of C. albicans against azole resistant clinical isolates. This study indicates clear evidence supporting the traditional use of O. sanctum in treating Candida infectious diseases.

[Heart involvement in carcinoid syndrome: report of a case]. / Atteinte cardiaque au cours du syndrome carcinoïde: à propos d'un cas.

The authors report the case of tricuspid and pulmonary disease, revealing a carcinoid syndrome in a 32 years-old young man who was admitted for asthenia and an effort hepatology. The carcinoid syndrome was confirmed by hormonal proportioning, and by an anatomopathologic and immunohistochimic study of a hepatic metastatic biopsy. The check-up to search the primitive tumor was negative. The clinicals, paraclinicals and therapeutics aspects of the carcinoid heart were reported in this work.

Characteristics of the sodium/hydrogen exchange in non-insulin-dependent diabetic patients with microalbuminuria and hypertension.

1. An association has been described between increased sodium/hydrogen (Na+/H+) exchange rates in various cells and microalbuminuria in type 1 diabetic patients. However, no data are available on the Na+/H+ exchange rate in type 2 diabetes and its association with urinary albumin excretion rates. 2. We have estimated platelet sodium-activated proton efflux (Na+/H+ exchange rate), based on a fluorimetric method, in 43 type 2 diabetic patients, of whom 29 were normoalbuminuric and 14 microalbuminuric, and in 10 non-diabetic control subjects. The factors measured were: buffering power, Km for external Na+ and Vmax. of the exchange rate. 3. There were no differences in Km and Vmax. for the Na+/H+ exchange between the subject groups. However, the 14 patients with microalbuminuria showed a significantly lower buffering capacity [17.2 (4.6) mmol l-1 pH unit-1] [mean (SD)] compared with non-diabetic control subjects [21.1 (1.9) mmol l-1 pH unit-1] (P = 0.020). 4. Among the 43 diabetic patients, 16 were hypertensive. These patients had similar characteristics of Na+/H+ exchange to the 27 normotensive diabetic patients and the control subjects. 5. There was no correlation between exchange rate variables of type 2 diabetic patients and fasting concentrations of insulin or albumin excretion rate. 6. We conclude that the platelets of microalbuminuric diabetic patients manifest a significantly lower buffering capacity. This lower buffering capacity may be due to abnormalities of other ion transport systems or to abnormalities in intermediary metabolism.

Subnuclear organization and trafficking of regulatory proteins: implications for biological control and cancer.

The regulated and regulatory components that interrelate nuclear structure and function must be experimentally established. A formidable challenge is to define further the control of transcription factor targeting to acceptor sites associated with the nuclear matrix. It will be important to determine whether acceptor proteins are associated with a pre-existing core-filament structural lattice or whether a compositely organized scaffold of regulatory factors is dynamically assembled. An inclusive model for all steps in the targeting of proteins to subnuclear sites cannot yet be proposed. However, this model must account for the apparent diversity of intranuclear targeting signals. It is also important to assess the extent to which regulatory discrimination is mediated by subnuclear domain-specific trafficking signals. Furthermore, the checkpoints that monitor subnuclear distribution of regulatory factors and the sorting steps that ensure both structural and functional fidelity of nuclear domains in which replication and expression of genes occur must be biochemically and mechanistically defined. There is emerging recognition that placement of regulatory components of gene expression must be temporally and spatially coordinated to facilitate biological control. The consequences of breaches in nuclear structure-function relationships are observed in an expanding series of diseases that include cancer [Weis et al., 1994; Rogaia et al., 1997; Yano et al., 1997; Rowley, 1998; Zeng et al., 1998; McNeil et al., 1999; Tao and Levine, 1999a] and neurological disorders [Skinner et al., 1997]. As the repertoire of architecture-associated regulatory factors and cofactors expands, workers in the field are becoming increasingly confident that nuclear organization contributes significantly to control of transcription. To gain increased appreciation for the complexities of subnuclear organization and gene regulation, we must continue to characterize mechanisms that direct regulatory proteins to specific transcription sites within the nucleus so that these proteins are in the right place at the right time. J. Cell. Biochem. Suppl. 35:84-92, 2000.

Intranuclear trafficking of transcription factors: implications for biological control.

The subnuclear organization of nucleic acids and cognate regulatory factors suggests that there are functional interrelationships between nuclear structure and gene expression. Nuclear proteins that are localized in discrete domains within the nucleus include the leukemia-associated acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and promyelocytic leukemia (PML) factors, the SC-35 RNA-processing factors, nucleolar proteins and components of both transcriptional and DNA replication complexes. Mechanisms that control the spatial distribution of transcription factors within the three-dimensional context of the nucleus may involve the sorting of regulatory information, as well as contribute to the assembly and activity of sites that support gene expression. Molecular, cellular, genetic and biochemical approaches have identified distinct protein segments, termed intranuclear-targeting signals, that are responsible for directing regulatory factors to specific subnuclear sites. Gene rearrangements that remove or alter intranuclear-targeting signals are prevalent in leukemias and have been linked to altered localization of regulatory factors within the nucleus. These modifications in the intranuclear targeting of transcription factors might abrogate fidelity of gene expression in tumor cells by influencing the spatial organization and/or assembly of machineries involved in the synthesis and processing of gene transcripts.