A phase II study of sulofenur,a novel sulfonylurea,in recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer

Summary A total of 16 patients with recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer were treated with sulofenur (LY 186641), a novel oral sulfonylurea. All subjects had received previous chemotherapy. Anaemia occurred in all 16 patients, 14 of whom required a blood transfusion, and 2/16 patients received methylene blue for breathlessness due to methaemaglobinaemia. Treatment was discontinued in 2/16 cases due to rising liver enzyme values, which reverted to normal on cessation of the drug. There was no nausea or alopecia. Only two minor responses were seen. Plasma drug levels were insufficient to result in antitumour activity as extrapolated from animal data. Further studies that attempt to increase the bioavailability and improve the therapeutic index are warranted.     

Linkage of the MHC to familial multiple sclerosis suggests genetic heterogeneity. The Multiple Sclerosis Genetics Group

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating autoimmune disease of the central nervous system. While its etiology is not well understood, genetic factors are clearly involved. Until recently, most genetic studies in MS have been association studies using the case-control design testing specific candidate genes and studying only sporadic cases. The only consistently replicated finding has been an association with the HLA-DR2 allele within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) on chromosome 6. Using the genetic linkage design, however, evidence for and against linkage of the MHC to MS has been found, fostering suggestions that sporadic and familial MS have different etiologies. Most recently, two of four genomic screens demonstrated linkage to the MHC, although specific allelic associations were not tested. Here, a dataset of 98 multiplex families was studied to test for an association to the HLA-DR2 allele in familial MS and to determine if genetic linkage to the MHC was due solely to such an association. Three highly polymorphic markers (HLA-DR, D6S273 and TNFbeta) in the MHC demonstrated strong genetic linkage (parametric lod scores of 4.60, 2.20 and 1.24, respectively) and a specific association with the HLA-DR2 allele was confirmed (TDT; P < 0.001). Stratifying the results by HLA-DR2 status showed that the linkage results were limited to families segregating HLA-DR2 alleles. These results demonstrate that genetic linkage to the MHC can be explained by the HLA-DR2 allelic association. They also indicate that sporadic and familial MS share a common genetic susceptibility. In addition, preliminary calculations suggest that the MHC explains between 17 and 62% of the genetic etiology of MS. This heterogeneity is also supported by the minority of families showing no linkage or association with loci within the MHC.      

Mutation spectrum and genotype-phenotype analyses in Cowden disease and Bannayan-Zonana syndrome, two hamartoma syndromes with germline PTEN mutation

The tumour suppressor gene PTEN , which maps to 10q23.3 and encodes a 403 amino acid dual specificity phosphatase (protein tyrosine phosphatase; PTPase), was shown recently to play a broad role in human malignancy. Somatic PTEN deletions and mutations were observed in sporadic breast, brain, prostate and kidney cancer cell lines and in several primary tumours such as endometrial carcinomas, malignant melanoma and thyroid tumours. In addition, PTEN was identified as the susceptibility gene for two hamartoma syndromes: Cowden disease (CD; MIM 158350) and Bannayan-Zonana (BZS) or Ruvalcaba-Riley-Smith syndrome (MIM 153480). Constitutive DNA from 37 CD families and seven BZS families was screened for germline PTEN mutations. PTEN mutations were identified in 30 of 37 (81%) CD families, including missense and nonsense point mutations, deletions, insertions, a deletion/insertion and splice site mutations. These mutations were scattered over the entire length of PTEN , with the exception of the first, fourth and last exons. A 'hot spot' for PTEN mutation in CD was identified in exon 5 that contains the PTPase core motif, with 13 of 30 (43%) CD mutations identified in this exon. Seven of 30 (23%) were within the core motif, the majority (five of seven) of which were missense mutations, possibly pointing to the functional significance of this region. Germline PTEN mutations were identified in four of seven (57%) BZS families studied. Interestingly, none of these mutations was observed in the PTPase core motif. It is also worthy of note that a single nonsense point mutation, R233X, was observed in the germline DNA from two unrelated CD families and one BZS family. Genotype-phenotype studies were not performed on this small group of BZS families. However, genotype-phenotype analysis inthe group of CD families revealed two possible associations worthy of follow-up in independent analyses. The first was an association noted in the group of CD families with breast disease. A correlation was observed between the presence/absence of a PTEN mutation and the type of breast involvement (unaffected versus benign versus malignant). Specifically and more directly, an association was also observed between the presence of a PTEN mutation and malignant breast disease. Secondly, there appeared to be an interdependent association between mutations upstream and within the PTPase core motif, the core motif containing the majority of missense mutations, and the involvement of all major organ systems (central nervous system, thyroid, breast, skin and gastrointestinal tract). However, these observations would need to be confirmed by studying a larger number of CD families.      

Analysis of location and integrity of the human PITSLRE (p58(cdc2L1)) genes in neuroblastoma cell genomes

The family of PITSLRE kinase genes, located in chromosome 1p36, has recently been associated with neuroblastoma tumorigenesis. In order to evaluate the role of these genes as putative tumor suppressor genes, we have analyzed the integrity of the coding region in primary tumors and its location relative to a neuroblastoma consensus deletion. A subset of aggressive neuroblastoma tumors with allelic loss of different parts of chromosome 1p were investigated. Single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP), heteroduplex (HD) and sequencing analysis of tumor DNA did not reveal any significant changes in the coding region. In particular, a primary tumor with an interstitial allelic deletion in 1p36 did not reveal concomitant loss of heterozygosity of the PITSLRE gene region when analyzed with a C/T DNA sequence polymorphism in exon 5 of PITSLRE1. FISH analysis on neuroblastoma cell lines with small interstitial deletions and with a balanced translocation in 1p36 revealed that the PITSLRE gene cluster was localized distal to the neuroblastoma consensus deletion. against an involvement of the PITSLRE genes in neuroblastoma tumorigenesis.     

高效液相色谱法测定小儿磨积片中橙皮苷的含量

目的:建立以高效液相色谱法测定小儿磨积片中橙皮苷含量的方法。方法:色谱柱为SpherisorbC18,流动相为甲醇-冰醋酸-水(25∶4∶71),检测波长为283nm,流速为2·0ml/min,柱温为50℃,灵敏度为0·16AUFS,进样量为20μl。结果:橙皮苷进样量在0·024μg~1·2μg范围内与峰面积积分值呈良好的线性关系(r=0·9999),平均回收率为99·1%(RSD=0·8%)。结论:本方法简便、快捷,灵敏度及准确度高,可为小儿磨积片质量控制提供依据。     

Use of the burn intervention score to calculate the charges of the care of burns

Background

To our knowledge this is the first published estimate of the charges of the care of burns in Sweden. The Linköping Burn Interventional Score has been used to calculate the charges for each burned patient since 1993. The treatment of burns is versatile, and depends on the depth and extension of the burn. This requires a flexible system to detect the actual differences in the care provided. We aimed to describe the model of burn care that we used to calculate the charges incurred during the acute phase until discharge, so it could be reproduced and applied in other burn centres, which would facilitate a future objective comparison of the expenses in burn care.

Increased circulating CSF-1 (M-CSF) in myeloproliferative disease: association with myeloid metaplasia and peripheral bone marrow extension

Myeloproliferative disease (MPD) is heterogeneous in phenotypic expression and may display features consistent with expansion and activation of the monocyte/macrophage population during its course. The role of colony-stimulating factor-1 (CSF-1) in the pathophysiology of MPD was investigated by measuring circulating CSF-1 levels and examining their relationship to disease phenotype. Serum CSF-1 concentrations, measured by radioimmunoassay, were elevated in all MPD phenotypes. CSF-1 levels differed significantly between groups of patients with essential thrombocythemia, polycythemia vera, and postpolycythemic or agnogenic myeloid metaplasia (in ascending order). CSF-1 serum levels were positively correlated with spleen size and the degree of peripheral bone marrow extension, determined by scintigraphy using a macrophage-seeking isotope. There was no correlation between CSF-1 concentration and circulating levels of erythrocytes, neutrophils or platelets, or the presence of bone marrow fibrosis. Elevated serum CSF-1 levels appear to be associated with an expanded monocyte/macrophage population in MPD. In view of the known cooperativity between CSF-1 and other growth factors in regulating hematopoiesis, the finding of increased serum CSF-1 concentrations and its association with myeloid metaplasia and bone marrow extension may indicate a pathophysiologic role for CSF-1 in determining the phenotypic expression of MPD.