Toward an easier indigocarmine chromoendoscopy

Indigocarmine chromoendoscopy has been proven to improve the detection of colonic lesions during screening colonoscopy, and is associated with increased adenoma detection rates. Furthermore, it is commonly used to help in the delineation and characterization of colorectal neoplasms. However, it usually requires the use of a spraying catheter that decreases the suction capacity of the endoscope, and is time- consuming. Herein, we report on the feasibility of indigo carmine chromoendoscopy during colonoscopy without using a spraying catheter, with the dye being administered through the air/water channel of the endoscope. Since the suction channel remains free, the air can be exsufflated and the staining then applies uniformly onto the colonic walls with the excess indigocarmine dye being immediately eliminated. In our experience with various types of colonoscopes and cap-assisted colonoscopy, this procedure makes indigocarmine chromoendoscopy much easier and quicker to perform, and might save the use of a spray catheter.     

Corpus callosum area in patients with bipolar disorder with and without psychotic features: an international multicentre study

Background

Previous studies have reported MRI abnormalities of the corpus callosum (CC) in patients with bipolar disorder (BD), although only a few studies have directly compared callosal areas in psychotic versus nonpsychotic patients with this disorder. We sought to compare regional callosal areas in a large international multicentre sample of patients with BD and healthy controls.

Methods

We analyzed anatomic T₁ MRI data of patients with BD-I and healthy controls recruited from 4 sites (France, Germany, Ireland and the United States). We obtained the mid-sagittal areas of 7 CC subregions using an automatic CC delineation. Differences in regional callosal areas between patients and controls were compared using linear mixed models (adjusting for age, sex, handedness, brain volume, history of alcohol abuse/dependence, lithium or antipsychotic medication status, symptomatic status and site) and multiple comparisons correction. We also compared regional areas of the CC between patients with BD with and without a history of psychotic features.

Results

We included 172 patients and 146 controls in our study. Patients with BD had smaller adjusted mid-sagittal CC areas than controls along the posterior body, the isthmus and the splenium of the CC. Patients with a positive history of psychotic features had greater adjusted area of the rostral CC region than those without a history of psychotic features.

Limitations

We found small to medium effect sizes, and there was no calibration technique among the sites.

Conclusion

Our results suggest that BD with psychosis is associated with a different pattern of interhemispheric connectivity than BD without psychosis and could be considered a relevant neuroimaging subtype of BD.     

Erythropoietin and IGF-1 signaling synchronize cell proliferation and maturation during erythropoiesis

Tight coordination of cell proliferation and differentiation is central to red blood cell formation. Erythropoietin controls the proliferation and survival of red blood cell precursors, while variations in GATA-1/FOG-1 complex composition and concentrations drive their maturation. However, clear evidence of cross-talk between molecular pathways is lacking. Here, we show that erythropoietin activates AKT, which phosphorylates GATA-1 at Ser310, thereby increasing GATA-1 affinity for FOG-1. In turn, FOG-1 displaces pRb/E2F-2 from GATA-1, ultimately releasing free, proproliferative E2F-2. Mice bearing a Gata-1^S310A mutation suffer from fatal anemia when a compensatory pathway for E2F-2 production involving insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) signaling is simultaneously abolished. In the context of the GATA-1^V205G mutation resulting in lethal anemia, we show that the Ser310 cannot be phosphorylated and that constitutive phosphorylation at this position restores partial erythroid differentiation. This study sheds light on the GATA-1 pathways that synchronize cell proliferation and differentiation for tissue homeostasis.