Survival of cancer patients treated with mistletoe extract (Iscador): a systematic literature review

Background  

In Europe, extracts from Viscum album (VA-E), the European white-berry mistletoe, are widely used to treat patients with cancer.     

Monozygotic Twins with Rett Syndrome: Phenotyping the First Two Years of Life

The first 2 years of life for children with Rett syndrome (RTT) have previously been viewed as relatively asymptomatic. However, it is possible that subtle symptoms may be present in early development. To identify possible early indicators of RTT, we analysed videotapes of two twin girls with RTT. The videotapes were analysed to (a) describe the motor and communicative development of this twin pair with RTT; and to (b) explore whether early abnormalities and their age of onset differed between the twins and were related to their later clinical phenotypes. The results indicated several neurodevelopmental abnormalities present before the children exhibited any obvious signs of regression. Abnormalities were evident in the motor, speech-language and communicative domains. These data support an emerging evidence base showing the presence of developmental abnormalities in children with RTT during the first year of life. The results have implications for early screening and clinical assessment.     

Memantine Effects on Verbal Memory in Fragile X-associated Tremor/Ataxia Syndrome (FXTAS): a Double-Blind Brain Potential Study

Older FMR1 premutation carriers may develop fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS), a neurodegenerative disorder manifesting cognitive deficits that often subsequently progress to dementia. To date, there is no specific treatment available for FXTAS. Studies have demonstrated the premutation-associated overactivation of glutamatergic receptors in neurons. Memantine, a NMDA receptor antagonist approved for treatment of Alzheimer''s disease, thus was tested in the first placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized clinical trial in FXTAS. Prior event-related brain potential (ERP) studies in FXTAS found reduced N400 repetition effect, a glutamate-related electrophysiological marker of semantic priming, and verbal memory processes. This substudy of the randomized clinical trial of memantine in FXTAS sought to use the N400 repetition effect to evaluate effects of chronic memantine treatment on verbal memory. Subsequent recall and recognition memory tests for the experimental stimuli were administered to characterize verbal memory. Data from 41 patients who completed the 1-year memantine trial (21 on memantine) and also completed longitudinal ERP studies were analyzed. Results showed treatment-associated benefits on both cued-recall memory and N400 repetition effect amplitude. Importantly, improvement in cued recall was positively correlated with amplitude increase of the N400 repetition effect. The placebo group, in contrast, displayed a significant reduction of the N400 repetition effect after 1 year. These results suggest that memantine treatment may have beneficial effects on verbal memory in FXTAS. Additional studies of memantine, perhaps in combination with other therapeutic agents, appear warranted, as symptomatic treatments and neuroprotective treatments are both needed for this recently recognized neurodegenerative disorder.     

Cytogenetics of malignant lymphomas

Conclusion Our knowledge about the correlation between cytogenetic, histopathological and immunological data in malignant lymphomas increased tremendously during the last few years. Even the diagnostic and prognostic value of these studies has been appreciated and can now be applied to therapy planning. Moreover, it should be mentioned that the correlation of cytogenetic and molecular genetic data led to an enormous increment in our understanding of the genesis and evolution of malignant lymphomas. Whether this knowledge will help to design new therapeutic approaches will be shown in the near future.