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Alkylresorcinols (ARs, 5-n-alkylresorcinols) are amphiphilic phenolic lipids in whole grain rye and wheat, with a long odd-numbered carbon chain. A preventive effect of whole grain diet on sex hormone-dependent cancers has been recognized, but the active component(s) or mechanisms are not known. We have investigated the effects of the ARs C15:0, C19:0, and C21:0, individually and in combination, on steroid hormone production by using the human adrenocortical cell line H295R. Decreased synthesis of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), testosterone, and estradiol was demonstrated at low concentrations of C15:0 and C19:0. There were no indications of additive effects on steroid secretion from the combined treatment with equimolar concentrations of the three ARs. Gene expressions of CYP21A2, HSD3B2, and CYP19A1 were downregulated and CYP11A1 was upregulated by the ARs. The results on gene expression could not explain the effects on steroidogenesis, which may be due to direct effects on enzyme activities, such as inhibition of CYP17A1. Our results demonstrate suppressed synthesis of testosterone and estradiol by ARs suggesting a novel mechanism for ARs in the chemoprevention of prostate and breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development of novel drugs for treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases is to a large extent dependent on the availability of good experimentalin vivomodels in order to perform preclinical tests of new drugs and for the identification of novel drug targets. Here, we review a number of existing rodent models for Rheumatoid Arthritis in the context of how these models have been utilized for developing established therapy in Rheumatoid Arthritis and, furthermore, the present use of animal models for studies of novel drug candidates. We have studied the literature in the field for the use ofin vivomodels during development of anti-rheumatic drugs; from Methotrexate to various antibody treatments, to novel drugs that are, or have recently been, in clinical trials. For novel drugs, we have explored websites for clinical trials. Although a single Rheumatoid Arthritisin vivomodel cannot mirror the complexity of disease development, there exist a number of good animal models for Rheumatoid Arthritis, each defining some parts in disease development, which are useful for studies of drug response. We find that many of the established drugs were not tested inin vivomodels before being used in the clinic, but rather animal models have been subsequently used to find mechanisms for efficacy. Finally, we report a number of novel drugs, tested in preclinicalin vivomodels, presently in clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this study was to describe general characteristics of patients with stroke who have a tendency to fall and to determine whether certain test instruments can identify fallers. Methods: Patients treated in a stroke unit during a 12-month period were included. At inclusion assessments were made with Berg Balance Scale Berg Balance Scale, Stops Walking When Talking, Timed Up & Go (TUG) and diffTUG. At follow-up 6 or 12 months later, patients who had fallen were identified. Results: During the time from discharge to follow-up on 159 patients, 68 patients fell and 91 did not. Fallers fell more often during their initial hospital stay, used sedatives more often and were more visually impaired, compared with non-fallers. The Berg Balance Scale, Stops Walking When Talking and TUG results differed between fallers and non-fallers. The combined results of Berg Balance Scale and Stops Walking When Talking increased the possibility of identifying fallers. Conclusion: Berg Balance Scale, Stops Walking When Talking and TUG can be used to evaluate which patients have a tendency to fall in order to carry out preventive measures. Berg Balance Scale can be used in all patients. Stops Walking When Talking can give additional information if the patient is able to walk. TUG is a possible choice, but fewer patients can perform it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article brings the visual work of the author into dialogue with some stated propositions regarding sitedness, artistic ‘in-site’ versus innovative and divergent ways of seeing. While drawing on art, architecture, film and philosophy, the text evolves around issues relating to site-specific art, and in particular her ‘methodology’ of approaching ‘space-sites’ using a mixture of temporary object-formations and interventions which are photographically documented. While working with photography and materials found on-site there is a different experience emerging in relation to a given environment. This intimate world-building, which is not reducible to vision alone, can be called an insight in the form of an awakening or disruption of one's habitual sensitivities. This productive event occurs in response to the discrepancy between what is identifiable, such as a petal, and its unfamiliar (through the intervention) altered context. In the process of viewing the beholder is drawn into these different image worlds located between fact and fiction. Rather than being prescribed new models for seeing, the viewer is teased and engaged into examining the work and the world in an explorative way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development of autoimmune disease is the result of activation of the immune system that subsequently leads to tissue destruction. Although the clinical outcome significantly differs between autoimmune diseases, some pathogenic pathways could be shared. During the recent years, intense efforts to find the genetic factors behind development of the complex and polygenic autoimmune diseases have been undertaken. The difficulties in addressing what genetic factors predispose for autoimmunity in humans underline the importance of animal models in the understanding of the general mechanisms behind the initiation of disease. Interestingly, it has been observed in studies of experimental models of autoimmune diseases, that many of the genetic linkages to disease development are located in the same genetic regions and potentially could be controlled by the same gene. Furthermore, comparison of the mouse/rat genetic regions with regions of association to human inflammatory diseases, also demonstrates some homologous loci between species. Some mouse strains can develop disease in more than one model for autoimmunity. This not only argues for some general mechanisms, but it also supports mechanisms related to the specific tissues attacked in the various autoimmune diseases. Here, we will discuss some aspects of shared autoimmunity in mouse models from a genetic point of view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]