Complications involving the central nervous system in patients suffering from hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection have been rare. Among them, it appears the transverse myelitis, which has already been reported in likely association with HCV. This paper presents the case study of a 65-year-old woman who developed cervical transverse myelitis linked to chronic HCV infection and anti-HCV antibodies in the spinal fluid, being excluded other etiologies for transverse myelitis. Current evidence has reinforced the likely association between chronic HCV infection and transverse myelitis, especially as recurrent manifestations of the disease. These findings reveal the need for more searching to establish the causal relationship between transverse myelitis and hepatitis C. Key-Words: Central Nervous System, HCV infection, transverse myelitis. The World Health Organization estimates that infection by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) affects around 3% of the world population [1], being one of the main causes of the chronic hepatic disease. In HCV-positive patients, extra-hepatic symptoms are reported in up to 74% of the cases, 10% to 15% of which regarding the neurological changes, mainly in the peripheral nervous system, and in this context associated to the cryoglobulinaemia. Manifestations observed in the central nervous system (CNS) include chronic forms of encephalopathy, epilepsy, normal pressure hydrocephaly, ischemic encephalovascular syndrome, Ekbom syndrome, and encephalomyelitis [2][3][4][5].Transverse myelitis (TM) is a demyelinating disease of the spinal cord. The disease is characterized by the emergence of acute or sub acute signs and symptoms of motor, neurological, and autonomic dysfunction related to the nervous tracts of the spinal cord [6]. TM often occurs due to inflammatory and infectious processes, rheumatologic, neoplastic, iatrogenic, demyelinating, compressive, actinic as well as idioapthic diseases [7,8]. TM associated to HCV infection has recently been reported, and although the causal mechanism has not been fully established yet, it is hypothesized that the virus may act directly in the development of TM, or lead to immune-mediated injury.This paper is a case study of a patient who suffered from cervico-dorsal spinal cord myelitis, In association with updated literature, this study case adds evidence about the association between HCV and TM. Case ReportThe patient was a nulliparous, non-smoker 65-year-old caucasian woman previously alcoholic but abstemious for eight years, with obesity degree 3, hypertension, diabetes mellitus type II, and with a metallic mitral valve for nine months. The patient was from the central region of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, and had been taking warfarin, metphormin, glibenclamide, hydrochlothiazide, metoprolol, enalipril, and furosemide at the time of hospital admission.On admission, complaints reported by the patient included strong and progressive thoracolumbar pain for 30 days, which evolved with the loss of strength and sensitivity in lower limbs five days ...
Abstract. Previous studies suggested that certain plants, such as guarana (Paullinia cupana), exert a protective effect against cancer-related fatigue in breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. However, guarana possesses bioactive molecules, such as caffeine and catechin, which may affect the pharmacological properties of antitumor drugs. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of guarana on breast cancer cell response to 7 chemotherapeutic agents currently used in the treatment of breast cancer. To perform this study, MCF-7 breast cancer cells were cultured under controlled conditions and exposed to 1, 5 and 10 µg/ml guarana concentrations, with and without chemotherapeutics (gemcitabine, vinorelbine, methotrexate, 5-fluorouracil, paclitaxel, doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide). The effect of these treatments on MCF-7 cell viability and proliferation was spectrophotometrically analyzed with the MTT assay. The main results demonstrated an antiproliferative effect of guarana at concentrations of 5 and 10 µg/ml and a significant effect on chemotherapeutic drug action. In general, guarana improved the antiproliferative effect of chemotherapeutic agents, causing a decrease of >40% in cell growth after 72 h of exposure. The results suggested an interaction of guarana with the chemotherapeutic drugs, which requires confirmation by in vivo complementary studies.
Posters lar, heart-shaped, torpedo-shaped, cotyledonary-stage, and plantlet-stage embryos, were observed. Embryos from different stages were isolated. They were easily matured on the same medium and then further regenerated to plantlets on solid B5 basal medium. After about one month the plantlets were already suitable to be transferred into a mixture of vermiculite and soil (1 + 1). The regenerative capacity of the cells has continued unaltered during five months. New embryos are forming and the plants are growing well in soil.
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