Neuroprotective effects of Lycium barbarum Lynn on protecting retinal ganglion cells in an ocular hypertension model of glaucoma

Glaucoma is one of the major neurological disorders in eye leading to irreversible blindness in elderly. Increase in intraocular pressure (IOP) has been considered to be the major risk factor for the progressive loss of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in retina. While attenuation of IOP has been a major pharmaceutical target, reduction of IOP cannot prevent progressive loss of RGCs. In this regard, urgent need for alternative treatment has to be investigated. Anti-aging medicinal herb Lycium barbarum L. has been used for centuries in Eastern World to protect the eyes and maintain good health. Using an ocular hypertension (OH) model in rat by laser photocoagulation of episcleral and limbal veins, we attempted to investigate whether L. barbarum can promote RGCs survival against elevated IOP. Oral administration of L. barbarum in Sprague-Dawley rats (250-280 g) significantly reduced the loss of RGCs, although elevated IOP was not significantly altered. Rats fed with the 1 mg/kg extract could nearly totally escape from pressure-induced loss of RGCs. In conclusion, this is the first in vivo report showing the therapeutic function of L. barbarum against neurodegeneration in the retina of rat OH model. The results demonstrate that this extract may be a potential candidate for the development of neuroprotective drug against the loss of RGCs in glaucoma.     

Antigen therapy of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis selectively induces apoptosis of pathogenic T cells

Administration of high-dose myelin antigen induces massive T cell apoptosis in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) but the nature of the target cells remains elusive. Here we have used a cell line established in eGFP-transgenic Lewis rats to distinguish between pathogenic and bystander T cells in adoptive transfer EAE. Intravenous application of gpMBP strongly reduced the amount of encephalitogenic cells in spinal cord and spleen while the number of the other T cells remained constant. This could be attributed to their differential sensitivity to apoptosis. Thus, antigen therapy selectively targets pathogenic T cells and should therefore limit potential adverse effects.     

Mechanism of HIV protein induced modulation of mesenchymal stem cell osteogenic differentiation

Background

While the Osteoporosis Canada 2002 Canadian guidelines provided evidence based strategies in preventing, diagnosing, and managing this condition, publication and distribution of guidelines have not, in and of themselves, been shown to alter physicians clinical approaches. We hypothesize that primary care physicians enrolled in the Quality Circle project would change their patient management of osteoporosis in terms of awareness of osteoporosis risk factors and bone mineral density testing in accordance with the guidelines.

Methods

The project consisted of five Quality Circle phases that included: 1) Training & Baseline Data Collection, 2) First Educational Intervention & First Follow-Up Data Collection 3) First Strategy Implementation Session, 4) Final Educational Intervention & Final Follow-up Data Collection, and 5) Final Strategy Implementation Session. A total of 340 circle members formed 34 quality circles and participated in the study. The generalized estimating equations approach was used to model physician awareness of risk factors for osteoporosis and appropriate utilization of bone mineral density testing pre and post educational intervention (first year of the study). Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated.

Results

After the 1^st year of the study, physicians' certainty of their patients' risk factor status increased. Certainty varied from an OR of 1.4 (95% CI: 1.1, 1.8) for prior vertebral fracture status to 6.3 (95% CI: 2.3, 17.9) for prior hip fracture status. Furthermore, bone mineral density testing increased in high risk as compared with low risk patients (OR: 1.4; 95% CI: 1.2, 1.7).

Conclusion

Quality Circle methodology was successful in increasing both physicians' awareness of osteoporosis risk factors and appropriate bone mineral density testing in accordance with the 2002 Canadian guidelines.     

Preservation of myocardial high-energy phosphates with vagal stimulation and hypothermic cardioplegia

We examined three methods of inducing hypothermic cardioplegic arrest and related each to preservation of high-energy phosphates. Levels of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and creatine phosphate (CP) in baseline rat hearts were compared with levels found after vagal stimulation combined with cardioplegia containing 15 mEq of potassium chloride (KCl) per liter, cardioplegia with 15 mEq of KCl per liter alone, and cardioplegia with 30 mEq of KCl per liter alone. Vagal stimulation produced complete electromechanical arrest in a shorter time than either 15 or 30 mEq of KCl alone (p less than 0.001 for both cardioplegic solutions compared with vagal stimulation), with fewer ventricular beats after ischemia than cardioplegic solution containing 15 or 30 mEq of KCl (p less than 0.001 and less than 0.01, respectively). Levels of ATP and CP, although less than baseline levels (p less than 0.01 and less than 0.001, respectively), were greater with vagal stimulation than with either 15 or 30 mEq of KCl (p less than 0.001 and less than 0.05, respectively, for ATP and p less than 0.001 for both CP levels). Furthermore, when all groups were combined, ATP and CP levels were found to correlate negatively with arrest time (r = -0.851 and -0.788, respectively; both r values significant at p less than 0.01) and with the number of ventricular beats after ischemia (r = -0.927 and -0.851, respectively; both r values significant at p less than 0.01). We conclude that electromechanical work quantified as time to arrest after aortic cross-clamping and as number of ventricular beats after ischemia correlates negatively with ATP and CP levels.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Clinical experience of open carpal tunnel release and Camitz operation in elderly Chinese patients.

OBJECTIVE: To report preliminary experience on the Camitz operation for elderly Chinese patients in a Hong Kong public hospital. DESIGN: Retrospective study. SETTING: Tertiary referral hospital with hand surgery service in Hong Kong. PATIENTS: Between January 2000 and January 2004, patients with carpal tunnel syndrome having the Camitz operation were recruited. They were assessed using the measurements of pinch and grip power, sensation, the Kapandji score, and functional grading as well as complications encountered during the subsequent follow-up. INTERVENTION: The Camitz operation. RESULTS: A total of 21 patients (8 male and 13 female; mean age, 70 years) were recruited. The mean duration of follow-up was 15 months. There was significant improvement in pinch power, grip power, and hand functions, as well as a positive correlation between the functional score and the Kapandji score. No major complication was recorded. One patient with pre-existing osteoarthritis of the ring finger developed contracture of the proximal interphalangeal joint. CONCLUSION: The Camitz operation is a simple, effective, and safe means of improving hand function in elderly Chinese patients with long-standing carpal tunnel syndrome and thenar muscle atrophy. Newly acquired strength in antepulsion of thumb resulted in improved pinch, grip, and hand function in this patient group.     

The Touro 12-Step: A Systematic Guide to Optimizing Survey Research with Online Discussion Boards

The Internet, in particular discussion boards, can provide a unique opportunity for recruiting participants in online research surveys. Despite its outreach potential, there are significant barriers which can limit its success. Trust, participation, and visibility issues can all hinder the recruitment process; the Touro 12-Step was developed to address these potential hurdles. By following this step-by-step approach, researchers will be able to minimize these pitfalls and maximize their recruitment potential via online discussion boards.     

Relative expertise affects N170 during selective attention to superimposed face‐character images

It remains unclear whether the N170 of ERPs reflects domain‐specific or domain‐general visual object processing. In this study, we used superimposed images of a face and a Chinese character such that participants' relative expertise for the two object types was either similar (Experiment 1 and 2) or different (Experiment 3). Experiment 1 showed that N170 amplitude was larger when participants attended to the character instead of the face of a face‐character combination. This result was unchanged in Experiment 2, in which task difficulty was selectively increased for the face component of the combined stimuli. Experiment 3 showed that, although this N170 enhancement for attending to characters relative to faces persisted for false characters with recognizable parts, it disappeared for unrecognizable characters. Therefore, N170 amplitude was significantly greater for Chinese characters than for faces presented within a combined image, independent of the relative task difficulty. This result strongly calls N170 face selectivity into question, demonstrating that, contrary to the expectations established by a domain‐specific account, N170 is modulated by expertise.     

Selenium disrupts estrogen signaling by altering estrogen receptor expression and ligand binding in human breast cancer cells

Cancer prevention studies suggest that selenium is effective in reducing the incidence of cancers including prostate, colon, and lung cancers. Previous reports showed that selenium inhibits premalignant human breast MCF-10AT1 and MCF10AT3B cell growth in vitro and reduces mammary tumor incidence after exposure to carcinogens in tumor models. Because estrogen is critical to the development and differentiation of estrogen target tissues, including the breast, the present study was designed to examine the effect of selenium on estrogen receptor (ER) expression and activation using methylseleninic acid (MSA), an active form of selenium in vitro. Selenium decreased the levels of expression of ERalpha mRNA and protein and reduced the binding of labeled estradiol to estrogen receptor in MCF-7 cells. Selenium inhibited the trans-activating activity of estrogen receptor in MCF-7 cells expressing functional estrogen receptor using a luciferase reporter construct linked to estrogen responsive element. Selenium decreased the binding of estrogen receptor to the estrogen responsive element site using an electrophoretic mobility gel shift assay. Selenium suppressed estrogen induction of the endogenous target gene c-myc. In contrast to the effect on ERalpha in MCF-7 cells, selenium increased ERbeta mRNA expression in MDA-MB231 human breast cancer cells. Thus, differential regulation of ERalpha and ERbeta in breast cancer cells may represent a novel mechanism of selenium action and provide a rationale for selenium breast cancer prevention trial.     

Asthma,from mild to severe,is an independent prognostic factor for mild to severe Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19)

BackgroundChronic illnesses were reported to be poor prognostic factors associated with severe illness and mortality in Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) infection. The association with asthma, however, is limited and controversial, especially for mild asthma.MethodsA territory wide retrospective study was conducted to investigate the association between asthma and the prognosis of COVID‐19. All patients with laboratory confirmed in Hong Kong for COVID‐19 from the 23 January to 30 September 2020 were included in the study. Severe diseases were defined as those who develop respiratory complications, systemic complications, and death.ResultsAmong the 4498 patients included in the analysis, 165 had asthma, with 141 having mild asthma. Patients with asthma were significantly more likely to require invasive mechanical ventilation (incidence = 17.0% odds ratio [OR] = 4.765, p < 0.001), oxygen therapy (incidence = 39.4%, OR = 3.291, p < 0.001), intensive care unit admission (incidence = 21.2%, OR = 3.625, p < 0.001), and systemic steroid treatment (incidence = 34.5%, OR = 4.178, p < 0.001) and develop shock (incidence = 16.4%, OR = 4.061, p < 0.001), acute kidney injury (incidence = 6.1%, OR = 3.281, p = 0.033), and secondary bacterial infection (incidence = 56.4%, OR = 2.256, p < 0.001). They also had significantly longer length of stay. Similar findings were also found in patients with asthma of the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) steps 1 and 2 upon subgroup analysis.ConclusionsAsthma, regardless of severity, is an independent prognostic factor for COVID‐19 and is associated with more severe disease with respiratory and systemic complications.