Current concept and future research directions of mild cognitive impairment

Alzheimer's disease (AD) generally begins with mild memory problems which occur in an insidious manner and progresses to the development of multiple cognitive impairments. There is a ‘gray’ area between what is classified as ‘normal’ and what is classified as ‘dementia’, currently called mild cognitive impairment (MCI). In this article, a case of MCI is described, and the diagnosis, assessment, subclassification (pre‐Alzheimer type and white matter lesion type) and future therapeutic plans for MCI are reviewed.     

A Decision Rule for Predicting Bacterial Meningitis in Children with Cerebrospinal Fluid Pleocytosis When Gram Stain Is Negative or Unavailable

Objectives:  Among children with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pleocytosis, the task of separating aseptic from bacterial meningitis is hampered when the CSF Gram stain result is unavailable, delayed, or negative. In this study, the authors derive and validate a clinical decision rule for use in this setting.
Methods:  This was a review of peripheral blood and CSF test results from 78 children (<19 years) presenting to Children's Hospital Columbus from 1998 to 2002. For those with a CSF leukocyte count of >7/μL, a rule was created for separating bacterial from viral meningitis that was based on routine laboratory tests, but excluded Gram stain. The rule was validated in 158 subjects seen at the same site (Columbus, 2002–2004) and in 871 subjects selected from a separate site (Boston, 1993–1999).
Results:  One point each (maximum, 6 points) was assigned for leukocytes >597/μL, neutrophils >74%, glucose <38 mg/dL, and protein >97 mg/dL in CSF and for leukocytes >17,000/mL and bands to neutrophils >11% in peripheral blood. Areas under receiver-operator-characteristic curves (AROCs) for the resultant score were 0.98 for the derivation set and 0.90 and 0.97, respectively, for validation sets from Columbus and Boston. Sensitivity and specificity pairs for the Boston data set were 100 and 44%, respectively, at a score of 0 and 97 and 81% at a score of 1. Likelihood ratios (LRs) increased from 0 at a score of 0 to 40 at a score of ≥4.
Conclusions:  Among children with CSF pleocytosis, a prediction score based on common tests of CSF and peripheral blood and intended for children with unavailable, negative, or delayed CSF Gram stain results has value for diagnosing bacterial meningitis.     

羊水细胞培养进行脊肌萎缩症的产前诊断

目的 应用错配聚合酶链反应-限制性片断长度多态性（PCR-RFLP）方法进行脊肌萎缩症（spinal muscular atrophy,SMA)的产前诊断。方法 基于运动神经元生存基因（SMN）的两个同源拷贝碱基的差异，通过羊水细胞培养，应用错配PCR-RFLP法对2例有SMA阳性家族史的胎儿进行产前基因诊断。结果 2例均无SMN基因外显子缺失。结论 SMN基因缺失检测技术是高效、快速的SMA产前诊断的方法。     

祛瘀解毒颗粒治疗子宫内膜异位症患者卵泡液对小鼠胚胎发育的影响

目的 观察经祛瘀解毒颗粒治疗后子宫内膜异位症（endometriosis，EM）患者卵泡液对小鼠胚胎发育的影响。 方法 在常规培养液中分别加入治疗组EM患者卵泡液（祛瘀解毒颗粒）、对照组EM患者卵泡液及空白组（因输卵管因素行体外受精－胚胎移植）患者卵泡液，20只小鼠超排卵共收集189枚2 细胞鼠胚分别放入各组培养液进行培养，其中治疗组培养液70枚，对照组培养液60枚，空白组培养液59枚,观察和检测2 细胞鼠胚在体外发育至8细胞期、桑葚胚期和囊胚期的比率，及早期鼠胚优质胚胎数目和优质胚胎率。 结果 治疗组培养液有53枚鼠胚（75.71%，53/70）发育到8细胞期，48枚（68.57%，48/70）发育到桑葚胚期，45枚（64.28%，45/70）发育到囊胚期，与对照组培养液(56.67%，34/60、48.33%，29/60、35.00%，21/60)比较差异有统计学意义(P＜0.05)。治疗组有61枚优质胚胎（87.14%），对照组为44枚（73.33%），两组比较差异有统计学意义（P＜0.05）。 结论 EM患者卵泡液对早期鼠胚存在毒性作用，经祛瘀解毒颗粒治疗后EM患者卵泡液可提高早期鼠胚培养质量。     

Does Meningitis Stop CSF Rhinorrhea following Lateral Skull Base Surgery?

In cases of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) rhinorrhea following lateral skull base surgery, fibrosis and fibrin formation resulting from meningitis has been postulated as a mechanism of spontaneously resolving the CSF leak. This study was undertaken to explore any possible relationship between the cessation of CSF leak and meningitis. A retrospective study at a tertiary referral center of 232 consecutive patients was performed. Out of a total of 232 procedures, 29 patients developed CSF rhinorrhea, of whom 7 subsequently developed meningitis. Bacteria were isolated in CSF obtained at lumbar puncture in 5 cases, with the CSF analysis in the remaining 2 cases suggesting aseptic meningitis. Conservative treatment failed to stop the CSF rhinorrhea in 6 of 7 cases. In this study, the development of meningitis did not appear to aid in the resolution of the CSF rhinorrhea. We conclude that surgical intervention should not be delayed in the expectation that meningitis and conservative interventions may promote CSF leak resolution.     

L-精氨酸对胰腺炎相关性腹水诱导肾损伤的保护作用

目的 通过观察胰腺炎相关性腹水(PAAF)对正常肾脏的影响及L-精氨酸(L-arg)对其的作用,探讨重症急性胰腺炎时急性肾损伤的发病机制.方法 60只SD大鼠制成重症急性胰腺炎(SAP)模型并收集其腹水备用;60只SD大鼠制成消化道穿孔性腹膜炎(DPP)模型并收集其腹水(DAF)备用;将两组腹水分别注射至正常大鼠腹腔内诱导肾损伤以此建立PAAF组及DAF组;并观察L-精氨酸的作用.观察各组术后12 h的肾功能、血淀粉酶及病理学变化,同时检测肾细胞凋亡及诱生型一氧化氮合酶(iNOS)的表达情况.结果 血清BUN、Cr,PAAF组＞DAF组＞Larg组＞NS组;Amyl,DAF组＞PAAF组＞L-arg组＞NS组;但均低于SAP组;而血清NO及组织中iNOS的表达,NS组＜PAAF组＜DAF组＜SAP组＜L-arg组;肾细胞凋亡率及病理学改变,SAP组＞PAAF组＞DAF组＞L-arg组＞NS组.结论 PAAF可以诱导正常大鼠的肾细胞凋亡引起肾损伤,且该作用可以被小剂量的L-arg阻断.     

Cerebrospinal fluid and plasma concentrations of oxytocin and vasopressin during parturition and vaginocervical stimulation in the sheep

Simultaneous blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples were taken from conscious sheep before, during and after parturition. Concentrations of plasma and CSF oxytocin were significantly elevated during contractions and particularly at birth. Mean prepartum CSF concentrations of oxytocin were around 55% of those found in plasma but postpartum they were up to 2-fold higher than those in plasma. Plasma concentrations of oxytocin were only significantly elevated, compared to prepartum levels, for 15 min postpartum whereas those in CSF were increased for the whole of the 120 min postpartum sampling period. Plasma, but not CSF, concentrations of arginine-vasopressin (AVP) were significantly raised during contractions and birth, and for 15 min postpartum. During the prepartum period CSF AVP concentrations were 67% of those found in plasma whereas at birth plasma levels were 10-fold higher than in CSF. In a separate experiment it was shown that 5 min of mechanical vaginocervical stimulation also stimulated significant increases in CSF and plasma oxytocin concentrations and in plasma vasopressin. Results support previous work suggesting an important role for central oxytocin release in the postpartum induction of maternal behavior and demonstrate that elevated concentrations of oxytocin in the CSF are present for a greater period than in blood. Elevated plasma AVP concentrations during contractions, birth or vaginocervical stimulation may be stimulated by stress associated with these stimuli.     

Densities in dependent lung regions during anaesthesia: atelectasis or fluid accumulation?

In previous studied with computed tomography (CT) prior to and during general anaesthesia, we found that densities developed in dependent parts of the lungs immediately after induction of anaesthesia in all examined patients. It was suggested that the densities were atelectases created by compression of lung tissue but an alternative explanation could be accumulation of extravascular fluid in the lung tissue and/or in the pleural space. In the present study the nature of the densities was analysed in further detail. Injections of contrast medium into the pleural space revealed that the densities were located in the lung tissue and not in the pleural space. By injecting contrast medium intravenously and repeating the CT scanning over a 2-min period the passage of contrast through the major vessels and the lung densities could be studied. The transit time of the contrast medium was of the same magnitude in the densities and the major lung vessels. This indicates that there were no regions with an increased amount of extravascular fluid to delay the contrast passage. These findings oppose the idea of fluid accumulation as the cause of the densities, while atelectasis remains the most plausible explanation.     

High levels of the soluble form of CD30 molecule in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are expression of CD30+ T cell involvement in the inflamed joints.

The CD30 is a surface molecule expressed by Th2-type lymphokine-producing T cells upon activation. CD30-expressing activated T cells release a soluble form of the molecule, which can be detectable both in vitro and in vivo. In the present study, high levels of soluble CD30 were found in peripheral blood and synovial fluid from patients with RA. However, CD30+ CD3+ cells, either CD4+ or CD8+, were significantly present in synovial fluid, but not in peripheral blood, of RA patients. Serum values of soluble CD30 were higher in active than inactive RA patients and directly correlated with rheumatoid factor serum titres. These data strongly support an involvement of CD30+ T cells in the immune processes of rheumatoid synovitis, and may suggest a relationship between Th2-type cytokine-secreting T cells and the pathological response in RA.     

IL-6 and G-CSF levels in amniotic fluid during the second trimester in normal and abnormal pregnancies

Activity levels of cytokines were measured by stimulation of the cell lines NFS-60, 7TD1, and TF-1. In 39 samples of amniotic fluid, levels of Granulocyte-Stimulating Factor (G-CSF) were 1434±2063 (mean±SD) and of Interleukin (IL-6) 546±1071 pg/ml; Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony Stimulating Factor (GM-CSF) was not detectable. IL-6 was correlated to G-CSF (r=0.3; p=0.003). G-CSF (p=0.0002) and IL-6 (p=0.006) were influenced by Alpha-Fetoprotein (AFP) and G-CSF by rhesus-incompatibility (p=0.0004). These findings suggest that cytokines such as IL-6 and G-CSF play some role in physiological and pathological pregnancy.Abbreviations G-CSF granulocyte-colony stimulating factor - GM-CSF granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor - M-CSF macrophage-colony stimulating factor - CSF colonystimulating factor - IL-6 interleukin-6 - IL-11 interleukin-11 - AFP alpha-fetoprotein - NFS-60 cell line - 7TD1 cell line - TF-l cell line - rh recombinant human - MTT 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide - FCS fetal calf serum - RPMI 1640 nutrient solution - ATCC American Tissue Culture Collection Correspondence to: E. Weimann