Burkitt non-Hodgkin lymphoma presenting with mental neuropathy ('numb chin' syndrome) in an HIV-positive patient.

Mental nerve neuropathy is usually due to local trauma or dental causes, but may be a manifestation of malignancy. A patient with virologically controlled human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection presented with a 'numb chin' on the background of long-standing night sweats, malaise and weight loss, worsening respiratory symptoms, and lymphadenopathy. Burkitt non-Hodgkin lymphoma was diagnosed from histology of a lymph node. Imaging (magnetic resonance imaging and 18fluorodeoxyglucose [FDG]-positron emission tomography-computed tomography [PET-CT]) showed abnormal intracranial enhancement of the right mandibular nerve and extensive 18FDG-avid lymphadenopathy above and below the diaphragm, focal lesions in the spleen and within the right mandible. The patient received chemotherapy and remains in clinical and radiological remission seven years later. This case highlights the need for clinicians to maintain a high index of suspicion for underlying malignancy when an HIV-infected patient presents with new onset of a 'numb chin'. Additionally, it demonstrates the importance of functional 18FDG-PET-CT and neuroimaging in order to identify site(s) of pathology.

Transcriptome analysis provides insight into venom evolution in a seed-parasitic wasp, Megastigmus spermotrophus.

One of the most striking host range transitions is the evolution of plant parasitism from animal parasitism. Parasitoid wasps that have secondarily evolved to attack plants (ie gall wasps and seed-feeders) demonstrate intimate associations with their hosts, yet the mechanism of plant-host manipulation is currently not known. There is, however, emerging evidence suggesting that ovipositional secretions play a role in plant manipulation. To investigate whether parasites have modified pre-existing adaptations to facilitate dramatic host shifts we aimed to characterize the expression of venom proteins in a plant parasite using a collection of parasitoid venom sequences as a guide. The transcriptome of a seed-feeding wasp, Megastigmus spermotrophus, was assembled de novo and three putative venoms were found to be highly expressed in adult females. One of these putative venoms, aspartylglucosaminidase, has been previously identified as a major venom component in two distantly related parasitoid wasps (Asobara tabida and Leptopilina heterotoma) and may have originated via gene duplication within the Hymenoptera. Our study shows that M. spermotrophus, a specialized plant parasite, expresses putative venom transcripts that share homology to venoms identified in Nasonia vitripennis (both superfamily Chalcidoidea), which suggests that M. spermotrophus may have co-opted pre-existing machinery to develop as a plant parasite.

Associations of coffee consumption with markers of liver injury in the insulin resistance atherosclerosis study.

BACKGROUND: Coffee consumption has been associated with reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) however, the mechanism for this association has yet to be elucidated. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) characterizes and predicts T2DM yet the relationship of coffee with this disorder remains unclear. Our aim was to investigate the associations of coffee with markers of liver injury in 1005 multi-ethnic, non-diabetic adults in the Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis Study. METHODS: Dietary intake was assessed using a validated 114-item food frequency questionnaire. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and fetuin-A were determined in fasting blood samples and the validated NAFLD liver fat score was calculated. Multivariate linear regression assessed the contribution of coffee to variation in markers of liver injury. RESULTS: Caffeinated coffee showed significant inverse associations with ALT (ß = -0.08, p = 0.0111), AST (ß = -0.05, p = 0.0155) and NAFLD liver fat score (ß = -0.05, p = 0.0293) but not with fetuin-A (ß = 0.04, p = 0.17). When the highest alcohol consumers were excluded, these associations remained (ALT ß = -0.11, p = 0.0037; AST ß = -0.05, p = 0.0330; NAFLD liver fat score ß = -0.06, p = 0.0298). With additional adjustment for insulin sensitivity, the relationship with ALT remained significant (ALT ß = -0.08, p = 0.0400; AST ß = -0.03, p = 0.20; NAFLD liver fat score ß = -0.03, p = 0.27). There were no significant associations of decaffeinated coffee with liver markers. CONCLUSIONS: These analyses indicate a beneficial impact of caffeinated coffee on liver morphology and/or function, and suggest that this relationship may mediate the well-established inverse association of coffee with risk of T2DM.

An assessment of perfusion deficits in decompression illness using 99Tcm HMPAO SPET and statistical parametric mapping.

AIM: The aim of this study was to use statistical parametric mapping (SPM) to investigate differences in the regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) of decompression illness (DCI) and non-diving control subjects. METHODS: Twenty DCI subjects were imaged using 99Tcm hexamethylproplylene amine oxime (HMPAO) single photon emission tomography (SPET) within days of their incident of DCI, and on a second occasion between 2 and 27 months after their DCI event. SPM was used to make a comparison between decompression illness studies and a second group of non-diving control studies for both early and late imaging of DCI. A paired comparison of early and late imaging was also performed testing for correlation between time of imaging and changes in the rCBF pattern. RESULTS: The comparison between control subjects and early imaging of decompression illness showed a large, significant (P = 0.002), irregularly shaped, multi-focal area of reduced uptake in the left occipito-parieto-temporal region of the brain. Comparisons between control and repeat decompression illness imaging studies showed two areas of reduced uptake. The first was similar to that found in the initial comparison although it was less significant (P = 0.035). The second region was similar but contra-lateral to the first region with significance P < 0.001. An attempt to correlate any changes in rCBF with the time that elapsed between each set of imaging found no areas of significant correlation. CONCLUSION: 99Tcm HMPAO SPET images of decompression illness display areas of reduced perfusion, which persist in the majority of cases.

Hypophysectomy increases TYR-MIF-1-like immunoreactivity in rat plasma.

Complex interactions of the pituitary, hypothalamus, and pineal involving MIF-1 (Pro-Leu-Gly-NH2) were shown many years ago. One of the largest changes consisted of increased amounts of an MIF-1-like material in the plasma of hypophysectomized rats as measured by the skin lightening of darkened frogs. The present study used radioimmunoassay to measure immunoreactive Tyr-MIF-1 (Tyr-Pro-Leu-Gly-NH2) in intact, hypophysectomized, pinealectomized, and superior cervical ganglionectomized (SCG) rats. Samples were collected every 4 h for 24 h. Plasma concentrations of Tyr-MIF-1-like immunoreactivity were higher in hypophysectomized rats and lower in pinealectomized rats than in the intact or SCG groups, which were not reliably different from each other. In most groups, the highest plasma concentrations appeared to occur about 04.00 h, a time at which brain concentrations of Tyr-MIF-1-like immunoreactivity were low. However, no diurnal rhythm in plasma was seen in the pinealectomized rats. At none of the times did brain concentrations of immunoreactive peptide differ among the four groups. By high-performance liquid chromatography of plasma, the main peak of immunoreactivity was found to elute at the same position as Tyr-MIF-1, supporting the natural occurrence of this tetrapeptide. Thus, this study demonstrates that the concentration of immunoreactive Tyr-MIF-1 in plasma is increased by hypophysectomy.

Immunoreactive plasma concentrations of an endogenous antiopiate are higher in spontaneously hypertensive rats than in Wistar-Kyoto rats.

Tyrosine-MIF-1 (Tyr-Pro-Leu-Gly-NH2) is present in rat brain in varying concentrations throughout the day and can act as an opiate antagonist. Since altered sensitivity to pain is known to occur in hypertension, plasma and brain concentrations of Tyr-MIF-1--like immunoreactivity were measured in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and compared every 4 hours for 24 hours with the concentrations in control Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY). The Tyr-MIF-1--like immunoreactivity in plasma was significantly higher in SHR than in the WKY at each interval; the mean difference was 62% (p less than 0.001). High-performance liquid chromatography demonstrated that peak immunoreactivity eluted in the same position as the synthetic tetrapeptide. Brain concentrations of the peptide were not reliably different between SHR and WKY. The diurnal rhythm was particularly evident in SHR: the highest concentrations of peptide in both brain and plasma occurred at 2000 hours. These results suggest the presence of another difference between SHR and WKY.

DSIP-like material in brain parts of rats running a complex maze.

Delta sleep-inducing peptide-like immunoreactivity (DSIP-LI) was measured by radioimmunoassay (RIA) in individual brain areas of rats running a 12-choice maze. One of the areas found to contain a high level of DSIP-LI was the thalamus, where a distinct peak of immunoreactivity eluted at the position of the synthetic DSIP nonapeptide after high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). On each of the two days of testing, DSIP-LI in the thalamus correlated significantly with running times in the maze. The results suggest an association of behavior with the levels of peptide in a region of the brain.