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Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common and aggressive primary brain tumour in adults. Identification of accessible and cost-effective prognostic factors may better guide adjuvant treatment-related decisions. The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) are markers of host inflammatory response, and their increase has recently been shown to be a poor prognostic factor in several malignancies. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prognostic value of preoperative NLR and PLR in GBM patients. Between 2012 and 2017, 104 patients who had undergone surgery for GBM were considered for adjuvant therapy in our institution. Of those, 80 patients with evaluable pre-corticosteroid full blood count results were identified and included in the final analysis. The Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, localization, radiochemotherapy and second-line systemic therapy were found to be independent prognostic indicators for progression-free and overall survival. The median overall survival was 13.2 months. Patients with NLR <4 had a better median overall survival of 10.7 vs. 7.8 months in patients with NLR >4; however, this difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05). Overall survival also did not differ significantly between patients with low and those with high PLR values (10.2 vs. 15.2 months, respectively; P=0.105). In conclusion, the results of the present study suggest that pre-treatment NLR and PLR do not have prognostic value in GBM patients; however, large-scale trials are required to confirm these findings.

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SUMMARYPurpose: Genetic absence epilepsy rats from Strasbourg (GAERS) are resistant to the progression of kindling seizures. We studied local cerebral blood flow (LCBF) changes in brain regions involved in seizures in both GAERS and nonepileptic rats (NEC) to map the differences that may be related to the resistance to kindling. Methods: Electrodes were implanted in the amygdala of adult NEC and GAERS male rats, which were stimulated to reach stage 2. Quantitative autoradiographic measurements of LCBF were performed by the [ 14 C]-iodoantipyrine ([14 C]IAP) autoradiographic technique allowing the precise mapping of regional perfusion changes. LCBF rates were measured bilaterally in 43 brain regions. The tracer infusion lasted for 60 s and started at 15 s before seizure induction. Results: Rates of LCBF increased in stimulated GAERS and NEC groups compared to nonstimulated controls. The LCBF increase in stimulated GAERS was larger and more widespread than that observed in stimulated NEC. The LCBF increase in the somatosensory cortex, ventrobasal and anterior thalamic nuclei, hypothalamus, subthalamic nucleus, piriform, entorhinal and perirhinal cortex, amygdala, CA2 region of hippocampus, and substantia nigra was statistically significantly larger in stimulated GAERS compared to stimulated NEC rats. Conclusion: The results show that more brain regions are activated by kindling stimulation in GAERS. This widespread activation in GAERS involves the somatosensory cortex and thalamus, which are both known to be involved in the expression of absence seizures as well as numerous limbic regions thought not to play a role in the expression of absence seizures, suggesting an interaction between corticothalamocortical and limbic circuitries.

Vascular dysfunction plays a key role in the pathogenesis of diabetic vascular disease. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether chronic in vivo treatment of Crataegus microphylla (CM) extract in diabetic rats induced with streptozotocin (STZ, intraperitoneal, 65 mg/kg) preserves vascular function and to evaluate whether the reduction of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), proinflammatory cytokines, and lipid peroxidation mediates its mechanisms of action. Starting at 4 weeks of diabetes, CM extract (100 mg/kg) was administrated to diabetic rats for 4 weeks. In aortic rings, relaxation to acetylcholine and vasoreactivity to noradrenaline were impaired, whereas aortic iNOS expression and plasma tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), total nitrite-nitrate, and malondialdehite levels were increased in diabetic rats compared with controls. Chronic CM treatment significantly corrected all the above abnormalities in diabetic rats. In comparison, pretreatment of the aorta of diabetic rats with N-[3(aminomethyl) benzyl]-acetamidine, dihydrochloride (10(-5)  M), a selective inhibitor of iNOS, produced a similar recovery in vascular reactivity. These results suggest that chronic in vivo treatment of CM preserves endothelium-dependent relaxation and vascular contraction in STZ-induced diabetes, possibly by reducing iNOS expression in the aorta and by decreasing plasma levels of TNF-α and IL-6 and by preventing lipid peroxidation.

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