Patients with ULMCA disease treated with PCI had favorable early outcomes in comparison with the CABG group. At 1 year, LVEF had improved significantly only in the PCI group. After more than 2 years, MACCE-free survival was similar in both groups with a trend toward improved survival after PCI.

TRAIL (tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand) is an endogenous ligand, which plays role in immune surveillance and anti-tumor immunity. It has ability to selectively kill tumor cells showing no toxicity to normal cells. We tested the apoptotic and cytotoxic activities of xanthohumol, a prenylated chalcone found in Humulus lupulus on androgen-sensitive human prostate adenocarcinoma cells (LNCaP) in combination with TRAIL. Cytotoxicity was measured by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide tetrazolium reduction assay (MTT) and lactate dehydrogenase assay (LDH). The expression of death receptors (DR4/TRAIL-R1 and DR5/TRAIL-R2) and apoptosis were detected using flow cytometry. We examined mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) by DePsipher reagent using fluorescence microscopy. The intracellular expression of proteins was evaluated by Western blotting. Our study showed that xanthohumol enhanced cytotoxic and apoptotic effects of TRAIL. The tested compounds activated caspases-3, -8, -9, Bid, and increased the expression of Bax. They also decreased expression of Bcl-xL and decreased mitochondrial membrane potential, while the expression of death receptors was not changed. The findings suggest that xanthohumol is a compound of potential use in chemoprevention of prostate cancer due to its sensitization of cancer cells to TRAIL-mediated apoptosis.

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We determined the alleles of 11 mHAs and investigated the association of immunogenic mHA mismatches between a donor and a recipient with a course of allogeneic hematopoietic SCT (allo-HSCT) from 10/10 alleles HLA-matched unrelated donors in 92 recipients after myeloablative conditioning between 2004 and 2006. The frequency analysis of mHA alleles, genotypes and phenotypes accompanied by appropriate restriction HLA Ags allowed for an estimation of the probability of immunogenic mismatches, which was the highest for HA-1, HA-8 and HY. GVH-directed disparity of mHAs with broad tissue distribution, especially of the sex-related HY Ag, influenced the results of allo-HSCT from HLAmatched unrelated donors by not only increasing the probability of chronic GVHD (cGVHD) but also by decreasing the relapse rate.

Deficiency in dopaminergic system function may be one of the hypothetical reasons of the frailty syndrome but its role still remains unclear. The aim of our study was to assess the frailty phenotype prevalence in geriatric inpatients with mild parkinsonian signs (MPS) and to investigate levodopa test in the frail patients with MPS. We examined 118 participants: 90 with MPS and 28 in control group (without MPS). The frailty syndrome presence was evaluated by the Fried criteria. Deficiency in dopaminergic system function was assessed by one of the modifications of an acute levodopa challenge test (LCT): in MPS group every patient was examined by performing Up and Go Test and also Step Test before and 3 h after taking 125 mg of Madopar (levodopa + benserazide). Sixty-nine study subjects (58%) met criteria for frailty. Fifty-five participants in MPS group (61.1% of MPS group) and fourteen (50%) in control group. All of the patients that scored positive in walk speed criterion of frailty were frail. When all MPS patients were considered, the number of components scored positive for frailty was directly related to the walk speed (r = -0.70, p < 0.0001). In MPS group LCT scores were significantly higher for frailty patients compared to non-frailty (p = 0.0027). When all MPS patients were considered, the number of components scored positive for frailty was directly related LCT score (r = 0.37, p = 0.0004). There was a relationship between LCT and walk speed (r = -0.31, p = 0.0032). Our observations provide new information about the relationship between frailty and MPS, suggest the need for increased awareness of frailty in MPS patients and conversely. Our study provides data for a discussion on pathophysiological background of the frailty syndrome (FS), emphasizing the theories of the important impact of dopaminergic system deficit and encourages further research on the role of LCT in measuring it.