A stereotypic "elbowing" movement, a possible new primitive reflex in newborns

The primitive reflexes are brainstem-mediated and play various roles in the child's psychomotor development. The objective of the current study is to describe a new pattern of primitive reflex, noticed in 52 of 81 randomly chosen newborns and young infants during pressing of the subcostal region. Some of them reacted by three-phase stereotypic movement as follows: phase 1: quick adduction of upper arm with flexion of the forearm, with elbow directed toward the site of stimuli, touching the stimulated area; phase 2: abduction and retroflexion of upper arm with the movement of removing the stimulus with the elbow; phase 3: extension and pronation of the forearm. The prevalence of this newly described reflex was 64.2%. The incidence of all three phases together was highest at Day 16 (63.5%); phase 1 was the most frequent at Day 30 (88.5%) in 52 children with positive reflex. At Day 86, only 18.4% of them retained the first phase of the movement and 2% retained the third phase. All reflexes appeared until Day 30. We believe that we have described a new primitive reflex, with all characteristics essential for primitive reflexes. It is definitely involuntary, complex, stereotypic, with decreased incidence over time. Because of the defensive purpose and peculiar manner of this reflex, we named it the "elbowing reflex."     

Loss of cables, a cyclin-dependent kinase regulatory protein, is associated with the development of endometrial hyperplasia and endometrial cancer

Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecological cancer in Western industrialized countries. Cables, a cyclin-dependent kinase binding protein, plays a role in proliferation and/or differentiation. Cables mutant mice are viable, but develop endometrial hyperplasia and carcinoma in situ at a young age. Exposure to chronic low levels of estrogen results in development of endometrial cancer, similar to that observed in the postmenopausal female. In vitro and in vivo studies demonstrate that levels of Cables mRNA in benign human endometrial epithelium are up-regulated by progesterone and down-regulated by estrogen. Furthermore, nuclear immunostaining for Cables is lost in a high percentage of cases of human endometrial hyperplasia and adenocarcinoma, which are likely the product of unopposed estrogen. The loss of Cables immunostaining in the human endometrial cancer samples correlates with a marked decrease in Cables mRNA. Ectopic expression of Cables in human endometrial cells dramatically slows cell proliferation. Collectively, these data provide evidence that Cables is hormonally regulated and is involved in regulating endometrial cell proliferation. In addition, loss or suppression of Cables may be an early step in the development of endometrial cancer.     

Review of the immunosuppressant enteric-coated mycophenolate sodium

Enteric-coated mycophenolate sodium (EC-MPS; myfortic, Novartis Pharma AG) is an advanced formulation delivering mycophenolic acid (MPA). EC-MPS was designed to improve MPA-related upper gastrointestinal adverse events by delaying the release of MPA until reaching the small intestine. At a dose of 720 mg, EC-MPS exhibits equivalent MPA exposure (area under the concentration curve [AUC]) and maximal MPA concentration (C(max)) to mycophenolate mofetil (MMF; CellCept, Roche AG) 1000 mg. The time to maximal MPA concentration (T(max)) for EC-MPS is delayed relative to that for MMF, consistent with a functioning enteric coating. EC-MPS 720 mg b.i.d. has demonstrated therapeutic equivalence to MMF 1000 mg b.i.d. in renal transplant patients. Recent clinical trials have demonstrated that EC-MPS is as effective and safe as MMF in both de novo and maintenance renal transplant patients. Furthermore, studies have confirmed that maintenance patients can be safely converted from MMF to EC-MPS with no compromise of efficacy or safety. EC-MPS therefore presents physicians and patients with a valid alternative MPA therapy with a comparable efficacy and safety profile to MMF.     

Combination photoimmunotherapy and cisplatin: effects on human ovarian cancer ex vivo.

BACKGROUND: Patients with ovarian cancer that is clinically resistant to cisplatin-based chemotherapy have little hope of a cure of their disease. Photoimmunotherapy, which involves the antibody-targeted delivery of a nontoxic photosensitizer that is activated to a cytotoxic state with visible light, may offer a new treatment option. Photoimmunotherapy may be applied intraperitoneally to target disseminated tumor. We tested the hypothesis that this treatment in combination with cisplatin potentiates cytotoxicity in ovarian cancer cell lines and primary cultures of human tumors. METHODS: Five human cancer cell lines (ovarian and breast) and 19 primary cultures were studied. The primary cultures were from solid and ascites tumor samples obtained from 14 patients with ovarian cancer who were undergoing primary surgery. The photosensitizer chlorin e(6) was conjugated to the F(ab')(2) fragment of the murine monoclonal antibody OC-125, which is directed against the antigen CA 125. Cytotoxicity was measured by the microculture tetrazolium assay. Treatments consisted of cisplatin alone, photoimmunotherapy alone, and photoimmunotherapy followed by cisplatin. The fractional product method was used to assess synergy in treatment effects. Ex vivo cultured human cells exhibiting 80% or greater survival at cisplatin concentrations of 10 microM for 24 hours were defined as cisplatin resistant for this study. RESULTS: When all cell types (cisplatin sensitive and cisplatin resistant) were considered together, combination treatment yielded cytotoxicity that was, on average, 6.9 times (95% confidence interval = 1.86-11.94) greater than that of cisplatin alone (two-sided P =.023). Cisplatin-resistant cells showed a synergistic effect of the two treatments (two-sided P =.044), while cisplatin-sensitive cells showed an additive effect. CONCLUSION: These ex vivo data suggest that platinum resistance in human ovarian cancer cells may be reversible by pretreatment with OC-125-targeted photoimmunotherapy. Further studies are required to confirm the efficacy of this approach in vivo.     

Risikoadaptierte Therapien bei der systemischen Sklerose

Systemic sclerosis is a challenging disease in terms of early risk assessment and the implications for therapy. The current article draws on a literature analysis and on personal experience of over 450 patients with systemic sclerosis and related illnesses, describing an attempt at a risk-adapted treatment strategy for patients with systemic sclerosis, and is intended to be used as a discussion paper. A major point of emphasis is on novel therapeutic options for patients who are refractory to current treatment strategies and who are at a high risk of serious complications or a limited prognosis. The paper also highlights possible future treatment options, including vasoactive, cellular and immune suppressant treatments.