肿瘤相关基因Cap43在胰腺癌中的表达及意义

目的研究肿瘤相关基因Cap43在胰腺癌组织中的表达情况,探讨其对胰腺癌的诊断价值。方法收集1999年4月～2002年8月长海医院外科手术切除胰腺癌标本和癌旁正常组织33例,诊断均由病理证实。男性22例,女性11例,年龄30～73岁,平均58．1岁。所有组织标本按肿瘤、癌旁(正常)配对。采用RT-PCR和Northern杂交方法研究Cap43 mRNA表达情况。结果 RT-PCR结果显示,Cap43在肿瘤组织中表达显著上调,其在肿瘤组织和癌旁正常组织的扫描值分别为4 033±1 986和2 244±1 145,有显著差异(P<0．001)。Northern杂交亦显示Cap43在肿瘤组织中表达显著上调,相同病例的RT-PCR结果与Northern杂交的结果有较好的一致性,经回归分析,没有显著性差异(P>0．1)。结论 Cap43在胰腺癌组织中呈显著高表达,其有可能成为胰腺癌早期诊断的重要标志物。     

Laparoscopic Right Hemicolectomy for Ileocolic Intussusception Secondary to Caecal Neoplasm

Intussusception in adults is a rare cause of abdominal pain. Unlike its paediatric counterpart, intussusception in adults is associated with obvious pathology. We describe a case of ileocolic intussusception extending to the splenic flexure. We were able to reduce the intussusception partially and pedicle was stapled carefully. The specimen was delivered through a small incision and right hemicolectomy was performed adhering to oncological principles. We recommend laparoscopic-assisted surgery is considered for adult intussusceptions.     

Effects of the Interaction of Variants of the Serotonin Transporter and Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor on Platelet Serotonin Levels in Stroke Patients

Polymorphisms in two genes, i.e., the serotonin transporter and brain-derived neurotrophic factor, were studied in 47 patients with ischemic stroke. Platelet serotonin content was found to differ in carriers of different genetic variants. The lowest serotonin contents were found in patients with the LL*ValVal variant and the highest in those with the LL genotype and genotypes containing at least one copy of the Met allele. Genetic variants were not found to have any modulatory influences on the relationship between platelet serotonin content during the acute phase of stroke and the development of affective or anxiety disorders by the patients.     

Association of dopamine receptor D5 gene polymorphism with peculiarities of voluntary attention in schizophrenic patients and their relatives

We studied the relationship between DRD5 gene polymorphism presented by microsatellites with cognitive signs in 152 schizophrenic patients, 81 mentally healthy relatives, and 125 mentally healthy control individuals. An association was found between DRD5 polymorphism with efficiency of visual voluntary attention in patients (p=0.02) and their relatives (p=0.006). Carriers of two copies of the 148-b.p. allele were characterized by low efficiency of attention. __________ Translated from Byulleten’ Eksperimental’noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 145, No. 1, pp. 71–73, January, 2008     

Association study of COMT gene Val158Met polymorphism with auditory P300 and performance on neurocognitive tests in patients with schizophrenia and their relatives.

A number of studies have reported an association between catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene Val158Met polymorphism and neuropsychological traits in patients with schizophrenia, their relatives and healthy controls, with the Met allele carriers performing better on neurocognitive tasks than those with the Val allele. But the association was not confirmed in all studies. The present paper was aimed at further investigation of the COMT gene relationship with some neurocognitive traits, assessing mainly working and verbal memory, and to P300 event-related potentials (auditory oddball). A total sample of 319 individuals, including schizophrenic patients, their relatives and controls, was studied. No significant differences in performance of neurocognitive tasks were found by Val158Met genotypes. An association was observed between the Met/Met genotype and higher amplitude in centro-parietal area in relatives. Factors that could explain the non-replication of previous studies on the COMT gene polymorphism and neurocognitive traits are discussed. We suggest here that (1) Val158Met polymorphism rather exerts a modifying influence on brain activation in general than impacts directly on performance of the particular neurocognitive test, and (2) P300 amplitude seems to be a correlate of this activation reflecting, along with information processing, the subject's affective and personality features.     

Long-term experience with implanted intrathecal drug administration systems for failed back syndrome and chronic mechanical low back pain

Background  

Continuous intrathecal drug delivery has been shown in open studies to improve pain and quality of life in those with intractable back pain who have had spinal surgery. There is limited data on long term effects and and even less for patients with mechanical back pain without prior spinal surgery.