Clinical features and molecular diagnosis of three patients with DiGeorge anomaly / 中华儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the clinical features and molecular diagnostic methods of three patients with DiGeorge anomaly.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The clinical manifestations and immunological features of the three cases with DiGeorge anomaly were analyzed. We detected the chromosome 22q11.2 gene deletion by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH).</p><p><b>RESULT</b>(1) CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS: All three cases had varying degrees of infection, congenital heart disease and small thymus by imaging; two cases had significant hypocalcemia (1.11 mmol/L and 1.22 mmol/L, respectively), accompanied by convulsions; only 1 case had cleft palate and all had no significant facial deformity. (2) Immunological characteristics: All three cases had varying degrees of T-cell immune function defects (percentage of T lymphocytes was 24% - 43%, absolute count was 309 - 803/µl), and levels of immunoglobulin G, A, M, and percent of B lymphocytes and absolute count were normal. (3) Detection of the chromosome 22q11.2 gene deletion: 400 cells of each case were detected. All cells showed two green and one red hybridization signal, indicating the presence of gene deletions in chromosome 22q11.2. (4) OUTCOME: All three cases were treated with thymosin, and appropriate clinical intervention for cardiac malformations, hypocalcemia, and were followed-up for 4 - 18 months, the prognosis was good.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>DiGeorge anomaly showed diverse clinical manifestations. We should consider the disease if patients had congenital heart disease, thymic hypoplasia, hypocalcemia and/or impaired immune function. FISH for detecting chromosome 22q11.2 gene deletion can be used as accurate and rapid diagnostic method. Thymosin treatment and other clinical intervention may help to improve the prognosis of patients with partial DiGeorge anomaly.</p>

Mild hypothermia attenuates neuronal apoptosis after cerebral hypoxia-ischemia in neonatal rats / 中国当代儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effects of mild hypothermia on sequential events of neuronal apoptosis following hypoxic-ischemic brain damage (HIBD) in neonatal rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A model of HIBD was prepared by ligating the left common carotid artery in 7-day-old rats, followed by 8% hypoxia exposure. HIBD rats were randomly assigned into a hypothermia group (rectal temperature = 33 centi-degrees) and a normothermia group (rectal temperature = 36 centi-degrees). TUNEL, Haematoxylin and Eosin, and Nissl staining were used to detect neuronal apoptosis. Western blotting, RT-PCR and enzyme activity measurement were used to evaluate the changes of plasma and mitochondrial cytochrome c (Cyt c), caspase-3 mRNA expression and caspase-3 enzyme activity, respectively.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The number of apoptotic cells in the ipsilateral hemisphere of the hypothermia group was significantly reduced compared with that of the normothermia group at 72 hrs post-HI (6.4 +/- 1.7% vs 25.3 +/- 1.5%) (P < 0.01). Analysis of Western blotting showed that Cyt c levels increased in the cytosolic fraction, but decreased significantly in the mitochondrial fraction in the ipsilateral hemisphere of the hypothermia group at 24, 48 and 72 hrs of HI insult compared with the normothermia group (P < 0.05). Caspase-3 mRNA increased significantly after 24 hrs post-HI in the normothermia group, and this change became more pronounced with time. Mild hypothermia treatment decreased significantly caspase-3 mRNA expression at 24, 48 and 72 hrs post-HI (P < 0.05). Caspase-3 activity gradually increased 2 hrs after HI insult and peaked at 24 hrs in the normothermia group. Mild hypothermia treatment resulted in a significant reduction in caspase-3 activity in the ipsilateral hemisphere, with an optimal effect produced at 24 hrs post-HI (2.42 +/- 0.5 RFU vs 34.7 +/- 3.2 RFU; P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Mild hypothermia treatment attenuates neuronal apoptosis following HIBD, possibly through a reduction in Cyt c release from mitochondria and an inhibition of caspase-3 mRNA expression and its enzyme activity.</p>

Huperzine A attenuates cognitive deficits and brain injury after hypoxia-ischemic brain damage in neonatal rats / 中华儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the protective effects of Huperzine A, a potent acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, against the hypoxic ischemic brain damage (HIBD) of the cognitive and morphology in the neonatal rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Postnatal 7 days old rats were given vehicle or Huperzine A (0.05 mg/kg or 0.1 mg/kg, i.p.) following HIBD (unilateral carotid artery ligation followed by hypoxia) or sham operation, and then tested the learning ability and memory in the Morris water maze (MWM) from 36 to 40 postnatal days. The performance in MWM (escape latency, probe time) were recorded to evaluate the learning and memory dysfunction. At the end of MWM trials, the rats were decapitated and their brains were histologically analyzed. The tissue loss in different brain regions including striatum, cortex, and hippocampus were analyzed by image analysis system. The CA(1) subfield neurons numbers were counted to evaluate the brain damage. The acetylcholinesterase histochemistry staining was used to determine the activity of acetylcholinesterase in different brain regions.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with sham-operated group, HIBD rats with the vehicle treatment displayed significant tissue losses in the hippocampus (including CA(1) neurons), cortex, and striatum, as well as severe spatial memory deficits (escape latency: 44 s vs 30 s, P < 0.05, probe time: 14 s vs 40 s, P < 0.01). Huperzine A treatment (0.1 mg/kg) resulted in significant protection against both HI-induced brain tissue losses and spatial memory impairments (mean escape latency: 34 s vs 44 s, P < 0.05, probe time: 35 s vs 14 s,P < 0.01). However, Huperzine A treatment (0.05 mg/kg) did not show any significant improvement of spatial memory impairments (mean escape latency: 45 s vs 44 s, P > 0.05, probe time: 17 s vs 14 s, P > 0.05), but moderate to severe brain tissue losses. There was a pronounced reduction of CA(1) neuron density in ipsilateral hemisphere of vehicle-treated group and 0.05 mg/kg Huperzine A group compared with contralateral hemisphere or ipsilateral hemisphere of sham-operated group and 0.1 mg/kg Huperzine A group (72 vs 232, P < 0.01, 72 vs 229, P < 0.01, respectively). There was a close linear correlation between the CA(1) neurons cell number and the mean escape latency for 5 d acquisition trials (r = 0.777, P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The unilateral HI brain injury in a neonatal rat model was associated with cognitive deficits, and that Huperzine A treatment may be protective against both brain injury and spatial memory impairment. Huperzine A showed a therapeutic potential for the treatment of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) caused by the perinatal asphyxia.</p>