德军应用空客A-310医疗后送运输机执行海啸医学救援任务

2004年12月26日,苏门答腊外海的一次海底地震引发的海啸袭击了东南亚沿海大部分地区,包括拥有大量游客的泰国旅游胜地普吉岛。最初报道称约有100人死亡,300人受伤,后续报道中死亡和受伤的人数急剧上升。得到最初消息后,德国空军空运司令部立即做好了用空客A-310MRT医疗后送飞机     

Fibrillin-1 (FBN1) gene frameshift mutations in Marfan patients: genotype–phenotype correlation

Marfan syndrome (MFS) is a multisystemic disease associated with mutations in the fibrillin-1 gene. Most of the reported mutations are missense substitutions mainly affecting the epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like protein domain structure and the calcium-binding (cb) site. The aim of our study was to investigate the correlation between fibrillin-1 frameshift mutations and the clinical phenotype in patients affected by MFS. In 48 out of 66 Marfan patients a pathogenetic mutation was found. We detected novel mutations causing premature termination codon in exons 19, 37, 40 and 41 of four Italian patients. The first mutation in exon 19 (cbEGF #8 domain) results in a clinical phenotype involving mainly the skeletal and cardiovascular systems. Interestingly, we noticed that, while mutations in exons 37 and 41 (eight cysteine domains #4 and #5) are milder, the mutation in exon 40 (cbEGF #24 domain) is more severe and causes major cardiovascular involvement with thoracic and abdominal aortic aneurysms. It is noteworthy that the degree of the severity in the phenotype of one of our patients and another from the literature carrying a mutation in exon 41 could be explained with alterations in mRNA expression.     

Prognostic factors for recurrence and cosmesis in 393 patients after radiation therapy for early mammary carcinoma

Between 1978 and 1985, 393 of 2,765 (14%) patients with operable cancer of the breast (clinical stage T0-3N0-2M0) were irradiated after excisional biopsy and staging axillary dissection. Of 77 patients with microscopic axillary metastases, 68 received systemic adjuvant therapy. Treatment failed locally in 26 cases, and there were seven patients with distant metastasis. The three major factors for increased local treatment failure were (a) age below 40 years (P = .003), (b) negative estrogen receptor assay result (P = .03), and (c) failure to deliver a radiation boost dose when tumor was present at the margin of the specimen (P = .002). The size of the tumor, the nodal status, the progesterone receptor assay result, and the presence of ductal carcinoma in situ mixed with infiltrating carcinoma did not show a significant influence on local recurrence. In 274 of 393 (70%) patients, cosmesis was evaluated. The four major factors affecting cosmesis favorably were (a) utilization of a wedge (P less than .0001); (b) treatment of two fields a day (P less than .0001); (c) failure to use a separate treatment port to the regional lymph nodes, so as to avoid field junctions (P = .0003); and (d) small size of specimen (less than 50 cm2) (P = .0171). A second or third cancer was found in 39 of the 393 (10%) patients; contralateral breast cancer was the most common form (n = 23), followed by genitourinary cancer (n = 5). The most frequent complication was arm edema (6%).     

CYP2D6和GST在白种人晚期肾病中的遗传变异

目的生物转化酶细胞色素P4502D6(CYP2D6)和谷胱苷肽转移酶-M1(GST-M1)、谷胱苷肽转移酶-T1(GST-T1)共同代谢内源性和外源性毒素,一部分人群由于相应基因变异导致这些酶缺乏表达,我们检测白种人群中晚期肾病(ESRD)病人这些酶的基因多态性是否比健康者有较高的频率.方法从列克星顿及周围地区征募330名晚期肾病病人和303名健康者,均为白种人,给予他们进行CYP2D6和GST-M1和T1基因分型.结果在ESRD病人中CYP2D6和GST-M1和GST-T1以及CYP2D6和GST-M1或GST-T1都缺乏分别为2.1%和4.2%;而在健康者中均为0.3%(P<0.01).结论CYP2D6和GST-M1和/或GST-T1酶缺乏在ESRD病人中有较高的频率,提示这些酶缺乏可以预计慢性肾病进展的可能性.