Mixed gonadal dysgenesis (MGD) includes a group of heterogeneous conditions consisting of a dysgenetic testis with a streak gonad. MGD is probably due to a disturbance in testicular determination/differentiation. The objective of this study is to analyze the SRY gene in MGD patients. A molecular investigation was undertaken in sixteen patients with this disorder in an attempt to determine mutations in SRY through polymerase chain reaction, single strand conformational polymorphism and direct sequencing. Eleven patients showed 45,X/46,XY and five 46,XY karyotype. Mutations in SRY gene were shown to be absent in these patients. This study confirms the findings of other studies. The etiology of MGD is heterogeneous, and cytogenetics mosaicism typically seen in these patients may be a cause of this condition, although, the presence of mutations in testicular organizing genes downstream of SRY is still to rule out.

Alleles↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Oxidants and antioxidants in long-term haemodialysis patients.

Survival for decades is now possible in end-stage renal disease patients (ESRD) treated with haemodialysis (HD). Long-term survivors may present dialysis-related pathology (DRP). Alterations in lipid metabolism and oxidative stress are recognized as important risk factors that could be prevented or reduced by optimal therapy. We have studied markers of oxidative stress in patients receiving HD treatment for more than 20 years. In order to evaluate a preventive intervention against oxidative damage we measured the factors implied for the prooxidative and antioxidative mechanisms in haemodialysis patients. Ten long-term HD survivors (HD duration: 274.2 months) and ten patients with recent onset of HD (HD duration: 17.8 months), had blood drawn for plasma vitamins A and E, malondialdehyde (MDA), plasma and RBC glutathione peroxidase (GPx), RBC superoxide dismutase (SOD), plasma and erythrocyte glutathione reductase (GSSG-R), oxidized and reduced glutathione (GSH) assessment. Despite normal levels of antioxidant vitamins, an usual finding in this setting, increased MDA, and oxidized GSH, and decreased plasma GPx and reduced GSH show that oxidant stress is markedly present in both recent onset and long-term HD patients. It would appear highly advantageous to reduce complications of long-term dialysis patients with preventing modalities.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Basic fibroblast growth factor and keratinocyte growth factor over-expression in benign prostatic hyperplasia.

The prostate growth is under the indirect control of androgens through the medium of many growth factors. The fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) seem to play an important part in stimulating the development of this organ. In this work, the expression of two FGFs: bFGF (or FGF2) and KGF (or FGF7), was studied in RT-PCR and semi-quantified in densitometry. Both genes expression was increased in BPH in comparison with normal prostates. A two to three times and a 1.5 to four times over-expressions were observed for bFGF and KGF, respectively. An over-expression of these growth factors could lead to a cell multiplication resulting in a pathological development of the prostate size. Moreover, bFGF and KGF act in parallel in the prostate, one stimulating the prostatic stroma and the other one stimulating the epithelium. These two growth factors could participate in the increase of the two tissues constituting the prostate.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) behavior after in vitro oxidation in three groups of diabetics.

Diabetes is associated with increased morbidity and mortality resulting from cardiovascular disease. It has been established that oxidized LDLs are involved in the genesis of atherosclerosis. We have studied LDL oxidizability in three types of diabetics: insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) and insulin-treated diabetes mellitus type 2 (ITDM2) and a control group. LDLs have been isolated using ultracentrifugation and oxidized by addition of cupric chloride. With the oxidation kinetic, we calculated the lag time and the oxidation rate. Total fatty acids, alpha-tocopherol, and malondialdehyde (MDA) have been measured in native and oxidized LDLs. Diabetics have a significantly lower lag time and a lower level of alpha-tocopherol. Oxidized LDLs of diabetics show an important decrease of their polyunsaturated fatty acids with an increase of MDA compared to the control. Our study demonstrates a higher susceptibility to oxidation of LDL from diabetics; this can be explained by alteration in LDL composition or by the oxidative process occurring in this disease.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Evaluation of the rennin-angiotensin-aldosterone system in hypertensive Ivoirian subjects--preliminary results.

Experimental data on the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system in black Africans are very limited. In this study we set up our own values (plasma renin and aldosterone) in a group of normotensive Ivoirian male and female (N = 43) subjects and compared our results with those published for the white population. The values were approximately the same. A parallel study was carried out in a black population (N = 48 men and women) consulting a doctor for the first time for hypertension in different regions of Côte d'Ivoire. The mean values of plasma renin and aldosterone were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in the hypertensive compared with the control group.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Comparative values of blood renin and aldosterone levels in Ivorian and French young adults].

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Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Arachidonate to saturated fatty acid ratio of circulating sterides and phospholipids: can it be risk marker of coronary stenosis? A Tunisian study].

The prevention and early diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases is a public health priority in Tunisia and actions are undertaken to evaluate biologic marquers in at risk populations. Concentrations of fatty acids in serum phospholipids and sterides have been measured using thin layer chromatography and gaz chromatography of transmethyled derivatives. The study concerned 98 coronarographed patients, presenting (n = 72) or not coronary artery disease (n = 26). The results have been compared to those of a reference population (n = 43) without any cardiac pathology. The mean concentrations of most of sterides fatty acids in coronarographed patients were higher than in controls, except for arachidonic acid which was slightly lower (68 +/- 34 mg/L versus 77 +/- 19,6 mg/L in controls). Considering concentrations of sterides fatty acids in the two subgroups of patients, coronary artery disease was associated with an increase of all these fatty acids, which was statistically significant for palmitate, linoleate and linolenate. Measurements of fatty acids in phospholipids showed a reduction of arachidonic acid in coronarographed patients (76 +/- 36,7 mg/L versus 135 +/- 49,3 mg/L in controls), but without correlation with the severity of the stenosis.

Adult↗