Spreading depression (SD) and the related hypoxic SD-like depolarization (HSD) are characterized by rapid and nearly complete depolarization of a sizable population of brain cells with massive redistribution of ions between intracellular and extracellular compartments, that evolves as a regenerative, "all-or-none" type process, and propagates slowly as a wave in brain tissue. This article revie...

BACKGROUND Safe and effective therapies are needed for pediatric patients with psoriasis. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to evaluate ustekinumab in patients age 12 to 17 years who had moderate-to-severe psoriasis. METHODS Patients (n = 110) were randomly assigned to ustekinumab standard dosing (SD; 0.75 mg/kg [≤60 kg], 45 mg [>60-≤100 kg], and 90 mg [>100 kg]) or half-standard dosi...

Personal identifiability is a fundamental question in the ongoing debate about the Icelandic Bill and Act on the Health Sector Database (HSD). If the data are personally identifiable, Iceland's international legal commitments indicate that a priori consent must be obtained from patients for the use of their personal medical information. The HSD Act presumes that oneway coding of personal identi...

Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are bone-marrow-derived mononuclear cells that participate in tube formation in vitro and vessel formation in vivo. EPC transplantation, as a therapeutic approach in cardiovascular diseases, has produced mixed results likely due to underlying disease states and environmental factors affecting EPC function. In this study, we investigated the mechanisms by whic...

Steroid hormones are produced by the porcine uterus. We hypothesized that the uterus in pigs possesses active 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/Δ(5)-Δ(4) isomerase (3β-HSD) responsible for progesterone and androstenedione production, that uterine steroids may supplement the amount of steroid hormones produced by embryos and corpus luteum and that these steroids are necessary for maintenance of pr...

Hypertonic small-volume resuscitation transiently restores the cardiovascular function during various circulatory disturbances. Nitric oxide (NO) is an important mediator of flow-induced peripheral and central hemodynamic changes, and therefore, we hypothesized that a decreased endogenous NO production could influence the consequences and the effectiveness of hypertonic fluid therapy. The main ...

Glucocorticoid hormones, acting via nuclear receptors, regulate many metabolic processes, including hepatic gluconeogenesis. It recently has been recognized that intracellular glucocorticoid concentrations are determined not only by plasma hormone levels, but also by intracellular 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases (11beta-HSDs), which interconvert active corticosterone (cortisol in humans) a...

AIMS Hippocampal sclerosis (HS) is long-recognized in association with epilepsy (HSE ) and more recently in the context of cognitive decline or dementia in the elderly (HSD ), in some cases as a component of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease (AD) and fronto-temporal lobe dementia (FTLD). There is an increased risk of seizures in AD and spontaneous epileptiform discharges...

Exposure to high sugar diet (HSD) serves as an experimental model of insulin resistance (IR) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) in mammals and insects. Peripheral IR induced by HSD delays emergence of pupae from larvae and decreases body weight of Drosophila imago. Understanding of mechanisms of IR/T2D is essential for refining T2D prevention and treatment strategies. Dysregulation of tryptophan (TRP) -...

The subcellular distribution of steroidogenic enzymes has so far been studied mostly in classical endocrine glands and in the placenta. In the peripheral intracrine organs which synthesize sex steroids there is no indication about the organelles which contain the enzymes involved in steroid biosynthesis. We have thus investigated the subcellular localization of two enzymes involved in the produ...