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The optimal treatment for paroxysmal hypertension or pseudopheochromocytoma has not been established. We added sertraline, 50 mg once daily, to the current medication of 64 patients with symptomatic paroxysmal hypertension. Within 3 months of treatment, sertraline effectively removed or reduced symptoms of paroxysmal hypertension in the majority (75%) of patients. Symptoms of paroxysmal hypertension fully subsided in 50% and were partially reduced in 25% of patients.

Clinical monitoring during volatile anesthesia provides adequate protection during surgery. However, during intravenous anesthesia, the observation of clinical parameters is insufficient for stable maintenance of anesthesia and does not prevent intraoperative awareness. Clinical monitoring itself does not exclude periods of too deep anesthesia. The AAI index is a useful tool in monitoring patients' level of conscience during anesthesia.

This review covers the current data on a group of products with intrinsic fluorescent properties, called lipofuscin-like pigments. Lipofuscin-like pigments are formed by reaction of lipid peroxidation intermediates and biological amine-containing compounds. Since free radical-mediated lipid peroxidation is implicated in the pathophysiology of a number of diseases, specific lipofuscin-like pigments are potential biomarkers for the pre-clinical stages and/or as risk factors for these diseases.disease. Chemical characterization using advanced analytical tools holds promise for the future use of lipofuscin-like pigments in biomedicine.

This is an overview of proteins and/or signaling pathways influenced by members of microRNA family hsa-miR-29. As the original report was based on leukemic cells, known targets are related to malignant hematopoiesis. The general features of miR-29 effects in hematopoietic malignancies, discussed, make the microRNA, a feasible target for therapy development.

This is the first study, to the knowledge, of the authors to examine post-sympathectomy dysfunction objectively, using thermography after anterior or lateral interbody fusion of the lumbar spine (ALIF, XLIF) procedures, and the first study to evaluate clinically the severity of the post-sympathectomy syndrome!

Pythium insidiosum, a fungus-like organism, can cause an endemic, life-threatening disease restricted mostly to Thailand. Currently, there are neither effective antimicrobials nor vaccines against this infection available. In this study, environmental bacterial strains were screened for their ability to inhibit the growth of this oomycete. Anti-P. insidiosum activity was found in 16 isolates. In one strain, Pseudomonas stutzeri ST1302, a subfraction labelled PYK7, assigned to the diketopiperazines, exhibited exceptionally strong activity. Search for genes encoding compounds with known anti-P. insidiosum activity was also performed within the genome of this P. stutzeri strain; one gene region, corresponded to pyrrolnitrin, was found. To the best of the knowledge of the authors, this is the first report on the inhibitory effect of P. stutzeri against P. insidiosum

This case report and review gives a brief and critical overview of Oromandibular Limb Hypogenesis Syndromes (OLHS) by analyzing the current state of knowledge. A new, simpler classification of OLHS is introduced.

We report the first patient with c-kit exon 11 mutated primary esophageal melanoma treated with oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor masitinib in the Czech Republic. The patient showed objective and clinical significant therapeutic response to masitinib within the first week of treatment, even regression in the number and size of brain metastatic lesions. There is strong medical plausibility that masitinib will have therapeutic benefit in advanced melanoma patients harboring a mutation in the juxtamembrane domain of KIT and results of trial AB08026 will therefore be of a great interest. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of brain metastases responding to masitinib.

Oxidative stress is a serious consequence of many pathological conditions including infectious diseases. In this paper, the development of oxidative stress in the course of tularemia was researched in a murine model. The authors found significant evidence of oxidative imbalance and the development of oxidative stress in the organs of laboratory animals. The importance of these findings is discussed in the article.

Minimal residual disease (MRD) in lung cancer is defined as isolated or circulating tumor cells in a patient who has hada curative primary lung tumor removal and in the same period, there are no clinical signs of cancer. Progress in the diagnostics of lung cancer is greatly limited by the lack of diagnostic markers. MRD detection is important in the determination of disease progression and for the prognosis of lung cancer. In 2001, a promising new lung-specific tumor marker LunX was identified, but we still need to verify it using the marker in the clinical treatmentof patients.

These authors evaluated the effect of lacosamide on bone mineral density, bone turnover markers, and bone mechanical strength in a rat model. To their knowledge there are no other full-text studies evaluating the effect of lacosamide on bone tissue.

This study evaluated the serum levels of matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) in the context of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA). The results were correlated with clinical activity, antibody profile and X ray findings. Levels of MMP-3 were statistically significant higher in RA patients than in healthy controls and OA patients and correlated with disease activity, antibody profile and radiographic disease stage. MMP-3 could become a novel marker of RA activity.

Although intravenous and mechanical thrombectomy are currently not recommended as a standard treatment for paediatric patients with stroke, increasing evidence shows that in selected cases these therapeutic options can reduce morbidity and mortality.

Using enzymatic and immunochemical methods, the authors describe for the first time DPP-IV and FAP in various isoforms in high grade gliomas with a varying pattern in individual tumors. The molecular heterogeneity of both enzymes is most probably not due to differential glycosylation.

An optimised ELISA method for the determination of anti-neurofilament heavy subunit antibody avidity is suitable for research on anti-NfH antibody avidity in patients with neurological diseases associated with neurocytoskeletal defects. However, the results showed no difference in levels or avidity of IgG anti-NfH antibodies in Alzheimer´s disease patients and cognitively normal persons.

The finding of pelvic lymph node endometriosis with loss of hormonal receptor expression of the endometrial gland plays a significant role from the pathology standpoint and, perhaps even more importantly, from the clinical standpoint - correct diagnosis of endometriosis saves the patient from treatment for a false positive diagnosis of metastatic adenocarcinoma.

The aim of the paper is to overview the results of animal and/or human studies of the effects of pathophysiological factors, particularly obesity on the properties of individual cytochrome P450 forms.

This is a review of the cardiovascular effects of adipokines with a focus on both the positive and negative actions of omentin, apelin, adiponectin, leptin, visfatin, resistin and adipocyte fatty acid-binding protein.

10th Interdisciplinary Czech and Slovak Toxicological Conference

This very first study of tissue stiffness of thyroid, submandibular and parotid glands, masseter and sternocleidomastoid muscles, and cervical lymph nodes in kPa concluded their relatively narrow distribution (around 11 kPa) in healthy individuals. The sex, age and BMI showed statistically significant, however clinically insignificant, impact. Interestingly, systematically lower stiffness was demonstrated in all left-sided organs.

The effectiveness of the WinROP system was tested in a population of 445 prematurely born infants from the Czech Republic. WinROP proved to be a valuable tool as it correctly identified all 24 patients who developed Type 1 or Type 2 ROP requiring or potentially requiring intervention.

This is a review of the mode of function and variability of NIRS-based devices used in neonatology, clinical applications in cerebral monitoring, limitations and disadvantages of the current technology. NIRS is a fascinating and dynamically evolving technology with great potential in NICU, worldwide.

This work was done to study the phenotypic spectrum of Fanconi anemia along with the gene mutations in two of the exons of FANCG gene in Pakistan. Fanconi anemia is a rare genetic disorder, but a leading cause of inherited aplastic anemia. It has a vast genotypic and phenotypic spectrum. This study is a small contribution to the existing pool of information about this disease in Pakistan.

Only one-sided hippocampal sparing during whole brain radiotherapy translates to further decrease in hippocampal dose in spared (dominant) hemisphere. The clinical significance in terms of better neurocognitive function preservation remains to be tested.

The authors argue that a significant reproducibility crisis is under way in medical research. Two causes are discussed, perverse incentives and inapropriate statistics, and a way forward is offered.

An artificial intron was cloned within the open reading frame of the DsRed2 gene using cyclic ligation assembly. The successful cloning increased the number of cells expressing red fluorescence by approximately four percent compared to native DsRed2 protein.

Circulating tumor cells are confirmed as a promising prognostic marker in metastatic cancer patients. A predictive potential of matrix metalloproteinase 2 serum level for brain metastases development in HER2 positive breast cancer patients was also found.

The first report on serial BNP monitoring in out-patients with a continuous-flow LVAD. BNP changes allow identification of clinical events with the need for further diagnostic and therapeutic interventions.

The aim of the article is to evaluate the literature on the analgesic efficacy of remifentanil during labour (measured as a Visual Analogue Scale decrease in the first hour by 2 or more). The authors describe possible modes of application, dosage and side-effects for mother, fetus/ newborn in review. The meta-analysis confirms the efficacy of remifentanil for labour though Questions remain which can only be answered by further randomized trials.