Resolution of hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia and anemia with prolonged alpha-interferon therapy for chronic hepatitis C

Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia is a group of autosomal dominant disorders, characterized by telangiectases that develop in the skin, mucous membranes, and visceral organs. Currently, there is no satisfactory treatment of hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia. Interferon has never been used for the treatment of hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia. In this case, we report disappearance of hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia lesions after 12 months of treatment with interferon-alpha for chronic hepatitis C. Further studies are warranted to evaluate its role and potential use in the treatment of hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia.     

Anti-Cyclic Citrullinated Peptide Antibodies in Patients with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

The objectives were to determine the prevalence and clinical significance of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) antibodies in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Anti-CCP antibodies were checked by ELISA in 68 children with JIA, 38 males and 30 females with mean age of 10.6 (±4.02) years and disease duration of 3.7 (±1.8) years. Thirty-eight (56%) patients had polyarticular disease, 20 (29%) patients had oligoarticular disease and 10 (15%) patients had systemic onset disease. All patients had their antinuclear antibodies (ANA), rheumatoid factor (RF) and ESR checked and x-rays performed to look for erosions. Results were compared to those of 20 healthy children, 14 children with juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus (JSLE) and 30 adults with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Anti-CCP antibodies were positive in 14/68 (20.6%) patients with JIA, all had polyarticular-onset disease. All patients with positive anti-CCP antibodies had RF-positive polyarthritis. Anti-CCP antibodies were negative in all patients with oligoarticular-onset and systemic-onset disease including 2 patients with extended oligoarthritis. Anti-CCP antibodies were negative in healthy and JSLE controls but were positive in 20/30 (66.5%) adults with RA. Anti-CCP antibodies correlated significantly with joint erosions in patients with JIA (p?=?0.004) but no significant relation was found between anti-CCP antibodies and ANA positivity or raised ESR. These data confirm that anti-CCP antibodies are less prevalent in JIA than adult RA but are detectable in a significant proportion of RF-positive patients with polyarticular-onset JIA. The current study showed significant relation between anti-CCP positivity and erosive joint disease in JIA.     

Hyrtiazepine, an azepino-indole-type alkaloid from the Red Sea marine sponge Hyrtios erectus

Biological and chemical investigations of the methanolic crude extract of the Red Sea marine sponge Hyrtios erectus led to the isolation of a novel azepino-indole-type alkaloid named hyrtiazepine (2) and 5-hydroxy-1H-indole-3-carboxylic acid methyl ester (3), together with the known metabolites hyrtiosulawesine (1), 5-hydroxyindole-3-carbaldehyde (4), hyrtiosin A (5), and hyrtiosin B (6). Their structures were elucidated on the basis of mass spectrometry and detailed 2D NMR spectroscopic data. Hyrtiosulawesine (1) displayed a significant antiphospholipase A2 activity with an IC50 value of 14 microM in a fluorometric assay using Crotalus adamanteus venom phospholipase A2.     

Characteristics,evolution, and outcome of patients with non-infectious uveitis referred for rheumatologic assessment and management: an Egyptian multicenter retrospective study

Clinical Rheumatology - To investigate the characteristics, evolution, and visual outcome of non-infectious uveitis. Records of 201 patients with non-infectious uveitis (136 (67.7%) males and 84...     

Forward Masking in Cochlear Implant Users: Electrophysiological and Psychophysical Data Using Pulse Train Maskers

Electrical stimulation of auditory nerve fibers using cochlear implants (CI) shows psychophysical forward masking (pFM) up to several hundreds of milliseconds. By contrast, recovery of electrically evoked compound action potentials (eCAPs) from forward masking (eFM) was shown to be more rapid, with time constants no greater than a few milliseconds. These discrepancies suggested two main contributors to pFM: a rapid-recovery process due to refractory properties of the auditory nerve and a slow-recovery process arising from more central structures. In the present study, we investigate whether the use of different maskers between eCAP and psychophysical measures, specifically single-pulse versus pulse train maskers, may have been a source of confound.In experiment 1, we measured eFM using the following: a single-pulse masker, a 300-ms low-rate pulse train masker (LTM, 250 pps), and a 300-ms high-rate pulse train masker (HTM, 5000 pps). The maskers were presented either at same physical current (Φ) or at same perceptual (Ψ) level corresponding to comfortable loudness. Responses to a single-pulse probe were measured for masker-probe intervals ranging from 1 to 512 ms. Recovery from masking was much slower for pulse trains than for the single-pulse masker. When presented at Φ level, HTM produced more and longer-lasting masking than LTM. However, results were inconsistent when LTM and HTM were compared at Ψ level. In experiment 2, masked detection thresholds of single-pulse probes were measured using the same pulse train masker conditions. In line with our eFM findings, masked thresholds for HTM were higher than those for LTM at Φ level. However, the opposite result was found when the pulse trains were presented at Ψ level.Our results confirm the presence of slow-recovery phenomena at the level of the auditory nerve in CI users, as previously shown in animal studies. Inconsistencies between eFM and pFM results, despite using the same masking conditions, further underline the importance of comparing electrophysiological and psychophysical measures with identical stimulation paradigms.     

Type B Laparoscopic Radical Trachelectomy With Pelvic Lymphadenectomy for Early Cervical Cancer

Study Objective

To demonstrate the technique of laparoscopic radical trachelectomy (LRT) and laparoscopic pelvic lymphadenectomy for early cervical cancer.

In vivo auditory brain mapping in mice with Mn-enhanced MRI

There are currently no noninvasive imaging methods available for auditory brain mapping in mice, despite the increasing use of genetically engineered mice to study auditory brain development and hearing loss. We developed a manganese-enhanced MRI (MEMRI) method to map regions of accumulated sound-evoked activity in awake, normally behaving mice. To demonstrate its utility for high-resolution (100-microm) brain mapping, we used MEMRI to show the tonotopic organization of the mouse inferior colliculus. To test its efficacy in an experimental setting, we acquired data from mice experiencing unilateral conductive hearing loss at different ages. Larger and persistent changes in auditory brainstem activity resulted when hearing loss occurred before the onset of hearing, showing that early hearing loss biases the response toward the functional ear. Thus, MEMRI provides a sensitive and effective method for mapping the mouse auditory brainstem and has great potential for a range of functional neuroimaging studies in normal and mutant mice.     

Polystyrene/Montmorillonite Nanocomposites Prepared by In Situ Intercalative Polymerization: Influence of the Surfactant Type

Summary: Na‐montmorillonite (MMT) with a cation exchange capacity (CEC) of 90 meq/100 g was converted to MMT‐CTAB and MMT‐CPC by the intercalation of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC), respectively. The intercalation of CPC onto the basal space of the montmorillonite expanded the basal space from 12.19 to 21.47 Å, whereas in the case of CTAB, the spacing was only expanded to 19.35 Å. The MMT‐CPC and MMT‐CTAB forms were subsequently used as hosts for the preparation of polystyrene nanocomposites via intercalative free‐radical polymerization of styrene. Different structures were obtained by varying the preparation conditions; the exfoliated and intercalated nanocomposites were characterized by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). The produced nanocomposites exhibited improved thermal stability in comparison with that of pure polystyrene above 400 °C especially in the case of the nanocomposites based on the MMT‐CPC, in which intercalation exists. A glass transition temperature (T_g) could not be detected for the prepared nanocomposites using DSC; this was assumed to result from the restricted molecular motion of the polymer chains.

XRD pattern of PS nanocomposites prepared by intercalative polymerization.