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Resumo: Na Europa a prevalência de alergia ao veneno de himenópteros estima-se em 20%. As reacções sistémicas graves são indicação para imunoterapia específica com veneno de himenópteros após confirmação de atopia. Esta é eficaz em 91-100% dos casos de alergia ao veneno de vespa e 77-80% dos casos de alergia ao veneno de abelha. Apresentamos quatro casos clínicos de doentes com reacções sistémicas ao veneno de himenópteros que efectuaram imunoterapia. Três crianças apresentavam alergia ao veneno de abelha e uma ao veneno de vespa. Tinham IgE específica para o veneno de himenópteros, classes IV a VI. A duração da imunoterapia variou entre quatro e sete anos, com diminuição da classe de IgE específica em todos os doentes no final do tratamento. Três crianças tiveram contacto com o alergénio, durante ou após terminarem a imunoterapia, e nenhuma delas desencadeou uma reacção sistémica. A duração da imunoterapia continua a ser controversa. A ausência de reacção após contacto com o alergénio é sugestiva de sucesso do tratamento., Portuguese Journal of Pediatrics, Vol 40 No 1 (2009)

Despite the increasing popularity of gel-free proteomic strategies, two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE) is still the most widely used approach in top-down proteomic studies, for all sorts of biological models. In order to achieve meaningful biological insight using 2DE approaches, importance must be given not only to ensure proper experimental design, experimental practice and 2DE technical performance, but also a valid approach for data acquisition, processing and analysis. This paper reviews and illustrates several different aspects of data analysis within the context of gel-based proteomics, summarizing the current state of research within this field. Particular focus is given on discussing the usefulness of available multivariate analysis tools both for data visualization and feature selection purposes. Visual examples are given using a real gel-based proteomic dataset as basis. Current Protein and Peptide Science, 15, 4-22. doi:10.2174/1389203715666140221112334

Farmed seafood organisms are susceptible to a wide range of factors that can pose a major threat to a thriving aquaculture industry with considerable economic repercussions. This industry has been going through major challenges in its effort to respond to the growing consumer demand, coupled with clear global market awareness of product quality and animal welfare. A good balance between these challenges may greatly benefit from a better scientific understanding of the biological traits in seafood farming.

Expansions of trinucleotide CAG/CTG repeats in somatic tissues are thought to contribute to ongoing disease progression through an affected individual's life with Huntington's disease or myotonic dystrophy. Broad ranges of repeat instability arise between individuals with expanded repeats, suggesting the existence of modifiers of repeat instability. Mice with expanded CAG/CTG repeats show variable levels of instability depending upon mouse strain. However, to date the genetic modifiers underlying these differences have not been identified. We show that in liver and striatum the R6/1 Huntington's disease (HD) (CAG)~100 transgene, when present in a congenic C57BL/6J (B6) background, incurred expansion-biased repeat mutations, whereas the repeat was stable in a congenic BALB/cByJ (CBy) background. Reciprocal congenic mice revealed the Msh3 gene as the determinant for the differences in repeat instability. Expansion bias was observed in congenic mice homozygous for the B6 Msh3 gene on a CBy background, while the CAG tract was stabilized in congenics homozygous for the CBy Msh3 gene on a B6 background. The CAG stabilization was as dramatic as genetic deficiency of Msh2. The B6 and CBy Msh3 genes had identical promoters but differed in coding regions and showed strikingly different protein levels. B6 MSH3 variant protein is highly expressed and associated with CAG expansions, while the CBy MSH3 variant protein is expressed at barely detectable levels, associating with CAG stability. The DHFR protein, which is divergently transcribed from a promoter shared by the Msh3 gene, did not show varied levels between mouse strains. Thus, naturally occurring MSH3 protein polymorphisms are modifiers of CAG repeat instability, likely through variable MSH3 protein stability. Since evidence supports that somatic CAG instability is a modifier and predictor of disease, our data are consistent with the hypothesis that variable levels of CAG instability associated with polymorphisms of DNA repair genes may have prognostic implications for various repeat-associated diseases.

The response to tissue damage is a complex process, which involves the coordinated regulation of multiple proteins to ensure tissue repair. In order to investigate the effect of tissue damage in a lower vertebrate, samples were taken from rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) at day 7 after damage and proteins were separated using 2DE. The experimental design included two groups of rainbow trout, which were fed organic feed either with or without astaxanthin. In total, 96 proteins were found to be affected by tissue damage, clearly demonstrating in this lower vertebrate the complexity and magnitude of the cellular response, in the context of a regenerative process. Using a bioinformatics approach, the main biological function of these proteins were assigned, showing the regulation of proteins involved in processes such as apoptosis, iron homeostasis, and regulation of muscular structure. Interestingly, it was established that exclusively within the astaxanthin feed group, three members of the annexin protein family (annexin IV, V, and VI) were regulated in response to tissue damage.

Background Expansion of aquaculture requires alternative feeds and breeding strategies to reduce dependency on fish oil (FO) and better utilization of dietary vegetable oil (VO). Despite the central role of intestine in maintaining body homeostasis and health, its molecular response to replacement of dietary FO by VO has been little investigated. This study employed transcriptomic and proteomic analyses to study effects of dietary VO in two family groups of Atlantic salmon selected for flesh lipid content, 'Lean' or 'Fat'. Results Metabolism, particularly of lipid and energy, was the functional category most affected by diet. Important effects were also measured in ribosomal proteins and signalling. The long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LC-PUFA) biosynthesis pathway, assessed by fatty acid composition and gene expression, was influenced by genotype. Intestinal tissue contents of docosahexaenoic acid were equivalent in Lean salmon fed either a FO or VO diet and expression of LC-PUFA biosynthesis genes was up-regulated in VO-fed fish in Fat salmon. Dietary VO increased lipogenesis in Lean fish, assessed by expression of FAS, while no effect was observed on β-oxidation although transcripts of the mitochondrial respiratory chain were down-regulated, suggesting less active energetic metabolism in fish fed VO. In contrast, dietary VO up-regulated genes and proteins involved in detoxification, antioxidant defence and apoptosis, which could be associated with higher levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in this diet. Regarding genotype, the following pathways were identified as being differentially affected: proteasomal proteolysis, response to oxidative and cellular stress (xenobiotic and oxidant metabolism and heat shock proteins), apoptosis and structural proteins particularly associated with tissue contractile properties. Genotype effects were accentuated by dietary VO. Conclusions Intestinal metabolism was affected by diet and genotype. Lean fish may have higher responsiveness to low dietary n-3 LC-PUFA, up-regulating the biosynthetic pathway when fed dietary VO. As global aquaculture searches for alternative oils for feeds, this study alerts to the potential of VO introducing contaminants and demonstrates the detoxifying role of intestine. Finally, data indicate genotype-specific responses in the intestinal transcriptome and proteome to dietary VO, including possibly structural properties of the intestinal layer and defence against cellular stress, with Lean fish being more susceptible to diet-induced oxidative stress.

Fish welfare is an important concern in aquaculture, not only due to the ethical implications but also for productivity and quality-related reasons. The purpose of this study was to track soluble proteome expression in post-mortem gilthead seabream muscle and to observe how preslaughter stress affects these post-mortem processes. For the experiment, two groups of gilthead seabream (n = 5) were subjected to distinct levels of preslaughter stress, with three muscle samples being taken from each fish. Proteins were extracted from the muscle samples, fractionated, and separated by 2DE. Protein identification was performed by MALDI-TOF-TOF MS. Analysis of the results indicates changes on several cellular pathways, with some of these changes being attributable to oxidative and proteolytic activity on sarcoplasmic proteins, together with leaking of myofibrillar proteins. These processes appear to have been hastened by preslaughter stress, confirming that it induces clear post-mortem changes in the muscle proteome of gilthead seabream.

Intensification of production systems exposes fish to stress agents, such as poor water quality and crowding, affecting physiological condition of cultured fish, negatively influencing their immune system and increasing susceptibility to microorganism infections (Gopalakannan & Arul, 2006; Sado et al., 2010). Synthetic chemicals and antibiotics have been used to treat fish disease outbreaks. However, indiscriminate and frequent use of drugs in animals is a concern, even for levamisole (Lewis et al., 1980). Antibiotics, specially, may lead the development of drug-resistant micro-organisms, immunosuppression and residues buildup in the animals (Rijkers et al., 1980; Anderson, 1992; Lunden et al., 1998; Maqsood et al., 2009). Furthermore, preventive measures are better than using drugs and chemicals to control these problems (Maqsood et al., 2009). In such a context, levamisole, a synthetic imidazothiazole approved as anthelminthic for humans and many mammals (Li et al., 2006b), has been shown to have immunostimulatory properties for humans and animals, fish and shrimp included. The use of levamisole as vaccines adjuvant in fish has elicited higher levels of circulating antibody, improved antibody response and nonspecific immunity (Anderson & Jeney, 1992). Dietary levamisole has also being reported to positively affect IgM values (Cuesta et al., 2004) and to enhance fish resistance to pathogenic bacteria (Kajita et al., 1990; Findlay & Munday, 2000; Sahoo & Mukherjee, 2002; Gopalakannan & Arul, 2006; Li et al., 2006a). Levamisole has also been shown to enhance in vitro antibody production, superoxide anion and phagocytic activity (Siwicki, 1989; Siwicki et al., 1990; Mulero et al., 1998; Morrison et al., 2001; Sahoo & Mukherjee, 2002; Ispir & Yonar, 2007). In spite of such encouraging results and the already regular use of the substance as immunostimulatory drug in aquaculture, knowledge on levamisole’s pharmacokinetic parameters in fish is still scarce. This paper reports original and pioneer data on drug clearance after intramuscular administration of levamisole to fish, using the neotropical Siluriform speckled surubim Pseudoplatystoma corruscans as study model. This species is an important freshwater, carnivorous South America catfish, attractive to both the capture fisheries and fish culture (Lovshin & Cyrino, 1998). Analytical grade levamisole (>99%) was collected from Sigma Chemical (Saint Louis, MO, USA). Plasma levamisole quantitation was performed according to El-Kholy and Kemppainen (2003); analyses were performed on a Dionex Ultimate 3000 HPLC System, grade solvents collected from Merck (Darmstadt, Germany), on a Phenomenex (Luna) C18 250 9 4.4 mm chromatographic column packed with 5-lm particle size reverse-phase; detection was performed on a UV–Vis detector, 225-nm wavelength. The mobile phase was an acetic acid 2%: methanol (1/1 v/v) solution, 1 mL/min flux, at 25 °C. Levamisole extraction was carried out according to Garcia et al. (1990); quantitation limit was 1.0 lg/mL and detection limit was 0.5 lg/mL. Twenty-one healthy, juvenile specked surubim were individually weighed (390 ± 40 g) and kept in 21 plastic tanks (80 L) in a closed-loop, constantly aerated system (27 ± 0.5 ° C; pH 8.07 ± 0.07; dissolved oxygen 6.1 ± 0.4; conductivity 4.13 ± 0.04 mS/cm; salinity 0.22 ± 0.004%; total ammonia 0.25 ppm; dissolved total solid 2.64 ± 0.03 g/L), under a 12-h dark–12-h light photoperiod. Fish were hand-fed a commercial diet in two daily meals diet (crude protein 40%, digestible energy 3400 kcal/kg); feeding was stopped 24 h before drug administration. Fish were anesthetized (Eugenol [Biodinâmica, Ibipora, SP, Brazil] 1:50 000 v/v) and injected once in the dorsal muscle, at beginning of dorsal fin, with 50-mg levamisole/kg body weight, dissolved in 1.0 mL of sterile physiological solution (0.6%). All of them recovered normal behavior within 30 sec. It means fish were not under influence of the anesthetic during the early time points. Blood samples (2.0 mL) were collected from the caudal vein using plastic syringe imbibed in 10% EDTA solution at 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, 6.0 and 12.0 h after injection. Each fish was used only once for blood sampling; three animals were used per time point. Plasma was collected through centrifugation (15 min; 2000 g)

The quality and shelf life of fish meat products depend on the skeletal muscle's energetic state at slaughter, as meat decomposition processes can be exacerbated by energy depletion. In this study, we tested dietary glycerol as a way of replenishing muscle glycogen reserves of farmed gilthead seabream. Two diets were tested in duplicate (n = 42/tank). Results show 5% inclusion of crude glycerol in gilthead seabream diets induces increased muscle glycogen, ATP levels and firmness, with no deleterious effects in terms of growth, proximate composition, fatty acid profile, oxidative state, and organoleptic properties (aroma and color). Proteomic analysis showed a low impact of glycerol-supplementation on muscle metabolism, with most changes probably reflecting increased stress coping capacity in glycerol-fed fish. This suggests inclusion of crude glycerol in gilthead seabream diets (particularly in the finishing phase) seems like a viable strategy to increase glycogen deposition in muscle without negatively impacting fish welfare and quality.

The use of proteomics in fish research is at a relatively early stage compared to terrestrial vertebrates. It has already been applied in the field of fish nutrition, enabling to point out metabolic changes occurring in response to dietary manipulations such as a variation in energy content, dietary nitrogen composition, lipid composition or the incorporation of plant protein sources in aquafeeds (Gomez-Requeni et al., 2011; Hamza et al., 2010; Kolditz et al., 2008; Martin et al., 2003; Sveinsdottir and Gudmundsdottir 2010). Of particular interest in the developing finfish aquaculture industry is to understand the nutritional requirements of the faster growing and more fragile larval and juvenile stages. However, the application of the proteomic approach is more challenging during the larval stage, due to the small size of the individuals and thereby the considerable amount of material needed for such an analysis, especially when the focus is a specific tissue.

In order to investigate the effects of dietary protein hydrolysates (PH) on larval growth performance, skeleton quality and proteome expression, triplicate groups of white seabream (Diplodus sargus) larvae were co-fed from first-feeding with live feed and three microencapsulated diets differing in the molecular weight of their PH fraction (Control – inclusion of CPSP-90; H – inclusion of a high amount in 0.5–30 kDa hydrolysates; L – inclusion of a high amount in

Gilthead seabream is the main aquaculture species produced in Portugal, as well as in the Mediterranean. However, the winter disease syndrome, a series of metabolic and immune system disorders caused by low temperatures, affects seabream culture, leading to important industrial losses, either as mortalities or growth decreases during spring. These effects can be minimized through dietary optimisation, either improving diets for the end of summer season, or feeding seabream with a fortified diet during autumn/winter. However, the development of a fortified diet for autumn/winter is hindered by the lack of tools to evaluate fish metabolic and physiological condition. Nevertheless, the recent development of new generation molecular tools provides good perspectives to supply molecular indicators of condition that would support this task.

Knowledge on apparent digestibility coefficients (ADC) is necessary to maximize the feed efficiency, thus lessening dietary nutrient and energy losses. This study tasks the determination of apparent digestibility of selected feedstuff to striped surubim Pseudoplatystoma reticulatum, a carnivorous, South American catfish of economic importance for fisheries and fish culture alike. Juvenile striped surubim (82.4 ± 17.7 g and 23.0 ± 1.6 cm) was distributed in 21 cylindrical, plastic cages (80 L), housed in seven 1000 L feeding tanks under constant water flow and aeration and conditioned to a two daily meals (20h00m and 22h00m) feeding regimen on a practical, reference diet (RD) (460.0 g kg -1 crude protein (CP); 19.23 kJ g -1 gross energy (GE)]. Test diets were obtained by adding of 1 g kg -1 chromium III oxide and 300 g kg -1 of one the following feedstuffs: fish meal (FM), meat and bone meal (MBM), poultry by-product meal, feather meal, blood meal, soybean meal, wheat bran, corn and corn gluten meal to the RD. After the last daily meal, fish were transferred to cylindrical, conical-bottomed aquaria (200 L) under aeration and continuous water exchange, coupled to refrigerated plastic bottles for faeces collection by sedimentation. Best ADC of protein (99.36%) and energy (86.25%) were recorded for poultry by-product meal and MBM, respectively, which are thus deemed ideal surrogate feedstuffs to FM in the formulation and processing of diets for striped surubim.

Nacre, when implanted in vivo in bones of dogs, sheep, mice, and humans, induces a biological response that includes integration and osteogenic activity on the host tissue that seems to be activated by a set of proteins present in the nacre water-soluble matrix (WSM). We describe here an experimental approach that can accurately identify the proteins present in the WSM of shell mollusk nacre. Four proteins (three gigasin-2 isoforms and a cystatin A2) were for the first time identified in WSM of Crassostrea gigas nacre using 2DE and LC-MS/MS for protein identification. These proteins are thought to be involved in bone remodeling processes and could be responsible for the biocompatibility shown between bone and nacre grafts. These results represent a contribution to the study of shell biomineralization process and opens new perspectives for the development of new nacre biomaterials for orthopedic applications. Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT) [SFRH/BD/41392/2007]

Aquaculture has shown an amazing growth rate in fish production over the last decade, though nowadays it is a very competitive market in the food industry. Fish and shellfish demand will continue to grow, in part as a response to population growth. Provision of seafood from capture fish is declining and is partly not sustainable. Seafood from aquaculture will potentially overcome this supply issue. It can deliver a product of defined quality, composition and safety to the market in all seasons of the year enabling a greater penetration of fish products in consumer’s diet.

The Senegalese sole, a high-value flatfish, is a good candidate for aquaculture production. Nevertheless, there are still issues regarding this species’ sensitivity to stress in captivity. We aimed to characterize the hepatic proteome expression for this species in response to repeated handling and identify potential molecular markers that indicate a physiological response to chronic stress. Two groups of fish were reared in duplicate for 28 days, one of them weekly exposed to handling stress (including hypoxia) for 3 min, and the other left undisturbed. Two-dimensional electrophoresis enabled the detection of 287 spots significantly affected by repeated handling stress (Wilcoxon–Mann–Whitney U test, p < 0.05), 33 of which could be reliably identified by peptide mass spectrometry. Chronic exposure to stress seems to have affected protein synthesis, folding and turnover (40S ribosomal protein S12, cathepsin B, disulfide-isomerase A3 precursor, cell-division cycle 48, and five distinct heat shock proteins), amino acid metabolism, urea cycle and methylation/folate pathways (methionine adenosyltransferase I α, phenylalanine hydroxylase, mitochondrial agmatinase, serine hydroxymethyltransferase, 3-hydroxyanthranilate 3,4-dioxygenase, and betaine homocysteine methyltransferase), cytoskeletal (40S ribosomal protein SA, α-actin, β-actin, α-tubulin, and cytokeratin K18), aldehyde detoxification (aldehyde dehydrogenase 4A1 family and aldehyde dehydrogenase 7A1 family), carbohydrate metabolism and energy homeostasis (fatty acid-binding protein, enolase 3, enolase 1, phosphoglycerate kinase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, aconitase 1, mitochondrial ATP synthase α-subunit, and electron-transfer flavoprotein α polypeptide), iron and selenium homeostasis (transferrin and selenium binding protein 1), steroid hormone metabolism (3-oxo-5-β-steroid 4-dehydrogenase), and purine salvage (hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase). Further characterization is required to fully assess the potential of these markers for the monitoring of fish stress response to chronic stressors of aquaculture environment.

Post-mortem flesh deterioration is dependent on the energy reserves present at the time of death. Early depletion of muscle glycogen leads to the buildup of lactate and to the early onset of rigor mortis, resulting in the activation of endogenous proteases and the degradation of myofibrillar proteins, and consequent muscle softening. The purpose of this study was to modulate the energy status of the muscle at the time of death through the use of dietary muscle buffering compounds, namely glycerol and maslinic acid. Four fish groups of gilthead seabream (in duplicate) were fed for three months with four different diets. The four diets were obtained by starting from a commercial diet formulation and applying a 2×2 factorial design, with two levels of glycerol supplementation (0 and 5%) and two levels of maslinic acid supplementation (0 and 0,025%). The diets were formulated to be isonitrogenous and isolipidic. Fish were slaughtered by immersion in ice-salt water slurry and muscle samples were immediately obtained from three fish of each tank, for a total of six muscle samples per treatment. Sarcoplasmic proteins were extracted from each muscle sample, separated/quantified by 2D-DIGE and identified by peptide fragment fingerprinting using MALDI-TOF MS. Preliminary analysis of the results shows an effect of the diets on muscle parameters such as measured pH and onset of rigor mortis. At the proteome level, the addition of glycerol and maslinic acid to the diets seemed to have affected the abundance of proteins related to oxidative stress (HSC70, HSC71, peroxiredoxin, transferrin), aldehyde toxification (ALDH1A2, ALDH6A1, ALDH7A1), energy homeostasis (adenylate kinase, nucleoside-diphosphate kinase), cytoskeleton (cofilin-2) and signalling (phosphohistidine phosphatase).

One of the main constrains for commercial aquaculture production of white seabream (Diplodus sargus) is the high incidence of skeletal malformations in reared fish. The purpose of this study was to obtain a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in the development of these types of skeletal malformations by comparative proteomic analysis of the vertebral column of normal and deformed fish using 2DE for protein separation and MS for protein identification. We observed a 3.2 and 3.4-fold increase in the expression of two tropomyosin isoforms, one of which (tropomyosin-4) is essential for the motility and polarization cycles of osteoclasts. Furthermore, a 1.6, 1.7 and 1.8-fold increase in three parvalbumin spots was detected, suggesting a cellular response to increased intracellular Ca²(+) levels. These results can be interpreted as signs of increased cellular activity in the bone of white seabream with skeletal deformities coupled to a higher degree of calcium mobilization, which elicits further studies into the use of these proteins as indicators of skeletal metabolic state.

The aim of this study was to identify possible metabolic molecular indicators of chronic stress in gilthead sea bream Sparus aurata . Two potential stressful conditions were tested: repeated handling and crowding at high stocking density. Gilthead seabream kept under optimized rearing conditions were used as control fish. Cortisol was measured as primary stress indicator and the liver proteome of stressed fish was compared to that of control fish using comparative proteomics. Plasma cortisol levels in sea bream repeatedly handled and crowded at high stocking density were significantly higher than in undisturbed control fish. A total of 560 spots were detected and the statistical analysis revealed a differential expression in about 50% of all detected proteins. Spots with greater than 2-fold or lower than 0.5-fold changes were identified by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). Proteins like fatty acid binding protein (lipid transport and antioxidant role), heat shock cognate protein (chaperoning), calmodulin (Ca 2+ signaling), mitochondrial porine — voltage-dependent anion channel (lipid oxidation), glutamine synthetase (ammonia metabolism), cofilin and beta-tubulin (cytoskeleton), hemoglobin and several other proteins involved in carbohydrate metabolism (triose-phosphate isomerase, pyruvate dehydrogenase, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, alfa-enolase) were differentially expressed in fish under chronic stress. Some of these proteins may be used in the future as chronic stress and/or part of a panel of welfare biomarkers, after validation studies using RT-PCR and ELISA assays.

In order to investigate the effects of dietary protein hydrolysate on larval skeleton quality and larvae proteome expression, triplicate groups of white seabream (Diplodus sargus) larvae were co-fed from first-feeding onwards with live feed and three microencapsulated diets ir differing only on the molecular weight of their protein hydrolysate fraction.

Introdução: A doença auto-imune da tiróide é a principal causa de Hipotiroidismo adquirido na criança e adolescente, a sua incidência em idade escolar é de 1.3%1. Objectivo: Caracterizar os doentes com Tiroidite Auto-Imune da consulta de Endocrinologia Pediátrica do Hospital Geral de Santo António em seguimento no ano de 2006. Metodologia: Foi efectuado um estudo retrospectivo com revisão dos processos clínicos, considerando os seguintes parâmetros: idade, sexo, forma de apresentação clínica e analítica, estádio pubertário, antecedentes pessoais e familiares de patologia auto-imune, anticorpos antitiroideus, exames imagiológicos, tratamento instituido e seguimento. Resultados: Obtivemos um total de 36 doentes, idades compreendidas entre 4.75 e 15.0 anos (média 11.4; mediana 12.2), 61% do sexo feminino e 61% púberes. A suspeita diagnóstica baseou-se em 50% dos casos na presença de bócio, em 33% na sequência do rastreio pela presença de outras doenças auto-imunes e em 17% no excesso de peso. Antecedentes familiares de patologia tiroideia presentes em 36%. Por definição, todos apresentavam anticorpos antitiroideus positivos. Na altura do diagnóstico, 39% apresentavam Hipotiroidismo compensado, 31% Hipotiroidismo descompensado, 28% função tiroideia normal e uma doente Hipertiroidismo compensado. A ecografia cervical revelou na maioria dos doentes uma glândula aumentada com padrão heterogéneo. Foi iniciada terapêutica com levotiroxina a todos os doentes com Hipotiroidismo, verificando-se normalização da função tiroideia. O seguimento médio dos doentes foi de 23.9 meses (máximo 78, mínimo um). Discussão: A tiroidite auto-imune continua a ser uma patologia prevalente em idade pediátrica, principalmente na adolescência, e a sua associação com outras doenças auto-imunes é mais uma vez evidenciada nesta análise. Os dados obtidos são concordantes com a literatura, como o facto de ser mais frequente no sexo feminino e ter uma boa resposta à terapêutica médica. ABSTRACT Introduction: Thyroid Auto-immune disease is the main cause of acquired hypothyroidism in paediatrics and has an incidence of 1.3% in school age. Aim: To characterize all patients followed in our unit for autoimmune thyroid disease during the year 2006. Methods: Retrospective study with revision of patients files, taking into consideration the following parameters: age, sex, clinical and analytical presentation, pubertal stage, personal and family AI pathological history, thyroid antibodies, imagiology, treatment and follow-up. Results: The number of patients was 36, with ages ranging from 4.75 years to 15.0 years (medium 11.4 years; median 12.2 years), 61% females, 61% in puberty. The diagnosis suspicion was based in goiter in 50% of the cases, obesity in 17% and in 33% during the routine analysis for other auto-immune diseases. There was a family history of thyroid disease in 36% of the cases. All of them had positive anti-thyroid antibodies. At the moment of the diagnosis, 39% of them had compensated Hypothyroidism, 31% had uncompensated Hypothyroidism, 28% had normal thyroid function and one case presented sub-clinical Hyperthyroidism. Cervical ultrasonography revealed, in the majority of cases, an augmented thyroid gland with heterogeneous pattern. All the patients with Hypothyroidism were replaced with levothyroxin and the normalization of the thyroid function was achieved. Mean follow-up time was 23.9 months (range from 1 to 78 months). Comments: Autoimmune thyroid disease is still a prevalent pathology among paediatric patients, especially during adolescence and its association with other autoimmune diseases is once again confirmed in this study. Our results are in accordance with literature referring higher female prevalence and good response to treatment.

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In aquaculture, skeleton deformities are a serious problem as they affect growth, morphology, survival of fish and also increase productions costs and decrease market value of the final products. Since vitamin K is known for playing and important role in bone metabolism, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of dietary vitamin K1 supplementation on skeleton deformities and on the expression of proteins involved involved in skeleton development of Senegalese sole.

Acquired hepatocerebral degeneration (AHCD) is usually described in patients with chronic liver diseases with portal-systemic shunting and previous episodes of acute hepatic encephalopathy. We describe an atypical case with no overt evidence of hepatic disease in which the characteristic neuroradiologic findings first called attention to the diagnosis. A 45-year-old man had progressive quadriparesis, dysphagia, and dysphonia for 18 months. He then developed back pain, urinary retention, and weight loss. There was no history of alcoholism or electrolyte disturbances. The general physical examination was unremarkable. The neurologic examination disclosed mental slowing, asymmetric spastic quadriparesis predominating in the lower limbs, mild arm ataxia, dysarthria, and left palate paresis. EMG, CSF, and slitlamp examination were normal. Cranial CT showed moderate corticosubcortical atrophy; MRI revealed symmetric focal lesions in the cerebellar peduncles and white matter (figure, A through D). The patient developed recurrent fever from Staphylococcus aureus infection of undetermined origin. Liver enzymes were normal (alanine aminotransferase, 38 U/L; aspartate aminotransferase, 41 U/L), and ammonia level was not measured. IV …

Objective: to evaluate the prevalence, associated factors, and time-course changes of abnormal liver enzyme serum levels in adult patients with Salmonella enteritidis enterocolitis. Methods: the clinical records of 104 patients (age range 15-86 years, 46.2% males) admitted to hospital because of S. enteritidis enterocolitis were reviewed. The prevalence of abnormal liver enzyme levels was evaluated, as well as its possible relationship to data of systemic inflammatory response, severe sepsis, and bacteremia. In addition, time-course changes in serum levels of liver enzymes were studied in 16 cases with available follow-up after hospital discharge. Results: in patients without a pre-existing cause for liver enzyme abnormalities (n = 84), the prevalence of serum AST elevation was 23.0% (95% CI 15.4-34.5%), of serum ALT elevation was 17.9% (95% CI 0.6-20.0%), and of GGT elevation was 19.0% (95% CI 11.6-29.3%). The prevalence of abnormality for any of these enzymes (AST, ALT, or GGT) was 35.7% (95% CI 25.7-46.8%). The prevalence of altered serum alkaline phosphatase was lower. Alteration in liver enzyme serum levels was moderate in the majority of cases, and was found in association with the presence of fever. Serum enzyme levels decreased during the convalescence period after hospital discharge. Conclusions: abnormalities in liver enzyme levels are frequent during severe enterocolitis due to S. enteritidis in adult patients. These abnormalities are moderate and self-limited. Objetivo: evaluar la prevalencia, los factores asociados y la evolución de las anormalidades en los niveles séricos de enzimas hepáticos en pacientes adultos con enterocolitis por S. enteritidis. Métodos: se revisaron los historiales de 104 pacientes (de edades comprendidas entre 15 y 86 años, 46,2% varones), ingresados en un hospital por enterocolitis aguda por S. enteritidis. Se evaluó la prevalencia de alteración en los niveles séricos de enzimas hepáticos y su asociación con datos de respuesta inflamatoria sistémica, de sepsis grave y con la presencia de bacteriemia detectable. Asimismo, se estudió la evolución de los parámetros de función hepática en 16 casos en los que se dispuso de seguimiento pasada la fase aguda tras el alta hospitalaria. Resultados: en los pacientes sin causa previa de hepatopatía (n=84), la prevalencia de elevación de la AST fue 23,0% (IC 95% 15,4-34,5%), de ALT 17,9% (IC 95% 10,6-20,0%), y de GGT 19,0% (IC 95% 11,6-29,3%). La prevalencia de alteración en alguno de esos parámetros (AST, ALT, o GGT) fue 35,7% (IC 95% 25,7-46,8%). La prevalencia de alteración en fosfatasa alcalina fue menor. La alteración fue leve en la gran mayoría de los casos. La alteración en los enzimas hepáticos se asoció con la presencia de fiebre. Durante la convalecencia tras el alta hospitalaria se observó una tendencia a la disminución en los niveles de los parámetros estudiados. Conclusiones: las alteraciones en los enzimas hepáticos (en general leves, y autolimitadas) son frecuentes en los pacientes con enterocolitis grave por S. enteritidis.