Interferon modulation of 5-fluorouracil: use in neoadjuvant therapy inhibits experimental liver metastases in nude mice.

Experimental liver metastasis was studied in 4-5 week old athymic nude mice that were injected intrasplenically with a human colorectal tumor cell line (LoVo). A treatment schedule combining 5-fluorouracil and interferon (IFN) was previously shown to inhibit liver metastases. When this treatment was delayed until after splenectomy at 1, 2 and 3 weeks after tumor cell injections, liver metastases were not inhibited. However, when IFN was given during the interval between tumor cell injections and splenectomy (as neoadjuvant therapy), liver metastases were inhibited in the 2 and 3 week groups, but not in the 1 week group.     

5‐HTTLPR and anxiety modulate brain‐heart covariation

To date, little is known about genes affecting the interplay of brain and heart activity. Because serotonin (5‐HT) is involved in corticovagal neurotransmission, we tested whether the 5‐HT transporter polymorphism 5‐HTTLPR affects brain‐heart covariation. Further, associations with neuroticism/anxiety (NANX) were tested, as anxiety is related to 5‐HT and neurogenic changes of heart period (HP). N = 168 participants performed a time‐estimation task while EEG and HP were recorded. Brain‐heart covariation was measured using time‐lagged within‐subject correlations of centromedial feedback‐evoked single‐trial EEG at 300 ms and subsequent changes of HP. EEG‐HP correlations were higher in 5‐HTTLPR long allele carriers. Moreover, after negative feedback, EEG‐HP correlations and feedback‐related negativity amplitudes independently correlated with NANX. The results indicate that individual differences in brain‐heart covariation relate to 5‐HT and NANX.     

Untethered firing fields and intermittent silences: Why grid‐cell discharge is so variable

Grid cells in medial entorhinal cortex are notoriously variable in their responses, despite the striking hexagonal arrangement of their spatial firing fields. Indeed, when the animal moves through a firing field, grid cells often fire much more vigorously than predicted or do not fire at all. The source of this trial‐to‐trial variability is not completely understood. By analyzing grid‐cell spike trains from mice running in open arenas and on linear tracks, we characterize the phenomenon of “missed” firing fields using the statistical theory of zero inflation. We find that one major cause of grid‐cell variability lies in the spatial representation itself: firing fields are not as strongly anchored to spatial location as the averaged grid suggests. In addition, grid fields from different cells drift together from trial to trial, regardless of whether the environment is real or virtual, or whether the animal moves in light or darkness. Spatial realignment across trials sharpens the grid representation, yielding firing fields that are more pronounced and significantly narrower. These findings indicate that ensembles of grid cells encode relative position more reliably than absolute position.     

Gastrointestinal toxicity associated with weekly docetaxel treatment.

Previous studies have demonstrated a marked reduction of haematological and non-haematological toxicity if weekly doses of docetaxel <40 mg/m2 were used. Reviewing the literature, neutropenic enterocolitis is uncommon but not unknown in patients treated with taxane-based chemotherapy. Although this complication occurs rarely, here we report on two patients, one with metastatic breast cancer and one with non-small-cell lung cancer, treated on a weekly schedule with single-agent docetaxel. Both patients developed excessive and fatal haemorrhragic gastroduodenitis and enterocolitis associated with grade 2 and 3 neutropenia. We would like to stress the importance of symptoms such as abdominal pain and tenderness, fever, diarrhoea and mucositis, with or without neutropenic fever, in patients treated with docetaxel-based chemotherapy. These symptoms should alert the physician and supportive care management should be started aggressively and immediately.     

Sexually dimorphic link between dopamine D2 receptor gene and neuroticism-anxiety

Prior theory-driven research probing the association between dopaminergic candidate genes and human personality has focused on the trait of novelty seeking. Here, we examined the association between the dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) TaqI A polymorphism and two other personality traits, neuroticism-anxiety and agentic extraversion. We found no significant associations for agentic extraversion. However, for men, but not for women, we observed a strong and specific association between low neuroticism-anxiety and the A1+ allele of the DRD2 TaqI A polymorphism across two independent samples and across two alternative personality scales. We conclude that new theoretical models are needed to account for these and other recent reports of associations between neuroticism-anxiety and brain dopamine, which cannot be interpreted within the traditional framework.     

Dual-phase 3D MDCT angiography for evaluation of the liver before hepatic resection

OBJECTIVE: We sought to evaluate the accuracy of dual-phase MDCT angiography for assessing the liver before hepatic resection and to compare 2D and 3D images for quality and arterial branch visualization. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty-three patients with colorectal metastases (n = 30), hepatocellular carcinomas (n = 13), giant hemangiomas (n = 5), and other lesions (n = 15) underwent dual-phase MDCT using either a LightSpeed QX/i 4-MDCT (n = 31) or LightSpeed QX/i Ultra 8-MDCT (n = 32) scanner. Contrast material (150 mL of Isovue 370 [iopamidol]) was injected at a rate of 5 mL/sec. The arterial phase images were rendered on a workstation to obtain 3D MDCT angiograms that were assessed by two reviewers who were blinded to the surgical findings. Arterial anatomy was categorized according to the Michels classification. The reviewers assessed the 2D and 3D images for quality, arterial branch visualization, and differences between the 4- and 8-MDCT images. In the 43 patients who underwent resection, imaging findings were correlated with intraoperative findings. RESULTS: The anatomy of hepatic arteries in the 63 patients was classified as follows: Michels type I, 51 patients (80.9%); type III, four patients (6.3%); type V, five patients (7.9%); and types VII, VIII, and IX, one patient (1.6%) each. In 40 (93%) of 43 patients, the surgical findings concurred with MDCT findings. Three discrepancies were due to failure to identify small accessory left hepatic arteries. Branch visualization and image quality of the 2D images were superior to those of the 3D images. No significant difference was found between the 4- and 8-MDCT images in branch visualization and image quality. CONCLUSION: Three-dimensional MDCT angiography is accurate for classification of hepatic arterial anatomy before hepatic resection. Although 2D data sets show small arteries to better advantage than 3D MDCT angiograms, the 3D MDCT angiograms provide a useful overview of hepatic anatomy.     

Untersuchungen über den kindlichen Brustkorb

Ohne ZusammenfassungMit 5 Textabbildungen.     

Nr. 84. Die Differentialdiagnose des Gasbrandes

Ohne Zusammenfassung z. Z. in einem Feldlazarett