HLA-DPB1 allelic frequency of the Lisu ethnic group in the Southwest China and evolutionary relationship of Lisu with other populations

A sequencing-based typing of human leukocyte antigen-DPB1 (HLA-DPB1) gene was carried out in 37 unrelated healthy individuals from the Yunnan Lisu ethnic minority. A total of 12 DPB1 alleles, in which DPB1*1301 (33.3%), DPB1*0402 (16.6%), DPB1*040101 (13.8%), and DPB1*0501 (11.1%) were highly predominant, were found, and allele DPB1*200102 was found for the first time in a Chinese population. A dendrogram constructed by neighbor-joining method showed that the Lisu ethnic group belongs to East Asian cluster.     

FUNCTIONAL MAPPING OF THE HUMAN BRAIN DURING ACUPUNCTURE WITH MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING SOMATOSENSORY CORTEX ACTIVATION

1NTRODUCTIONHegu(Ll4)isoneofthemosteffectiveandmostfrequentlyusedacupointsintraditionalChineseacupuncture.ItisindicatedfOrpaininmanypartsofthebody,butisparticularlyeffec-tiveforheadache,migraine,toothache,sorethroatandotherd1sordersoftheheadandface.Manyanimalexperimentsindicatethathighercentersinthenervoussystemareinvolvedinacupunctureanalgesia["2]butdirectevidenceforhumansubjectsisdifficulttoobtainuntilthere-centadventofpowerfu1andn0n-invasivemeth-odsforneuroimaginginthe9O's.Werecentlya…     

Lorazepam for chronic catatonia: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over study

Acute catatonic syndromes occurring in the context of various medical and neuropsychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia, have been shown to respond well to benzodiazepines (BZD). However, there have been no studies specifically designed to address the BZD treatment response of persistent catatonic states. Eighteen patients with clinically stable chronic schizophrenia, who also displayed enduring catatonic features, underwent a 12-week long, random assignment, double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over trial with lorazepam (6 mg/day). A comprehensive assessment, including the subjects’ clinical and motor (catatonic as well as drug-induced movement disorders) condition, was performed at baseline and four weekly intervals thereafter. Pre-existing medication was kept constant throughout the study. Lorazepam had no effect on the subjects’catatonic signs and symptoms, suggesting that acute and chronic catatonic syndromes associated with schizophrenic illness might have a different neurobiological basis. Received: 25 May 1998/Final version: 22 September 1998     

Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation for adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a single-centre experience.

Between 1990 and 1997, we performed 29 allogeneic BMTs for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients with HLA-identical sibs. Their median age was 31 years (range 15 to 43); there were 15 males and 14 females. The conditioning protocol was Cy-TBI (n = 15), VP16-Cy-TBI(n = 12), CBV (n = 1) and Bu-Cy (n = 1). Cyclosporin and methotrexate were used for GVHD prophylaxis. The median disease-free survival (DFS) was 12 months (range 1 to 92) with an actuarial 4-years DFS of 42.3 per cent. Three patients died of transplant-related complications before 100 days. Relapse occurred in 11 cases at a median time of 5 months (range 3 to 14). All nine patients relapsing within one year died form resistant leukemia. Three patients died of late treatment-related complications. There were 13 survivors (median follow-up 38 months, range 12-98), with 12 in remission. Only four had limited cGVHD, and all had 100 per cent performance scores. One patient also cleared her chronic hepatitis B carrier status due to acquired immunity. The DFS rates amongst CR1 cases and R1/CR2 cases were comparable (p = 0.39). No long-term DFS is obtained from patients with resistant disease (n = 4). The survival results for BMT at CR1 were superior to those using intensive chemotherapy consolidation (p = 0.29), mainly due to poor late results in the chemotherapy arm. For young ALL patients with HLA-matched siblings, the option of BMT should be considered in light of local consolidation survival results.     

p14ARF protein expression is a predictor of both relapse and survival in squamous cell carcinoma of the anterior tongue.

PURPOSE: The INK4A-ARF locus at chromosome 9p21 is frequently altered in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and encodes two distinct tumor suppressors, p16(INK4A) and p14(ARF). This study addressed the role of p14(ARF) as a potential prognostic marker in this disease. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: p14(ARF) protein expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry in a cohort of 140 patients with SCC of the anterior tongue. Using univariate and multivariate Cox's proportional hazards models, the outcomes examined were time to disease recurrence or death, with or without clinicopathologic covariates, including nodal status, disease stage, treatment status, Ki-67 staining, and molecular markers with known functional or genetic relationships with p14(ARF) (p16(INK4A), p53, pRb, p21(WAF1/CIP1), E2F-1). RESULTS: On multivariate analysis, p14(ARF) positivity (nucleolar p14(ARF) staining and/or nuclear p14(ARF) staining in >/=30% of tumor cells) was an independent predictor of improved disease-free survival (DFS; P = 0.002) and overall survival (OS; P = 0.002). This was further enhanced when p14(ARF) positivity was cosegregated with positive (>/=1%) p16(INK4A) staining (DFS, P < 0.001; OS, P < 0.001). Patients whose cancers were p14(ARF) negative and p53 positive (>50%) had the poorest outcome (DFS, P < 0.001; OS, P < 0.001) of any patient subgroup analyzed. CONCLUSIONS: These data show that in patients with SCC of the tongue, combined nuclear and nucleolar expression of p14(ARF) protein predicts for improved DFS and OS independent of established prognostic markers.