Photodynamic Therapy in the Treatment of Choroidal Neovascularization Complicating Central Serous Chorioretinopathy

We report the favorable anatomic and functional outcome of photodynamic therapy with verteporfin in a case of chronic central serous chorioretinopathy complicated with choroidal neovascularization (CNV). This 37-year-old Chinese male with bilateral chronic central serous chorioretinopathy presented with central scotoma, reduced vision and metamorphopsia in his right eye. Fluorescein angiography (FA) disclosed macular hemorrhage, exudate and subfoveal classic CNV. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) with verteporfin was applied to the CNV according to standard protocol with 2.2-mm spot size. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) improved from 6/20 to 6/10 1 month after PDT. BCVA recovered to 6/7.5 without leakage on FA 3 months after PDT. Neither recurrent CNV lesion nor new hemorrhage was noted over 12 months of follow-up. Short-term results suggest that PDT with verteporfin for CNV secondary to central serous chorioretinopathy is a safe and effective treatment modality

Management of Anaphylactic Shock During Intravenous Fluorescein Angiography at an Outpatient Clinic

We report the proper management of a severe adverse reaction of anaphylactic shock during intravenous fluorescein angiography at an outpatient clinic. A 72-year-old male developed the severe, life-threatening complication after intravenous injection of sodium fluorescein dye for retinal angiography. Three minutes after receiving an intravenous injection of fluorescein, the patient developed syncope, apnea and circulatory shock. Fortunately, he recovered without any neurologic sequelae after immediate intensive resuscitation with fluid and inotropic support. We highlight the occurrence of anaphylactic shock as a potentially fatal complication during intravenous fluorescein angiography. Thus, one should be alert to the possibility of this adverse event and be prepared to deal with it when fluorescein angiography is performed. When it happens, immediate intensive medical resuscitation is essential to minimize morbidity and to avoid mortality

Estrogen Receptor-1 Genetic Polymorphisms for the Risk of Premature Ovarian Failure and Early Menopause

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the role of the estrogen receptor 1 (ESR1) genetic polymorphisms for early menopause that was classified as premature ovarian failure (POF) and early menopause (EM) and to examine whether the associations of ESR1 genetic variants are different for POF and EM. Methods: We selected 100 POF cases and matched 100 EM cases and 200 normal menopause (NM) controls from the Korean Multi-Center Cohort. Among them, we restricted idiopathic POF and EM cases vs NM controls by excluding POF/EM cases with medical/surgical causes. The XbaI (rs9340799) and PvuII (rs2234693) in the ESR1 gene were genotyped. The single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and haplotype effects were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression and haplotype analysis. Also nominal polytomous logistic regression was used to find whether ESR1 genetic variants are differently associated with POF and EM. Results: The global p values for idiopathic POF and EM were 0.08 and 0.39 (SNP-based), and <0.001 and 0.12 (haplotype-based), respectively. The XbaI genetic variant containing the X allele was marginally significantly associated with a reduced risk of idiopathic POF (OR=0.6, 95% CI 0.3-1.0). The P-x haplotype and diplotypes significantly decreased the risk of idiopathic POF (OR=0.5, 95% CI 0.2-0.9; OR 0.4, 95% CI 0.2-0.9, respectively). In contrast from POF, the P-x haplotypes and diplotypes insignificantly increased the risk for both idiopathic EM (p(polytomous)=0.009 for P-x haplotype; p(polytomous)=0.02 for P-x diplotypes). Conclusion: Our results suggest that the ESR1 gene including PvuII and XbaI polymorphisms may modify the risk of idiopathic premature ovarian failure (POF) but not idiopathic early menopause (EM) risk.Bretherick KL, 2008, FERTIL STERIL, V89, P318, DOI 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2007.03.008Chang SH, 2007, MATURITAS, V58, P19, DOI 10.1016/j.maturitas.2007.04.001Kitamura I, 2007, BONE, V40, P1623, DOI 10.1016/j.bone.2007.02.016Molvarec A, 2007, HYPERTENS RES, V30, P205Hsieh YY, 2007, MOL HUM REPROD, V13, P117, DOI 10.1093/molehr/gal099Dvornyk V, 2006, MATURITAS, V54, P19, DOI 10.1016/j.maturitas.2005.08.005Onland-Moret NC, 2005, CANCER CAUSE CONTROL, V16, P1195, DOI 10.1007/s10552-005-0307-5Popat RA, 2005, NEUROLOGY, V65, P383Schuit SCE, 2005, EUR J ENDOCRINOL, V153, P327, DOI 10.1530/eje.1.01973Kok HS, 2005, HUM REPROD, V20, P536, DOI 10.1093/humrep/deh600Ioannidis JPA, 2004, JAMA-J AM MED ASSOC, V292, P2105van der Klift M, 2004, J BONE MINER RES, V19, P1172, DOI 10.1359/JBMR.040215Schuit SCE, 2004, JAMA-J AM MED ASSOC, V291, P2969Wasserman L, 2004, INT J OBESITY, V28, P49, DOI 10.1038/sj.ijo.0802481van Meurs JBJ, 2003, HUM MOL GENET, V12, P1745, DOI 10.1093/hmg/ddg176Gorai I, 2003, J CLIN ENDOCR METAB, V88, P799, DOI 10.1210/jc.2002-020353Laml T, 2002, HUM REPROD UPDATE, V8, P483Herrington DM, 2002, CIRCULATION, V105, P1879, DOI 10.1161/01.CIR.0000016173.98826.88Kobayashi N, 2002, MATURITAS, V41, P193YOO KY, 2002, ASIAN PAC J CANCER P, V3, P85de Bruin JP, 2001, HUM REPROD, V16, P2014Pelletier G, 2000, J CLIN ENDOCR METAB, V85, P4835Weiderpass E, 2000, CARCINOGENESIS, V21, P623Yan G, 2000, J WOMEN HEALTH GEN-B, V9, P275Lorentzon M, 1999, J CLIN ENDOCR METAB, V84, P4597Weel AEAM, 1999, J CLIN ENDOCR METAB, V84, P3146Drummond AE, 1999, MOL CELL ENDOCRINOL, V151, P57, DOI 10.1016/S0303-7207(99)00038-6Christin-Maitre S, 1998, MOL CELL ENDOCRINOL, V145, P75Torgerson DJ, 1997, EUR J OBSTET GYN R B, V74, P63vanderSchouw YT, 1996, LANCET, V347, P714Kobayashi S, 1996, J BONE MINER RES, V11, P306NELSON LM, 1996, REPROD ENDOCRINOLOGY, P1394KAPRIO J, 1995, HUM BIOL, V67, P739CRAMER DW, 1995, FERTIL STERIL, V64, P740EXCOFFIER L, 1995, MOL BIOL EVOL, V12, P921NELSON LM, 1994, J CLIN ENDOCR METAB, V79, P1470CAPLAN GA, 1994, J ROY SOC MED, V87, P200PALMER JR, 1992, AM J EPIDEMIOL, V136, P408BAGUR AC, 1992, CALCIFIED TISSUE INT, V51, P4FRANCESCHI S, 1991, INT J CANCER, V49, P57MEYER JM, 1991, AM J MED GENET, V39, P148TRELOAR SA, 1990, AM J HUM GENET, V47, P137SNOWDON DA, 1989, AM J PUBLIC HEALTH, V79, P709

Effect of Different Parts (Leaf, Stem and Stalk) and Seasons (Summer and Winter) on the Chemical Compositions and Antioxidant Activity of Moringa oleifera

Moringa oleifera, Lam. (Moringaceae) is grown world-wide in the tropics and sub-tropics of Asia and Africa and contains abundant various nutrients. This study describes the effect of different parts (leaf, stem and stalk) and seasons (summer and winter) on the chemical compositions and antioxidant activity of M. oleifera grown in Taiwan. The results showed that the winter samples of Moringa had higher ash (except the stalk part), calcium and phenolic compounds (except the leaf part) and stronger antioxidative activity than summer samples. The methanolic extract of Moringa showed strong scavenging effect of DPPH radicals and reducing power. The trend of antioxidative activity as a function of the part of Moringa was: leaf > stem > stalk for samples from both seasons investigated. The Moringa extract showed strong hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity and high Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) activity except the stalk part

Pilot Scale Production of Highly Efficacious and Stable Enterovirus 71 Vaccine Candidates

BACKGROUND: Enterovirus 71 (EV71) has caused several epidemics of hand, foot and mouth diseases (HFMD) in Asia and now is being recognized as an important neurotropic virus. Effective medications and prophylactic vaccine against EV71 infection are urgently needed. Based on the success of inactivated poliovirus vaccine, a prototype chemically inactivated EV71 vaccine candidate has been developed and currently in human phase 1 clinical trial. PRINCIPAL FINDING: In this report, we present the development of a serum-free cell-based EV71 vaccine. The optimization at each step of the manufacturing process was investigated, characterized and quantified. In the up-stream process development, different commercially available cell culture media either containing serum or serum-free was screened for cell growth and virus yield using the roller-bottle technology. VP-SFM serum-free medium was selected based on the Vero cell growth profile and EV71 virus production. After the up-stream processes (virus harvest, diafiltration and concentration), a combination of gel-filtration liquid chromatography and/or sucrose-gradient ultracentrifugation down-stream purification processes were investigated at a pilot scale of 40 liters each. Although the combination of chromatography and sucrose-gradient ultracentrifugation produced extremely pure EV71 infectious virus particles, the overall yield of vaccine was 7-10% as determined by a VP2-based quantitative ELISA. Using chromatography as the downstream purification, the virus yield was 30-43%. To retain the integrity of virus neutralization epitopes and the stability of the vaccine product, the best virus inactivation was found to be 0.025% formalin-treatment at 37 °C for 3 to 6 days. Furthermore, the formalin-inactivated virion vaccine candidate was found to be stable for >18 months at 4 °C and a microgram of viral proteins formulated with alum adjuvant could induce strong virus-neutralizing antibody responses in mice, rats, rabbits, and non-human primates. CONCLUSION: These results provide valuable information supporting the current cell-based serum-free EV71 vaccine candidate going into human Phase I clinical trials

Failure of a Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study to Evaluate the Efficacy of H. pylori Eradication in H. pylori-Infected Patients with Functional Dyspepsia

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The role of Helicobacter pylori eradication in patients with functional dyspepsia (FD) is still uncertain. We originally planned a randomized clinical study to observe dyspeptic symptoms after H. pylori eradication therapy. However, we failed to complete the study; therefore, we analyzed the factors that affected the failure of the study. METHODS: Interviews and questionnaire surveys were conducted to analyze the factors that induced early termination from the study. RESULTS: Many patients were screened by gastroenterologists at 11 tertiary referral hospitals between July 2009 and August 2010; however, only 4 patients met the enrollment criteria. Most patients who visited our clinics had been experiencing FD symptoms for less than 6 months or were already taking medication. They also demanded to continue taking medications and using other drugs. Only 3 of the 4 patients signed informed consent. CONCLUSIONS: The application of the current Rome III criteria to FD is difficult to evaluate in Korean patients with dyspeptic symptoms because of the early medical evaluation. Most Korean patients who were diagnosed with FD by the Rome III criteria did not overcome their fear of being unable to use rescue medications during the study period.ope

Constitutive phosphorylation of the FOXO1 transcription factor in gastric cancer cells correlates with microvessel area and the expressions of angiogenesis-related molecules

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although FOXO transcription factors may have an anti-angiogenic role, little is known about their role in tumor angiogenesis. The present study was performed to investigate the correlation between the constitutive expression of phosphorylated FOXO1 (pFOXO1) and angiogenesis in gastric cancer.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Immunohistochemistry was performed on tissue array slides containing 272 gastric carcinoma specimens, and the correlations between the cytoplasmic pFOXO1 expression in gastric cancer cells and CD34-immunopositive microvessel area (MVA) or the expressions of angiogenesis-related molecules were analyzed. <it>In vitro </it>analyses with Western blotting and semiquantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction were performed using the stable SNU-638 gastric cancer cell line transfected with lentivirus-delivered FOXO1 short hairpin RNA.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The cytoplasmic expression of pFOXO1 in tumor cells was observed in 85% of gastric carcinoma cases, and was found to be positively associated with higher MVA (<it>P </it>= 0.048). Moreover, pFOXO1 expression was positively correlated with the expressions of several angiogenesis-related proteins, including hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α, <it>P </it>= 0.003), vessel endothelial growth factor (<it>P </it>= 0.004), phosphorylated protein kinase B (<it>P </it>< 0.001), and nuclear factor-κB (<it>P </it>= 0.040). In contrast, the expression of pFOXO1 was not correlated with that of phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 or β-catenin. In addition, cell culture experiments showed that FOXO1 suppression increased the mRNA and protein expressions of HIF-1α.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results suggest that pFOXO1 expression in cancer cells plays a role in gastric cancer angiogenesis via mechanisms involving various angiogenesis-related molecules. Animal experiments are needed to confirm the anti-angiogenic role of FOXO1 in human gastric cancer.</p

Simplified Models for LHC New Physics Searches

This document proposes a collection of simplified models relevant to the design of new-physics searches at the LHC and the characterization of their results. Both ATLAS and CMS have already presented some results in terms of simplified models, and we encourage them to continue and expand this effort, which supplements both signature-based results and benchmark model interpretations. A simplified model is defined by an effective Lagrangian describing the interactions of a small number of new particles. Simplified models can equally well be described by a small number of masses and cross-sections. These parameters are directly related to collider physics observables, making simplified models a particularly effective framework for evaluating searches and a useful starting point for characterizing positive signals of new physics. This document serves as an official summary of the results from the "Topologies for Early LHC Searches" workshop, held at SLAC in September of 2010, the purpose of which was to develop a set of representative models that can be used to cover all relevant phase space in experimental searches. Particular emphasis is placed on searches relevant for the first ~50-500 pb-1 of data and those motivated by supersymmetric models. This note largely summarizes material posted at http://lhcnewphysics.org/, which includes simplified model definitions, Monte Carlo material, and supporting contacts within the theory community. We also comment on future developments that may be useful as more data is gathered and analyzed by the experiments.Comment: 40 pages, 2 figures. This document is the official summary of results from "Topologies for Early LHC Searches" workshop (SLAC, September 2010). Supplementary material can be found at http://lhcnewphysics.or

Pan-Cancer Analysis of lncRNA Regulation Supports Their Targeting of Cancer Genes in Each Tumor Context

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are commonly dys-regulated in tumors, but only a handful are known toplay pathophysiological roles in cancer. We inferredlncRNAs that dysregulate cancer pathways, onco-genes, and tumor suppressors (cancer genes) bymodeling their effects on the activity of transcriptionfactors, RNA-binding proteins, and microRNAs in5,185 TCGA tumors and 1,019 ENCODE assays.Our predictions included hundreds of candidateonco- and tumor-suppressor lncRNAs (cancerlncRNAs) whose somatic alterations account for thedysregulation of dozens of cancer genes and path-ways in each of 14 tumor contexts. To demonstrateproof of concept, we showed that perturbations tar-geting OIP5-AS1 (an inferred tumor suppressor) andTUG1 and WT1-AS (inferred onco-lncRNAs) dysre-gulated cancer genes and altered proliferation ofbreast and gynecologic cancer cells. Our analysis in-dicates that, although most lncRNAs are dysregu-lated in a tumor-specific manner, some, includingOIP5-AS1, TUG1, NEAT1, MEG3, and TSIX, synergis-tically dysregulate cancer pathways in multiple tumorcontexts