association of XPG and MMS19L polymorphisms response to chemotherapy in osteosarcoma

Objective: To assess the role of XPG, XPC, CCNH and MMS19L polymorphisms response to chemotherapy in osteosarcoma, and the clinical outcome of osteosarcoma

Methods: One hundred and sixty eight osteosarcoma patients who were histologically confirmed were enrolled in our study between January 2007 and March 2009. Genotyping of XPG, XPC, CCNH and MMS19L was performed in a 384-well plate format on the MassARRAY[registered] platform

Results: Individuals with rs2296147 TT genotype showed a better response as compared with CC genotype, with the OR [95% CI] of 3.89[1.49-10.95]. Those carrying rs29001322 TT genotype presented better response to chemotherapy, and the OR [95% CI] was as high as 12.25[2.63-121.84]. Patients carrying TT genotype of XPG rs2296147 and MMS19L rs29001322 showed a significantly longer overall survival than CC genotype, they had 0.37 and 0.31-fold risk of death when compared with wide-type of this gene

Conclusions: XPG rs2296147 and MMS19L rs29001322 are correlated with response to chemotherapy and prognosis of osteosarcoma. Our findings would provide important evidence for prognostic and therapeutic implications in osteosarcoma

Efficacy of intravenous zoledronic acid in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis: a meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE@#To compare the effect of zoledronic acid in treatment and prevention of osteoporosis with placebo.@*METHODS@#Random control trials regarding zoledronic acid in treatment of osteoporosis were retrieved by selecting Medline, EMbase and Pubmed databases till April 2012. The RevMan software was used for all of the statistical analysis.@*RESULTS@#A total of 9 trials were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled effect showed that zoledronic acid could increase the bone mineral density by 2.98 times compared with placebo, and reduce the rate of fracture in patients by 32%. The results should the zoledronic acid intervention had significantly less serious adverse events than controls, and the odds ratio was 0.81 (0.76-0.87). The longer term intervention, more than 12 months intervention, could gain a better prevention effect for osteoporosis (OR, 95%CI for BMD was 3.35, 2.77-3.92; for fracture was 0.67, 0.54-0.82).@*CONCLUSIONS@#This present study shows that zoledronic acid could be effective approach in the prevention of osteoporosis, and could increase the bone mineral density and reduce the risk of fracture.

MRI scan of striatum volume in healthy adults / 浙江大学学报·医学版

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To examine the age, sex, and hemispheric differences in volume of the striatum by MRI in healthy adults.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The volumes of the bilateral caudate nucleus and putamen were measured on MR images in 100 healthy right-handed adults (18-70 y).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The volume of bilateral caudate nucleus and putamen in healthy adults was (8.42 +/-0.88) cm(3) and (8.90 +/-0.89) cm(3), which were decreased with aging (for caudate nucleus r=-0.727, P<0.001; for putamen r=-0.709, P<0.001). The average annual shrinkage rate was 0.52 % in the caudate nucleus and 0.50 % in the putamen. There were no gender differences in the volume of the striatum, however, the age-related shrinkage of the striatum was more evident in men than that in women. The volume of the left caudate nucleus (t=4.43, P<0.001) and the putamen (t=4.88, P<0.001) was greater than that of its right counterpart.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Bilateral age-related shrinkage of the striatum is found in healthy adults, which is more evident in men than that in women. In both sexes, significant leftward asymmetry in volume of the caudate nucleus and the putamen is found.</p>

Role of activated brain regions during tactile stimulation in early Parkinson's disease: a preliminary fMRI study / 浙江大学学报·医学版

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the role of activated brain regions in Parkinson's disease (PD) during tactile stimulation.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Twenty-one patients with early PD[mean age (60.43 +/-9.65)y] and twenty-two age-matched healthy controls [mean age (59.23 +/-11.12)y] were enrolled in the study. All the patients were tested by the United Parkinson Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) as the evaluation of the disease severity. A block design was used when the finger tactile stimulation was given to the subjects. The hypoactive and hyperactive regions of PD patients were confirmed first, which were identified as regions of interest (ROI). ROI analysis was performed to quantify BOLD signal changes when subjects were under tactile stimulation. The correlations of signal changes with disease severity, and correlations of hyperactive with hypoactive regions were analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Right primary sensory and motor cortex, right supplementary motor area (SMA), bilateral caudates, bilateral precuneus, bilateral occipital visual cortex and left middle temporal gyrus were hypoactivated in PD, while right prefrontal cortex (PFC) and right caudate were hyperactivated. The hypoactivation of right SMA was negatively correlated with disease severity. All the hypoactive and hyperactive regions were positively correlated with activation of caudates. There was a positive correlation between hyperactive PFC and hypoactive regions.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The signal change of SMA is directly related to disease severity in early PD, and caudates may play a significant role in PD tactile processing. The hyperactivation of PFC may be not a compensation but a pathophysiological change related to PD neural dysfunction.</p>