Exaggerated Blood Pressure Response to Exercise Is Not Associated With Masked Hypertension in Patients With High Normal Blood Pressure Levels

The association between exaggerated blood pressure (BP) response to exercise (ExBPR) and “masked hypertension” is unclear. Medical records of patients with high‐normal BP who were evaluated in the Chaim Sheba Screening Institute Ramat Gan, Israel, during the years 2002–2007 and referred for 24‐hour ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) and exercise test were reviewed. Data on exercise tests performed in the preceding 5 years were retrieved. Reproducible ExBPR was defined when it was recorded at least twice. BP levels on 24‐hour ABPM were compared between patients with a normal BP response and those with an ExBPR (systolic BP ≥200 mm Hg). Sixty‐nine normotensive patients with high normal BP levels were identified. ExBPR was recorded in 43 patients and was reproducible in 28. BP levels on 24‐hour ABPM were similar in patients with and without ExBPR. In patients with high‐normal BP levels, ExBPR is not associated with masked hypertension.     

EGF receptor family: twisting targets for improved cancer therapies

Abstract

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) undergoes a conformational change in response to ligand binding. The ligand-induced changes in cell surface aggregation and mobility have a profound effect on the function of all the family members. Ligand also activates the EGFR intracellular kinase, stimulating proliferation and cell survival. The EGFR family are often activated, overexpressed or mutated in cancer cells and therapeutic drugs (including antibodies) can slow the progress of some cancers. This article provides a brief, annotated summary of the presentations and discussion which occurred at the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor – Future Directions Conference held in Jerusalem in November 2013.     

A novel technique of detecting MRI‐negative lesion in focal symptomatic epilepsy: Intraoperative ShearWave Elastography

Focal symptomatic epilepsy is the most common form of epilepsy that can often be cured with surgery. A small proportion of patients with focal symptomatic epilepsy do not have identifiable lesions on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The most common pathology in this group is type II focal cortical dysplasia (FCD), which is a subtype of malformative brain lesion associated with medication‐resistant epilepsy. We present a patient with MRI‐negative focal symptomatic epilepsy who underwent invasive electrode recordings. At the time of surgery, a novel ultrasound‐based technique called ShearWave Elastography (SWE) was performed. A 0.5 cc lesion was demonstrated on SWE but was absent on B‐mode ultrasound and 3‐T MRI. Electroencephalography (EEG), positron emission tomography (PET), and magnetoencephalography (MEG) scans demonstrated an abnormality in the right frontal region. On the basis of this finding, a depth electrode was implanted into the lesion. Surgical resection and histology confirmed the lesion to be type IIb FCD. A PowerPoint slide summarizing this article is available for download in the Supporting Information section here .     

Engineering bone tissue from human embryonic stem cells

In extensive bone defects, tissue damage and hypoxia lead to cell death, resulting in slow and incomplete healing. Human embryonic stem cells (hESC) can give rise to all specialized lineages found in healthy bone and are therefore uniquely suited to aid regeneration of damaged bone. We show that the cultivation of hESC-derived mesenchymal progenitors on 3D osteoconductive scaffolds in bioreactors with medium perfusion leads to the formation of large and compact bone constructs. Notably, the implantation of engineered bone in immunodeficient mice for 8 wk resulted in the maintenance and maturation of bone matrix, without the formation of teratomas that is consistently observed when undifferentiated hESCs are implanted, alone or in bone scaffolds. Our study provides a proof of principle that tissue-engineering protocols can be successfully applied to hESC progenitors to grow bone grafts for use in basic and translational studies.     

Stronger left-hemisphere lateralization in older versus younger adults while processing conventional metaphors

Thirty younger (age 20–30) and 30 older (age 69–85) right-handed Hebrew speakers performed a semantic judgement task while processing literal word pairs and conventional metaphors, presented in the divided visual field paradigm. Older adults responded more accurately to conventional metaphors in the right visual field/left hemisphere versus the left visual field/right hemisphere, whereas younger adults showed no lateralization. Vocabulary scores cancelled group differences in lateralization. An additional lexical decision task replicated the main finding of left-hemisphere lateralization in older but not in younger participants. We suggest that accumulated knowledge increases left-hemisphere lateralization on tasks of language comprehension in older relative to younger adults.