Recently added articles from Critical Reviews in Clinical Laboratory Sciences:
REPRODUCTIVE CORTICOTROPIN RELEASING HORMONE, IMPLANTATION, AND FETAL IMMUNOTOLERANCE
Sep 01, 2007; ... The fundamental process of implantation involves a series of steps leading to effective cross-talk between invasive trophoblast cells and the maternal endometrium. The molecular interactions at the embryo-maternal interface during the time of blastocyst adhesion and subsequent invasion are not ...
THE REGULATION OF CELLULAR IRON METABOLISM
Sep 01, 2007; ... While iron is an essential trace element required by nearly all living organisms, deficiencies or excesses can lead to pathological conditions such as iron deficiency anemia or hemochromatosis, respectively. A decade has passed since the discovery of the hemochromatosis gene, HFE, and our ...
LIGNANS AND HUMAN HEALTH
Sep 01, 2007; ... This review focuses on the possible role in human health of the consumption of lignan-rich foods. Most of the plant lignans in human foods are converted by the intestinal microflora in the upper part of the large bowel to enterolactone and enterodiol, called mammalian or enterolignans. The ...
POLYAMINES AND THE INTESTINAL TRACT
Jul 01, 2007; ... Owing to their high turnover, the intestinal mucosal cells have a particularly high requirement for polyamines. Therefore, they are an excellent charcol for the study of polyamine function in rapid physiological growth and differentiation. After a cursory introduction to the major aspects of ...
ANTI-CITRULLINE ANTIBODIES IN THE DIAGNOSIS AND PROGNOSIS OF RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS: Evolving Concepts
Jul 01, 2007; ... Citrulline is a non-standard amino acid that can be incorporated into proteins only by post-translational modification of arginine by peptidylarginine deiminase (PAD) enzymes during a variety of biologic processes, including inflammation. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory autoimmune ...
Professor Nikolaus Seiler (1931-2006)
Jul 01, 2007; ... Nikolaus Seiler, an internationally recognized authority on amino acid and polyamine chemistry and biology, died in Erstein, France on July 29, 2006. Nikolaus was born on November 20, 1931 in Budaörs, at the time a large German village near Budapest, Hungary. Although his parents and ...
PRECURSOR LESIONS OF PROSTATE CANCER
May 01, 2007; ... Several morphological lesions have been proposed that may act as potential precursor lesions of prostate cancer. These are the morphologically distinct entities of focal atrophy or postatrophic hyperplasia (PAH), atypical adenomatous hyperplasia (AAH) or adenosis, and prostatic intraepithelial ...
THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF CHILDHOOD LEUKEMIA WITH A FOCUS ON BIRTH WEIGHT AND DIET
May 01, 2007; ... Leukemia is the most common childhood cancer and a major source of morbidity and mortality. The etiology of childhood leukemia remains largely unknown. Cytogenetic abnormalities determine disease subtypes, prognosis, clinical presentation, and course and may help in discovering etiological ...
ANTIPHOSPHOLIPID ANTIBODIES: Laboratory and Pathogenetic Aspects
May 01, 2007; ... Antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) constitute a heterogeneous group of autoantibodies that share the ability to bind phospholipids (PL) alone, protein-PL complexes, or PL-binding proteins. They have been detected in isolation, in association with autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus ...
THE ROLE OF VON WILLEBRAND FACTOR IN HEMORRHAGIC AND THROMBOTIC DISORDERS
Mar 01, 2007; ... von Willebrand factor (VWF) is a multimeric plasma protein that mediates platelet adhesion as well as platelet aggregation at sites of vascular injury and acts as a carrier of factor VIII. Although acquired or inherited VWF deficiency is associated with a bleeding tendency, there is increasing ...
TUMOR MARKERS IN BIOLOGICAL FLUIDS ASSOCIATED WITH PREGNANCY
Mar 01, 2007; ... Proteins that are expressed by both malignant and healthy fetal tissues are recognized as oncofetal. These antigens are associated with cell proliferation and differentiation and are produced in high concentrations in pregnancy and malignancy. Their biological role in malignancy is the ...
TUMOR-ASSOCIATED PROTEOLYTIC FACTORS uPA AND PAI-1: Critical Appraisal of Their Clinical Relevance in Breast Cancer and Their Integration into Decision-Support Algorithms
Mar 01, 2007; ... This review considers the past, present, and projected future clinical relevance of the serine protease urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA), and its inhibitor, plasminogen activator inhibitor-type 1 (PAI-1), in breast cancer. These factors play a key role in tumor invasion and metastasis ...
CLINICAL USE OF LABORATORY TESTS FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF SECONDARY FORMS OF ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION
Jan 01, 2007; ... The prevalence of secondary hypertension can be underestimated if appropriate tests are not performed. The importance of selecting patients with a high pre-test probability of secondary forms of hypertension is first discussed. The laboratory tests currently used for seeking a cause of ...
CONVENTIONAL AND PROTEOMIC TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE DETECTION OF EARLY STAGE MALIGNANCIES: Markers for Ovarian Cancer
Jan 01, 2007; ... Our understanding of the tumor microenvironment continues to evolve and allows for the identification of biomarkers that should detect the presence of early stage malignancies. Recent advances in computational analysis and biomedical technologies have come together to elucidate signatures ...
THE TUMOR MICROENVIRONMENT: Key to Early Detection
Sep 01, 2006; ... The tumor microenvironment plays an important role equal to the tumor cell population in the progression of cancer. Consisting of stromal fibroblasts, inflammatory cells, components of the vasculature, normal epithelia, and extracellular matrix, the surrounding environment interacts or ...
PRESENT AND FUTURE BIOCHEMICAL MARKERS FOR DETECTION OF ACUTE CORONARY SYNDROME
Sep 01, 2006; ... The use of biochemical markers in the diagnosis and management of patients with acute coronary syndrome has increased continually in recent decades. The development of highly sensitive and cardiac-specific troponin assays has changed the view on diagnosis of myocardial infarction and also ...
MOLECULAR BIOMARKERS FOR CANCER DETECTION IN BLOOD AND BODILY FLUIDS
Sep 01, 2006; ... Cancer is a major and increasing public health problem worldwide. Traditionally, the diagnosis and staging of cancer, as well as the evaluation of response to therapy have been primarily based on morphology, with relatively few cancer biomarkers currently in use. Conventional biomarker studies ...
EPIDERMAL GROWTH FACTOR RECEPTOR INHIBITION AND NON-SMALL CELL LUNG CANCER
Jul 01, 2006; ... The majority of non-small cell (NSC) lung cancers express epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Many studies have evaluated the clinical effect from targeted therapy achieved by blocking EGFR in patients with NSC lung cancer. Treatment of biologically unselected patients with NSC lung cancer ...
BIOCHEMISTRY, PHYSIOLOGY, AND COMPLICATIONS OF BLOOD DOPING: Facts and Speculation
Jul 01, 2006; ... * Competition is a natural part of human nature. Techniques and substances employed to enhance athletic performance and to achieve unfair success in sport have a long history, and there has been little knowledge or acceptance of potential harmful effects. Among doping practices, blood doping has ...
ESTROGEN RECEPTORS: Role in Breast Cancer
Jul 01, 2006; ... The estrogen receptor (ER) exists in two forms known as ERα ERβ. Currently, a clinical role has only been established for ERα. The primary use of ERα in breast cancer is for predicting likely response to hormone treatment. Patients with breast cancers expressing ERα are ...