Clinical comparative analysis of monophasic and multiphasic acute disseminated encephalomyelitis in adults.

Introduction: This study aims to explore the clinical features and prognostic factors for relapse of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) in adults. Material and methods: 56 patients with ADEM were retrospectively analyzed. The epidemiological characteristics, clinical manifestations, laboratory features, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), treatment and prognosis data of these patients were analyzed using the χ2 test for categorical variables and Mann-Whitney U-test for continuous variables. Then, the clinical characteristics and recurrence factors were summarized. Results: 56 patients with ADEM, based on the criteria of the International Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Study Group, were recruited to the study. Among these patients, 31 were male and 25 were female. Furthermore, 13 patients had multiphasic ADEM, and 29 patients (52%) had definite incentive factors before onset. The commonest presenting symptoms and signs were fever (36%), disturbance of consciousness (52%), mental disorder (38%), seizure (14%), headache and dizziness (43%), optic neuritis (34%), autonomic nervous system symptoms (43%), limb paralysis or abnormal sensation (73%), and unilateral or bilateral pyramidal tract signs (48%). Inflammatory changes in the cerebrospinal fluid were prominent. MRI T2-weighted and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery images displayed multiple or large flaky high signals, and the lesions were usually different in the number and distribution of these lesions. Intravenous corticosteroids and/or immunoglobulin were still important treatments in the acute phase. After treatment, 38 patients completely recovered, 9 patients had neurologic deficits, and 9 patients died. Conclusions: ADEM in adults is not uncommon, its clinical features are complex and varied, and some of these are multiphasic. There may be some potential clinical predictors at first onset.

Health-related risky behaviors and their risk factors in adolescents with high-functioning autism.

BACKGROUND: Health-related risky behaviors generally refer to behaviors that have a negative impact on health and quality of life. Health-related risky behaviors in adolescents with high-functioning autism (HFA) have not been well understood so far. Adolescents with HFA may have more health-related risky behaviors than neurotypical adolescents. AIM: To investigate health-related risky behaviors and their risk factors with HFA. METHODS: This is an observational study. Our study enrolled 110 adolescents aged 12-19-years-old meeting Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th edition criteria for HFA. They were recruited from Peking University Sixth Hospital. There were also 110 age, sex and nationality matched controls enrolled who came from a public school in Beijing, China. Both groups completed the Adolescents Health-related Risky Behavior Inventory. Nonparametric tests were carried out for comparison of the Adolescents Health-related Risky Behavior Inventory scores between the two groups. Expression recognition, the Inventory of Subjective Life Quality for Child and Adolescent, Chinese Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Adult-Chinese Revised, Theory of Mind test and Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire were assessed in the autism group to explore factors associated with health-related risky behaviors. Multivariate regression analysis was conducted to explore the risk factors of health-related risky behaviors in the HFA group. RESULTS: The results showed that the total score of the Adolescents Health-related Risky Behavior Inventory and scores of "aggression and violence," "suicide and self-injury," "health compromising behavior" and "unprotected sex" subscales in the HFA group were significantly higher than those in the control group (Z range -4.197 to -2.213, P < 0.05). Among the associated factors, poor emotional experience (B = -0.268, P < 0.001), depression (B = -0.321, P < 0.001), low score of intelligence (B = -0.032, P = 0.042), low score of Theory of Mind test (B = -1.321, P = 0.003) and poor adaptation to school life (B = -0.152, P = 0.006) were risk factors. These risky behaviors may promote the occurrence of health-related risky behaviors in adolescents with HFA. CONCLUSION: This study showed that adolescents with HFA were more likely to be involved in health-related risky behaviors. Different health-related risky behaviors have different reasons.

E Platinum, a newly synthesized platinum compound, induces autophagy via inhibiting phosphorylation of mTOR in gastric carcinoma BGC-823 cells.

A tightly regulated catabolic process named autophagy involves the degradation of intracellular components via lysosomes. Here we investigate the antitumor effect of E Platinum, a newly synthesized derivative of oxaliplatin, in vivo and in vitro. E Platinum exhibits growth inhibition of various tumor cells in a dose-dependent manner, but the mechanism underlying it is unclear. Based on theory introducing autophagy, we preliminarily investigate whether autophagy could contribute to the antitumor activity of E Platinum. Our results showed that autophagy induced by 12.5 µM E Platinum in gastric carcinoma BGC-823 cells was significantly characterized by the FITC-fluorescent microtubule associated protein 1 light chain 3 (MAP-LC3), lysosomal-rich/acidic compartments visualized with Lysotracker red (LTR-red) and an accumulation of numerous large autophagic vesicles within the cytoplasm, but not in the control cells. Meanwhile treatment of cells with 12.5 µM E Platinum resulted in conversion of water soluble LC3 (LC3-I) to lipidated and autophagosome-associated form (LC3-II) as well as increasing expression of autophagy protein Beclin 1. Activation of predominant lysosomal aspartic protease, LAMP-1 and cathepsin D, was demonstrated. Moreover, RNA interference targeting Beclin 1, inhibition of autophagy by 3-methyladenine (3-MA) and chloroquine significantly suppressed the above process as well as the BGC-823 cells growth inhibition triggered by 12.5 µM E Platinum. Studies of mechanism revealed that E Platinum suppressed activation of mTOR and p70S6K by decreasing phosphorylation of Akt, ERK1/2, JNK and p38 involved in mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling. We supported new evidences for E Platinum as a promising antitumor agent, involving with autophagy induction.

Reactive oxygen species-mitochondria pathway involved in FV-429-induced apoptosis in human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells.

FV-429 is a newly synthesized flavonoid with a bis(2-hydroxyethyl) amino propoxy substitution. In this study, we investigate the anticancer effect of FV-429 both in vivo and in vitro. These data have shown that FV-429 could significantly inhibit tumor growth in mice inoculated with Heps hepatoma cells without evident toxicity. After the treatment of FV-429 (40 mg/kg), the inhibitory rate of tumor weight was 52.12%. Then, we performed diamidinophenylindole staining and annexin V/propidium iodide double-staining assay to investigate the apoptosis induced by FV-429 in HepG2 cells. Further research revealed that FV-429 induced apoptosis through the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway, as indicated by a change in Bax/Bcl-2 ratios, collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential, the transposition of apoptotic-inducing factor and cytochrome c, caspase-3 and caspase-9 activation, and degradation of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase. The accumulation of reactive oxygen species induced by FV-429 in HepG2 cells was also observed. Moreover, the mitogen-activated protein kinases, the downstream effect of reactive oxygen species accumulation including c-Jun N-terminal kinase and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases, could be activated by FV-429. Taken together, our results provided a mechanistic framework for further exploration of FV-429 as a novel chemotherapy for human tumors.

[Detection of chromosomal DNA imbalance in medulloblastoma by comparative genomic hybridization].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between chromosomal genomic DNA imbalance in medulloblastoma (MB), and the age and gender. METHODS: The gains and losses of chromosomal genomic DNA in 16 MBs were analyzed using comparative genomic hybridization. RESULTS: The gains and(or) losses were found in 15 of the 16 cases. There was not significant difference (P > 0.05) between the total gains (10/16) and losses (11/16). Both of their differences had also no significance between different age and gender groups (P > 0.05). In 15 cases with gains and(or) losses, single-, two-, three- and multi-chromosome genomic DNA imbalances were 3/15, 4/15, 1/15 and 7/15 respectively. Eleven gain zones (+5q, +6q, +7q, +11q, +15q, +17p, +17q, +19q, +20q, +21q, +Xp) and twenty-five loss zones (-1p, -1q, -2p, -2q, -3q, -4p, -6p, -6q, -8p, -8q, -10p, -10q, -11p, -14q, -16p, -16q, -17p, -18p, -18q, -19p, -19q, -20p, -20q, -Xp, -Xq) were detected in those tumors. +7q (6/16), +17q (6/16), -14q (5/16) and -10q (3/16) were the most frequent, but -14q only occurred in the cases of > 10-year-old. CONCLUSIONS: Most MBs have chromosomal genomic DNA imbalances. The frequent imbalance zones are mainly at the long arms of some chromosomes. +7q, +17q, -14q and -10q correlate closely to development of the tumors. -14q is important factor to result in MBs of > 10-year-old group. MB has possibly different molecular genetics subtype.