Possible Central Nervous System Infection by SARS Coronavirus

On day 22 of illness, generalized tonic-clonic convulsion developed in a 32-year-old woman with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Cerebrospinal fluid tested positive for SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) by reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction. SARS-CoV may have caused an infection in the central nervous system in this patient

Deoxygedunin, a Natural Product with Potent Neurotrophic Activity in Mice

Gedunin, a family of natural products from the Indian neem tree, possess a variety of biological activities. Here we report the discovery of deoxygedunin, which activates the mouse TrkB receptor and its downstream signaling cascades. Deoxygedunin is orally available and activates TrkB in mouse brain in a BDNF-independent way. Strikingly, it prevents the degeneration of vestibular ganglion in BDNF −/− pups. Moreover, deoxygedunin robustly protects rat neurons from cell death in a TrkB-dependent manner. Further, administration of deoxygedunin into mice displays potent neuroprotective, anti-depressant and learning enhancement effects, all of which are mediated by the TrkB receptor. Hence, deoxygedunin imitates BDNF's biological activities through activating TrkB, providing a powerful therapeutic tool for treatment of various neurological diseases

Enterococcal endocarditis presenting with sudden right arm weakness in a 73-year-old man [2]

Link_to_subscribed_fulltex

A Single Institution Experience of Incorporation of Cisplatin into Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Patients With Triple-Negative Breast Cancer of Unknown Mutation Status

The clinical benefit of adding platinum to adjuvant chemotherapy for patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has not been well investigated, although it was associated an improved response rate in neoadjuvant setting. We retrospectively analyzed the time to tumor progression (TTP) and overall survival (OS) of patients with resected stage I-III TNBC who were treated with or without cisplatin-containing chemotherapy (CisCT or noCisCT) during 2004 and 2010. Of 129 patients, 25 received CisCT. In univariate analysis, the mean TTP for CisCT and noCisCT was 4.42 and 5.88 years, respectively ( P  = .004). The mean OS for CisCT and noCisCT was 6.76 and 9.63 years, respectively ( P  = .24). After adjusting for other clinicopathologic factors, only clinical stage II/III disease was independently associated with worse OS. The adjusted hazard ratio for CisCT was 1.48 ( P  = .46) and was not statistically significant. In this small retrospective study, adding cisplatin to adjuvant chemotherapy for early TNBC with unknown BRCA mutation status did not benefit OS

Improvement of bone mineral density after enzyme replacement therapy in Chinese late-onset Pompe disease patients

Abstract Objective Late-onset Pompe disease (LOPD) is a lysosomal storage disease resulted from deficiency of the enzyme acid α-glucosidase. Patients usually develop a limb-girdle pattern of myopathy and respiratory impairment, and enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) is the only specific treatment available. Recently, LOPD has been associated with low bone mineral density (BMD), but the effect of ERT on BMD is inconclusive. In this report we described our early observations on the change of BMD after ERT in Chinese LOPD patients. Results We studied four Chinese LOPD patients with different severities of myopathy. All were underweight, and three had osteoporosis at baseline. We found significant weight gain in three patients after ERT and all four patients showed improvement in BMD. The biggest improvement, 84.4% increase in BMD, was seen in a lady with the most prominent weight recovery. Our results suggest that ERT improves BMD in Chinese LOPD and weight gain could be a major contributor to this effect

A randomized controlled trial of a brain-computer interface based attention training program for ADHD

Objective : The use of brain-computer interface in neurofeedback therapy for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a relatively new approach. We conducted a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to determine whether an 8-week brain computer interface (BCI)-based attention training program improved inattentive symptoms in children with ADHD compared to a waitlist-control group, and the effects of a subsequent 12-week lower-intensity training. Study design : We randomized 172 children aged 6–12 attending an outpatient child psychiatry clinic diagnosed with inattentive or combined subtypes of ADHD and not receiving concurrent pharmacotherapy or behavioral intervention to either the intervention or waitlist-control group. Intervention involved 3 sessions of BCI-based training for 8 weeks, followed by 3 training sessions per month over the subsequent 12 weeks. The waitlist-control group received similar 20-week intervention after a wait-time of 8 weeks. Results : The participants’ mean age was 8.6 years (SD = 1.51), with 147 males (85.5%) and 25 females (14.5%). Modified intention to treat analyzes conducted on 163 participants with at least one follow-up rating showed that at 8 weeks, clinician-rated inattentive symptoms on the ADHD-Rating Scale (ADHD-RS) was reduced by 3.5 (SD 3.97) in the intervention group compared to 1.9 (SD 4.42) in the waitlist-control group (between-group difference of 1.6; 95% CI 0.3 to 2.9 p = 0.0177). At the end of the full 20-week treatment, the mean reduction (pre-post BCI) of the pooled group was 3.2 (95% CI 2.4 to 4.1). Conclusion : The results suggest that the BCI-based attention training program can improve ADHD symptoms after a minimum of 24 sessions and maintenance training may sustain this improvement. This intervention may be an option for treating milder cases or as an adjunctive treatment.NMRC (Natl Medical Research Council, S’pore)Published versio

Lycibarbarspermidines A–O, New Dicaffeoylspermidine Derivatives from Wolfberry, with Activities against Alzheimer’s Disease and Oxidation

Fifteen new dicaffeoylspermidine derivatives, lycibarbarspermidines A–O (<b>1</b>–<b>15</b>), were isolated from the fruit of Lycium barbarum (wolfberry). The structures were unambiguously determined by spectroscopic analyses and chemical methods. Dicaffeoylspermidine derivatives, a rare kind of plant secondary metabolites, are primarily distributed in the family of Solanaceae. Only six compounds were structurally identified, and all of them are acyclic aglycones. Compounds <b>1</b>–<b>15</b> are the first glycosidic products of dicaffeoylspermidine derivatives, and compounds <b>14</b>–<b>15</b> are the first cyclization products of dicaffeoylspermidine derivatives. Moreover, dicaffeoylspermidine derivatives were first isolated and identified from wolfberry. The short-term memory assay on a transgenic fly Alzheimer’s disease (AD) model showed that <b>1</b>–<b>15</b> exhibited different levels of anti-AD activity. The oxygen radical absorbance capacity assay revealed that <b>1</b>–<b>15</b> all displayed antioxidant capacity. Both anti-AD and antioxidant functions are related to the effects of wolfberry. Therefore, dicaffeoylspermidine derivatives are considered beneficial constituents responsible for the antiaging, neuroprotective, anti-AD, and antioxidant effects of wolfberry