Search results for "specificity"
showing 10 items of 2234 documents
Activin A circulating levels in patients with bone metastasis from breast or prostate cancer
2006
Recent studies have highlighted that Activin A, a member of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) superfamily, may be involved in the regulation of osteoblastic activity and in osteoclast differentiation. Therefore, we have investigated the clinical significance of its circulating levels in patients with bone metastasis. Activin A serum concentrations were determined, by a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit, in 72 patients with breast cancer (BC) or prostatic cancer (PC) with (BM+) or without (BM-) bone metastases, in 15 female patients with age-related osteoporosis (OP), in 20 patients with benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) and in 48 registered healthy b…
Impact of positron emission tomography on strategy in liver resection for primary and secondary liver tumors.
2003
Outcome of patients with metastatic disease mainly depends on accurate preoperative tumor staging. 18[F]fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18F-PET) has been proven to be a valuable diagnostic tool in a number of different tumors but its direct influence on liver surgery has not been thoroughly investigated. Between July 1999 and March 2000, 50 consecutive patients with 174 suspected liver lesions were admitted to the University Hospital Jena. All 50 patients underwent abdominal ultrasound, CT-scan, and 18-FDG positron emission tomography scanning. In 23 patients the diagnostic work-up was completed by MRI scan. Altogether there were a total of 174 histologically proven intrahe…
Serum follistatin in patients with prostate cancer metastatic to the bone
2010
The clinical significance of circulating fol- listatin (FLST), an inhibitor of the multifunctional cytokine activin A (Act A), was investigated in patients with prostate cancer (PCa). The serum concentrations of this molecule were determined by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in PCa patients with (M?) or without (M0) bone metastases, in patients with benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) and in healthy sub- jects (HS). The effectiveness of FLST in detecting PCa patients with skeletal metastases was determined by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Serum FLST was significantly higher in PCa patients than in BPH patients (P = 0.001) or HS (P = 0.011). Converse…
Abdomen/pelvis computed tomography in staging of pediatric Hodgkin Lymphoma: is it always necessary?
2016
Abstract The purpose of the study was to determine if abdomen/pelvis computed tomography (CT) can be safety omitted in the initial staging of a subgroup of children affected by Hodgkin Lymphoma (HL). Every participating center of A.I.E.O.P (Associazione Italiana di Ematologia ed Oncologia Pediatrica) sent local staging reports of 18F‐fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (PET) and abdominal ultrasound (US) along with digital images of staging abdomen/pelvis CT to the investigation center where the CT scans were evaluated by an experienced pediatric radiologist. The local radiologist who performed the US was unaware of local CT and PET reports (both carried out after US), and the r…
Gene–alcohol interactions in the metabolic syndrome
2007
Abstracts Aims Recent studies have reported that moderate alcohol consumption is associated with a lesser prevalence of the metabolic syndrome (MetS). However, this relationship is still confusing and the presence of gene–environment interactions has been suggested. Our aim is to summarize evidence for gene–alcohol interactions in the MetS. Data synthesis Research in gene–alcohol interactions applied to MetS is very complex due to the difficulties surrounding the definition of phenotype, environment and genotype, as well as in estimating the influence of the social context. In the MetS there is a constellation of metabolic disturbances the definition of which is still changing. Thus, most s…
Nonradioactive Detection of Differentially Expressed Genes Using Complex RNA or DNA Hybridization Probes
1999
The analysis of differential gene expression has become increasingly important in recent years. Typically, differentially expressed genes are identified in a primary screening procedure, yielding candidate genes whose differential expression has to be verified. We provide a highly sensitive, efficient and nonradioactive differential screening procedure to analyze numerous candidate genes in a single step. This comprises labeling of poly(A)+ RNA of the cell types analyzed with DIG Chem-Link and differential hybridization to the candidate genes fixed on dot blots. DIG Chem-Link allows, to our knowledge, for the first time efficient and direct nonradioactive labeling of RNA in vitro. Advantag…
Two distinct genomic regions, harbouring the period and fruitless genes, affect male courtship song in Drosophila montana
2012
Acoustic signals often have a significant role in pair formation and in species recognition. Determining the genetic basis of signal divergence will help to understand signal evolution by sexual selection and its role in the speciation process. An earlier study investigated quantitative trait locus for male courtship song carrier frequency (FRE) in Drosophila montana using microsatellite markers. We refined this study by adding to the linkage map markers for 10 candidate genes known to affect song production in Drosophila melanogaster. We also extended the analyses to additional song characters (pulse train length (PTL), pulse number (PN), interpulse interval, pulse length (PL) and cycle nu…
Troponin I Assay for Identification of a Significant Coronary Stenosis in Patients with Suspected Acute Myocardial Infarction and Wide QRS Complex
2016
Background Common ECG criteria such as ST-segment changes are of limited value in patients with suspected acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and bundle branch block or wide QRS complex. A large proportion of these patients do not suffer from an AMI, whereas those with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) equivalent AMI benefit from an aggressive treatment. Aim of the present study was to evaluate the diagnostic information of cardiac troponin I (cTnI) in hemodynamically stable patients with wide QRS complex and suspected AMI. Methods In 417 out of 1818 patients presenting consecutively between 01/2007 and 12/2008 in a prospective multicenter observational study with suspected AMI a pro…
N-acetyl-L-glutamate in brain: assay, levels, and regional and subcellular distribution.
1991
N-Acetyl-L-glutamate (NAG), the activator of mitochondrial carbamoyl phosphate synthetase (CPS), is demonstrated by several methods, including a new HPLC assay, in the brain of mammals and of chicken. The brain levels of NAG are 200-300 times lower than the levels of N-acetyl-L-aspartate (NAA), and are similar to the levels of NAG in rat liver. The NAG levels in chicken liver are very low. Although NAG is mitochondrial in the liver, it is cytosolic in brain. Using enzyme activity and immuno assays we did not detect CPS in brain (detection limit, 12.5 micrograms/g brain), excluding that brain NAG is involved in citrullinogenesis. The regional distribution of brain NAG differs from that of NA…
Diagnostic accuracy of 64-slice computed tomography coronary angiography in patients with low-to-intermediate risk
2007
Purpose. Our aim was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of 64- slice computed tomography coronary angiography (MSCT-CA) for detecting significant stenosis (≥50% lumen reduction) in a population of patients at low to intermediate risk. Materials and methods. We studied 72 patients (38 men, 34 women, mean age 53.9±8.0 years) with atypical or typical chest pain and stratified in the low- to intermediate risk category. MSCT-CA (Sensation 64 Cardiac, Siemens, Germany) was performed after IV administration of 100 ml of iodinated contrast material (Iomeprol 400 mgI/ml, Bracco, Italy). Two observers, blinded to the results of conventional coronary angiography (CAG), assessed the MSCT-CA scans in c…