Administration of a small dose of pentagastrin, a synthetic pentapeptide containing the biologically active portion of the native hormone gastrin, results in a marked, rapid, transitory increase in thyrocalcitonin secretion in the pig. Gastrin or a related gastrointestinal peptide may be important in the physiological secretion of thyrocalcitonin, such as that which occurs when calcium salts are introduced into the gastrointestinal tract.

Background: Volume overload in patients on hemodialysis (HD) is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular mortality. B-lines detected on lung ultrasound (BLUS) assess extravascular lung water. This raises interest in its utility for assessing volume status and cardiovascular outcomes. Methods: End-stage renal disease patients on HD at the Island Rehab Center being older than 18 years were screened. Patients achieving their dry weight (DW) had a lung ultrasound in a supine position. Scores were classified as mild (0-14), moderate (15-30), and severe (>30) for pulmonary congestion. Patients with more than 60 were further classified as very severe. Patients were followed for cardiac events and death. Results: 81 patients were recruited. 58 were males, with a mean age of 59.7 years. 44 had New York Heart Association (NYHA) class 1, 24 had class 2, and 13 had class 3. In univariate analysis, NYHA class was associated with B-line classes (<0.001) and diastolic dysfunction (0.002). In multivariate analysis, NYHA grade strongly correlated with B-line classification (0.01) but not with heart function (0.95). 71 subjects were followed for a mean duration of 1.19 years. 9 patients died and 20 had an incident cardiac event. A Kaplan-Meier survival analysis demonstrated an interval decrease in survival times in all-cause mortality and cardiac events with increased BLUS scores (p = 0.0049). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed the independent predictive value of BLUS class for mortality and cardiac events with a heart rate of 2.98 and 7.98 in severe and very severe classes, respectively, compared to patients in the mild class (p = 0.025 and 0.013). Conclusion: At DW, BLUS is an independent risk factor for death and cardiovascular events in patients on HD.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus strain that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), was first identified in Wuhan, China in December 2019. It spread to several countries across continents and infected more than one million people within three months. While there is no consensus on the treatment of the disease yet, understanding the virus and its transmission is a cardinal priority. SARS-CoV-2 can be transmitted through bodily fluid. Upon inoculation, the surface enzyme angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) acts as a receptor protein for viral entry. The mean incubation period is 5.1 days, and infected individuals can exhibit a variety of symptoms from fever, cough, dyspnea, and respiratory failure to even multiorgan failure. Given the current situation, it is of paramount importance to understand the virus as thoroughly as possible. In this review, we discuss the background, epidemiology, possible pathophysiology, clinical presentation, and diagnostic studies related to SARS-CoV-2 infection. We also elaborate on the current research and evidence on treatment options and vaccine development based on the literature.

Several hydroxy vitamin D3 (OH-D3) derivatives were tested for biological activity by measuring 45Ca release from prelabeled rat fetal bones, in vitro. In a 72 h continuous culture, 1 alpha,25-(OH)2-D3 produced a significant effect at 10 pg/ml. A similar effect was produced by 50 ng/ml of either 25-OH-D3 or 5,6-trans-25-OH-D3, and by 500 pg of 3 deoxy-1 alpha,25-(OH)2-D3. 24R,25-(OH)2-D3 was more active than 24S,25-(OH)2-D3, and the R isomer had activity that more closely resembled the biosynthetic compound. 3-deoxy-1 alpha-OH-D3 was inactive at a concentration of up to 1 microgram/ml. Using a 24 h preincubation period with no added vitamin D3 derivative, a steep dose-response curve could be obtained with 1 alpha,25-(OH)2-D3 over a range of 2-10 pg/ml during a subsequent 96 h incubation period, and 1 alpha,25-(OH)2-D3 was found to have about 5000 times the activity of 25-OH-D3.

The specificity and potency of glucocorticoids to lower serum calcium (Ca) in rats after parathyroidectomy (PTX) and adrenalectomy (ADX) were examined. Rats fasted overnight were given sc injections of various steroids immediately after the operations. The fall in serum calcium 5 h after PTX-ADX in rats given hypocalcemic doses of corticosterone was compared to that after injection of a test steroid. At high doses, progesterone, estradiol, testosterone, and aldosterone were inactive, whereas glucocorticoids were consistently hypocalcemic. These results indicate that the Ca-lowering effect is specific for steroids with glucocorticoid activity. Potency estimates were made by comparing the dose-response of natural and synthetic glucocorticoids to that of corticosterone, the major glucocorticoid in rats. The mean potency of hydrocortisone was 8.2 times that of corticosterone. Prednisolone was about 9.6, triamcinolone 33, betamethasone 109, and dexamethasone 301 times as potent as corticosterone. Thus, the use of the calcium-lowering action as a bioassay has provides a specific and rapid in vivo method to compare potencies of glucocorticoids consistent with those obtained by anti-inflammatory and glycogen deposition assays. The importance of this interesting calcitonin-like action of glucocorticoids in normal physiology of calcium metabolism is not yet established.