No abstract available.
Sotos Syndrome*

Therapeutic irradiation can induce angiosarcoma. Radiation-induced angiosarcoma constitutes 20% of all angiosarcomas. Although its common site of origin is the skin and subcutaneous tissue, it rarely arises in small or large bowels with a presentation as multifocal abdominal angiosarcomatosis. We report a case of intra-abdominal angiosarcomatosis involving the jejunum, ileum, transverse colon, mesentery and right ovary in a 63-year-old female. It developed 10 years after therapeutic irradiation for squamous cell carcinoma of uterine cervix. She developed panperitonitis due to intestinal perforation. She died from sepsis 3 days after segmental resection of the small bowel and right oophorectomy. We reviewed the previously reported cases and describe the clinicopathologic features of this tumor.
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Cervix Uteri ; Colon, Transverse ; Female ; Hemangiosarcoma ; Humans ; Ileum ; Intestinal Perforation ; Jejunum ; Mesentery ; Middle Aged ; Ovariectomy ; Ovary ; Sepsis ; Skin ; Subcutaneous Tissue

PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical usefulness of the 10-prism-diopter (PD) fixation test in the diagnosis of amblyopia. METHODS: The study comprised 132 children (42 normal, 90 amblyopes) who underwent the 10-PD fixation test and stereoacuity test. The sensitivity, specificity, false-positive and false-negative rates of the 10-PD fixation test were analyzed according to the clinical diagnosis. RESULTS: The 10-PD fixation test sensitivity was 86%, the specificity was 61%, the false-positive rate was 17% and the false-negative rate was 24%. Data showed agreement between the 10-PD fixation test and the stereoacuity test (gamma=0.737, p=0.000). The results in the 10-PD base-down test and base-out test also showed agreement (gamma=0.779, p=0.000). CONCLUSIONS: The 10-PD fixation test is a simple and useful method in detecting amblyopia.
Amblyopia ; Child ; Humans ; Sensitivity and Specificity

Purpose: This study used an animal model to examine the effects of environmental enrichment (EE) and caloric restriction (CR) on hippocampal changes in early adulthood in a rat model. Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to control, EE, and CR groups. After 8 weeks of EE and CR, behavioral, biochemical, and molecular biological assessments were performed. Behavioral tests included the open field test for anxiety-like behavior, the eight-arm radial maze test for spatial learning, and the passive avoidance test for short-term memory. Glucose tolerance was assessed with an intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test, and the molecular markers associated with neuroinflammation were evaluated. Results: Both EE and CR reduced anxiety-like behaviors, as evidenced by increased time in the central region of the open field test and decreased rearing. However, neither EE nor CR significantly improved short-term memory or spatial learning. Nonetheless, the CR group showed a decrease in eight-arm radial maze completion time, indicating potential for enhanced learning. Both interventions improved glucose tolerance, with lower fasting blood glucose levels in the CR and EE groups. Molecular biological analyses showed that neuroinflammatory markers interleukin-6 and inducible nitric oxide synthase were reduced in the EE and CR groups and that Iba-1 had anti-inflammatory effects due to its neuroprotective action. Conclusion EE and CR were beneficial for emotional and metabolic health in early adult rats due to reductions in anxiety-like behaviors and neuroinflammation with a concomitant improvement in glucose metabolism. However, the effects of these modalities on improving cognitive function were limited, illustrating the need for further research.

Purpose: This study used an animal model to examine the effects of environmental enrichment (EE) and caloric restriction (CR) on hippocampal changes in early adulthood in a rat model. Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to control, EE, and CR groups. After 8 weeks of EE and CR, behavioral, biochemical, and molecular biological assessments were performed. Behavioral tests included the open field test for anxiety-like behavior, the eight-arm radial maze test for spatial learning, and the passive avoidance test for short-term memory. Glucose tolerance was assessed with an intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test, and the molecular markers associated with neuroinflammation were evaluated. Results: Both EE and CR reduced anxiety-like behaviors, as evidenced by increased time in the central region of the open field test and decreased rearing. However, neither EE nor CR significantly improved short-term memory or spatial learning. Nonetheless, the CR group showed a decrease in eight-arm radial maze completion time, indicating potential for enhanced learning. Both interventions improved glucose tolerance, with lower fasting blood glucose levels in the CR and EE groups. Molecular biological analyses showed that neuroinflammatory markers interleukin-6 and inducible nitric oxide synthase were reduced in the EE and CR groups and that Iba-1 had anti-inflammatory effects due to its neuroprotective action. Conclusion EE and CR were beneficial for emotional and metabolic health in early adult rats due to reductions in anxiety-like behaviors and neuroinflammation with a concomitant improvement in glucose metabolism. However, the effects of these modalities on improving cognitive function were limited, illustrating the need for further research.

Purpose: This study used an animal model to examine the effects of environmental enrichment (EE) and caloric restriction (CR) on hippocampal changes in early adulthood in a rat model. Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to control, EE, and CR groups. After 8 weeks of EE and CR, behavioral, biochemical, and molecular biological assessments were performed. Behavioral tests included the open field test for anxiety-like behavior, the eight-arm radial maze test for spatial learning, and the passive avoidance test for short-term memory. Glucose tolerance was assessed with an intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test, and the molecular markers associated with neuroinflammation were evaluated. Results: Both EE and CR reduced anxiety-like behaviors, as evidenced by increased time in the central region of the open field test and decreased rearing. However, neither EE nor CR significantly improved short-term memory or spatial learning. Nonetheless, the CR group showed a decrease in eight-arm radial maze completion time, indicating potential for enhanced learning. Both interventions improved glucose tolerance, with lower fasting blood glucose levels in the CR and EE groups. Molecular biological analyses showed that neuroinflammatory markers interleukin-6 and inducible nitric oxide synthase were reduced in the EE and CR groups and that Iba-1 had anti-inflammatory effects due to its neuroprotective action. Conclusion EE and CR were beneficial for emotional and metabolic health in early adult rats due to reductions in anxiety-like behaviors and neuroinflammation with a concomitant improvement in glucose metabolism. However, the effects of these modalities on improving cognitive function were limited, illustrating the need for further research.

Purpose: This study used an animal model to examine the effects of environmental enrichment (EE) and caloric restriction (CR) on hippocampal changes in early adulthood in a rat model. Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to control, EE, and CR groups. After 8 weeks of EE and CR, behavioral, biochemical, and molecular biological assessments were performed. Behavioral tests included the open field test for anxiety-like behavior, the eight-arm radial maze test for spatial learning, and the passive avoidance test for short-term memory. Glucose tolerance was assessed with an intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test, and the molecular markers associated with neuroinflammation were evaluated. Results: Both EE and CR reduced anxiety-like behaviors, as evidenced by increased time in the central region of the open field test and decreased rearing. However, neither EE nor CR significantly improved short-term memory or spatial learning. Nonetheless, the CR group showed a decrease in eight-arm radial maze completion time, indicating potential for enhanced learning. Both interventions improved glucose tolerance, with lower fasting blood glucose levels in the CR and EE groups. Molecular biological analyses showed that neuroinflammatory markers interleukin-6 and inducible nitric oxide synthase were reduced in the EE and CR groups and that Iba-1 had anti-inflammatory effects due to its neuroprotective action. Conclusion EE and CR were beneficial for emotional and metabolic health in early adult rats due to reductions in anxiety-like behaviors and neuroinflammation with a concomitant improvement in glucose metabolism. However, the effects of these modalities on improving cognitive function were limited, illustrating the need for further research.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have suggested an association between chronic cough and gastroesophageal reflux. Our study aimed to assess the utility of a proton-pump inhibitor in unexplained chronic cough patients. METHODS: Patients with chronic cough of unknown etiology were evaluated using a chest x-ray, methacholine challenge test, and an empirical trial of postnasal drip therapy. After excluding other potential causes of the cough, forty patients were included in the study and treated for 8 weeks with a proton-pump inhibitor. RESULTS: Eleven and three patients in the first and second 4 weeks were lost to follow-up, leaving twenty-six patients finally included in the study. Of these patients, two were unimproved, eight partially responded to the proton-pump inhibitor and sixteen responded completely after the 8 week treatment. CONCLUSION: We suggest that empirical treatment with a proton pump inhibitor in all patients with persistent cough, which is not secondary to asthma or postnasal drip syndrome, represents a practical and simple approach to this ailment.
Asthma ; Cough* ; Gastroesophageal Reflux ; Humans ; Lost to Follow-Up ; Methacholine Chloride ; Proton Pumps ; Thorax

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate effects of NXP031, an inhibitor of oxidation by specifically binding to the complex of DNA aptamer/vitamin C, on dopaminergic neurons loss and the reaction of microglia in an animal model of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced subchronic Parkinson’s disease (PD). Methods: A subchronic PD mouse model was induced via an intraperitoneal (IP) injection of MPTP 30 mg/kg per day for five days. NXP031 (vitamin C/aptamer at 200 mg/4 mg/kg) and vitamin C at 200 mg/kg were administered via IP injections at one hour after performing MPTP injection. This process was performed for five days. Motor function was then evaluated with pole and rotarod tests, after which an immunohistochemical analysis was performed. Results: NXP031 administration after MPTP injection significantly improved motor functions (via both pole and rotarod tests) compared to the control (MPTP injection only) (p < .001). NXP031 alleviated the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra (SN) and striatum caused by MPTP injection. It was found to have a neuroprotective effect by reducing microglia activity. Conclusion NXP031 can improve impaired motor function, showing neuroprotective effects on dopaminergic neurons in the SN and striatum of MPTP-induced subchronic Parkinson’s disease mouse model. Results of this study suggest that NXP031 has potential in future treatments for PD and interventions for nerve recovery.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate effects of NXP031, an inhibitor of oxidation by specifically binding to the complex of DNA aptamer/vitamin C, on dopaminergic neurons loss and the reaction of microglia in an animal model of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced subchronic Parkinson’s disease (PD). Methods: A subchronic PD mouse model was induced via an intraperitoneal (IP) injection of MPTP 30 mg/kg per day for five days. NXP031 (vitamin C/aptamer at 200 mg/4 mg/kg) and vitamin C at 200 mg/kg were administered via IP injections at one hour after performing MPTP injection. This process was performed for five days. Motor function was then evaluated with pole and rotarod tests, after which an immunohistochemical analysis was performed. Results: NXP031 administration after MPTP injection significantly improved motor functions (via both pole and rotarod tests) compared to the control (MPTP injection only) (p < .001). NXP031 alleviated the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra (SN) and striatum caused by MPTP injection. It was found to have a neuroprotective effect by reducing microglia activity. Conclusion NXP031 can improve impaired motor function, showing neuroprotective effects on dopaminergic neurons in the SN and striatum of MPTP-induced subchronic Parkinson’s disease mouse model. Results of this study suggest that NXP031 has potential in future treatments for PD and interventions for nerve recovery.