Overactive bladder in Parkinson's disease: alteration of brainstem raphe detected by transcranial sonography

Urinary dysfunction is very common in idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) and manifests primarily with symptoms of overactive bladder (OAB). Affection of central serotonergic systems has been suggested to play a role in OAB. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether in PD patients with OAB symptoms a specific alteration of the brainstem raphe (BR), which contains serotonergic neurons, can be detected with transcranial sonography (TCS). Of 116 PD patients enrolled, 19 had PD-related OAB symptoms (OAB+) unlike remaining 97 patients (OAB−). Patients were examined by a sonographer blinded to the clinical data. Reduced echogenicity of BR was found in 12 (63%) OAB+ patients but only in 18 (19%) of 93 assessable OAB− patients (Mann–Whitney U -test, P  < 0.001). In OAB+ patients, lower raphe echogenicity score was associated with longer duration of OAB symptoms ( anova , P  = 0.033). Other TCS findings such as echogenicity of substantia nigra, thalami, lenticular and caudate nuclei, and widths of third and lateral ventricles did not differ between OAB+ and OAB− patients. TCS findings suggest a pathogenetic role of BR in OAB related to PD. Alterations may reflect disturbance of its central serotonergic system.     

多层螺旋CT冠脉成像的临床应用

目的旨在评价多层螺旋CT(MSCT)在冠状动脉疾病诊断中的作用。方法57例患者,按心率≤60次/min、60～70次/min、>71次/min分成3组,行冠脉MSCT造影(MSCTA),将数据在回顾性心电门控下行最大密度投影(MIP)、容积重建(VR)和多平面重建(MPR),观察其对冠状动脉的显示,其中11例与选择性冠状动脉造影(SCA)对照。结果心率≤70次/min患者CT图像质量明显优于心率>70次/min组(P<0.001)。11例与相应的SCA比较,MSCTA诊断50%以上狭窄的敏感度、特异度、阴性预测值和准确度分别为88.9%、71.4%、86.7%和83.3%。结论MSCT能显示冠状动脉钙化和狭窄、进行冠脉支架术后评价。     

Eyelid movements during blinking in patients with Parkinson's disease.

We examined eyelid movements during spontaneous, voluntary, and trigeminal reflex blinks in 16 patients with mild to moderate Parkinson's disease (PD) off medication and 14 controls. Voluntary and reflex blink amplitudes tended to be smaller than normal for PD patients, whereas eyelid kinematics (amplitude-maximum velocity relationship) for all three blink types were normal. Spontaneous blink rate was less than normal for 10 patients and abnormally high for 6 patients. A significant positive correlation between spontaneous blink amplitude and blink rate was found. These observations suggest that PD modifies the gain of a premotor blink circuit shared by spontaneous, voluntary, and reflex blinks.     

Cognitive profiles of individual patients with Parkinson's disease and dementia: comparison with dementia with lewy bodies and Alzheimer's disease.

We describe the pattern of cognitive profiles within a community-based sample of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and dementia (PDD) using cluster analyses, and compare the results with data from patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Fifty patients with PDD and 39 with AD from Stavanger, Norway, and 62 patients with DLB from San Diego, CA, USA were diagnosed by either standardized clinical procedures or criteria (all PDD and all AD cases) or necropsy (all DLB cases). Four subgroups were identified: two subgroups with a subcortical cognitive profile (one with mild and one with moderate dementia severity), one subgroup with global impairment and severe dementia, and one subgroup with a cortical cognitive profile and moderate dementia. Of the patients with PDD and with DLB, 56% and 55%, respectively, had a subcortical cognitive profile, compared with only 33% of the AD patients. Conversely, 30% of the patients with PDD and 26% of those with DLB had a cortical cognitive profile, compared with 67% of the patients with AD. These findings suggest that in some patients with PDD, frontosubcortical changes are the main contributing factor to dementia, whereas in other patients, cortical and hippocampal changes are more important.     

CARD15 in inflammatory bowel disease and Crohn''s disease phenotypes: An association study and pooled analysis

BACKGROUND: Three major polymorphisms of the Caspase-Activation Recruitment Domain containing protein 15 gene have been described to be associated with Crohn's disease. Genotype-phenotype studies reported in literature provide conflicting data on disease localisation and behaviour. We investigated the relation of Caspase-Activation Recruitment Domain containing protein 15 with inflammatory bowel disease and Crohn's disease phenotypic characteristics in a large Dutch cohort and performed a pooled analysis on inflammatory bowel disease patients and Crohn's disease phenotypic characteristics reported in association studies. METHODS: We genotyped 781 cases and 315 controls for the R702W, G908R and 1007fsinsC variants and for six microsatellite markers in and close to Caspase-Activation Recruitment Domain containing protein 15. In the pooled analysis data of 7201 inflammatory bowel disease patients and 3720 controls from 20 studies were included. RESULTS: Association was found for Crohn's disease with R702W and 1007fsinsC, including several disease characteristics, and not for ulcerative colitis. In the pooled analysis all three common Caspase-Activation Recruitment Domain containing protein 15 variants showed strong association with Crohn's disease (p<0.00001; odds ratio varying from 3.0 for single heterozygotes to 14.7 for compound heterozygotes) and not with ulcerative colitis. Phenotype analysis showed association with small bowel involvement, stricturing and penetrating disease. CONCLUSION: Caspase-Activation Recruitment Domain containing protein 15 is associated with Crohn's disease and not with ulcerative colitis. All three common Crohn's disease-associated variants are associated with small bowel involvement, the G908R and 1007fsinsC alleles also being associated with a complicated disease course.     

从TNT研究看稳定性冠心病患者的强化降脂治疗

4 背景 强化降脂使低密度脂蛋白胆固醇（low-density lipoprotein cholesterol，LDL-C）低于指南推荐的水平将使急性冠脉综合征患者获益。但强化降脂使稳定性冠心病患者的LDL-C低于100mg／dL是否安全和有效尚不清楚。     

红花注射液治疗冠心病心绞痛、心肌缺血临床观察

目的:观察红花注射液治疗冠心病心绞痛、心肌缺血的临床疗效。方法:选择126例冠心病心绞痛、心肌缺血的病例,分红花组及丹参组,疗程两周,详细记录治疗前后的临床表现、心电图、血糖、血脂、血液流变学检查的变化。结果:红花、丹参均可明显改善冠心病心肌缺血相应的临床症状和心电图改变,以红花较显著。红花还有降血糖、血脂作用,显著改善血液流变指标。结论:红花注射液是治疗冠心病心绞痛、心肌缺血的理想药物。     

The severity of airways obstruction as a determinant of treatment response in COPD

Guidelines recommend that patients with COPD are stratified arbitrarily by baseline severity (FEV₁) to decide when to initiate combination treatment with a long-acting β₂-agonist and an inhaled corticosteroid. Assessment of baseline FEV₁ as a continuous variable may provide a more reliable prediction of treatment effects. Patients from a 1-year, parallel-group, randomized controlled trial comparing 50 μg salmeterol (Sal), 500 μg fluticasone propionate (FP), the combination (Sal/FP) and placebo, (bid), were categorized post hoc into FEV₁ <50% and FEV₁ ≥50% predicted subgroups (n=949/513 respectively). Treatment effects on clinical outcomes – lung function, exacerbations, health status, diary card symptoms, and adverse events – were investigated. Treatment responses based on a pre-specified analysis explored treatment differences by severity as a continuous variable. Lung function improved with active treatment irrespective of FEV₁; Sal/FP had greatest effect. This improvement appeared additive in milder disease; synergistic in severe disease. Active therapy significantly reduced exacerbation rate in patients with FEV₁ <50% predicted, not in milder disease. Health status and breathlessness improved with Sal/FP irrespective of baseline FEV₁; adverse events were similar across subgroups. The spirometric response to Sal/FP varied with baseline FEV₁, and clinical benefits were not restricted to patients with severe disease. These data have implications for COPD management decisions, suggesting that arbitrary stratifications of baseline severity are not necessarily indicative of treatment efficacy and that the benefits of assessing baseline severity as a continuous variable should be assessed in future trials.     

帕金森病立体定向手术并发脑内出血的原因分析

目的:探讨帕金森病立体定向手术颅内出血并发症原因及对策。方法:自1999年4月至2003年3月我们对药物治疗效果不理想的510例帕金森病病人行立体定向毁损手术，术后出现颅内出血9例，其中毁损灶出血3例，穿刺道出血6例。结果:手术治疗4例．保守治疗5例。术后意识恢复但遗留偏瘫4例，经非手术治疗5例．恢复良好，未遗留明显功能障碍。全组无死亡病例。结论:采用磁共振结合微电极导向提高靶点定位精确度，减少微电极记录针道数，降低毁损温度，重视围手术期处理等措施，有助于降低颅内出血并发症的危险。