维甲酸和联合应用神经营养因子对新生大鼠神经干细胞分化的影响

目的研究全反式维甲酸（ATRA）及联合应用神经营养因子（BDNF，GDNF）对体外培养的神经干细胞（NSCs）分化的影响。方法取新生SD大鼠的前脑室下带（SVZ）区，按NSCs的常规培养方法分离、培养。用免疫细胞化学法鉴定巢蛋白（nestin）、微管相关蛋白-2（MAP-2）、胶质原纤维酸性蛋白（GFAP）的表达，以此来观察ATRA、BDNF、GDNF单独或联合应用对次代神经球细胞分化的作用。结果原代及次代神经球均显示nestin阳性，并可分化为MAP-2阳性神经元样细胞及GFAP阳性胶质细胞样细胞。1μmol／LATRA可促进NSCs分化为MAP-2阳性细胞的比例达（29．14±5．00）％，显著高于对照组的（7．19±1．21）％，差异有高度统计学意义（P〈0．001）。ATRA联合应用10ng／ml的BDNF或GDNF，与单独使用ATRA比较，并不显著提高NSCs分化为MAP-2阳性细胞的比例。结论ATRA可促进神经干细胞向神经元方向分化，ATRA联合应用BDNF或GDNF无明显的协同作用。     

Relations between age, metabolic control, disease adjustment and psychological aspects in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus

The relations between age, metabolic control, disease adjustment, and psychological factors in boys and girls with recently diagnosed insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) were studied. Older girls had significant higher postremission glycosylated haemoglobin A (Hb A_lc) levels ( p = 0.008). Girls with more hospitalizations had a lower developmental level ( p = 0.05), and had significantly more problems in the behavioural rating ( p = 0.05). Boys with more hospitalizations had a more external locus of control ( p = 0.01), more difficulties with disease adjustment, more emotional problems, and were also clinically assessed as having more behavioural problems. Boys showing more difficulties in psychological adjustment to the disease also had higher postremission Hb A_1clevels ( p = 0.02). Although Swedish children with IDDM of short disease duration do not differ from healthy children in important psychological aspects, older girls and a small group of problematic younger boys are at risk of developing metabolic imbalance after a short disease duration.     

Metabolic effects of growth hormone treatment: an early predictor of growth response?

Fourteen children receiving one year of recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) treatment underwent measurement of serial changes in body composition (measured by skinfold thickness, bioelectrical impedance, and H2(18)O dilution), resting energy expenditure (REE, estimated by ventilated hood indirect calorimetry), and total free living daily energy expenditure (TEE, measured by the doubly labelled water technique). Mean height velocity increased from 4.9 to 8.6 cm/year after six months of treatment. Fat free mass (FFM) increased more during the first six weeks (24.4 g/day) than from six to 26 weeks of treatment (6.8 g/day); fat mass decreased by 7.2 g/day and 1.1 g/day respectively. The six week increase in REE (kJ/day) was maintained after six months of treatment, though expressed per kilogram FFM (kJ/kgFFM/day), returned to pretreatment values by three months. Height velocity increases at six months correlated with six week changes in fat mass measured by skinfold thickness and REE, though use of this relationship to predict growth response in individuals is limited by the wide 95% prediction intervals. No significant changes in growth, body composition, or energy expenditure were observed between six and 12 months of treatment, in either patients who had initially responded well to treatment or those who were poor initial responders to treatment and who had their dose of rhGH doubled after six months.     

HIV-1tat induced apoptosis of T-cells is not mediated by TGF-β

Recent reports have demonstrated that the HIV-1 transactivator protein,tat, induces apoptosis in T-lymphocyte cell lines, as well as in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, and stimulates a cascade of events resulting in up-regulation of the potent immunosuppressive cytokine, transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β). In this study we evaluated the ability of TGF-β to mediatetat induced apoptosis in T-lymphocyte cell lines. T-cells treated exogenously with either TGF-β1 or a combination of tat and pan-specific TGF-β neutralizing antibodies showed little change in the amount of apoptosis. When treated with pan-specific TGF-β neutralizing antibodies, Jurkat cells that stably expresstat protein (Jurkat-tat) showed only a modest decrease in apoptosis, while CEM-TART cells (CEM T-cells expressing both HIV-1tat andrev) demonstrated little change in the amount of apoptosis. In conclusion, we have demonstrated that TGF-β does not play a significant role in mediatingtat induced T-cell apoptosis.     

Clinical laboratory data in psychiatric outpatients

While concurrent medical conditions have been shown to be more prevalent among psychiatric patients than among the general population, the authors found no previous studies documenting the frequencies of abnormal clinical laboratory tests in groups of stabilized psychiatric patients. They report the yield of abnormal laboratory findings gathered prospectively from a sample of 205 patients regularly seen in an outpatient clinic.     

Maternal Physical Activity in Pregnancy and Infant Size for Gestational Age

PURPOSE: To estimate the effect of several types of maternal physical activity in pregnancy on size for gestational age and length of gestation.

METHODS: Telephone interviews, birth certificates, and medical records provided data on physical activity and other factors for a random sample of 291 Colorado residents. Backward polychotomous logistic regression modeling yielded estimates of the odds ratios for size for gestational age (appropriate versus small or large) and length of gestation (term versus pre-term or post-term) in relation to second and third trimester maternal physical activity.

RESULTS: Performance of any moderate or vigorous physical activity for two hours per week or more in any month was associated with a decreased risk of large infant size for gestational age (LGA; odds ratio = 0.3, 95% confidence interval = 0.2, 0.7), but had no significant effect on risk of small infant size for gestational age (SGA; odds ratio (OR) = 0.8, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.3, 2.3). Length of gestation was not affected by prenatal physical activity.

CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that prenatal physical activity may decrease risk of LGA, as might be expected given its salutary effects on glucose tolerance.