Development of a dot blot assay with antibodies to recombinant “core” 14-3-3 protein: Evaluation of its usefulness in diagnosis of Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease

Results:The results in the present study suggest the diagnostic potential of the dot blot method with about 10-fold difference (P< 0.001) in the CSF levels of 14-3-3 protein between the CJD cases (N= 50) and disease controls (N= 70). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis of the results suggested an optimal cutoff value of 2 ng/mL.Conclusions:We have developed an indigenous, economical, and sensitive dot blot method for the quantitation of 14-3-3 protein in CSF.     

An unusual infection, an unusual outcome--Fonsecaea pedrosoi cerebral granuloma

Phaeohyphomycosis is caused by pigmented fungi that are not normally pathogenic. Fonsecaea is a rare cause of cerebral infections, most of which are caused by F. monophora. Brain infections caused by F. pedrosoi are very rare, and there are only a few case reports describing this. Most infections take the form of abscesses (epidural or intracerebral). The authors report a rare case of a contained fungal granuloma caused by F. pedrosoi. The patient presented with epilepsy, which was treated as a case of extratemporal lesion-related epilepsy. The diagnosis was made after resection. The authors describe the clinical course of this patient.     

脊髓损伤与男性不育(英文)

脊髓损伤 (SCI)通常会对育龄男性造成一定的影响。脊髓受损后的男性大多会在以下方面发生问题 :如勃起和射精功能障碍 ,精子发生受损 ,精子存活力、活率及形态异常 ,泌尿生殖系统感染以及内分泌异常。本文将从病理生理、评价和治疗等方面对脊髓损伤引起的男性不育症进行论述。脊髓损伤可对精浆产生影响并加速精液氧化 ,从而使得SCI男性的精液质量下降。本文还将对用于SCI男性的精子复苏技术和辅助生育技术所取得的进展进行讨论。     

Unilateral tonsillar enlargement and tonsillar lymphoma in children.

The clinical presentation and surgical and pathological findings of 46 children with unilateral tonsillar enlargement (UTE; age range 2 to 13 years, mean age 6.5) who underwent tonsillectomy for biopsy purposes between 1975 and 1995 were compared with those of 7 children who received treatment for tonsillar lymphoma (TL; age range 2 to 9 years, mean age 4.8) during the same period. There was no history of rapid tonsillar enlargement in children in the UTE group, and only 20 (43%) were symptomatic. Symptoms included recurrent sore throats in 10 patients (22%), snoring in 5 (11%), nasal obstruction in 4 (9%), and dysphagia in 1 (2%). No children had systemic symptoms or significant cervical lymphadenopathy. In contrast, tonsillar enlargement was observed to occur within a 6-week period in all children with TL, and 6 (86%) children had symptoms at presentation that included dysphagia in 5 (71%), snoring in 3 (43%), night sweats in 2 (29%), and fever and rigors in 2 (29%). Cervical lymphadenopathy greater than 3 cm was present in 6 (86%) children, while 1 child (14%) had hepatosplenomegaly. There was no histopathologic evidence of neoplasia in the UTE group, and a true discrepancy in size between the two tonsils was confirmed in only 21 of 44 (48%) cases. All 7 patients in the TL group had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. All received chemotherapy, with 5 of the 7 cured and 2 dying of disease. The data suggest that tonsillectomy should be performed for biopsy purposes in UTE where there is a history of progressive enlargement, significant upper aerodigestive tract symptoms, systemic symptoms, suspicious appearance of the tonsil, cervical lymphadenopathy, or hepatosplenomegaly. The diagnosis of TL should also be considered when UTE is present in an immunocompromised child or one with a previous malignancy, when acute tonsillitis is asymmetric and unresponsive to medical treatment, or when rapid bilateral tonsil enlargement occurs. Observation is appropriate management for other cases of UTE.