Clinical significance of serological biomarkers and neuropsychological performances in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is a common form of focal epilepsy. Serum biomarkers to predict cognitive performance in TLE patients without psychiatric comorbidities and the link with gray matter (GM) atrophy have not been fully explored.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Thirty-four patients with TLE and 34 sex - and age-matched controls were enrolled for standardized cognitive tests, neuroimaging studies as well as measurements of serum levels of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), S100ß protein (S100ßP), neuronal specific enolase (NSE), plasma nuclear and mitochondrial DNA levels.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Compared with the controls, the patients with TLE had poorer cognitive performances and higher HSP70 and S100ßP levels (<it>p </it>< 0.01). The patients with higher frequencies of seizures had higher levels of HSP70, NSE and S100ßP (<it>p </it>< 0.01). Serum HSP70 level correlated positively with duration of epilepsy (σ = 0.413, <it>p </it>< 0.01), and inversely with memory scores in the late registration (σ = −0.276, <it>p </it>= 0.01) and early recall score (σ = −0.304, <it>p </it>= 0.007). Compared with the controls, gray matter atrophy in the hippocampal and parahippocampal areas, putamen, thalamus and supplementary motor areas were found in the patient group. The HSP70 levels showed an inverse correlation with hippocampal volume (R square = 0.22, <it>p </it>= 0.007) after controlling for the effect of age.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results suggest that serum biomarkers were predictive of higher frequencies of seizures in the TLE group. HSP70 may be considered to be a stress biomarker in patients with TLE in that it correlated inversely with memory scores and hippocampal volume. In addition, the symmetric extratemporal atrophic patterns may be related to damage of neuronal networks and epileptogenesis in TLE.</p

Toxoplasma gondii: host-parasite genetic variability and virulence.

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Trans-Oral Brush Biopsies and Quantitative PCR for EBV DNA Detection and Screening of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Objectives. To evaluate a newly developed noninvasive ambulatory, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR) Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA detection and screening system (NP Screen) for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Study Design. Correlation of the nasopharyngeal epithelial EBV-DNA levels and clinical findings by nasopharyngoscopy and final pathologic diagnosis of NPC with biopsy. Setting. Multicenter ENT/Oncology clinics in Hong Kong (Radiation Oncology Clinic at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Radiation Oncology Clinic and Head and Neck Clinic, Queen Mary Hospital, University of Hong Kong) and in Toronto, Canada (the Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Clinic at the Rouge Valley Health System and 2 large ENT practices in Toronto). Methods. A single-use trans-oral brush was used for rapid, nontraumatic nasopharyngeal (NP) epithelial cells DNA harvest in 600 Chinese patients, combined with a preservation and shipping kit for remote, real-time Q-PCR EBV DNA determinations. Results. All 600 patients had NP brushings using NP Screen in an ambulatory environment, and no adverse events or complications were recorded. A final 578 patients were included with sufficient amount of DNA for completion of the Q-PCR assay. Of these 578 patients, 94 were confirmed positive for NPC histologically. The study yielded a sensitivity of 98.9%, specificity of 99.3%, positive predictive value (PPV) of 96.9%, and negative predictive value (NPP) of 99.7% for NP Screen in detecting NPC. Endoscopy had a sensitivity of 94%, specificity 97.1%, PPV 85%, and NPP 98.9%. Conclusions. The trans-oral brushing system fulfills the characteristics of a noninvasive, sensitive, specific detection method suitable for routine, large-scale ambulatory NPC risk assessment for high-risk NPC populations. © American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation 2014.Link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Aging affects AO rat splenic conventional dendritic cell subset composition, cytokine synthesis and T-helper polarizing capacity

It is well-established that almost all cellular components of innate and adaptive immunity undergo age-related remodelling. The findings on age-related changes in both human and mouse dendritic cells (DCs) are conflicting, whereas there are no data on the influence of aging on rat DCs. In an attempt to fill this gap, freshly isolated splenic DCs expressing CD103 (alpha(OX-62) integrin), a DC specific marker recognized by MRC OX62 monoclonal antibody, from 3- (young) and 26-month-old (aged) Albino Oxford rats were examined for subset composition, expression of activation/differentiation markers (CD80, CD86 and CD40 and MHC II molecules) and endocytic capacity using flow cytometric analysis (FCA). In addition, splenic OX62+ DCs cultured in the presence or absence of LPS were analysed for the activation marker and TNF-alpha, IL-6, IL-12, IL-23, TGF-beta 1, IL-10 expression using FCA, RT-PCR and ELISA, respectively. Moreover, the allostimulatory capacity of OX62+ DCs and IFN-gamma, IL-4 and IL-17 production by CD4+ T cells in mixed leukocyte reaction was quantified using FCA and ELISA, respectively. It was found that aging: i) shifts the CD4+:CD4- subset ratio in the OX62+ DCs population towards the CD4- subset and ii) influences DCs maturation (judging by activation marker expression and efficiency of endocytosis) by affecting the expression of intrinsic (TNF-alpha and IL-10) and extrinsic maturation regulators. Furthermore, in LPS-matured OX62+ DCs from aged rats expression of TNF-alpha, IL-12, IL-23 and IL-6 was increased, whereas that of IL-10 was diminished compared with the corresponding cells from young rats. Moreover, in MLR, OX62+ DCs from aged rats exhibited enhanced Th1/Th17 driving force and diminished allostimulatory capacity compared with those from young rats