Choroid plexus papilloma metastases to both cerebellopontine angles mimicking neurofibromatosis type 2

Journal of Neurology -     

Synthesis of novel 6-phenyl-2,4-disubstituted pyrimidine-5-carbonitriles as potential antimicrobial agents

New series of 6-phenyl-2,4-disubstituted pyrimidine-5-carbonitriles namely, 2-substitued thio-6-phenyl-3,4-dihydro-4-oxopyrimidine-5-carbonitriles (5a-d, 6, 7a-d, 8), 2-(4-chlorobenzylthio)-4-chloro-6-phenylpyrimidine-5-carbonitrile (9), 2-(4-chlorobenzylthio)-4-arylthio-6-phenylpyrimidine-5-carbonitriles (10a-d) and 2-(4-chlorobenzylthio)-4-arylamino-6-phenylpyrimidine-5-carbonitriles (11a-d) was synthesized and tested for in vitro activities against a panel of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and the yeast-like pathogenic fungus Candida albicans. Compounds 5b, 5c, 6, 7a, 7b, 7c, 9 and 11a displayed marked antibacterial activity particularly against the tested Gram-positive bacteria, while compounds 6, 7c, 7d and 9 were moderately or weakly active against C. albicans.     

Control of carcinoid syndrome with hepatic artery embolization

Eighteen patients with metastatic carcinoid were treated by hepatic artery embolization with Gelfoam or polyvinyl alcohol foam for control of the carcinoid syndrome. Seventeen showed subjective or objective clinical improvement, including less skin flushing, diarrhea, and bronchospasm. Fourteen showed improvement in biochemical indices, including decreased urinary 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid levels. The mean life span of the treated patients from the first episode of flushing to the time of this report was 5.4 years, and half of the patients are still alive. This survival time compares favorably with previous reports of survival of 3.2 years from the onset of flushing.     

Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF): properties and frontier of current knowledge

Background  

Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) is well known internationally and widely used for scoring the severity of illness in psychiatry. Problems with GAF show a need for its further development (for example validity and reliability problems). The aim of the present study was to identify gaps in current knowledge about properties of GAF that are of interest for further development. Properties of GAF are defined as characteristic traits or attributes that serve to define GAF (or may have a role to define a future updated GAF).     

Vascular plasticity in cerebrovascular disorders

Cerebral ischemia remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality with little advancement in subacute treatment options. This review aims to cover and discuss novel insight obtained during the last decade into plastic changes in the vasoconstrictor receptor profiles of cerebral arteries and microvessels that takes place after different types of stroke. Receptors like the endothelin type B, angiotensin type 1, and 5-hydroxytryptamine type 1B/1D receptors are upregulated in the smooth muscle layer of cerebral arteries after different types of ischemic stroke as well as after subarachnoid hemorrhage, yielding rather dramatic changes in the contractility of the vessels. Some of the signal transduction processes mediating this receptor upregulation have been elucidated. In particular the extracellular regulated kinase 1/2 pathway, which is activated early in the process, has proven to be a promising therapeutic target for prevention of vasoconstrictor receptor upregulation after stroke. Together, those findings provide new perspectives on the pathophysiology of ischemic stroke and point toward a novel way of reducing vasoconstriction, neuronal cell death, and thus neurologic deficits after stroke.     

Improvement of Human Islet Cryopreservation by a p38 MAPK Inhibitor

The activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) has been shown to cause ischemia/reperfusion injury of several organs used for transplantation and also to play a significant role in primary islet graft nonfunction. Activation of p38 MAPK may also occur during islet cryopreservation and thawing. In this study, a p38 MAPK inhibitor (p38IH) was applied to human islet cryopreservation to improve islet yield and quality after thawing. Under serum-free conditions, human islets were cryopreserved, thawed and cultured using our standard procedures. Three types of solutions were tested: conventional RPMI1640 medium (RPMI), a newly developed islet cryopreservation solution (ICS), and ICS supplemented with a p38IH, SD-282 (ICS-p38IH). Activation or inhibition of p38 MAPK was demonstrated by the diminished phosphorylation of HSP27 substrate. Islet recovery on day 2 after thawing was highest with ICS-p38IH and islet viability was not significantly different in the three groups. beta Cell numbers and function were the highest in islets cryopreserved with ICS-p38IH. Glucose-stimulated human C-peptide levels were 86% of that of the nonfrozen islets when measured 4 weeks after transplantation into NODscid mice. This improvement may provide an opportunity to establish islet banks and allow the use of cryopreserved islets for clinical transplantation.