DNA methylation-based diagnosis confirmation in a pediatric patient with low-grade glioma: a case report

Central nervous system (CNS) tumors in children comprise a highly heterogenous and complex group of diseases. Historically, diagnosis and confirmation of these tumors were routinely based on histological examination. However, recently obtained data demonstrate that such a diagnostic approach is not completely accurate and could lead to misdiagnosis. Also, in recent times, the quantity and quality of molecular diagnostic methods have greatly improved, which influences the current classification methods and treatment approach for pediatric CNS tumors. Nowadays, molecular methods, such as DNA methylation profiling, are an integral part of diagnosing brain and spinal tumors in children. In this paper, we present the case of an infant with a posterior fossa tumor who demonstrated a non-specific morphology and whose diagnosis was verified only after DNA methylation

Clinical disease activity and acute phase reactant levels are discordant among patients with active rheumatoid arthritis: acute phase reactant levels contribute separately to predicting outcome at one year

INTRODUCTION: Clinical trials of new treatments for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) typically require subjects to have an elevated acute phase reactant (APR), in addition to tender and swollen joints. However, despite the elevation of individual components of the Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI) (tender and swollen joint counts and patient and physician global assessment), some patients with active RA may have normal erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and/or C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and thus fail to meet entry criteria for clinical trials. We assessed the relationship between CDAI and APRs in the Consortium of Rheumatology Researchers of North America (CORRONA) registry by comparing baseline characteristics and one-year clinical outcomes of patients with active RA, grouped by baseline APR levels. METHODS: This was an observational study of 9,135 RA patients who had both ESR and CRP drawn and a visit at which CDAI was \u3e 2.8 (not in remission). RESULTS: Of 9,135 patients with active RA, 58% had neither elevated ESR nor CRP; only 16% had both elevated ESR and CRP and 26% had either ESR or CRP elevated. Among the 4,228 patients who had a one-year follow-up visit, both baseline and one-year follow-up modified Health Assessment Questionnaire (mHAQ) and CDAI scores were lowest for patients with active RA but with neither APR elevated; both mHAQ and CDAI scores increased sequentially with the increase in number of elevated APR levels at baseline. Each individual component of the CDAI followed the same trend, both at baseline and at one-year follow-up. The magnitude of improvement in both CDAI and mHAQ scores at one year was associated positively with the number of APRs elevated at baseline. CONCLUSIONS: In a large United States registry of RA patients, APR levels often do not correlate with disease activity as measured by joint counts and global assessments. These data strongly suggest that it is appropriate to obtain both ESR and CRP from RA patients at the initial visit. Requiring an elevation in APR levels as a criterion for inclusion of RA patients in studies of experimental agents may exclude some patients with active disease

The content of copper and zinc in the natural environment components of the park areas

The influence of man-made pollution on the accumulation of copper and zinc in the soil and plants of the forest park zones of Yelets was studied on the example of the woody–plant natural environment components prevailing in them hanging birch (Betula pendula Roth) and creeping wheatgrass (Elytrigia repens). As a result of the conducted studies, the features of the deposition of copper and zinc in the plant organs were revealed, and the total accumulation of the studied elements in the soil under green plantations was estimated

Creativity and creative work in children with disabilities

The article presents the results of the analysis of the problem of creativity and creative work in children with disabilities having different impairments. This research serves as a basis for conducting a separate study aimed at researching the peculiarities of the search for creative solutions in the process of completing figure drawings in younger schoolchildren with hearing impairments compared to their peers with normal hearing. For this purpose, a comparative analysis of the drawings of hearing-impaired students and elementary school students with preserved hearing was conducted by the criteria of fluency, flexibility, elaborateness, and originality. The need for the present study is determined by the tasks of the modern system of special and inclusive education aimed at the optimal personal development of all children and the creation of psychological and pedagogical conditions for the successful development of different types of creative activity that positively affect their socialization. The study uses a set of theoretical and empirical methods of analysis of the studied problem, as well as a comparative study of general and specific features of creativity in children with preserved and impaired hearing. These specific features are determined by a disproportionate formation of different types of thinking, a delay in the development of figurative memory, verbal speech, and imagination in comparison with hearing children. The novelty of the study consists in the expansion of knowledge about the potential possibilities of creative decisions and creative abilities of persons with developmental disorders at different ages in special psychology and pedagogics. The results of the study of creativity of children with hearing impairments can be used in the educational system for professional orientation and creating conditions for persons with special educational needs to master creative professions