Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis resembling Rasmussen’s encephalitis on magnetic resonance imaging

Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) is a rare, slowly progressing but invariably fatal disease that is related to a prior measles virus infection and most commonly affects paediatric patients. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is the modality of choice for determining such changes in white matter. SSPE typically demonstrates bilateral but asymmetric periventricular and subcortical white matter involvement. We herein report a rare case of unilateral white matter involvement in a 13-year-old boy with SSPE that closely simulated Rasmussen’s encephalitis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of an atypical presentation on MR imaging in which SSPE was a rare cause of unilateral brain parenchymal involvement in a patient with intractable seizures.     

Preparation and identification of multifunctional mesoporous silica nanoparticles for in vitro and in vivo dual-mode imaging,theranostics, and targeted tracking

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) can provide a structural foundation for a new generation of nanocarriers with a broad range of functionalities. Multifunctional MSNs can serve as all-in-one diagnostic and therapeutic tools that can be used to simultaneously visualize and treat various diseases, such as cancer. This research study is the first time that two lanthanide-based imaging systems have been combined to incorporate controlled drug release and targeted tracing into a single MSN-based nano-platform for a novel theranostic drug delivery system. Doping lanthanide ions, i.e., europium (Eu) and gadolinium (Gd) ions, into an MSN structure (EuGd-MSNs) imparts fluorescence and magnetism to the nanostructure that can be used to develop magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and biological fluorescence tools. Current cancer research has revealed that most human cancer cells express a large number of folate receptors on their surface. Grafting folic acid (FA) onto the EuGd-MSN surface (EuGd-FA-MSNs) imparts a targeting function to the MSN because of the specificity of the binding of FA to cell surface receptors. Furthermore, grafting anticancer drugs, such as camptothecin (CPT), onto the surface of these MSNs by forming disulfide bonds (EuGd-SS-CPT-FA-MSNs) enables intracellular controlled drug release. A high concentration of intracellular glutathione cleaves the disulfide bond to release the drug and treat the disease. The results of in vitro and in vivo studies show that the functionalized MSNs can be successfully used as a platform to integrate dual-imaging, targeting, and therapeutic treatment in multifunctional diagnosis drug delivery systems.     

2015—2017年解放军总医院抗震颤麻痹药物的使用情况分析

目的 了解解放军总医院抗震颤麻痹药物的应用情况与用药趋势。方法 采用世界卫生组织（WHO）推荐的以限定日剂量（DDD）为指标的分析方法，对2015-2017年解放军总医院抗震颤麻痹药物的销售金额、用药频度（DDDs）、日均费用（DDC）及排序比（B/A）等进行统计分析。结果 普拉克索、多巴丝肼和恩他卡朋的用药金额始终处于前3位，普拉克索的用药金额逐渐上升，卡比多巴/左旋多巴的用药金额逐渐下降；DDDs排序列前2位的是多巴丝肼和司来吉兰，多巴丝肼的DDDs逐年上升，一直处于第1位；2015-2016年各种抗震颤麻痹药物的DDC较为稳定，2016-2017年各种抗震颤麻痹药物的DDC开始略有下降；除普拉克索和恩他卡朋的B/A始终小于1.00，其他抗震颤麻痹药物的B/A均在1.00以上波动。结论 解放军总医院抗震颤麻痹药物的使用较为合理，其中多巴丝肼、普拉克索和司来吉兰具有很好的市场前景。     

Increased activation of the fear neurocircuitry in children exposed to violence

Most studies investigating the effect of childhood trauma on the brain are retrospective and mainly focus on maltreatment, whereas different types of trauma exposure such as growing up in a violent neighborhood, as well as developmental stage, could have differential effects on brain structure and function. The current magnetic resonance imaging study assessed the effect of trauma exposure broadly and violence exposure more specifically, as well as developmental stage on the fear neurocircuitry in 8‐ to 14‐year‐old children and adolescents (N = 69). We observed reduced hippocampal and increased amygdala volume with increasing levels of trauma exposure. Second, higher levels of violence exposure were associated with increased activation in the amygdala, hippocampus, and ventromedial prefrontal cortex during emotional response inhibition. This association was specifically observed in children younger than 10 years. Finally, increased functional connectivity between the amygdala and brainstem was associated with higher levels of violence exposure. Based on the current findings, it could be hypothesized that trauma exposure during childhood results in structural changes that are associated with later risk for psychiatric disorders. At the same time, it could be postulated that growing up in an unsafe environment leads the brain to functionally adapt to this situation in a way that promotes survival, where the long‐term costs or consequences of these adaptations are largely unknown and an area for future investigations.