The association of RANTES polymorphism with severe acute respiratory syndrome in Hong Kong and Beijing Chinese

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Chemokines play important roles in inflammation and antiviral action. We examined whether polymorphisms of <it>RANTES, IP-10 </it>and <it>Mig </it>affect the susceptibility to and outcome of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We tested the polymorphisms of <it>RANTES, IP-10 </it>and <it>Mig </it>for their associations with SARS in 495 Hong Kong Chinese SARS patients and 578 controls. Then we tried to confirm the results in 356 Beijing Chinese SARS patients and 367 controls.</p> <p>Results</p> <p><it>RANTES </it>-28 G allele was associated with SARS susceptibility in Hong Kong Chinese (<it>P </it>< 0.0001, OR = 2.80, 95%CI:2.11–3.71). Individuals with <it>RANTES </it>-28 CG and GG genotypes had a 3.28-fold (95%CI:2.32–4.64) and 3.06-fold (95%CI:1.47–6.39) increased risk of developing SARS respectively (<it>P </it>< 0.0001). This -28 G allele conferred risk of death in a gene-dosage dependent manner (<it>P </it>= 0.014) with CG and GG individuals having a 2.12-fold (95% CI: 1.11–4.06) and 4.01-fold (95% CI: 1.30–12.4) increased risk. For the replication of <it>RANTES </it>data in Beijing Chinese, the -28 G allele was not associated with susceptibility to SARS. However, -28 CG (OR = 4.27, 95%CI:1.64–11.1) and GG (OR = 3.34, 95%CI:0.37–30.7) were associated with admission to intensive care units or death due to SARS (<it>P </it>= 0.011).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p><it>RANTES </it>-28 G allele plays a role in the pathogenesis of SARS.</p

Systematic Identification of Genes that Regulate Neuronal Wiring in the Drosophila Visual System

Forward genetic screens in model organisms are an attractive means to identify those genes involved in any complex biological process, including neural circuit assembly. Although mutagenesis screens are readily performed to saturation, gene identification rarely is, being limited by the considerable effort generally required for positional cloning. Here, we apply a systematic positional cloning strategy to identify many of the genes required for neuronal wiring in the Drosophila visual system. From a large-scale forward genetic screen selecting for visual system wiring defects with a normal retinal pattern, we recovered 122 mutations in 42 genetic loci. For 6 of these loci, the underlying genetic lesions were previously identified using traditional methods. Using SNP-based mapping approaches, we have now identified 30 additional genes. Neuronal phenotypes have not previously been reported for 20 of these genes, and no mutant phenotype has been previously described for 5 genes. The genes encode a variety of proteins implicated in cellular processes such as gene regulation, cytoskeletal dynamics, axonal transport, and cell signalling. We conducted a comprehensive phenotypic analysis of 35 genes, scoring wiring defects according to 33 criteria. This work demonstrates the feasibility of combining large-scale gene identification with large-scale mutagenesis in Drosophila, and provides a comprehensive overview of the molecular mechanisms that regulate visual system wiring

Reporting bias in medical research - a narrative review

Reporting bias represents a major problem in the assessment of health care interventions. Several prominent cases have been described in the literature, for example, in the reporting of trials of antidepressants, Class I anti-arrhythmic drugs, and selective COX-2 inhibitors. The aim of this narrative review is to gain an overview of reporting bias in the medical literature, focussing on publication bias and selective outcome reporting. We explore whether these types of bias have been shown in areas beyond the well-known cases noted above, in order to gain an impression of how widespread the problem is. For this purpose, we screened relevant articles on reporting bias that had previously been obtained by the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care in the context of its health technology assessment reports and other research work, together with the reference lists of these articles

Arthroscopic Dorsal Closing-Wedge Osteotomy of Metatarsal Head for Management of Freiberg Infraction

Freiberg infraction is a relatively rare osteochondrosis of the lesser metatarsal head. Operative treatment is indicated if conservative treatment fails to relieve the pain. Dorsal closing-wedge osteotomy is a realignment osteotomy of the metatarsal head and neck to redirect the articular surface, allowing the intact plantar cartilage to articulate with the proximal phalanx. The purpose of this technical note is to describe the details of arthroscopic dorsal closing-wedge osteotomy of the metatarsal head for management of Freiberg infraction. Although dorsal closing-wedge osteotomy has been proposed for the treatment of late-stage Freiberg infraction, we reserve this technique for early stages of the disease

Arthroscopic Capsular Release of the Ankle Joint

Adhesive capsulitis of the ankle is also known as frozen ankle and results in marked fibrosis and contracture of the ankle capsule. Arthroscopic capsular release is indicated for symptomatic frozen ankle that is resistant to conservative treatment. It is contraindicated for ankle stiffness due to degenerative joint disease, intra-articular malunion, or adhesion of the extensors of the ankle. The procedure consists of endoscopic posterior ankle capsulectomy and arthroscopic anterior ankle capsulotomy. It has the advantages of being minimally invasive surgery and allowing early postoperative vigorous mobilization of the ankle joint

Endoscopic Resection of Lateral Synovial Cyst of the Knee

Synovial cysts on the lateral side of the knee can cause pain, limitation of joint mobility, compression of the neighboring neurovascular structures, rupture leading to compartment syndrome, infection, erosion of adjacent bone, and iliotibial band friction syndrome. Open resection is commonly performed for symptomatic cysts. We describe an alternative, endoscopic approach to cyst resection. This has the advantages of minimally invasive surgery of smaller wounds, better cosmesis, and less surgical trauma

Endoscopic Synovectomy of Peroneal Tendon Sheath

Peroneal tenosynovitis usually responds to conservative therapy. Early diagnosis and management are imperative because improper or delayed diagnosis and treatment of peroneal tenosynovitis may lead to progression of the tenosynovitis to peroneal tendon rupture, ultimately limiting the benefit of nonoperative treatment. For refractory cases, endoscopic tenosynovectomy is indicated. The purpose of this Technical Note is to report a minimally invasive approach to perform a synovectomy of zones 1 and 2 of the peroneal tendon sheath

Endoscopic Subtotal Fasciectomy of the Foot

Plantar fibromatosis is a rare benign but often locally aggressive tumor of the plantar aponeurosis. Nonsurgical treatment is the first line of treatment for symptomatic lesions. Because of the high recurrence rate associated with surgical treatment, operation is indicated only when the lesions are highly symptomatic and conservative measures fail or the diagnosis is in question. The purpose of this technical note is to report the details of endoscopic subtotal fasciectomy. This may reduce the risks of skin necrosis and dehiscence, infection, and formation of painful hypertrophic scars

Endoscopic Interdigital Neurectomy of the Foot

Morton's neuroma is a compressive neuropathy resulting in perineural fibrosis rather than a neuroma of the plantar digital nerve. Surgical treatment is indicated for patients with a clear diagnosis of Morton's neuroma and no improvement with nonsurgical treatment. The surgical options include isolated intermetatarsal ligament division, isolated interdigital nerve excision, and interdigital nerve excision with intermetatarsal ligament division, with or without submuscular transposition. This can be performed via dorsal or plantar approach. The open approaches require long incisions and extensive soft-tissue dissection. The purpose of this Technical Note is to describe the surgical details of endoscopic interdigital neurectomy. This is an endoscopic approach involving interdigital nerve excision with intermetatarsal ligament division and submuscular transposition

Flexor Hallucis Longus Tenosynovitis and First Metatarsophalangeal Synovitis After Penetrating Nail Prick Injury: Treated by Zone 3 Flexor Hallucis Longus Tendoscopy and Metatarsosesamoid Arthroscopy

Pedal penetrating nail prick injury around the first metatarsal head can result in persistent synovitis of the first metatarsophalangeal joint and tenosynovitis of the flexor hallucis longus tendon. Exploration and debridement is indicated if the condition does not improve with antibiotics. Open surgery requires extensive dorsal and plantar incisions. The purpose of this Technical Note is to report the combined arthroscopic and tendoscopic approaches to address the first metatarsophalangeal joint and flexor hallucis longus tendon pathologies. Because it is a result of a pedal injury, the layer-by-layer exploration and debridement is from plantar dorsally. It starts with zone 3 flexor hallucis longus tendoscopy, followed by arthroscopy of the metatarsosesamoid compartment, and finally arthroscopy of the metatarsophalangeal compartment