Electrophysiological studies of brain plasticity of the motor system

Neurological Sciences - Brain plasticity, intended as the pattern of functional and structural changes in responses to environmental physiological or pathological events, is underlined by several...     

平阳霉素及糖皮质激素与激光联合治疗儿童颌面部血管瘤

目的探讨和评价平阳霉素及糖皮质激素与激光联合应用治疗儿童颌面部血管瘤的疗效。方法自2002年3月至2005年2月,采用平阳霉素及糖皮质激素与激光联合治疗儿童颌面部血管瘤78例,瘤体面积0.4cm×0.8cm~5.0cm×8.0cm。7~10d注射一次平阳霉素配制液,剂量为0.5mg/kg,3~5次为一个疗程,一个疗程的总量不超过40mg;小于6岁的患儿配合口服强地松;最后联合可调脉宽倍频ND:YAG激光治疗。结果治疗后经6个月至3年的随访,治愈和基本治愈率88.46%,有效率100%。结论平阳霉素及糖皮质激素与激光联合应用治疗儿童颌面部血管瘤是一种安全、有效、易行的治疗方法。     

Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans: a population-based cancer registry descriptive study of 66 consecutive cases diagnosed between 1982 and 2002

BACKGROUND: Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) is a rare malignant tumour of the skin, with an estimated incidence of 0.8 to five cases per 1 million people per year. OBJECTIVE: To study epidemiological, immunohistochemical and clinical features, delay in diagnosis, type of treatment and outcome of DFSP from 1982 to 2002. METHODS: Using data from the population-based cancer registry, 66 patients with pathologically proved DFSP were included (fibrosarcomatous DFSP were excluded). Each patient lived in one of the four departments of Franche-Comté (overall population of 1 million people) at the time of diagnosis. The main data sources came from public and private pathology laboratories and medical records. The rules of the International Agency for Research on Cancer were applied. RESULTS: The estimated incidence of DFSP in Franche-Comté was about three new cases per 1 million people per year. Male patients were affected 1.2 times as often as female patients were. The trunk (45%) followed by the proximal extremities (38%) were the most frequent locations. DFSP occurred mainly in young adults between 20 and 39 years of age. Mean age at diagnosis was 43 years, and the mean delay in diagnosis was 10.08 years. Our 66 patients initially underwent a radical local excision. Among them, 27% experienced one or more local recurrences during 9.6 years of follow-up. There was one regional lymph node recurrence without visceral metastases. These recurrences were significantly related to the initial peripheral resection margins. We observed a local recurrence rate of 47% for margins less than 3 cm, vs. only 7% for margins ranging from 3 to 5 cm [P=0.004; OR=0.229 (95%, CI=0.103-0.510)]. The mean time to a first local recurrence was 2.65 years. Nevertheless, there was no death due to the DFSP course at the end of the follow-up, and the final outcome was favourable. CONCLUSION: Our study emphasizes the importance of wide local excision with margins of at least 3 cm in order to prevent local recurrence. However, the recent development of inhibitors of signal transduction by the PDGFB pathway should soon modify the surgical strategy, which is often too mutilating.     

Subclinical course of adult visceral Niemann–Pick type C1 disease. A rare or underdiagnosed disorder?

Summary  We present the third case of Niemann–Pick disease type C without neurological symptoms. The patient was a 53-year-old woman without significant prior health problems who died of acute pulmonary embolism. Autopsy findings of hepatosplenomegaly, lymphadenopathy and ceroid-rich foam cells raised the suspicion of the visceral form of acid sphingomyelinase deficiency (Niemann–Pick disease type B; NPB) or a much rarer disorder, variant adult visceral form of Niemann–Pick disease type C (NPC). To verify the histopathological findings, SMPD1, NPC1 and NPC2 genes were analysed. Two novel sequence variants, c.1997G>A (S666N) and c.2882A>G (N961S) were detected in the NPC1 gene. No pathogenic sequence variants were found either in the SMPD1 gene mutated in NPB or in NPC2 gene. The pathogenicity of both NPC1 variants was supported by their location in regions important for the protein function. Both variations were not found in more than 300 control alleles. Identified sequence variations confirm the diagnosis of the extremely rare adult visceral form of Niemann–Pick disease type C, which is otherwise dominated by neurovisceral symptoms. Although only three patients have been reported, this (most probably underdiagnosed) form of NPC should be considered in differential diagnosis of isolated hepatosplenomegaly with foam cells in adulthood. Electronic supplementary material  Supplementary material is available for this article at     

Peripheral Vascular Complication from Coronary Angiography: a Case Report of Cholesterol Embolization

A 65-year-old man developed acute limb ischemia, severe abdominal wall and lower limb livedo reticularis following a coronary angiogram. The differential diagnoses of acute limb ischemia and multiple cholesterol emboli syndrome (MCES) are discussed. This work was performed at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, 270-05, 76^th Avenue, New Hyde Park, NY 11040.     

Light emitting diodes for auramine O fluorescence microscopic screening of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

We describe the simple adaptation of a standard fluorescent microscope for illumination using a 'Royal Blue' Luxeon light emitting diode (LED) and demonstrate that this form of illumination is suitable for the detection of auramine O stained Mycobacterium spp. The low cost, low power consumption, safety and reliability of LEDs makes them attractive alternatives to mercury vapour lamps.     

精神分裂症首次发病患者的磁共振弥散张量显像研究

目的探讨从未用过药的精神分裂症首次发病(以下简称首发)患者的重要白质及部分灰质区的磁共振弥散张量显像(DTI)的特点。方法选取9例首发精神分裂症患者(患者组)及9名年龄、性别、受教育程度与患者组相配对的健康者,应用DTI成像技术检测脑额颞交界处、内囊等白质区和颞中回灰质、中央前回、中央后回等灰质区的各向异性(FA)、表观扩散系数(ADC)及双侧海马体积。结果患者组及对照组组内左右两侧兴趣区FA值及ADC值的差异无统计学意义(P>0.05);患者组与对照组各感兴趣区FA值差异无统计学意义(P>0.05),但患者组颞中回灰质(8.655×10-9)、中央前回(7.816×10-9)、中央后回(7.855×10-9)ADC值高于对照组(分别为7.428×10-9,6.921×10-9,7.013×10-9;P=0.049,0.009,0.005);两组内及组间双侧海马体积比较,差异均无统计学意义(P>0.05)。结论首发精神分裂症患者与健康者DTI参数之间没有明显区别。