Gliomas are associated with high mortality because of their exceedingly invasive character. As these tumors acquire their invasiveness from low-grade tumors, it is very important to understand the ...detailed molecular mechanisms of invasion onset. Recent evidences suggest the significant role of microRNAs in tumor invasion. Thus, we hypothesized that deregulation of microRNAs may be important for the malignant progression of gliomas. We found that the aberrant expression of miR-21 is responsible for glioma invasion by disrupting the negative feedback circuit of Ras/MAPK signaling, which is mediated by Spry2. Upregulation of miR-21 was triggered by tumor microenvironmental factors such as hyaluronan and growth factors in glioma cells lacking functional phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN), but not harboring wild-type PTEN. Consistently with these in vitro results, Spry2 protein levels were significantly decreased in 79.7% of invasive WHO grade II-IV human glioma tissues, but not in non-invasive grade I and normal tissues. The Spry2 protein levels were not correlated with their mRNA levels, but inversely correlated with miR-21 levels. Taken together, these results suggest that the post-transcriptional regulation of Spry2 by miR-21 has an essential role on the malignant progression of human gliomas. Thus, Spry2 may be a novel therapeutic target for treating gliomas.
An experiment to search for light sterile neutrinos is conducted at a reactor with a thermal power of 2.8 GW located at the Hanbit nuclear power complex. The search is done with a detector consisting ...of a ton of Gd-loaded liquid scintillator in a tendon gallery approximately 24 m from the reactor core. The measured antineutrino event rate is 1976 per day with a signal to background ratio of about 22. The shape of the antineutrino energy spectrum obtained from the eight-month data-taking period is compared with a hypothesis of oscillations due to active-sterile antineutrino mixing. No strong evidence of 3+1 neutrino oscillation is found. An excess around the 5 MeV prompt energy range is observed as seen in existing longer-baseline experiments. The mixing parameter sin^{2}2θ_{14} is limited up to less than 0.1 for Δm_{41}^{2} ranging from 0.2 to 2.3 eV^{2} with a 90% confidence level.
Diabet. Med. 27, 1033–1040 (2010)
Aims This study compared the efficacy and safety of tramadol/acetaminophen (T/A) and gabapentin in the management of painful diabetic neuropathy.
Methods An open, ...randomized, comparative study was conducted. Subjects with painful symmetric neuropathy in the lower limbs and mean pain‐intensity score ≥ 4 on a numeric rating scale were eligible. Subjects were randomized to receive either tramadol (37.5 mg)/acetaminophen (325 mg) or gabapentin (300 mg) for 6 weeks. After 2 weeks of the titration period (1200 mg/day for gabapentin and three tablets/day for T/A), the doses were maintained if the pain was relieved. The primary efficacy outcome was a reduction in pain intensity. Secondary measures evaluated a pain relief scale, a Brief Pain Inventory, a 36‐item Short Form Health Survey, average pain intensity and sleep disturbance.
Results One hundred and sixty‐three subjects (T/A 79; gabapentin 84) were included. At the final visit, the mean doses were 1575 mg/day for gabapentin and 4.22 tablets/day for T/A. Both groups were similar in terms of baseline pain intensity (mean intensity: T/A 6.7 ± 1.6; gabapentin 6.3 ± 1.6, P = 0.168). At the final visit, the mean reductions in pain intensity were similar in both groups (T/A −3.1 ± 2.0; gabapentin −2.7 ± 2.1, P = 0.744). Both groups had similar improvements in every Short Form Health Survey category and Brief Pain Inventory subcategory, and in the mean pain relief scores.
Conclusion This study suggests that the T/A combination treatment is as effective as gabapentin in the treatment of painful diabetic neuropathy in patients with Type 2 diabetes.
Summary
Background
Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease caused by complex interactions of genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors. For this reason, new approaches are required to clarify ...the pathogenesis of asthma by systemic review.
Objective
We applied a 1H‐NMR metabolomics approach to investigate the altered metabolic pattern in sera from patients with asthma and sought to identify the mechanism underlying asthma and potential biomarkers.
Method
A global profile of sera from patients with asthma (n = 39) and controls (n = 26) was generated using 1H‐NMR spectroscopy coupled with multivariate statistical analysis. Endogenous metabolites in serum were rapidly measured using the target‐profiling procedure.
Results
Multivariate statistical analysis showed a clear distinction between patients with asthma and healthy subjects. Sera of asthma patients were characterized by increased levels of methionine, glutamine, and histidine and by decreased levels of formate, methanol, acetate, choline, O‐phosphocholine, arginine, and glucose. The metabolites detected in the sera of patients with asthma are involved in hypermethylation, response to hypoxia, and immune reaction. Furthermore, the levels of serum metabolites from patients with asthma correlated with asthma severity; in particular, lipid metabolism was altered in patients with lower forced expiratory volume in 1 s percentage (FEV1%) predicted values. In addition, potential biomarkers showed strong predictive power in ROC analysis, and the presence of asthma in external validation models was predicted with high accuracy (90.9% for asthma and 100% for control subjects).
Conclusion & Clinical Relevance
These data showed that 1H‐NMR‐based metabolite profiling of serum may be useful for the effective diagnosis of asthma and a further understanding of its pathogenesis.
The RENO experiment reports more precisely measured values of θ_{13} and |Δm_{ee}^{2}| using ∼2200 live days of data. The amplitude and frequency of reactor electron antineutrino (νover ¯_{e}) ...oscillation are measured by comparing the prompt signal spectra obtained from two identical near and far detectors. In the period between August 2011 and February 2018, the far (near) detector observed 103 212 (850 666) νover ¯_{e} candidate events with a background fraction of 4.8% (2.0%). A clear energy and baseline dependent disappearance of reactor νover ¯_{e} is observed in the deficit of the measured number of νover ¯_{e}. Based on the measured far-to-near ratio of prompt spectra, we obtain sin^{2}2θ_{13}=0.0896±0.0048(stat)±0.0047(syst) and |Δm_{ee}^{2}|=2.68±0.12(stat)±0.07(syst)×10^{-3} eV^{2}.
The RENO experiment has observed the disappearance of reactor electron antineutrinos, consistent with neutrino oscillations, with a significance of 4.9 standard deviations. Antineutrinos from six 2.8 ... GW(th) reactors at the Yonggwang Nuclear Power Plant in Korea, are detected by two identical detectors located at 294 and 1383 m, respectively, from the reactor array center. In the 229 d data-taking period between 11 August 2011 and 26 March 2012, the far (near) detector observed 17102 (154088) electron antineutrino candidate events with a background fraction of 5.5% (2.7%). The ratio of observed to expected numbers of antineutrinos in the far detector is 0.920±0.009(stat)±0.014(syst). From this deficit, we determine sin(2)2θ(13)=0.113±0.013(stat)±0.019(syst) based on a rate-only analysis.
Summary
Background
Asthma in the elderly (aged ≥ 65 years old) is a significant concern with high morbidity, but the pathophysiology remains unclear particularly in late‐onset asthma. Recent studies ...suggest staphylococcal enterotoxin IgE (SE‐IgE) sensitization to be a risk factor for asthma in general populations; however, the associations have not been examined in late‐onset elderly asthma.
Objective
We aimed to examine the associations of SE‐IgE sensitization with late‐onset asthma in the elderly, using a database of elderly asthma cohort study.
Methods
A total of 249 elderly patients with asthma and 98 controls were analysed. At baseline, patients were assessed for demographics, atopy, induced sputum profiles and comorbidities including chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). Serum total IgE and SE‐IgE levels were measured. Asthma severity was assessed on the basis of asthma outcomes during a 12‐month follow‐up period.
Results
At baseline, serum SE‐IgE concentrations were significantly higher in patients with asthma than in controls median 0.16 (interquartile range 0.04–0.53) vs. 0.10 (0.01–0.19), P < 0.001. Elderly asthma patients with high SE‐IgE levels had specific characteristics of having more severe asthma, sputum eosinophilia and CRS, compared to those with lower SE‐IgE levels. In multivariate logistic regression analyses, the associations between serum SE‐IgE concentrations and severe asthma were significant, independently of covariables SE‐IgE‐high (≥ 0.35 kU/L) vs. negative (< 0.10 kU/L) group: odds ratio 7.47, 95% confidence interval 1.86–30.03, P = 0.005. Multiple correspondence analyses also showed that high serum SE‐IgE level had close relationships with severe asthma, CRS and sputum eosinophilia together.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance
This is the first report on the significant associations of SE‐IgE sensitization with late‐onset asthma in the elderly, particularly severe eosinophilic asthma with CRS comorbidity. Our findings indicate a potential implication of SE in the high morbidity burden of elderly asthma and suggest clues to the pathogenesis of severe late‐onset eosinophilic asthma in the elderly.
We evaluated whether ELISPOT assay can predict tuberculosis (TB) development in kidney‐transplantation (KT) recipients with a negative tuberculin skin test (TST). All adult patients admitted to a KT ...institute between June 2008 and December 2009 were enrolled; TB development after KT was observed between June 2008 and December 2010. Isoniazid (INH) was given to those patients with positive TST or clinical risk factors for latent TB infection (LTBI). ELISPOT assay was performed on all patients, and TB development after KT was observed by a researcher blinded to the results of ELISPOT. A total of 312 KT recipients including 242 (78%) living‐donor KT were enrolled. Of the 312 patients, 40 (13%) had positive TST or clinical risk factors for LTBI and received INH; none developed TB after KT. Of the remaining 272 patients, 4 (6%) of 71 with positive ELISPOT assay developed TB after KT, whereas none of the 201 patients with negative (n = 171) or indeterminate ELISPOTs (n = 30) developed TB after KT (rate difference between positive and negative/indeterminate ELISPOT, 3.3 per 100 person‐years 95% CI 1.4–5.1, p<0.001). Positive ELISPOT results predict subsequent development of TB in KT recipients in whom LTBI cannot be detected by TST or who lack clinical risk factors for LTBI.
Positive results of an interferon‐gamma releasing assay anticipate the subsequent development of tuberculosis in kidney transplant recipients in whom latent tuberculosis infection cannot be detected by tuberculin skin test or who lack clinical risk factors for latent tuberculosis infection. See editorial by Torre‐Cisneros and Doblas on page 1769.
The usefulness of pharmacokinetic parameters for glioma grading has been reported based on the perfusion data from parts of entire-tumor volumes. However, the perfusion values may not reflect the ...entire-tumor characteristics. Our aim was to investigate the feasibility of glioma grading by using histogram analyses of pharmacokinetic parameters including the volume transfer constant, extravascular extracellular space volume per unit volume of tissue, and blood plasma volume per unit volume of tissue from T1-weighted dynamic contrast-enhanced perfusion MR imaging.
Twenty-eight patients (14 men, 14 women; mean age, 49.75 years; age range, 25-72 years) with histopathologically confirmed gliomas (World Health Organization grade II, n = 7; grade III, n = 8; grade IV, n = 13) were examined before surgery or biopsy with conventional MR imaging and T1-weighted dynamic contrast-enhanced perfusion MR imaging at 3T. Volume transfer constant, extravascular extracellular space volume per unit volume of tissue, and blood plasma volume per unit volume of tissue were calculated from the entire-tumor volume. Histogram analyses from these parameters were correlated with glioma grades. The parameters with the best percentile from cumulative histograms were identified by analysis of the area under the curve of the receiver operating characteristic analysis and were compared by using multivariable stepwise logistic regression analysis for distinguishing high- from low-grade gliomas.
All parametric values increased with increasing glioma grade. There were significant differences among the 3 grades in all parameters (P < .01). For the differentiation of high- and low-grade gliomas, the highest area under the curve values were found at the 98th percentile of the volume transfer constant (area under the curve, 0.912; cutoff value, 0.277), the 90th percentile of extravascular extracellular space volume per unit volume of tissue (area under the curve, 0.939; cutoff value, 19.70), and the 84th percentile of blood plasma volume per unit volume of tissue (area under the curve, 0.769; cutoff value, 11.71). The 98th percentile volume transfer constant value was the only variable that could be used to independently differentiate high- and low-grade gliomas in multivariable stepwise logistic regression analysis.
Histogram analysis of pharmacokinetic parameters from whole-tumor volume data can be a useful method for glioma grading. The 98th percentile value of the volume transfer constant was the most significant measure.
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