Risikostratifizierung und Therapie kardialer Amyloidosen

Cardiac amyloidoses are a heterogeneous group of cardiomyopathies that are resistant to treatment and are associated with a poor outcome. Standard heart failure treatment is usually not well tolerated and the underlying disease remains unaffected. The clinical picture is uncharacteristic. Cardiac amyloidosis is often associated with dysfunction of additional organs. Early cardiac amyloid involvement usually reveals left ventricular hypertrophy, impairment of longitudinal shortening and diastolic ventricular function. Without adequate therapy (bi-)ventricular hypertrophy will progress to severe systolic ventricular function decrease. The combination of low voltage pattern, left ventricular hypertrophy and granular sparkling is characteristic for advanced cardiac amyloid involvement. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and scintigraphy yield further information on the pattern and severity of cardiac involvement. In unclear cases (left ventricular) endomyocardial biopsy is necessary. Detection of early cardiac involvement and proper identification of patients at high risk for sudden cardiac death due to rapid progressive amyloidosis is still incompletely defined. Referral to specialized centers is strongly recommended.     

Erythroid marrow function in anemic patients

Erythropoietic activity is known to be closely associated with marrow iron uptake. A modification of the standard measure of plasma iron turnover has been developed in which erythron transferrin uptake (ETU) rather than iron uptake has been calculated. The ETU has the advantage of providing a parameter of erythroid marrow activity independent of change produced by plasma iron and transferrin saturation. Measurements in 80 patients with anemia were compared to the normal value of 60 +/- 12 mumol/L whole blood/d. The mean ETU for ten patients with severe aplastic anemia and for six patients with pure red-cell aplasia were 12 +/- 8 and 12 +/- 11 mumol/L whole blood/d, respectively. In ten transfusion-dependent patients with renal failure under dialysis therapy, the mean value was 35 +/- 11, while ten other dialyzed patients who were transfusion independent had a mean ETU of 73 +/- 21 mumol/L whole blood/d. Sixteen patients with hemolytic anemia had an average ETU of 400 +/- 130, while 28 patients with ineffective erythropoiesis had a mean value of 474 +/- 147 mumol/L whole blood/d. While patients with hypoproliferative anemia showed no relation between the severity of anemia and ETU, those with hyperproliferative erythroid marrow showed increasing values as the anemia became more severe. Sequential measurements in patients with aplastic anemia under treatment and in thalassemic patients under transfusion therapy showed the value of this measurement in monitoring the effects of treatment on erythroid marrow activity. It is concluded that the measurement of ETU provides a more direct ferrokinetic evaluation of erythroid activity in anemic states.     

Identification of T lymphocytes in human mixed hemopoietic colonies

The addition of a T-cell growth-promoting medium (PHA-TCM) to culture conditions that support growth of multi-lineage hemopoietic colonies enhances the proliferation of cells with lymphoid morphology within these colonies. These cells were identified as T lymphocytes by their ability to form rosettes with SRBC and their reaction with monoclonal antibodies (OKT3, OKT4) directed against T-cell-specific surface components. They continue to proliferate extensively under the influence of PHA-TCM after transfer of mixed colonies into liquid suspension culture. Supportive evidence for a common progenitor of myeloid and lymphoid cells within single mixed colonies is provided by Y-chromatin body analysis of E-rosette positive and negative cells in colonies grown in cocultures of male and female bone marrow cells.     

瑞香素杀疟原虫裂殖体的作用

[目的 ]研究中药瑞香素在体外和体内的杀裂殖体作用。 [方法 ]在恶性疟原虫FCCl株常规体外培养中测试瑞香素杀裂殖体活性 ,并按“四天抑制性试验”在感染伯氏疟原虫ANKA株的小鼠中测定不同剂量瑞香素的体内抗疟活性。 [结果 ]体外试验中瑞香素在 1～ 10 μmol L剂量范围内有明显杀灭裂殖体作用 ,而体内试验中按D4减虫率与感染鼠在 30d内的平均生存天数评价 ,5 0或 10 0mg kg .d- 1 × 4d瑞香素灌胃以及 10 ,5 0或 10 0mg kg.d- 1 × 4d瑞香素腹腔注射给药在伯氏鼠疟原虫ANKA株感染鼠中的抗疟作用与 10mg kg .d- 1 × 4d氯喹 (CQ)灌胃的疗效相似。 [结论 ]瑞香素在体外和体内均有一定的杀裂殖体作用。     

本经取穴调控无先兆偏头痛患者基因表达谱的研究

【目的】研究针刺少阳经穴与针刺非经非穴治疗无先兆偏头痛患者前后的基因表达谱。【方法】采用基因芯片技术,分析比较采用经穴（经穴组）和非经非穴（非经非穴组）治疗无先兆偏头痛患者（各10例）后基因表达谱的差异;选取部分基因进行Real-time聚合酶链反应（RT－PCR）,验证基因芯片结果的准确性。【结果】经穴组治疗前后筛选出72个差异基因;非经非穴组治疗前后筛选出110个差异基因。经穴组差异基因涉及的功能包括脑内啡肽酶、 ATP合酶等,与治疗该病的关联性大。但非经非穴组涉及的基因功能广泛且分散,与治疗该病关联性较小,如细胞凋亡、 DNA修复等。 RT－PCR检测了经穴组的ATPAF2、 PTGS2、 TOR3A基因,非经非穴组的ACP2、 AURKA、 ARHGEF11、 CASP8基因,验证了基因芯片数据的可靠性。【结论】本经取穴治疗无先兆偏头痛的经穴效应在分子水平是多基因作用的综合结果,而非经非穴产生的安慰效应并未找到与之对应的与治疗无先兆偏头痛相关的靶基因,进一步证明了经穴效应的存在。     

Is serial determination of inspiratory muscle strength a useful prognostic marker in chronic heart failure?

BACKGROUND: Little data exists on the prognostic role of inspiratory muscle strength (PImax) in chronic heart failure (CHF). Training studies, however, frequently use it as a therapeutic target and surrogate marker for prognosis. The prognostic value of changes of PImax that allow this extrapolation is unknown. DESIGN: Patients with stable CHF were prospectively included and 1-year and all-time event rates recorded for endpoint analysis. METHODS: In 158 patients (85% men; New York Heart Association functional class: 2.4+/-0.6), PImax was measured along with clinical evaluations at two visits, the initial visit and the second visit, 6.4+/-1.4 months apart. The mean follow-up was 59+/-34 months. RESULTS: Overall, 59 patients (37%) reached the primary endpoint of death or hospitalization (endpoint positive), and overall mortality rate (secondary endpoint) was 26% (42 patients). PImax did not differ between endpoint-negative and endpoint-positive patients, both at the initial and at the second visit (8.3+/-5.6 vs. 7.3+/-3.4 kPa and 8.8+/-6.0 vs. 7.9+/-3.6 kPa, respectively; P=NS), and both groups showed increased PImax (0.6+/-2.6 vs. 0.6+/-2.8 kPa; P=NS). Cox analyses found neither the absolute nor the relative change of PImax to be significant predictors for the primary and secondary endpoints (P=NS for both), both for the 1-year and for the all-time event rates. Endpoint rates did not differ between patients showing increasing or decreasing PImax (P=NS; relative risk (RR): 0.77; 95% confidence interval: 0.47-1.27). CONCLUSION: Trials focusing on inspiratory muscle function should use the actual levels of PImax as a surrogate marker to represent prognostic information, rather than relative or absolute changes. This is the first study to investigate the prognostic information of the changes of PImax over time, regarding both short-term and long-term morbidity and mortality in patients with stable CHF.