THE EFFECT OF 12-WEEK STRENGTH TRAINING ON GAIT CHARACTERISTICS IN ADOLESCENT WITH DOWN SYNDROME: A SINGLE CASE STUDY

It has been reported that approximately 80% of individuals with Down syndrome (DS) exhibit abnormal gait characteristics. They are exhibited by flat-footed contact with no heel-strike, excessive abduction of the leg in the swing phase, and abnormal knee and hip flexion throughout the gait cycle (Matteo, 2002). The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of a 12-week strength training program on the gait characteristics during walking by an adolescent with DS

Characterization of Intermediate Conductance K+ Channels in Submandibular Gland Acinar Cells

There are some evidences that K+ efflux evoked by muscarinic stimulation is not mainly mediated by large conductance K+ (BK) channels in salivary gland. In this experiment, we therefore characterised non BK channels in rat submandibular gland acinar cells and examined the possibility of agonist effect on this channel using a patch clamp technique. Two types of K+ channels were observed in these cells. BK channels were observed in 3 cells from total 6 cells and its average conductance was 152±7 pS (n=3). The conductance of the another types of K+ channel was estimated as 71±7 pS (n=6). On the basis of the conductance of this channel, we defined this channel as intermediate conductance K+ (IK) channels, which were observed from all 6 cells we studied. When we increased Ca2+ concentration of the bath solution in inside-out mode, the IK channel activity was greatly increased, suggesting this channel is Ca2+ sensitive. We next examined the effect of carbachol (CCh) and isoproterenol on the activity of the IK channels. 10-5 M isoproterenol significantly increased the open probability (Po) from 0.08±0.02 to 0.21±0.03 (n=4, P＜0.05). Application of 10-5 M CCh also increased Po from 0.048±0.03 to 0.55±0.33 (n=5, P＜0.05) at the maximum channel activity. The degree of BK channel activation induced by the same concentration of CCh was lower than that of IK channels; Po value was 0.011±0.003 and 0.027±0.005 in control and during CCh stimulation (n=3), respectively. The result suggests that IK channels exist in salivary acinar cells and its channel activity is regulated by muscaricinic and β- adrenergic agonist. We conclude that IK channels also play a putative role in secretion as well as the BK channels in rat submandibular gland acinar cells.This work was supported by a grant of the Korean Health 21 R&D project, Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea (Grant No 00-PJ1-PG1-CH10-0002)

Dual Silencing of Hsp27 and c-FLIP Enhances Doxazosin-Induced Apoptosis in PC-3 Prostate Cancer Cells

We evaluated effect of dual gene silencing of Hsp27 and c-FLIP in doxazosin-induced apoptosis of PC-3 cell. After transfection using Hsp27 and c-FLIP siRNA mixture (dual silencing), doxazosin treatment was done at the concentrations of 1, 10, and 25 μM. We checked apoptosis of PC-3 cells with and TUNEL staining. We also checked interaction between Hsp27 and C-FLIP in the process of apoptosis inhibition. Spontaneous apoptotic index was 5% under single gene silencing of Hsp27 and c-FLIP and 7% under dual silencing of Hsp27 and c-FLIP. When doxazosin treatment was added, apoptotic indices increased in a dose-dependent manner (1, 10, and 25 μM): nonsilencing 10, 27, and 52%; Hsp27-silencing: 14, 35, and 68%; c-FLIP silencing: 21, 46, and 78%; dual silencing: 38, 76, and 92%. While c-FLIP gene expression decreased in Hsp27- silenced cells, Hsp27 gene expression showed markedly decreased pattern in the cells of c-FLIP silencing. The knockout of c-FLIP and Hsp27 genes together enhances apoptosis even under 1 μM, rather than low concentration, of doxazosin in PC-3 cells. This finding suggests a new strategy of multiple knockout of antiapoptotic and survival factors in the treatment of late-stage prostate cancer refractory to conventional therapy

Symptomatic epidural gas cyst treated with epidural block and percutaneous needle aspiration -A case report-

A 68-year-old woman suffered from lower back and radiating pain on her right buttock and posterior calf. Axial magnetic resonance imaging showed a 7 × 7 mm nodular lesion (T1 and, T2 low signal intensity) at the epidural space between the L5-S1 level and computed tomography revealed it was an epidural gas cyst. The authors performed an epidural block and percutaneous needle aspiration of the epidural gas cyst. The patient showed almost complete resolution of symptoms one year later. The authors suggest that an epidural nerve block with needle aspiration of a gas cyst could be an alternative treatment option for patients with a symptomatic epidural gas cyst before surgery

ITDetect: a method to detect internal tandem duplication of FMS-like tyrosine kinase (FLT3) from next-generation sequencing data with high sensitivity and clinical application

Abstract Internal tandem duplication (ITD) of the FMS-like tyrosine kinase (FLT3) gene is associated with poor clinical outcomes in patients with acute myeloid leukemia. Although recent methods for detecting FLT3-ITD from next-generation sequencing (NGS) data have replaced traditional ITD detection approaches such as conventional PCR or fragment analysis, their use in the clinical field is still limited and requires further information. Here, we introduce ITDetect, an efficient FLT3-ITD detection approach that uses NGS data. Our proposed method allows for more precise detection and provides more detailed information than existing in silico methods. Further, it enables FLT3-ITD detection from exome sequencing or targeted panel sequencing data, thereby improving its clinical application. We validated the performance of ITDetect using NGS-based and experimental ITD detection methods and successfully demonstrated that ITDetect provides the highest concordance with the experimental methods. The program and data underlying this study are available in a public repository