Terson's syndrome after endoscopic removal of a colloid cyst.

An extremely rare complication of endoscopic colloid cyst removal is presented. Terson's syndrome related to endoscopic resection of a colloid cyst has been reported only twice before in the literature and it could be explained by intracranial hypertension related to rinsing during the procedure. The case is described and the complications in the neuroendoscopic removal of colloid cyst are reviewed from the literature.

Anticoccidial efficacy of Canary rue (Ruta pinnata) extracts against the caprine apicomplexan Eimeria ninakohlyakimovae.

Continuous use of anticoccidial treatments against Eimeria infections has resulted in the development of drug resistance. This study aimed to evaluate the anticoccidial efficacy of a methanolic extract derived from the endemic Canary rue (Ruta pinnata) plant of the Canary Islands, Spain, against Eimeria ninakohlyakimovae using in vitro assays. Freshly unsporulated oocysts were exposed to different concentrations of R. pinnata extract and thereafter evaluated for sporulation inhibition. Additionally, anticoccidial activity was examined by testing the viability of the E. ninakohlyakimovae sporozoites and their ability to infect bovine colonic epithelial cells after incubation with different concentrations of R. pinnata plant extract. The inhibition of oocyst sporulation by the extract was both time and concentration dependent, with certain combinations affording the same levels of sporulation inhibition as formaldehyde used as positive control (P < 0.001). Moreover, concentrations >0.1 mg/mL also affected not only the viability of the sporozoites but also their cell invasion capacity (P < 0.001). Altogether, these results show that methanolic fruit extracts from R. pinnata have important anticoccidial activity against oocysts and sporozoites of Eimeria. The potential efficacy of the extracts against other animal/human parasites remains to be elucidated, and further studies are needed to better understand its mode of action against coccidian parasites.

Adipose tissue concentrations of persistent organic pollutants and prevalence of type 2 diabetes in adults from Southern Spain.

There is increasing evidence that environmental factors play an important role in the development of type 2 diabetes. Several persistent organic pollutants are suspected to contribute to the increasing prevalence and risk of type 2 diabetes. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of the body burden of three organochlorine pesticides and three polychlorinated biphenyls and the overall estrogenic activity with the risk of type 2 diabetes in a sample of adults from Southern Spain. Samples of adipose tissue and serum were obtained from 386 subjects undergoing non-cancer-related surgery and were extracted using validated methodologies. Residues of persistent organic pollutants were analyzed by means of high-resolution gas chromatography with a mass spectrometry detector in tandem mode. The overall estrogenicity of the adipose tissue extracts was measured by using the total effective xenoestrogen burden (TEXB) biomarker. Data on lifestyle, dietary habits, and health status were gathered from face-to-face interviews and clinical records. Statistical analyses were performed with unconditional logistic regression and different adjustment levels. In the models adjusted for adipose tissue origin, sex, age, and body mass index, the 2nd and 3rd tertiles of adipose tissue concentrations of p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p'-DDE) were positively associated with the risk of diabetes [odds ratios (95% confidence interval)=3.6 (0.8-17.3) and 4.4 (1.0-21.0), respectively]. A positive association with ß-hexachlorocyclohexane was also found when body mass index and adipose tissue origin were removed from the models, with odds ratios (95% confidence interval) of 3.3 (1.0-10.4) and 5.5 (1.7-17.3), for the 2nd and 3rd tertiles of exposure, respectively. In addition, a statistically significant interaction was observed between p,p'-DDE and body mass index, such that the risk of diabetes increased with tertiles of exposure in a linear manner in non-obese subjects but not in the obese, in whom an inverted U-shape pattern was observed.

Relationship between occupational social class and exposure to organochlorine pesticides during pregnancy.

BACKGROUND: Little evidence is available on the influence of socioeconomic factors on exposure to persistent organic pollutants, especially during vulnerable periods such as pregnancy and early life. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship of maternal social class with placental concentrations of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and their combined estrogenic activity measured with a biomarker of exposure. METHODS: Exposure to 16 OCPs (DDTs, endosulfans, and seven other compounds) and the total effective xenoestrogenic burden (TEXB) were analyzed in placentas from a mother-child cohort. OCP concentrations were quantified by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, and TEXB was assessed with the E-Screen bioassay. Social class was classified according to maternal occupation. Multivariate regression analysis was conducted to examine variations in pesticide exposure and TEXB as a function of maternal social class in 257 subjects. RESULTS: Placental p,p'-DDT concentrations were higher in social classes III and IV than in classes I-II (the most affluent); concentrations of the sum of DDTs were higher in class IV; and exposure to the sum of endosulfans was greater in class III. HCB concentrations were higher among women in class IV than in classes I-II and among manual (classes III-V) than non-manual workers. However, the trend across social classes was only statistically significant for HCB. Social class significantly explained 10% of the variability in concentrations of the sum of endosulfans. CONCLUSION: There is a need to explore whether more disadvantaged populations suffer higher levels of exposure to pesticides or other environmental chemicals and how different social processes contribute to this exposure.

Occurrence and genotype characterization of Giardia duodenalis in goat kids from the Canary Islands, Spain.

Giardia duodenalis (syn. Giardia lamblia, Giardia intestinalis) is a wide-spread intestinal protozoa of both humans and animals. Although giardiosis in goat is commonly asymptomatic, young kids may bear an enteric disease associated with persistent diarrhoea and delayed weight gain. In the present study we have analysed the occurrence of Giardia in 315 young goat kids (2-6 months old) from Gran Canaria Island (Spain) through visualization of faecal cysts. The identification of genotypes of G. duodenalis among the farms was attained by nested PCR of the triophosphate isomerase (TPI) and single PCR of beta-giardin genes and subsequent sequencing. Positive samples were found in 42.2% of the animals and 95.5% of the farms. Goat faecal specimens were positive for only livestock-associated G. duodenalis assemblage E genotype for both TPI and beta-giardin genes. The genetic analysis of these two loci revealed the presence of different haplotypes among the farms included in the survey and high homology with homologous genes from cattle and sheep. Altogether, the data presented here provide additional information to the prevalence and genetic characterization of Giardia isolates. The absence of assemblages A and B in this study suggests that zoonotic transmission of Giardia from goats could be of low epidemiological significance, although these findings should be validated in studies including other geographical areas, age groups and larger number of samples.

Biomonitoring of environmental estrogens in human tissues.

Two examples are presented for the application of the total effective xenoestrogen burden as biomarker of chemical exposure measured in tissue samples from patients recruited for two case-control studies. The first study focused on environmental chemicals with hormone mimicking activity, the so-called environmental estrogens, and their participation in the etiology of breast cancer. The second study investigated mother-child exposure to persistent organochlorine chemicals and assessed their combined effect on the risk of male urogenital malformations in the newborn.

Assessment of total effective xenoestrogen burden in adipose tissue and identification of chemicals responsible for the combined estrogenic effect.

Test systems to screen for estrogenicity and appropriate biomarkers of human exposure are required for epidemiological studies of endocrine disruption. We addressed these issues by developing and standardising a method to assess the total estrogenic xenobiotic burden in human adipose tissue. In this study, which is the continuation of a previous work, we have improved the protocol for extensive fractionation of a higher number of tissue samples in order to investigate bioaccumulated xenoestrogens that are candidates for estrogenicity and to assess their combined estrogenic effect. This was achieved by extensive HPLC separation of xenoestrogens from endogenous hormones followed by testing of individual fractions in the E-Screen test for estrogenicity. Organochlorine pesticides, PCBs and halogenated bisphenols and alkylphenols were collected in the most lipophilic fractions, followed by progestins, androgens and estradiol esters, and then by steroidal estrogens; phyto- and myco-estrogens were collected around the end of the run. These results were confirmed by exhaustive chemical analysis. In 458 human adipose tissue samples, the total effective xenoestrogen burden was positive in 75% of samples in the pooled fraction that contained organohalogenated xenoestrogens (mean 515.3 pM Eeq/g lipid; range 0-14.5 nM) and in 82% of samples in the pooled fraction where natural estrogens eluted (mean 696.6 pM Eeq/g lipid; range 0-12.9 nM). Organochlorine pesticides emerged as candidate chemicals for the estrogenicity of the first pooled fraction, because DDT and derivatives were present in 98.3% of the samples. However, no correlation was found between the concentration of any single chemical and the estrogenicity determined in the bioassay. There may be several reasons for this lack of concordance: (i) the estrogenic effects depicted in the E-Screen bioassay are a consequence of the combined effect of several organohalogens or (ii) the proliferative effect is due to other chemicals not measured. Because additive, synergistic or antagonistic mechanisms may account for the final effect observed in the pooled fractions, the approach proposed in this work is more appropriate for exposure assessment in epidemiological studies than the determination of individual chemicals in human samples.