Comparative Analysis of Cognitive Impairments in Lewy Body Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease

Neuropsychological studies of 50 patients with Lewy body dementia (LBD) and 50 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) were performed to assess the characteristics of the cognitive impairments in these diseases. In patients with dementias of similar severities, patients with LBD showed greater impairment of executive and visuospatial functions and had more marked neurodynamic dysfunction. Patients with AD showed more profound memory disorders. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Nevrologii i Psikhiatrii imeni S. S. Korsakova, Vol. 105, No. 1, pp. 20–24, January, 2005.     

Organization, expression and polymorphism of the human persyn gene

Persyn is a recently identified member of the synuclein family with a distinct pattern of expression during pre- and postnatal development of the mouse peripheral and central nervous systems. As with other synucleins, persyn is believed to be involved in the pathogenesis of human neurodegenerative diseases. However, in contrast to other synucleins, high levels of persyn mRNA expression were also found in advanced breast carcinomas, suggesting an involvement of the encoded protein in breast tumour progression. Here we have used an antibody specific to human persyn to demonstrate that the level of this protein is increased in ageing cerebral cortex and in breast tumours. We cloned, characterized and sequenced the human persyn genomic locus and localized it to the long arm of chromosome 10 in the q23.2-q23.3 region. Sequence information was used to search for specific mutations in the protein coding regions of persyn mRNA and the persyn gene in breast tumours and tumour cell lines. No tumour-specific mutations were found, but two linked polymorphisms in the coding region were detected, both in mRNA and exons III and IV of the gene. These results suggest that development of breast tumours correlates with overexpression of the wild-type persyn protein. Detailed characterization of the human persyn locus is important for further studies of the involvement of persyn in neurodegeneration and malignancy.      

内固定基础上应用骨形态发生蛋白人工骨与自体髂骨植骨治疗骨质疏松性髋骨折的效果比较

目的:比较采用骨形态发生蛋白人工骨植骨加骨折内固定与自体髂骨植入加骨折内固定治疗骨质疏松性转子间骨折的效果。方法:选择2003-10/2005-10桂林医学院附属医院骨科收治的Ⅲ、Ⅳ、V型骨质疏松性转子间骨折患者51例,均知情同意。实验分组:随机将病例分为2组,骨形态发生蛋白人工骨植入组26例,自体髂骨植入组25例。实验干预:采用股骨上段外侧切口,DHS或加防旋钉内固定,骨形态发生蛋白人工骨由处理后的牛松质骨与成品重组人骨形态发生蛋白2按一定比例复合而成,骨折固定后在骨折缺损处、内侧及骨折周围植骨,骨形态发生蛋白人工骨组采用骨形态发生蛋白人工骨植入,自体髂骨组取自体髂骨植入。实验评估:术后定期随访,比较二组患者的基本情况、临床效果和影像学结果(骨折愈合情况和颈干角的变化)。随访时关节功能评定参照采用黄公怡等提出的标准,分为优、良、可、差4级。髋内翻分类标准为颈干角<100°。结果:术后随访1年,51例患者全部进入结果分析。①术后X射线片观察:骨形态发生蛋白人工骨组临床愈合时间短于自体髂骨组[(94.50±22.45),(116.96±15.90)d,P<0.01];骨形态发生蛋白人工骨组术后1年颈干角大于自体髂骨组[(127.19±3.23)°,(120.4±5.22)°,P<0.01]。②髋关节功能及不良事件和副反应:骨形态发生蛋白人工骨组术后以1年髋关节功能优良率优于自体髂骨组(P<0.05);骨形态发生蛋白人工骨组髋内翻、下肢短缩(>2cm)的发生率均低于自体髂骨组[髋内翻(n):4,7;下肢短缩(n):3,5,P均<0.01];钉退出二组差异均无显著性意义(P>0.05)。结论:伴有骨质疏松的转子间骨折患者,采用骨形态发生蛋白人工骨植骨优于自体髂骨植骨,可缩短骨折愈合期,减少髋内翻等并发症的发生率,提高术后髋关节功能优良率,提示骨形态发生蛋白人工骨能替代自体髂骨植骨治疗骨质疏松性转子间骨折。     

Should prophylactic antibiotics be used routinely in epistaxis patients with nasal packs?

Introduction

The current mainstream practice in otolaryngology departments relating to the use of prophylactic antibiotics in epistaxis patients requiring nasal packing is highly variable. This is due primarily to the lack of any validated guidelines. As such, we introduced a new treatment algorithm resulting in significant reduction of use in the systemic antibiotics, with emphasis instead on the use of topical antibiotics. The results were validated through a complete audit cycle.

Methods

A total of 57 patients undergoing nasal packing for spontaneous epistaxis were studied. Reaudit occurred after the implementation of new guidelines. Telephone surveys were conducted six weeks after hospital discharge, assessing infective nasal symptoms as well as rebleeding and readmission rates.

Results

Systemic antibiotic prescribing in anterior nasal packing fell by 58.2% between audit cycles with no statistically significant associated increase in infective nasal symptoms, rebleeding or readmission rates six weeks following hospital discharge.

Conclusions

Systemic prophylactic antibiotics are unnecessary in the majority of epistaxis patients with nasal packs. The use of topical antibiotics such as Naseptin^® may be more appropriate, cheaper and as effective. Implementation of this treatment algorithm will help standardise systemic antibiotic usage in epistaxis patients with nasal packing and should reduce costs associated with unnecessary use of such medication.     

Primary spinal extradural hydatid cyst causing spinal cord compression

Primary spinal hydatid disease is rare and represents an uncommon but significant manifestation of hydatid disease. We report a case of primary intraspinal extradural hydatid cyst of the thoracic region causing spinal cord compression. The presenting symptoms were mostly atypical and the diagnosis was established preoperatively on the basis of magnetic resonance imaging. The patient underwent surgery resulting in complete recovery and is recurrence-free after 24 months follow-up.     

Serial lung scintigraphy: utility in diagnosis of pulmonary embolism

Pairs of sequential perfusion lung scans and pulmonary angiograms obtained in 45 patients were reviewed to investigate the utility of short-term, sequential scintigraphy in the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism (PE). Forty-six sequential scan pairs were reviewed; 13 were ventilation-perfusion (V-P) pairs. Angiograms were obtained within 48 hours of either the first (65%) or second (35%) perfusion scan in each pair. Sequential scintigraphic patterns were classified as showing change (i.e., improvement in defects, new defects), no change, or as being indeterminate. A changing perfusion pattern was associated with a high (20/23) likelihood of PE, but seven of 16 patients with stable perfusion patterns also had PE. The sensitivity of a changing perfusion pattern for PE was 0.74 (20/27) and its specificity was 0.75 (9/12). In two of six patients who had serial V-P studies that showed changing perfusion defects, there were matched changes in regional ventilation and angiograms were negative. The findings suggest that short-term serial perfusion lung scanning may aid the scintigraphic diagnosis of PE in certain circumstances. Serial V-P imaging is needed, however, to maximize diagnostic specificity.     

Influenza in the USSR in 1977: recurrence of influenzavirus A subtype H1N1.

Early in November 1977, several outbreaks of influenza were reported in the far eastern region of the USSR. The epidemic spread rapidly throughout the country affecting mainly people under the age of 20 years. Most of the strains of virus isolated were found to be influenza A subtype H1N1. The serological characterization of the strains is described in this paper.     

Thrombin binding and response in platelets from patients with dyslipoproteinemias: increased stimulus-response coupling in type II hyperlipoproteinemia

Platelets were obtained from patients with various hyperlipidemias [type II, type V, lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) deficiency] and hypolipidemias (abetalipoproteinemia, Tangier disease) to ascertain relationships among plasma lipids, platelet lipids, thrombin binding and thrombin-induced platelet aggregation, and to compare these data with those previously obtained on stimulus-response coupling in platelets following in vitro modification of membrane microviscosity. Washed platelets were studied for their ability to bind 125I-thrombin in the range of 10(-10) to 10(-6) mol/L (10 mU/mL to 100 U/mL) and to aggregate with thrombin at concentrations less than 10(-9) mol/L (100 mU/mL). The values for binding and aggregation in eight patients from six kindred with familial hypercholesterolemia, taken as a group, fell in the low normal range. If divided into two groups, patients with overt cardiovascular disease bound normal amounts of thrombin but were more responsive to it, whereas patients without overt cardiovascular disease bound lower amounts of thrombin but gave an aggregation response in the normal range. These results suggest that platelet hyperresponsiveness in familial hypercholesterolemia arises from an alteration in the coupling mechanism between thrombin binding and response such that platelets from patients with familial hypercholesterolemia are able to respond with lower receptor occupancy than is the case with normal platelets. Thrombin binding and aggregation were within normal ranges for platelets from abetalipoproteinemia patients (N = 4) and type V hyperlipoproteinemia (N = 2), although in the latter case the response appeared to be less at very low thrombin concentrations (less than 30 mU/mL). Thrombin binding was elevated in Tangier disease (N = 3) but with lower responsiveness at lower thrombin concentrations. Thrombin binding was also elevated in LCAT deficiency (N = 2), and one patient showed increased and another showed decreased aggregation responses. In general, increased plasma cholesterol levels resulted in increased stimulus-response coupling (type II), whereas increased triglyceride levels resulted in decreased coupling (type V, Tangier), and there was no apparent alteration in the coupling mechanism with overall reduction in plasma lipid levels as in abetalipoproteinemia.