Spatial Properties of Mismatch Negativity in Patients with Disorders of Consciousness / 神经科学通报·英文版

In recent decades, event-related potentials have been used for the clinical electrophysiological assessment of patients with disorders of consciousness (DOCs). In this paper, an oddball paradigm with two types of frequency-deviant stimulus (standard stimuli were pure tones of 1000 Hz; small deviant stimuli were pure tones of 1050 Hz; large deviant stimuli were pure tones of 1200 Hz) was applied to elicit mismatch negativity (MMN) in 30 patients with DOCs diagnosed using the JFK Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R). The results showed that the peak amplitudes of MMN elicited by both large and small deviant stimuli were significantly different from baseline. In terms of the spatial properties of MMN, a significant interaction effect between conditions (small and large deviant stimuli) and electrode nodes was centered at the frontocentral area. Furthermore, correlation coefficients were calculated between MMN amplitudes and CRS-R scores for each electrode among all participants to generate topographic maps. Meanwhile, a significant negative correlation between the MMN amplitudes elicited by large deviant stimuli and the CRS-R scores was also found at the frontocentral area. In consequence, our results combine the above spatial properties of MMN in patients with DOCs, and provide a more precise location (frontocentral area) at which to evaluate the correlation between clinical electrophysiological assessment and the level of consciousness.

Current Status of Neuromodulatory Therapies for Disorders of Consciousness / 神经科学通报·英文版

Treatment for disorders of consciousness (DOCs) is still a Gordian knot. Evidence-based guidelines on the treatment of DOC patients are not currently available, while neuromodulation techniques are seen as a potential treatment. Multiple neuromodulation therapies have been applied. This article reviews the most relevant studies in the literature in order to describe a clear picture of the current state of neuromodulation therapies that could be used to treat DOC patients. Both invasive and non-invasive brain stimulation is discussed. Significant behavioral improvements in prolonged DOCs under neuromodulation therapies are rare. The efficacy of various such therapies remains a matter of debate. Further clinical investigations of existing techniques in larger samples properly controlling for spontaneous recovery are needed, and new approaches are awaited.

Research progress of CRISPR-Cas9 system for gene therapy / 生物工程学报

The clustered regulatory interspaced short palindromic repeat-Cas9 (CRISPR-Cas9) system is the part of the prokaryotic immune system, which could recognize and delete the exogenous sequences originated from virus or plasmid. Based on its mechanism, CRISPR-Cas9 system was developed into the new generation of gene editing tool. Compared to the existed technologies such as ES targeting, ZFN or TALEN, CRISPR-Cas9 system is a more efficient, economical and promising approach to manipulate the genome. In this review, we summarize the research progress about CRISPR-Cas9 technology, especially the latest applications in gene therapy studies of human diseases.

PCR-based sequencing for detection and genotyping of human papillomavirus in 325 cervical cell specimens from Beijing area / 生物工程学报

To evaluate PCR-sequencing for clinical detection of human papillomavirus (HPV) genotypes in cervical cell specimens, we applied PCR-sequencing to HPV detection and genotyping by general primer PGMY09/11, which targets the HPV most conserved L1 gene. Samples with multiple infections were subjected to HPV type-specific PCR. Among the 325 cervical samples, 228 were HPV positive, of which 66 showed multiple infections. In all, 27 different HPV genotypes were identified, with HPV 16 being the most prevalent, followed by HPV 58 and 52. The prevalence of high-risk HPV infection increased with the severity of cervical lesions (P < 0.05), whereas the proportion of multiple infections declined significantly from LSIL to SCC (P < 0.05). Both rates of overall and high-risk HPV infection were the highest in 21-30 age groups. There was substantial agreement between the HC2 and PCR-sequencing assay for detection of high-risk HPV (kappa = 0.675). PCR-sequencing was effective in HPV detection and genotyping, and it could be potentially applied to large scale HPV screening.

Induced pluripotent stem cells generated from reprogramming differentiated cells by defined factors / 生物工程学报

Embryonic stem cell is promising for regenerative medicine. However, its application is hampered by the utilization of eggs in most established methods. Recently, a new pluripotent stem cell establishing method was reported that, mouse and human differentiated cells could be induced reprogrammed into a pluripotent state by expressing exogenetic stem factors such as Oct4, Sox2, et al, through retroviral transduction. This approach avoiding egg use is a great breakthrough not only in stem cell technology but also present theory hypothesis of reprogramming. Here these works were reviewed in this article. Both the mechanism of induced reprogramming and the prospects of induced pluripotent stem cells were discussed.

Improved left ventricular endocardial border echo resolution by perfluoropropane-albumin microsphere injection: a multiple center stage Ⅲ clinical study / 中华超声影像学杂志

0.05 ). After once injection both observers considered the number of clearly recognized endocardial border segments increased significantly. The number evaluated by observers A increased from 2.68 ? 0.95 to 5.99 ? 0.10 while from 2.82 ? 1.03 to 5.99 ? 0.11 by observers B( P 0.05 ). The average contrast enhancement rate of LV endocardial border was 99.7 %. Perfluoropropane-albumin microsphere injection had no significant effection on vital signs such as blood prssure, heart rate and respiration. Electrocardiogram didn′t change markedly and the variance of the laboratory findings like blood and urine routine examination, hepatic and renal function was in normal range. Only one case( 0.33 %) had slight side-effects who suffered from mild nausea and diarrhea, which suggested the clinical safety of this contrast agent. Conclusions Perfluoropropane-albumin microsphere injection could enhance the resolution of LV endocardial borders and make the judgement of regional myocardial movement easier. It has little side-effects and will be appropriate for clinical use.