Astrocytomas are the most common primary brain tumors. They are very resistant to therapies and usually progress rapidly to high-grade lesions. Here, we investigated the potential role of DNA repair genes in astrocytoma progression and resistance. To this aim, we performed a polymerase chain reaction array-based analysis focused on DNA repair genes and searched for correlations between expression patters and survival prognoses. We found 19 genes significantly altered. Combining these genes in all possible arrangements, we found 421 expression signatures strongly associated with poor survival. Importantly, five genes (DDB2, EXO1, NEIL3, BRCA2, and BRIP1) were independently correlated with worse prognoses, revealing single-gene signatures. Moreover, silencing of EXO1, which is remarkably overexpressed, promoted faster restoration of double-strand breaks, while NEIL3 knockdown, also highly overexpressed, caused an increment in DNA damage and cell death after irradiation of glioblastoma cells. These results disclose the importance of DNA repair pathways for the maintenance of genomic stability of high-grade astrocytomas and suggest that EXO1 and NEIL3 overexpression confers more efficiency for double-strand break repair and resistance to reactive oxygen species, respectively. Thereby, we highlight these two genes as potentially related with tumor aggressiveness and promising candidates as novel therapeutic targets.

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The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) belongs to the Papillomaviridae family and has a capsid and a single DNA strand. Its infection occurs mainly through sexual intercourse, having an important tropism for skin and mucosal cells. Aim : To evaluate the HPV presence in normal oral mucosa of asymptomatic subjects and; in parallel, to correlate social behavioral habits with the virus. Materials and Methods : Contemporary cohort cross-sectional study. The HPV was found by PCR, using general primers MY09/11 in 125 oral mucosa samples submitted to DNA extraction and PCR to search for the beta-globin gene in order to assess the quality of the extracted DNA. In parallel, we carried out a study of behavioral issues associated with the patients. Results : All the samples had a positive diagnosis of the beta-hemoglobin gene. HPV was diagnosed in 23.2% of the samples analyzed. Conclusion : The virus was present in 29 of the 125 patients, without them having any clinical-pathological manifestation associated with the HPV. As to the social behavior of the patients, we concluded that oral sex is statistically correlated to the virus, and besides the HPV has been statistically more present in female patients.

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This study supports that the placental transfer of both bupivacaine enantiomers was 100% higher in HIV-pregnant women treated with lopinavir/ritonavir when compared with that in healthy pregnant women receiving epidural anaesthesia for caesarean section.

Introduction: Cognitive impairment is a core feature of schizophrenia, associated with significant social and functional impairment. Schizophrenia has also been associated with inflammation and immune changes. Recently it has been showed that IL-6, a pro-inflammatory cytokine, was associated with cognitive impairment. Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the associations between a pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6) and an anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-4) with social cognition in a sample of stable patients with schizophrenia. Methods: Social cognition was assessed using the Face Emotion Identification Task (FEIT) and the Hinting Task in 29 stable outpatients with schizophrenia. Blood was collected and cytokines (IL-4, IL-6) assays were realized (CBA method). Results: IL-6 levels showed a significant inverse correlation with FEIT global score (p = 0.019, rho =-0.475) and a trend of significant inverse correlation with the Hinting Task (p = 0.079, rho =-0.332). However, IL-4 levels showed no significant association with the FEIT or the Hinting task (rho = 0.079 and 0,121; respectively). Conclusions: Elevated IL-6 levels seem to play a role in social cognitive impairment in stable patients with schizophrenia. These results should be interpreted with caution due to the limited number of participants in the study.

No abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a disease triggered by environmental and genetic factors. Research suggests that physical exercise has benefits such as delaying functional disability. In vivo studies using experimental models of arthritis can provide useful information about these benefits. to analyze the effects that different intensities of aquatic physical exercise have on the proprieties of the bones in induced arthritis in knees of Wistar rats. Male Wistar adults rats (n=20) were divided into 5 groups: Group Control Arthritis (GCA) n=4, Group control Placebo (GCP) n=4, Group Low Physical Activity (GB) n=4, Group Moderate Physical Activity (GM) n=4 and Group Intense Physical Activity (GI) n=4. The physical activity groups got an intra-articular injection of Zymosam on the right knee; the GCA received saline solution in the right knee; the GCP was submitted to the stress of the needle. The animals were submitted to aquatic activity for 30 minutes, 4 times a week for 5 weeks, and the intensity of the exercise was determined by a weight placed on their back: GB=1 %, GM=5 %, GI=15 % of their body weight. It was observed that the group GB, and the groups that did not exercise GCA and GCP, gained more weight compared to the group GM. In relation to the bone mineral content of the tibia, there was a decrease in the GM group when compared to the GCP group, whereas in the tibial bone mineral density there was a decrease in the GM group compared to the GCP, GCA, GB. As for the area of the femur, the GI group presented an increase of it compared to the GB and GM groups. It is concluded that the high intensity exercises promote better results in bone properties.