Primary Hepatic Lymphoma After Lung Transplantation: A Report of 2 Cases

BackgroundDiffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common subtype of non–Hodgkin lymphoma in the posttransplant setting. Treatment is based on chemotherapy; surgery is still debated and should be performed in very select cases.MethodsWe observed 2 patients out of 300 who underwent lung transplantation in the Nouvel Hopital Civil between 2013 and 2019 with primary hepatic lymphoma. Chemotherapy with a rituximab-cyclophosphamide, hydroxydaunorubicin, vincristine, prednisone protocol was performed in all patients. Mycophenolate mofetil was interrupted before treatment, and everolimus was introduced after chemotherapy by associating tacrolimus withdrawal.ResultsOne patient showed complete remission; after 7 years, no recurrence has been noticed. The second is still undergoing chemotherapy with no signs of disease progression.ConclusionsDLBCL risk is higher in solid organ transplant recipients than in the general population. Primary hepatic lymphoma diagnosis is often difficult and based on histologic findings after initial clinical and radiological suspicion of primary or secondary liver neoplasia. Diagnosis is challenging because no clinical, radiological, or biological features exist. Biopsy is always indicated for histologic confirmation. Chemotherapy is the mainstay of therapy, but surgery may be indicated in very select patients.     

Caffeine Modulates Tau Phosphorylation and Affects Akt Signaling in Postmitotic Neurons

Neuronal cell cycle reentry, which is associated with aberrant tau phosphorylation, is thought to be a mechanism of neurodegeneration in AD. Caffeine is a neuroprotective drug known to inhibit the cell cycle, suggesting that its neuroprotective nature may rely, at least in part, on preventing tau abnormalities secondary to its inhibitory effect on neuronal cell cycle-related pathways. Accordingly, we have explored in the present study the impact of caffeine on cell cycle-linked parameters and tau phosphorylation patterns in an attempt to identify molecular clues to its neuroprotective effect. We show that caffeine blocks the cell cycle at G1 phase in neuroblastoma cells and leads to a decrease in tau phosphorylation; similarly, exposure of postmitotic neurons to caffeine led to changes in tau phosphorylation concomitantly with downregulation of Akt signaling. Taken together, our results show a unique impact of caffeine on tau phosphorylation and warrant further investigation to address whether caffeine may help prevent neuronal death by preventing tau abnormalities secondary to aberrant entry into the cell cycle.     

Aconitin

Ohne ZusammenfassungDieser Aufsatz lag schon ganz zum Drucke bereit, als wir die gründliche Abhandlung des Herrn Schroff über Aconitum erhielten. Manche beobachtete, bis dahin vereinzelt stehende Symptome erhielten durch seine Versuche eine ergänzende Erläuterung. Einige von uns angestellte Versuche dagegen setzen uns in Stand, dann und wann zu sehr generalisirte Angaben des Herrn Schroff zu berichtigen. — Im Ganzen freute es uns also sehr, diese Arbeit noch eben zeitig genug empfangen zu haben, um unsre Schlüsse danach einzurichten. Um so mehr freute uns dieser Aufsatz aber, weil das Resultat der darin enthaltenen Versuche grösstentheils die Richtigkeit der unsrigen bestätigt. und dabei der Kopf geschüttelt, wie um eine unangenehme dort gefühlte Empfindung zu entfernen. Die Respiration ist beschleunigt und keuchend. — Nach 8 Minuten sinkt das Thier auf die rechte Seite und zeigt eine schwache, träge Respiration. — Nach 11 Minuten entstehen klonische Krämpfe in den Füssen, dem Schwanz und dem Hals. Die Respiration ist schwach. — Nach 13 Minuten wird keine Respiration mehr beobachtet. Nur zeigen sich noch von Zeit zu Zeit Zuckungen im Schwanze und in den Flügeln. — Nach 16 Minuten wird keine Bewegung gesehen, und das Herz steht bei der Oeffnung des Thorax still.Bei der Autopsie wird in den Hirnhäuten viel Blut gefunden. Das Gehirn enthält ein normales Quantum Blut. Das Herz ist mit geronnenem Blute überfüllt. Der Drüsenmagen ist einigermaassen höher roth als der zweite Magen. Sonst aber wird nichts Abnormes angetroffen.     

Decreased α event-related synchronization in the left posterior temporal cortex in schizophrenia: a magnetoencephalography-beamformer study

Alpha rhythm is one of the most prominent electromagnetic changes in the brain, and electroencephalography (EEG) alpha reactivity disturbance may sometimes represent an early sign of cerebral dysfunction. Although magnetoencephalography (MEG) has a better spatial resolution than EEG, it has not extensively been used to explore alpha-power change deficits in schizophrenia as a possible neurophysiological marker of the disease. The purpose of this study was to use MEG to identify abnormalities in alpha synchronization induced by eye-closing in schizophrenia patients compared to healthy controls, and to investigate whether alpha reactivity deficits correlate with clinical features of the disorder. MEG data were recorded in 22 schizophrenia patients and 20 age- and gender-matched controls during eyes-open/eyes-closed resting states. Cortical sources of event-related synchronization (ERS) were estimated using multiple source beamformer, and BrainVoyager was used for statistic group analysis. A significant decrease in ERS in the upper alpha band (10–13 Hz) was found in the left posterior temporal region in schizophrenia patients relative to controls, and this activity showed correlation with visual memory scores. This upper alpha ERS deficit may indicate left temporal dysfunction and visual-information processing impairment in schizophrenia, and upon further confirmation it might represent a neurophysiological state marker of the disorder.     

Birth order and risk of multiple sclerosis: Are they associated and how?

By analyzing birth order distribution in 107 patients with multiple sclerosis, a positive association is found between birth order and risk of multiple sclerosis. Conditionally to the number of siblings in the 107 families, patients' mean birth order is significantly greater than expected. The number of patients whose birth order is equal to one is significantly smaller than the corresponding expected value. The present finding is in contrast to recent results observed by Isager et al. (1980) and this potential association deserves to be further investigated.     

Psychopathology and working memory-induced activation of the prefrontal cortex in schizophrenia-like psychosis of epilepsy: Evidence from magnetoencephalography

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate whether magnetoencephalographic oscillations underlying working memory dysfunction in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) are related to psychopathological disturbance in patients with schizophrenia‐like psychosis of epilepsy (SLPE). Methods: Twelve patients with SLPE and 14 non‐psychotic epilepsy controls participated in this study. Magnetoencephalography was recorded while patients performed a visual working memory (WM) task. Psychopathology was assessed using a four‐factor structure of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, and regression analyses were carried out to examine the relative impact of severity of psychopathology on WM‐induced activation of the DLPFC. Results: We found that activation of the WM‐compromising DLPFC, as indicated by increased alpha desynchronization in patients with SLPE compared with their non‐psychotic counterparts, showed a positive linear correlation with disorganization symptom scores. This association remained significant after controlling for confounding factors, including age, task performance, IQ, and duration of psychosis. Conclusion: Our results indicate that abnormal activation in prefrontal areas engaged during working memory may be critical to domains of psychopathology, in particular disorganized thought‐processing in patients with SLPE.