It is known that 60 to 80% of schizophrenic patients show deficits in cognition. There may be an increase in these deficits as a result of additional regular use of cannabis. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of chronic cannabis consumption on the cognitive functions of schizophrenic patients and healthy control subjects after a minimum abstinence time of 28 days. The study sample consisted of 39 schizophrenics (19 cannabis-abusers and 20 non-abusers) and 39 healthy controls (18 cannabis-abusers, 21 non-abusers). In a 2x2-factorial design (Diagnostic Groups [healthy controls, schizophrenic patients]xCannabis abuse [without, with]) with diagnostic group and cannabis consumption considered between-subject factors) we tested the hypothesis that dually diagnosed patients (i.e. suffering both from schizophrenia and cannabis abuse) perform worse in neuropsychological tests than schizophrenic patients without cannabis abuse. On the whole, schizophrenic patients performed worse than healthy control subjects. Surprisingly, rather than deteriorating neuropsychological performance, regular cannabis abuse prior to the first psychotic episode improved cognition in some tests. This was even more pronounced when regular consumption started before the age of 17. On the other hand, cannabis use deteriorated test performance in healthy controls, especially in cases when regular consumption started before the age of 17. To sum up, regular cannabis abuse has a different effect on cognitive function in schizophrenic patients and healthy controls. 相似文献
Objective: To evaluate the safety and reliability of the new AO Classification, a recent classification system for Thoraco-Lumbar Spine Trauma (TLST).
Design: Retrospective study.
Methods: We applied the new AO system in patients with TLST treated according to the TLICS. Two researchers classified injuries independently. Eight weeks later, the classification was repeated for intra and inter-observer agreement evaluation. To evaluate safety, we correlated the treatment performed based on the TLICS with the newer AO classification obtained.
Results: Fifty-four patients were included in this study, with a mean follow-up of 363.8 days. Twenty-three neurologically intact patients were initially treated conservatively. Their mean TLICS was 1.78 (1–4 points). Four patients underwent late surgery. Thirty-one patients were treated surgically. Their average TLICS was 7.22 points (4–10 points). Agreements in the four independent evaluations according to AO groups and subgroups were of 64.8% (35/54) and 55.5% (30/54) respectively. Kappa index for groups A, B and C was 0.75, 0.7 and 0.85 respectively. Kappa index for subgroups ranged from 0.16 to 0.85. Regarding safety, thirty (57.6%) patients with total subgroups agreement were analyzed. All patients with fracture in groups B and C underwent surgical treatment and patients in group A received surgery according to neurological status or failure of conservative treatment.
Conclusion: The newer AO spine classification demonstrated good reliability at the level of groups. Subgroups demonstrated worse and varying reliability. Although the safety analysis was limited due to the low level of total concordance among all evaluations, patients from group A can be treated conservatively or surgically, whereas those from groups B and C are treated surgically. 相似文献
Cathepsin S is a lysosomal cysteine protease that is overexpressed in various cancer models and plays important role in tumorigenesis, however the mechanisms are unclear. In the present study, we found that inhibition of cathepsin S induced autophagy and mitochondrial apoptosis in human glioblastoma cells. Blockade of autophagy by either a chemical inhibitor or RNA interference attenuated cathespin S inhibition-induced apoptosis. Furthermore, autophagy and apoptosis induction was dependent on the suppression of phosphatidylinositide 3-kinases/protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin/p70S6 kinase (PI3K/AKT/mTOR/p70S6K) signaling pathway and activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling pathway. In addition, reactive oxygen species (ROS) served as an upstream of PI3K/AKT/mTOR/p70S6K and JNK signaling pathways. In conclusion, the current study revealed that cathepsin S played an important role in the regulation of autophagy and apoptosis in human glioblastoma cells. 相似文献