Effects of magnetic resonance imaging diffusion gradient recalled echo on a patient with an intracranial hemorrhage presenting to the emergency department.

Generally, a computed tomography scan is conducted for the diagnosis of stroke in the emergency department, because these scans are easier and faster in the detection of stroke. If there are no signs of hemorrhage on computed tomography scan, an ischemic stroke is diagnosed and treated accordingly. A magnetic resonance imaging scan may be taken in order to verify ischemic stroke. This process may lead to improper treatment and is time consuming. To address this situation, case studies are presented in which magnetic resonance imaging diffusion-weighted imaging and gradient recalled echo were performed to detect hemorrhagic and ischemic stroke and particularly, subarachnoid hemorrhage, which is undetectable with a computed tomography scan.     

Effect of Coenzyme Q10 and green tea on plasma and liver lipids, platelet aggregation, TBARS production and erythrocyte Na leak in simvastatin treated hypercholesterolmic rats

This study was conducted to investigate the hypocholesterolemic effect of simvastatin (30 mg/kg BW) and antioxidant effect of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10, 15 mg/kg BW) or green tea (5%) on erythrocyte Na leak, platelet aggregation and TBARS production in hypercholesterolemic rats treated with statin. Food efficiency ratio (FER, ADG/ADFI) was decreased in statin group and increased in green tea group, and the difference between these two groups was significant (p<0.05). Plasma total cholesterol was somewhat increased in all groups with statin compared with control. Plasma triglyceride was decreased in statin group and increased in groups of CoQ10 and green tea, and the difference between groups of statin and green tea was significant (p<0.05). Liver total cholesterol was not different between the control and statin group, but was significantly decreased in the group with green tea compared with other groups (p<0.05). Liver triglyceride was decreased in groups of statin and green tea compared with the control, and the difference between groups of the control and green tea was significant (p<0.05). Platelet aggregation of both the initial slope and the maximum was not significantly different, but the group with green tea tended to be higher in initial slope and lower in the maximum. Intracellular Na of group with green tea was significantly higher than the control or statin group (p<0.05). Na leak in intact cells was significantly decreased in the statin group compared with the control (p<0.05). Na leak in AAPH treated cells was also significantly reduced in the statin group compared with groups of the control and CoQ10 (p<0.05). TBARS production in platelet rich plasma was significantly decreased in the groups with CoQ10 and green tea compared with the control and statin groups (p<0.05). TBARS of liver was significantly decreased in the group with green tea compared with the statin group (p<0.05). In the present study, even a high dose of statin did not show a cholesterol lowering effect, therefore depletion of CoQ10 following statin treatment in rats is not clear. More clinical studies are needed for therapeutic use of CoQ10 as an antioxidant in prevention of degenerative diseases independent of statin therapy.     

A study of a method for distribution analysis of skin color

Background/aims: The objective and quantitative assessment of the skin is important in medical and cosmeceutical research. Assessment of color is an important element for analyzing the surface of the skin, which is usually determined subjectively by a doctor or using color analysis devices. These devices, however, cannot provide correct color information because color is construed from the mean value of the observation region, and analysis of color distribution is impossible. The purpose of this paper is to develop an objective analysis method to permit skin color measurement of each pixel unit of an image and analyze the distribution of skin surface color. Methods: The Skin Color Distribution Analyzer (SCDA) is an analysis method newly developed at the Research Institute for Skin Image at Korea University. The SCDA system presented in this paper performed a novel form of quantitative and objective analysis of skin color distribution using each pixel color model parameter found in image wavelength information. In this paper, distribution analysis was conducted on normal skin and skin lesions and skin affected by artificially induced irritant contact dermatitis and pigmented nevous. The method selected a grade using a color model parameter. Twenty healthy Korean males participated in this study. A comparative study of the eight anatomical areas was performed, including the exposure and non‐exposure parts and the medial aspect and the lateral aspect of the forearm. A reliability test for the SCDA system was also conducted with a spectrometer (SPEC) using the color analysis method. Results: Each skin lesion was precisely segmented by grade and each parameter hada different statistical significance for results of analysis of distribution in pigmented nevous and the artificially induced irritant contact dermatitis. Parameters L^*, b^*, a^*, and EI showed salient traits. Showed resemble measured result in the SCDA system and the SPEC of normal skin. The exposed site, in comparison with the non‐exposed site, showed a notable difference in the L^* parameter and a significant statistical difference in the x and z parameters, except b^*. The comparison of the medial and lateral aspects of the forearm showed a notable difference in the L^* parameter and a significant statistical difference in the parameters except y and b^*. In the reliability test result using the SCDA system and the SPEC, the SCDA system was highly reliabile in terms of the CV value in all color model parameters. Conclusions: The color distribution analysis method using the SCDA system has revealed an aspect that the existent method of medical research has not shown, and is considered to be more reliable than other methods. This method can provide better study findings because it can be applied to other fields in addition to the medical science field and the ripple effect is thought to be bigger in other science field too.     

Comparison of the effects of three different combinations of general anesthetics on the electroretinogram of dogs

The objective of this study is to compare the effects of three different anesthetic combinations on the electroretinogram in the same animals under similar laboratory conditions. Thiopental–isoflurane (TI), medetomidine–ketamine (MK), and xylazine–ketamine (XK) were used on each of 12 healthy miniature schnauzer dogs (MS) with a period of at least 3 weeks in between subsequent anesthesia protocols, using the Dog Standard Protocol. The scotopic ERGs consisted of scotopic low stimulus strength (S) responses designated S1, S2, S3, S4, and S5, at 1, 5, 10, 15, and 20 min after dark adaptation, respectively, and scotopic standard stimulus strength (S-ST) responses. The photopic ERGs consisted of a photopic single flash (P) response and 31 Hz flicker (P-FL) responses. For S-ST (2.5 cd s/m²), the amplitude of the a-wave using TI was significantly lower than that using MK (adjusted P = 0.05) and XK (adjusted P = 0.03), and the implicit time of the a-wave was significantly shorter than that using MK (adjusted P = 0.04). For P (2.5 cd s/m²), the amplitude of the b-wave using XK was significantly higher than that using MK (adjusted P = 0.01). The implicit times of the b-wave using TI was significantly longer and shorter than that of MK for S1, S2 and P-FL and for S4 and S-ST, respectively, and than that of XK for S2 and P-FL and for S5 and S-ST, respectively. The results of the present study showed that TI affected both the amplitude and the implicit time of the a-wave for S-ST and the implicit time of the b-wave relatively more so than was the case when using XK or MK. Therefore, it appears that either XK or MK could be advantageous to use rather than TI for clinical studies.     

Notochordal cells stimulate migration of cartilage end plate chondrocytes of the intervertebral disc in in vitro cell migration assays

Background contextIt was recently demonstrated that the postnatal transition from a notochordal to a fibrocartilaginous nucleus pulposus (NP) is accomplished exogenously by chondrocytes migrating from hyaline cartilage end plates (CEs) into the ectopic notochordal NP region. Although our previous in vivo studies showed evidences for the migration of CE chondrocyte from hyaline CEs into the notochordal NP, it is unknown whether CE chondrocytes of the intervertebral disc (IVD) really have a motile property. In addition, the effect of notochordal cells on this property has not been elucidated.PurposeThe purpose of this in vitro study was to demonstrate whether CE chondrocytes of the IVD are capable of migration, and whether there is any biological link between notochordal cells and CE chondrocytes that may regulate the CE chondrocyte migration.Study design/settingIn vitro cell migration assays were performed using rat IVDs.MethodsNotochordal cells and chondrocytes were obtained from the NP and CE tissues, respectively, and were cultured separately. The different numbers of notochordal cells and the supernatant (conditioned medium) that contained soluble factors produced by notochordal cells were used to demonstrate their effects on the migration of CE chondrocytes. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) and lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) were used as negative and positive controls, respectively.ResultsCompared with BSA, LPA, notochordal cells (N=4×, 2×, 1×, and 0.5×10⁵), and its conditioned media (unconcentrated and fivefold concentrated) significantly increased migration of CE chondrocytes (p<.05 in all comparisons). Particularly, notochordal cells and its conditioned media increased migration in a number- and concentration-dependent manner, respectively.ConclusionsThis study demonstrates that CE chondrocytes of the IVD are capable of migration and that soluble factors produced by notochordal cells stimulate the migration. These results provide a plausible explanation to the question of why CE chondrocytes of the IVD migrate into the ectopic NP region during the natural transition from the notochordal to fibrocartilaginous NP.     

Liver and lung resection for colorectal metastasis

Aim: To examine the survival benefit of liver and lung resection for colorectal metastasis and the potential prognostic factors that affect patient survival. Methods: All patients who had resection of lung or liver metastasis for colorectal metastasis in Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hong Kong from 1995 to 2004 were retrospectively reviewed. The overall and disease‐free survival was analysed, in particularly between liver and lung metastasis. All factors that may have affected the survival were entered into Cox's proportional hazards regression model to identify significant variables associated with survival. Results: At 5 years, the overall survival of patients who had resection of lung and liver metastasis was 44% and 38%, respectively; the disease‐free survival was 26% and 24%, respectively. Overall and disease‐free survival of patients with resection of lung metastasis was comparable to those with resection of liver metastasis. The differentiations of primary tumour and time to metastasis were shown to be significant prognostic factors influencing overall survival. Those patients with systemic chemotherapy after resection of colorectal metastasis demonstrated a significantly higher probability of overall survival. Conclusion: Resection of lung and liver metastases from colorectal origin was safe and both procedures improved survival. The use of chemotherapy after resection of metastasis significantly improved the overall survival.     

Chiropractic practice in Hong Kong: the need for amendments of health laws and provisions

Chiropractic practitioners with accredited qualifications should have the right to diagnose, the right to operate diagnostic imaging machines, and the right to the title doctor and Yee San. This paper reviews chiropractic practice in Hong Kong as well as laws and provisions of the health professions namely Chiropractors Registration Ordinance, Medical Registration Ordinance, Dentists Registration Ordinance, Radiation Ordinance, and the provisions of codes of practice of Medical Laboratory Technologists and Radiographers. The need for amendments of relevant sections of health laws and provisions, which concern chiropractic rights, chiropractic practice, and clinical research of mechanical neuromusculoskeletal disorders is discussed. Patient privileges relevant to chiropractic practice are proposed. The Chinese title Yee San or Yee and the English title Doctor are generic terms. Hence, legally “Yee San” and “Doctor” should not be coined by medical practitioners and vice versa. Diagnostic imaging and laboratory procedures are essential for differential diagnosis of neuromusculoskeletal disorders, which may indicate or contraindicate the application of manipulation, and hence are essential for chiropractic practice and clinical research. Proposed amendments of the listed sections of the ordinances and provisions are also outlined.     

Somatic gene therapy for phenylketonuria and other hepatic deficiencies

Summary Gene therapy is the delivery of genetic material to specific cell types of an organism to alter its physiology or function. This technology is being explored as a means of treating diseases caused by deficiencies of hepatic gene products. The two diseases being used as models for hepatic gene therapy are classical phenylketonuria (PKU) and haemophilia B. Vectors derived from adenoviruses can be used to completely correct these diseases in animal models. The phenotypic correction generated in these studies is transient, and cannot be duplicated by vector readministration. The transient nature of transgene expression results from the destruction of the virally-transduced cells by a cellular immune response directed against the late viral gene products that are also expressed in the target cells. The inability to repeatedly administer virus is caused by a humoral immune response directed against viral proteins present at the time of infusion. If the host immune response is suppressed, transgene expression can persist for 6 months or more. These findings suggest that host immunomodulation in combination with further modification of the adenoviral vector to reduce or eliminate late viral gene expression may permit long-term expression of potentially therapeutic gene products in mammalian liver.