Objective To investigate the spectrum of senataxin gene mutations in Chinese patients with sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (SALS). Methods Sixty sporadic SALS patients and 200 unrelated normal individuals were screened for mutations of senataxin by PCR-sequencing methodology. Results Two silent mutations, Asp844Asp and Phe998Phe, were identified in two SALS patients, respectively. They were not found in controls. However, a homology search of senataxin gene in different species revealed that these two amino acids were not evolutionarily conserved, indicating that the mutations were not pathogenic. Additional 19 polymorphisms were detected. Conclusion The identification of two silent mutations and 19 polymorphisms has further broadened the spectrum of mutations and polymorhpisms in senataxin.

Objective To explore the effect of ciliary,neurotrophic factor (CNTF)-coated polyglycolic and polylactic acid (PGLA) nerve conduits treated by pulsed plasma to repair canine tibial nerve defects. Methods A 2.5 cm long tibial nerve defect was made in eighteen cross-bred dogs.The nerve defects were re- constructed by three different methods:group A:pulsed plasma treated and CNTF coated PGLA nerve conduits (n=6);group B:PGLA nerve conduits alone (n=6);group C:nerve autografts (n=6).HE staining, Massons' trichrome staining,S-100 immunostaining,electrophysiological test and axon counting were used to evaluate the results of nerve regeneration in three groups.In addition,the dynamic walking pattern was recor- ded individually.The observation period lasted for three months.Results All nerve conduits were well vas- cularized and mostly degraded as well as absorbed.It was found that the regenerating axons could traverse all nerve conduits.In regard to nerve conduction velocity and axon counting there was no significant difference be- tween group A and group C (P＞0.05),while the data of group A and group C were significantly better than those of group B(P＜0.05).The dogs in group A and C recovered nearly normal walk pattern while those in group B were still crippled.Conclusion Pulsed plasm-treated and then CNTF-coated PGLA nerve conduits could effectively repair 2.5-cm-long canine tibial nerve defects,and the effect is similar to that of autografts.

Objective To explore the change of proportion of peripheral blood dendritic cells (DCs) in patients with stroke. Methods 56 patients (30 cases of cerebral infarction and 26 cases of cerebral hemorrhage) in Beijing Bo'ai hospital from June to September, 2014 and 14 healthy controls were investigated. The severity of stroke was assessed with the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS). Flow cy-tometry analysis was employed to detect the proportion of DCs subtypes in the peripheral blood. Results No obvious difference was found in DCs between the stroke patients and the controls. Compared to the control group, the percentages of peripheral blood myeloid dendritic cells (mDCs) decreased in the cerebral hemorrhage and the cerebral infarction subgroups (P<0.001). The percentages of plasmacytoid den-dritic cells (pDCs) reduced significantly in the cerebral hemorrhage and the cerebral infarction subgroups (P<0.05). The stroke patients were divided into NIHSS≤7 subgroup and NIHSS>7 subgroup. The percentages of pDCs in the cerebral hemorrhage and the cerebral infarction patients were significantly lower in the NIHSS>7 subgroup than in the NIHSS≤7 subgroup (P<0.05). While there was no statistical differ-ence between NIHSS≤7 subgroups and NIHSS>7 subgroups in the percentages of mDCs in the cerebral hemorrhage and cerebral infarction patients. Conclusion The proportion of DCs subtypes in the peripheral blood in stroke patients changed significantly, indicating inflamma-tion responds play a role in stroke.