99mTc-tetrofosmin SPECT in solitary pulmonary nodule evaluation

A correct differential diagnosis between benign and malignant lesions is mandatory in patients with solitary pulmonary nodule (SPN). The aim of the present study was to investigate whether 99mTc-tetrofosmin SPECT may play a role in SPN evaluation. A consecutive series of 111 patients with an uncalcified 相似文献   

A family based linkage analysis of HLA and 5-HTTLPR gene polymorphisms in Sardinian children with autism spectrum disorder

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characterized by a broad range in clinical presentation. Although a definite genetic cause has not yet been fully demonstrated, family based studies suggest that a multigenic pattern may be responsible for susceptibility, but most results are conflicting and have yet to be replicated. The purpose of this investigation was to analyze the linkage of the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) and the human serotonin transporter coding (5-HTTLPR) genes with ASD in a group of 37 families of Sardinian ethnicity in insular Italy. In 50% of these families, ASD is linked to HLA, and in the other 50% it is linked to 5-HTTLPR polymorphic genes; in other words, linkage to one or the other was evident in all cases. Despite a very homogenous genetic pattern being generally reported for Sardinians, the linkage observed with HLA and 5-HTTLPR genetic regions indicated a statistically defined heterogeneity (p=0.002). No allelic HLA or 5-HTTLPR polymorphisms were specifically associated with ASD, suggesting these loci as markers of other genes mapped in their close proximity that may be more directly involved and thus may merit further analytical studies.     

Effects of elevation of brain magnesium on fear conditioning, fear extinction, and synaptic plasticity in the infralimbic prefrontal cortex and lateral amygdala

Anxiety disorders, such as phobias and posttraumatic stress disorder, are among the most common mental disorders. Cognitive therapy helps in treating these disorders; however, many cases relapse or resist the therapy, which justifies the search for cognitive enhancers that might augment the efficacy of cognitive therapy. Studies suggest that enhancement of plasticity in certain brain regions such as the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and/or hippocampus might enhance the efficacy of cognitive therapy. We found that elevation of brain magnesium, by a novel magnesium compound [magnesium-l-threonate (MgT)], enhances synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus and learning and memory in rats. Here, we show that MgT treatment enhances retention of the extinction of fear memory, without enhancing, impairing, or erasing the original fear memory. We then explored the molecular basis of the effects of MgT treatment on fear memory and extinction. In intact animals, elevation of brain magnesium increased NMDA receptors (NMDARs) signaling, BDNF expression, density of presynaptic puncta, and synaptic plasticity in the PFC but, interestingly, not in the basolateral amygdala. In vitro, elevation of extracellular magnesium concentration increased synaptic NMDAR current and plasticity in the infralimbic PFC, but not in the lateral amygdala, suggesting a difference in their sensitivity to elevation of brain magnesium. The current study suggests that elevation of brain magnesium might be a novel approach for enhancing synaptic plasticity in a regional-specific manner leading to enhancing the efficacy of extinction without enhancing or impairing fear memory formation.     

Glatiramer acetate reduces lymphocyte proliferation and enhances IL-5 and IL-13 production through modulation of monocyte-derived dendritic cells in multiple sclerosis

Dendritic cells (DC), as the most effective antigen presenting cells, are protagonists of the complex immune network involved in multiple sclerosis (MS) lesion formation. Glatiramer acetate (GA), a synthetic random copolymer, is thought to exert its therapeutical effect in MS by favouring both Th2 cell development and IL-10 production from peripheral lymphocytes as well as by systemically affecting the antigen presenting cells. In the present study we further analysed the mechanisms of action of GA by using an autologous DC-lymphocytes (Ly) coculture system from 11 MS patients and 12 matched healthy controls (HC). We found that, in MS patients, pretreatment with GA significantly decreases the in vitro proliferative effect of DC on lymphocytes as compared to HC and to unpulsed or myelin basic protein (MBP)-pulsed DC from MS patients (P < 0.05). In addition, GA-treated DC from both MS patients and HC significantly increase the lymphocyte production of IL-5 and IL-13 as compared to MBP-treated DC (P < 0.05). In conclusion our in vitro study may provide new therapeutical mechanisms of GA on lymphocytes, antiproliferative and Th2-favouring effects, which are mediated by monocyte-derived DC.     

Seasonal fluctuation of multiple sclerosis births in Sardinia

Study results from different geographical areas provide some circumstantial evidence that, when compared with the general population, people who later in life develop multiple sclerosis (MS) have a pattern of birth excess numbers in spring and late summer, which may disclose an association with MS-predisposing environmental agents. To identify the presence of season-related cluster of MS birth in Sardinia we have designed a case-control study in the province of Sassari, Northern Sardinia, insular Italy, an area at very-high and increasing risk for MS. Mean birth incidence rate of people with MS (810 cases) on a three-and six-months basis were compared with that of two control populations: the MS unaffected siblings (1069), sharing genetic material with patients, and a representative number of births (247,612) of the general population of the study area. We found that the birth in months peaking in spring significantly represents one risk factor for future MS development. This seasonal deviation of MS births reveals an intriguing epidemiological overlap with common environmental agents, which may open a new scenario of hypothetical explanations for environmental factors perhaps affecting the CNS at the crucial time of myelination or shaping the newborn immune system.     

Intrathecal chitotriosidase and the outcome of multiple sclerosis

Activated macrophages are major effectors at all stages of lesion formation in multiple sclerosis (MS) brain. Here, we report that the macrophage enzyme chitotriosidase (Chit) is significantly elevated both in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with MS as compared to healthy controls and other neurological patients (P<0.001). Furthermore, the Chit activity in blood significantly associates with the MS clinical course (higher in secondary progressive relative to relapsing-remitting, P=0.01) and the clinical severity as measured by Kurtkze's Expanded Disability Status Scale (P<0.001). Also, we found that Chit activity is compartmentalized in the central nervous system of early MS patients and that its CSF/plasma quotient, in the presence of a preserved albumin quotient, correlates with the extent of future clinical deterioration (r=0.91; P<0.001). These findings confirm that innate immunity, here represented by Chit, is clinically relevant in MS and allows, if confirmed, reconsidering novel MS therapeutic strategies specifically aimed at this branch of the immune response.