Pick’s disease with Pick bodies combined with progressive supranuclear palsy without tuft‐shaped astrocytes: A clinical,neuroradiologic and pathological study of an autopsied case

We report clinical, neuroradiologic features, and neuropathologic findings of a 76‐year‐old man with coexistent Pick’s disease and progressive supranuclear palsy. The patient presented with loss of recent memory, abnormal behavior and change in personality at the age of 60. The symptoms were progressive. Three years later, repetitive or compulsive behavior became prominent. About 9 years after onset, he had difficulty moving and became bed‐ridden because of a fracture of his left leg. His condition gradually deteriorated and he developed mutism and became vegetative. The patient died from pneumonia 16 years after the onset of symptoms. Serial MRI scans showed progressive cortex atrophy, especially in the bilateral frontal and temporal lobes. Macroscopic inspection showed severe atrophy of the whole brain, including cerebrum, brainstem and cerebellum. Microscopic observations showed extensive superficial spongiosis and severe neuronal loss with gliosis in the second and third cortical layers in the frontal, temporal and parietal cortex. There were Pick cells and argyrophilic Pick bodies, which were tau‐ and ubiquitin‐positive in neurons of layers II–III of the above‐mentioned cortex. Numerous argyrophilic Pick bodies were observed in the hippocampus, especially in the dentate fascia. In addition, moderate to severe loss of neurons was found with gliosis and a lot of Gallyas/tau‐positive globus neurofibrillary tangles in the caudate nucleus, globus pallidus, thalamus, substantia nigra, locus coeruleus and dentate nucleus. Numerous thorned‐astrocytes and coiled bodies but no‐tuft shaped astrocytes were noted in the basal ganglion, brainstem and cerebellar white matter. In conclusion, these histopathological features were compatible with classical Pick’s disease and coexistence with progressive supranuclear palsy without tuft‐shaped astrocytes.     

Dopaminergic transmission in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus to produce acupuncture analgesia in correlation with the pituitary gland

Acupuncture analgesia (AA) caused by low frequency stimulation of the acupuncture point (AP) was abolished by hypophysectomy and adrenalectomy. Termination of the AA producing pathway from the AP to the pituitary gland was in the medial hypothalamic arcuate nucleus (M-HARN). The origin of the descending pain inhibitory system associated with AA was in the posterior HARN (P-HARN). AA in the hypophysectomized rats, and enhanced neuronal activity in the P-HARN that were abolished during acupuncture stimulation, were both restored by intraperitoneal microinjection of 0.5 mg/kg morphine or 0.1 micrograms beta-endorphin into the P-HARN during acupuncture stimulation. Of the analgesia produced by dopamine or beta-endorphin injected into the P-HARN, that caused by beta-endorphin disappeared after denervation of the M-HARN. The P-HARN neurons that responded to acupuncture stimulation also responded to iontophoretic dopamine, but not to iontophoretic morphine nor ultramicroinjected beta-endorphin. The transmission between the M-HARN and P-HARN may be dopaminergic, and beta-endorphin might presynaptically modulate this transmission. Reduction of sodium ions may have been the reason for abolition of AA after adrenalectomy.     

Treatment of ulcerative colitis by traditional Chinese medicine and dynamic study of immune functions

The effect of the traditional Chinese medicinal herbs enema and enteric-coated capsules in the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC) were compared in 260 cases. The immune complexes and the dynamic change of autoantibodies were monitored in 28 out of the 260 cases before and after treatment. The following results were observed. (1) There was no significant difference in the total effective rate between the enema group and the oral capsule group (93.3% and 87.5% respectively), but the recovery rates of purulent hemafecia, mucusfecia and erosion accompanying colitis, etc. in the former group were higher than those in the latter (P less than 0.01). (2) The circulating immune complexes were found 43 times above the normal range in 17 cases with positive rate 60.7%, and tended to decrease as the condition became better after treatment. Antinuclear antibodies were determined by the indirect fluorescent immune method and the indirect enzyme labelling method and the positive rates were 53.6% and 64.7% respectively, both being much higher than those in the controls (P less than 0.01).     

Association between cord blood IgE and genetic polymorphisms of interleukin-4, the β-subunit of the high-affinity receptor for IgE, lymphotoxin-α, and tumor Necrosis factor-α

High cord blood immunoglobulin E (cbIgE) is known to be associated with increased risks of atopic diseases in childhood. The relationship between genetic polymorphisms and high cbIgE has not been well documented. A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the association between cbIgE and genetic polymorphisms of interleukin (IL)-4 -590C/T, the beta-subunit of the high-affinity receptor for IgE (FcepsilonRI-beta) E237G, lymphotoxin (LT)-alphaNcoI alleles, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha -308G/A. A total of 320 mother-neonate pairs were recruited from four maternity hospitals from different locations of Taiwan. Cord blood was obtained and assayed for cbIgE. Polymerase chain reaction followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism was used to assess the genotypes. Three hundred pairs of mothers and neonates were included in the final analysis. Infants with IL-4 -590 C allele were found to have higher risk of elevated cbIgE (> or =0.35 IU/ml, 24.3%) (p = 0.004). After adjusting for gender, birth order, maternal age, and history of allergic disease in maternal and paternal families, odds ratios for CC and CT genotypes were 4.41 and 3.16 (95% confidence interval 0.78-22.67, and 1.66-6.13), respectively, using TT genotype as reference. The genotypes of FcepsilonRI-beta, LT-alpha, and TNF-alpha were not associated with cbIgE before or after the adjustment. Our finding suggested a significant association of cbIgE with genetic polymorphism of IL-4 -590C/T, but not with the genotypes of FcepsilonRI-beta, LT-alpha, and TNF-alpha.     

美国OHMEDA麻醉机故障分析与排除

故障1故障现象:病人呼吸回路漏气。可能原因:1.手控时APL阀未关闭,2.钠石灰罐安装不严密,3.螺纹管损坏或接头松动,4.活瓣罩未拧紧,5.手动/自动转换开关失灵。解决方法:1.关闭半紧闭APL阀,2.重新安装半紧闭APL阀,3.更换新管或重新安装管路,4.重新拧紧活瓣罩。故障2故障现象:呼气     

雷公藤内酯对人胃癌细胞株FGC_(85)杀伤作用的光镜和电镜观察

本文应用核苷掺入技术及电镜观察首次证实雷公藤内酯对人胃癌细胞株 FGC_(85)的杀伤作用。用药早期,细胞数,分裂指数及 DNA,RNA 合成无明显变化,但出现核仁脱粒及核仁破碎等变化;晚期,电镜观察发现细胞以凋落方式死亡,药物主要作用于间期细胞,其杀伤机构的始动环节可能与核酸代谢障碍无关。     

Clinicopathological features of bladder cancer associated with chronic exposure to arsenic.

A high incidence of bladder cancer has been documented in an area of chronic arsenic (As) exposure. This study investigates the characteristics of As-associated (n = 49) and other (n = 64) bladder cancers. A higher histological grading was observed for the As-exposed tumours (P = 0.04), but no other difference in pathobiological features or prognosis was found between the two groups.