Colon cancer is one of the most incident cancers in the Western World. While both genetic and epi... more Colon cancer is one of the most incident cancers in the Western World. While both genetic and epigenetic factors may contribute to the development of colon cancer, it is known that chronic inflammation associated to excessive production of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species by phagocytes may ultimately initiate the multistep process of colon cancer development. Phenolic compounds, which reveal antioxidant and antiproliferative activities in colon cancer cells, can be a good approach to surpass this problem. In this work, hydroxycinnamic amides and the respective acid precursors were tested in vitro for their capacity to modulate human neutrophils' oxidative burst and simultaneously to inhibit growth of colon cancer cells. A phenolic amide derivative, caffeic acid hexylamide (CAHA) (4) was found to be the most active compound in both assays, inhibiting human neutrophils' oxidative burst, restraining the inflammatory process, inhibiting growth of colon cancer cells and triggering mitochondrial dysfunction that leads cancer cells to apoptosis. Altogether, these achievements can contribute to the understanding of the relationship between antioxidant and anticancer activities and based on the structure-activity relationships (SAR) established can be the starting point to find more effective phenolic compounds as anticancer agents.
European journal of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive biology, 2015
Etonogestrel subdermal implant is a highly effective, reversible and safe form of contraception. ... more Etonogestrel subdermal implant is a highly effective, reversible and safe form of contraception. Immediate placement during abortion visit could increase contraception use in women at high risk for unintended pregnancy. Our purpose was to evaluate patient acceptability, user continuation rate and efficacy of medical termination of pregnancy when the implant is inserted during medical termination of pregnancy. Prospective observational study comparing patients who chose the subdermal implant for post-abortion contraception, inserted at the time of administration of mifepristone, with patients who chose delayed placement after the termination was complete. After contraceptive counseling 119 women chose the implant as their post-abortion contraceptive method. In the intra-abortion implant insertion group the user continuation rate after 6 months was 73.7% (42/57). In the delayed placement group 59.7% (37/62) missed the follow-up after abortion visit, 24.2% (15/62) chose another method ...
Journal of Maternal-Fetal and Neonatal Medicine, 2014
Abstract Introduction: Fetal body tumors are rare, but the ability to diagnose them has improved ... more Abstract Introduction: Fetal body tumors are rare, but the ability to diagnose them has improved over recent years. Most masses discovered in the chest results from fetal bronchopulmonary malformations, such as congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation and bronchopulmonary sequestration. Congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation and bronchopulmonary sequestration have a reported incidence of 50% and 33% of all prenatally diagnosed lung lesions, respectively. Material and methods: Retrospective analysis of the congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation and bronchopulmonary sequestration cases diagnosed or surveilled at our department, between January 2003 and March 2013. Prenatal examination, evolution, management and patient outcome were analyzed. Results: A total of 918 fetal malformations were diagnosed at our hospital, 17 of them representing fetal bronchopulmonary malformations. The majority were diagnosed during the second trimester and stabilized or regressed during the third trimester of pregnancy. The pregnancies and deliveries had no other relevant findings or complications, except in three cases. Nine children required surgery. All of the children are healthy and have a normal development, with regular surveillance by the pediatricians. Discussion: The majority of these fetal lung masses are isolated findings that partially regress during intrauterine life. With adequate postnatal surveillance and eventual surgery the prognosis is good.
We report a successful case of persistent urogenital sinus associated with a duplicated nonsyndro... more We report a successful case of persistent urogenital sinus associated with a duplicated nonsyndromic form of hydrometrocolpos and ascites diagnosed prenatally. Though urogenital malformations are extremely rare and variable in presentation, the conjugation of those anomalies in a newborn is reported here for the first time. Prenatal ultrasound diagnosis was suspected at 25 weeks' gestation and MRI imaging supported the diagnosis. Periodic ultrasound surveillance was conducted until birth at 35 weeks' gestation by cesarean section. The presumptive diagnosis was confirmed after birth. One month later, the newborn underwent reconstructive surgical intervention with good outcome.
Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular Basis of Disease, 2015
a b s t r a c t 1 2 now a FDA approved [8] therapeutic for several medical conditions. Biochimica... more a b s t r a c t 1 2 now a FDA approved [8] therapeutic for several medical conditions. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta xxx (2015) xxx-xxx
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disease that has grown to pandemic proportions. Recent repo... more Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disease that has grown to pandemic proportions. Recent reports have highlighted the effect of DM on male reproductive function. Here, we hypothesize that testicular metabolism is altered in type 1 diabetic (T1D) men seeking fertility treatment. We propose to determine some metabolic fingerprints in testicular biopsies of diabetic patients. For that, testicular tissue from five normal and five type 1 diabetic men was analyzed by high-resolution magic-angle spinning (HR-MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. mRNA and protein expression of glucose transporters and glycolysis-related enzymes were also evaluated. Our results show that testes from diabetic men presented decreased levels of lactate, alanine, citrate and creatine. The mRNA levels of glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) and phosphofructokinase 1 (PFK1) were decreased in testes from diabetic men but only GLUT3 presented decreased mRNA and protein levels. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT) protein levels were also found to be decreased in testes from diabetic men. Overall, our results show that T1D alters glycolysisrelated transporters and enzymes, compromising lactate content in the testes. Moreover, testicular creatine content was severely depressed in T1D men. Since lactate and creatine are essential for germ cells development and support, the data discussed here open new insights into the molecular mechanism by which DM promotes subfertility/infertility in human males.
A kinetic model of the citric acid cycle for calculating oxygen consumption from (13)C nuclear ma... more A kinetic model of the citric acid cycle for calculating oxygen consumption from (13)C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) multiplet data has been developed. Measured oxygen consumption (MVO(2)) was compared with MVO(2) predicted by the model with (13)C NMR data obtained from rat hearts perfused with glucose and either [2-(13)C]acetate or [3-(13)C]pyruvate. The accuracy of MVO(2) measured from three subsets of NMR data was compared: glutamate C-4 and C-3 resonance areas; the doublet C4D34 (expressed as a fraction of C-4 area); and C-4 and C-3 areas plus several multiplets of C-2, C-3, and C-4. MVO(2) determined by set 2 (C4D34 only) gave the same degree of accuracy as set 3 (complete data); both were superior to set 1 (C-4 and C-3 areas). Analysis of the latter suffers from the correlation between citric acid cycle flux and exchange between alpha-ketoglutarate and glutamate, resulting in greater error in estimating MVO(2). Analysis of C4D34 is less influenced by correlation between par...
American journal of physiology. Heart and circulatory physiology, 2001
This study was designed to test the hypothesis that indirect (1)H[(13)C] detection of tricarboxyl... more This study was designed to test the hypothesis that indirect (1)H[(13)C] detection of tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediates using heteronuclear multiple quantum correlation-total correlation spectroscopy (HMQC-TOCSY) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy provides additional (13)C isotopomer information that better describes the kinetic exchanges that occur between intracellular compartments than direct (13)C NMR detection. NMR data were collected on extracts of rat hearts perfused at various times with combinations of [2-(13)C]acetate, propionate, the transaminase inhibitor aminooxyacetate, and (13)C multiplet areas derived from spectra of tissue glutamate were fit to a standard kinetic model of the TCA cycle. Although the two NMR methods detect different populations of (13)C isotopomers, similar values were found for TCA cycle and exchange fluxes by analyzing the two data sets. Perfusion of hearts with unlabeled propionate in addition to [2-(13)C]acetate resulted in ...
Colon cancer is one of the most incident cancers in the Western World. While both genetic and epi... more Colon cancer is one of the most incident cancers in the Western World. While both genetic and epigenetic factors may contribute to the development of colon cancer, it is known that chronic inflammation associated to excessive production of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species by phagocytes may ultimately initiate the multistep process of colon cancer development. Phenolic compounds, which reveal antioxidant and antiproliferative activities in colon cancer cells, can be a good approach to surpass this problem. In this work, hydroxycinnamic amides and the respective acid precursors were tested in vitro for their capacity to modulate human neutrophils' oxidative burst and simultaneously to inhibit growth of colon cancer cells. A phenolic amide derivative, caffeic acid hexylamide (CAHA) (4) was found to be the most active compound in both assays, inhibiting human neutrophils' oxidative burst, restraining the inflammatory process, inhibiting growth of colon cancer cells and triggering mitochondrial dysfunction that leads cancer cells to apoptosis. Altogether, these achievements can contribute to the understanding of the relationship between antioxidant and anticancer activities and based on the structure-activity relationships (SAR) established can be the starting point to find more effective phenolic compounds as anticancer agents.
European journal of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive biology, 2015
Etonogestrel subdermal implant is a highly effective, reversible and safe form of contraception. ... more Etonogestrel subdermal implant is a highly effective, reversible and safe form of contraception. Immediate placement during abortion visit could increase contraception use in women at high risk for unintended pregnancy. Our purpose was to evaluate patient acceptability, user continuation rate and efficacy of medical termination of pregnancy when the implant is inserted during medical termination of pregnancy. Prospective observational study comparing patients who chose the subdermal implant for post-abortion contraception, inserted at the time of administration of mifepristone, with patients who chose delayed placement after the termination was complete. After contraceptive counseling 119 women chose the implant as their post-abortion contraceptive method. In the intra-abortion implant insertion group the user continuation rate after 6 months was 73.7% (42/57). In the delayed placement group 59.7% (37/62) missed the follow-up after abortion visit, 24.2% (15/62) chose another method ...
Journal of Maternal-Fetal and Neonatal Medicine, 2014
Abstract Introduction: Fetal body tumors are rare, but the ability to diagnose them has improved ... more Abstract Introduction: Fetal body tumors are rare, but the ability to diagnose them has improved over recent years. Most masses discovered in the chest results from fetal bronchopulmonary malformations, such as congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation and bronchopulmonary sequestration. Congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation and bronchopulmonary sequestration have a reported incidence of 50% and 33% of all prenatally diagnosed lung lesions, respectively. Material and methods: Retrospective analysis of the congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation and bronchopulmonary sequestration cases diagnosed or surveilled at our department, between January 2003 and March 2013. Prenatal examination, evolution, management and patient outcome were analyzed. Results: A total of 918 fetal malformations were diagnosed at our hospital, 17 of them representing fetal bronchopulmonary malformations. The majority were diagnosed during the second trimester and stabilized or regressed during the third trimester of pregnancy. The pregnancies and deliveries had no other relevant findings or complications, except in three cases. Nine children required surgery. All of the children are healthy and have a normal development, with regular surveillance by the pediatricians. Discussion: The majority of these fetal lung masses are isolated findings that partially regress during intrauterine life. With adequate postnatal surveillance and eventual surgery the prognosis is good.
We report a successful case of persistent urogenital sinus associated with a duplicated nonsyndro... more We report a successful case of persistent urogenital sinus associated with a duplicated nonsyndromic form of hydrometrocolpos and ascites diagnosed prenatally. Though urogenital malformations are extremely rare and variable in presentation, the conjugation of those anomalies in a newborn is reported here for the first time. Prenatal ultrasound diagnosis was suspected at 25 weeks' gestation and MRI imaging supported the diagnosis. Periodic ultrasound surveillance was conducted until birth at 35 weeks' gestation by cesarean section. The presumptive diagnosis was confirmed after birth. One month later, the newborn underwent reconstructive surgical intervention with good outcome.
Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular Basis of Disease, 2015
a b s t r a c t 1 2 now a FDA approved [8] therapeutic for several medical conditions. Biochimica... more a b s t r a c t 1 2 now a FDA approved [8] therapeutic for several medical conditions. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta xxx (2015) xxx-xxx
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disease that has grown to pandemic proportions. Recent repo... more Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disease that has grown to pandemic proportions. Recent reports have highlighted the effect of DM on male reproductive function. Here, we hypothesize that testicular metabolism is altered in type 1 diabetic (T1D) men seeking fertility treatment. We propose to determine some metabolic fingerprints in testicular biopsies of diabetic patients. For that, testicular tissue from five normal and five type 1 diabetic men was analyzed by high-resolution magic-angle spinning (HR-MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. mRNA and protein expression of glucose transporters and glycolysis-related enzymes were also evaluated. Our results show that testes from diabetic men presented decreased levels of lactate, alanine, citrate and creatine. The mRNA levels of glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) and phosphofructokinase 1 (PFK1) were decreased in testes from diabetic men but only GLUT3 presented decreased mRNA and protein levels. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT) protein levels were also found to be decreased in testes from diabetic men. Overall, our results show that T1D alters glycolysisrelated transporters and enzymes, compromising lactate content in the testes. Moreover, testicular creatine content was severely depressed in T1D men. Since lactate and creatine are essential for germ cells development and support, the data discussed here open new insights into the molecular mechanism by which DM promotes subfertility/infertility in human males.
A kinetic model of the citric acid cycle for calculating oxygen consumption from (13)C nuclear ma... more A kinetic model of the citric acid cycle for calculating oxygen consumption from (13)C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) multiplet data has been developed. Measured oxygen consumption (MVO(2)) was compared with MVO(2) predicted by the model with (13)C NMR data obtained from rat hearts perfused with glucose and either [2-(13)C]acetate or [3-(13)C]pyruvate. The accuracy of MVO(2) measured from three subsets of NMR data was compared: glutamate C-4 and C-3 resonance areas; the doublet C4D34 (expressed as a fraction of C-4 area); and C-4 and C-3 areas plus several multiplets of C-2, C-3, and C-4. MVO(2) determined by set 2 (C4D34 only) gave the same degree of accuracy as set 3 (complete data); both were superior to set 1 (C-4 and C-3 areas). Analysis of the latter suffers from the correlation between citric acid cycle flux and exchange between alpha-ketoglutarate and glutamate, resulting in greater error in estimating MVO(2). Analysis of C4D34 is less influenced by correlation between par...
American journal of physiology. Heart and circulatory physiology, 2001
This study was designed to test the hypothesis that indirect (1)H[(13)C] detection of tricarboxyl... more This study was designed to test the hypothesis that indirect (1)H[(13)C] detection of tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediates using heteronuclear multiple quantum correlation-total correlation spectroscopy (HMQC-TOCSY) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy provides additional (13)C isotopomer information that better describes the kinetic exchanges that occur between intracellular compartments than direct (13)C NMR detection. NMR data were collected on extracts of rat hearts perfused at various times with combinations of [2-(13)C]acetate, propionate, the transaminase inhibitor aminooxyacetate, and (13)C multiplet areas derived from spectra of tissue glutamate were fit to a standard kinetic model of the TCA cycle. Although the two NMR methods detect different populations of (13)C isotopomers, similar values were found for TCA cycle and exchange fluxes by analyzing the two data sets. Perfusion of hearts with unlabeled propionate in addition to [2-(13)C]acetate resulted in ...
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Papers by Rui Carvalho