Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells transplantation promotes the release of endogenous erythropoietin after ischemic stroke

This study investigated whether bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell(BMSC) transplantation protected ischemic cerebral injury by stimulating endogenous erythropoietin. The model of ischemic stroke was established in rats through transient middle cerebral artery occlusion. Twenty-four hours later, 1 × 106 human BMSCs(h BMSCs) were injected into the tail vein. Fourteen days later, we found that h BMSCs promoted the release of endogenous erythropoietin in the ischemic region of rats. Simultaneously, 3 μg/d soluble erythropoietin receptor(s EPOR) was injected into the lateral ventricle, and on the next 13 consecutive days. s EPOR blocked the release of endogenous erythropoietin. The neurogenesis in the subventricular zone was less in the h BMSCs + s EPOR group than in the h BMSCs + heat-denatured s EPOR group. The adhesive-removal test result and the modified Neurological Severity Scores(m NSS) were lower in the h BMSCs + s EPOR group than in the heat-denatured s EPOR group. The adhesive-removal test result and m NSS were similar between the h BMSCs + heat-denatured s EPOR group and the h BMSCs + s EPOR group. These findings confirm that BMSCs contribute to neurogenesis and improve neurological function by promoting the release of endogenous erythropoietin following ischemic stroke.     

What Should Be Considered to Cause the Early Post-Craniotomy Seizure: Antibiotics (Cefazolin) Irrigation

Objective

Post-craniotomy seizure (PCS) is reported only rarely. However, our department noted a 433% increase in PCS for a year beginning September 2010, especially after cerebrovascular surgery. Our goal was to identify the cause of our unusual outbreak of PCS.

Methods

For almost one year after September 2010, cases of PCS increased significantly in our department. We analyzed 973 patients who had received a major craniotomy between January 2009 and November 2011. We included seizures that occurred only in the first 24 postoperative hours, which we defined as early PCS. After verifying the presence of PCS, we analyzed multiple seizure-provoking factors and their relation to the duration and character of seizure activity.

Results

Overall PCS incidence was 7.2% (70/973). Cefazolin (2 g/L saline) was the antibiotic drug used for intraoperative irrigation in 88.4% of the operations, and no PCS occurred without intraoperative cefazolin irrigation. When analyzed by operation type, clipping surgery for unruptured aneurysms was the most frequently associated with PCS (80%). Using logistic regression, only 2 g cefazolin intraoperative irrigation (p=0.024) and unruptured aneurysm clipping surgery (p<0.001) were associated with early PCS. The seizure rate of unruptured aneurysm clipping surgery using 2 g cefazolin intraoperative irrigation was 32.9%.

Conclusion

Intraoperative cefazolin irrigation must be avoided in patients undergoing craniotomy, especially for clipping of unruptured aneurysms, because of the increased risk of early PCS.     

Association of Hair Manganese Level with Symptoms in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Objective

The study examined the association between hair manganese level and symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in Korean children.

Methods

Forty clinic-referred children with ADHD and 43 normal control children participated in this study. The participants were 6-15 years old and were mainly from the urban area of Seoul, Korea. ADHD was diagnosed using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition and Kiddie-Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia-Present and Lifetime Version-Korean Version. The severity and symptoms of ADHD was evaluated according to the ADHD Diagnostic System, and parent''s Korean ADHD Rating Scale (K-ARS). All participants completed intelligence test and hair mineral analysis. We divided the data of hair Mn into two groups to determine whether a deficit or excess of Mn are associated with ADHD. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to identify hair manganese levels associated with ADHD, controlling for age, sex, and full scale intelligence quotient (IQ).

Results

The proportion of abnormal range Mn group was significantly high in ADHD compared to controls. However, after statistical control for covariates including age and sex, abnormal range Mn group was significantly associated with ADHD (OR=6.40, 95% CI=1.39-29.41, p=0.017).

Conclusion

The result of this study suggests that excess exposure or deficiency of Mn were associated with ADHD among children in Korea. Further investigation is needed to evaluate the effects of hair manganese levels on symptoms in ADHD.     

The Need for a Coagulation Assay after Initiation of New Oral Anticoagulants in Patients with Renal Dysfunction: A Case Report

Background

Dabigatran etexilate, a new oral anticoagulant, was recently approved as an efficacious alternative to warfarin for the prevention of first and recurrent stroke in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. Limited data are available for dabigatran use in patients with a creatinine clearance rate (CrCL) of 15-30 mL/min. Furthermore, current guidelines do not recommend frequent blood monitoring after dabigatran use. We report herein a patient with severe renal dysfunction who exhibited profound coagulopathy after 2 days of dabigatran use.

Case Report

An 87-year-old woman was admitted for altered mental status and left-side weakness. She was diagnosed with right middle cerebral artery infarction. The baseline assessment revealed a serum creatinine concentration of 1.29 mg/dL and a CrCL of 27.2 mL/min. Dabigatran therapy was started 5 weeks after admission at a dosage of 110 mg twice daily. After 2 days of dabigatran use, the patient developed multiple bruises and evidence of upper-gastrointestinal bleeding. Laboratory tests demonstrated a severe coagulopathy, with a prothrombin time of 85.9 sec, an international normalized ratio of 11.36, an activated partial thromboplastin time of 119.2 sec, and a thrombin time of 230.8 sec. Serial assessment of the patient''s renal function revealed substantial fluctuation of the CrCL (range, 17.9-26.5 mL/min).

Conclusions

The present case emphasizes the need for frequent checking of renal function and assessment using coagulation assays after commencing dabigatran therapy in patients with moderate-to-severe renal impairment.     

人重组载脂蛋白E在大肠杆菌中的表达和纯化

用含有载脂蛋白EcDNA的PET32a原核表达载体转化大肠杆菌BL21（DE3），使之高效表达载脂蛋白E-thioredoxin融合蛋白，利用融合蛋白上的一段组氨酸序列，用镍离子亲合层析柱进行分离纯化。由于在载脂蛋白E和thioredoxin之间存在凝血酶的识别位点，用凝血酶消化后，经SephacrylS-300凝胶过滤得到人重组载脂蛋白E。用此方法可以从1L大肠杆菌培养液中纯化20-30mg高纯度的各种载脂蛋白E异构体和非自然存原突变体。方法简便，产量高，纯度达95%以上。     

Two cases of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, manifested as solid pseudopapillary tumor and intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm]

Compared with other types of cancers, pancreatic cancer is one of the most dreadful malignancies and is fifth leading cause of cancer-related death in Korea. It is difficult to expect early diagnosis or improvement in prognosis due to lack of specific early symptoms and effective diagnostic methods. Whereas cystic neoplasm of the pancreas is a rare type of pancreatic tumor, surgical resection provides good prognosis because of its low possibility of local invasion or distant metastasis. In case of pancreatic cystic tumor, radiologic differentiation between benign and malignant lesions is crucial for the selection of appropriate treatment and the prediction of prognosis. And ductal adenocarcinoma of pancreas presenting in cystic form is an uncommon type of cystic tumor, making it extremely rare among all pancreatic malignancies. We report two cases of atypical pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma presenting as solid pseudopapillary tumor and intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm, respectively.     

Contrast-based sensorless adaptive optics for retinal imaging

Conventional adaptive optics ophthalmoscopes use wavefront sensing methods to characterize ocular aberrations for real-time correction. However, there are important situations in which the wavefront sensing step is susceptible to difficulties that affect the accuracy of the correction. To circumvent these, wavefront sensorless adaptive optics (or non-wavefront sensing AO; NS-AO) imaging has recently been developed and has been applied to point-scanning based retinal imaging modalities. In this study we show, for the first time, contrast-based NS-AO ophthalmoscopy for full-frame in vivo imaging of human and animal eyes. We suggest a robust image quality metric that could be used for any imaging modality, and test its performance against other metrics using (physical) model eyes.OCIS codes: (010.1080) Active or adaptive optics, (170.3880) Medical and biological imaging, (170.4460) Ophthalmic optics and devices, (330.4875) Optics of physiological systems     

Effects of body awareness training on mild visuospatial neglect in patients with acute stroke: a pilot randomized controlled trial

[Purpose] This study aimed to investigate the effects of body awareness training (BAT) on mild visuospatial neglect in patients following acute stroke. [Subjects] The subjects were 12 stroke patients randomly assigned to either the experimental group (n₁=6) or control group (n₂=6). [Methods] The experimental group underwent BAT for 15 minutes and then task-oriented training for 30 minutes a day, five times a week for three weeks. The control group underwent task-oriented training for 30 minutes a day, five times a week for three weeks. Assessments were made using the Motor-free Visual Perception Test (MVPT), Line Bisection Test (LBT), and modified Barthel index (MBI). [Results] Following the interventions, the experimental group showed a significant change in MVPT, LBT, and MBI scores. [Conclusion] The results of this study suggest the feasibility and suitability of BAT with task-oriented training for mild visuospatial neglect in patients with acute stroke.Key words: Body awareness training, Neglect, Stroke     

Comparison of the effect of weight-bearing and non-weight-bearing positions on knee position sense in patients with chronic stroke

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to investigate the knee joint proprioception in weight-bearing (WB) and non-weight-bearing (NWB) positions and to study the difference between the methods in chronic stroke patients. [Subjects and Methods] The subjects were 15 stroke patients who were randomly scheduled to perform both positions by a physical therapist not involved in the study. The subjects performed the positions (WB and NWB) based on a randomized controlled cross-sectional design. WB subjects were positioned in one-leg standing to assess the knee joint position sense. NWB subjects were instructed to sit comfortably in a chair and maintain the knees at 90° of flexion with the leg out of the plinth. [Results] The results revealed that the WB position showed a significant difference in knee position sense. The proprioception sense in the WB position was a higher than that in the NWB position. [Conclusion] The knee proprioception of chronic stroke patients differs between the weight-bearing and non-weight-bearing positions.Key words: Knee proprioception, Stroke, Weight bearing