Life saving carotid artery stenting in Takayasu arteritis

We present two patients who had high grade unilateral carotid artery stenosis and controlateral carotid artery occlusion secondary to active stage of Takayasu arteritis. The patients were presented with hemiplegia and history of transient ischemic attacks and visual disturbances. Despite the administration of high dose systemic corticosteroids, both patients deteriorated clinically and surgery was not preferred. Angiogram of the first patient revealed the occlusion of the right common carotid, right subclavian and left subclavian artery and high grade stenosis (>95%) of the left common carotid and right vertebral artery. These two stenotic arteries were stented. Angiogram of the second patient revealed the occlusion of the left common carotid and subclavian artery and high grade stenosis (>90%) of the right common carotid artery. PTA + stenting of the right carotid artery was performed. There were no complications during a follow-up period of 10.5±7 months and control angiograms revealed that all stented vessels were free of restenosis. In conclusion, stent-supported PTA to carotid arteries provides immediate symptomatic relief for patients in the active phase of the disease. Its efficacy in the long term should be investigated.     

Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty of transplant renal artery stenosis

Renal artery stenosis after renal transplant is a dreaded complication. We report two cases of post-renal transplant stenosis in internal iliac artery used for end-to-end anastomosis with the graft renal artery. Both patients were successfully treated by percutaneous transluminal angioplasty with stenting of the internal iliac artery.     

Parkin cooperates with GDNF/RET signaling to prevent dopaminergic neuron degeneration

Parkin and the glial cell line–derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) receptor RET have both been independently linked to the dopaminergic neuron degeneration that underlies Parkinson’s disease (PD). In the present study, we demonstrate that there is genetic crosstalk between parkin and the receptor tyrosine kinase RET in two different mouse models of PD. Mice lacking both parkin and RET exhibited accelerated dopaminergic cell and axonal loss compared with parkin-deficient animals, which showed none, and RET-deficient mice, in which we found moderate degeneration. Transgenic expression of parkin protected the dopaminergic systems of aged RET-deficient mice. Downregulation of either parkin or RET in neuronal cells impaired mitochondrial function and morphology. Parkin expression restored mitochondrial function in GDNF/RET-deficient cells, while GDNF stimulation rescued mitochondrial defects in parkin-deficient cells. In both cases, improved mitochondrial function was the result of activation of the prosurvival NF-κB pathway, which was mediated by RET through the phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3K) pathway. Taken together, these observations indicate that parkin and the RET signaling cascade converge to control mitochondrial integrity and thereby properly maintain substantia nigra pars compacta dopaminergic neurons and their innervation in the striatum. The demonstration of crosstalk between parkin and RET highlights the interplay in the protein network that is altered in PD and suggests potential therapeutic targets and strategies to treat PD.     

Sleeping with the enemy: the United Nations Development Programme and its position on the non‐communicable disease epidemic

The United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) position on non‐communicable diseases (NCDs) is undermined by a key issue at the global institutional level. Fundamentally, the nature of the relationship between international development agencies and the tobacco industry is at odds with the professed public health priorities of the former. At its core, the business model of the tobacco industry is premised on the sale of addictive and disease‐causing substances that fuel NCDs in the first place. The role of the United Nations system and, in particular, UNDP is to ‘build nations that can withstand crisis’, not to collaborate with entities that profit from crises. This simple and well‐established fact cannot be overlooked. We outline an array of conflict of interests. If the effects of NCDs are ever to be reversed, then international agencies such as the UNDP ought to adhere to ethical standards in choosing partners and avoid conflict of interests. In the absence of this, the UNDP may well compromise its own agenda and proliferate NCDs rather than containing them.