Long non-coding RNA TUSC7 expression is independently predictive of outcome in glioma.

OBJECTIVE: Down-regulation of long non-coding RNA tumor suppressor candidate 7(TUSC7) contributes to tumorigenesis in several human cancers including glioma. However, the prognostic value of TUSC7 in glioma remains unclear. The present study aimed to investigate the clinicopathological and prognostic value of TUSC7. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The expression level of TUSC7 in glioma tissues and matched normal tissues were detected by qRT-PCR. Then, the association of serum TUSC7 expression level with various important clinicopathological parameters and survival rates was evaluated. The Cox regression analysis was used to evaluate the effect of independent prognostic factors on survival outcome. RESULTS: The relative level of TUSC7 was significantly lower in glioma tissues compared to the adjacent normal brain tissues (p < 0.01). In addition, a lower expression of TUSC7 was observed in high-grade glioma tissues than in low-grade glioma tissues (p < 0.01). Furthermore, the low expression of TUSC7 was associated with poor clinicopathological characteristics of glioma, including WHO grade (p = 0.002) and KPS (p = 0.026). Then, the low TUSC7 level was correlated with shorter disease free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) than low level (both p = 0.05). Finally, univariate and multivariate Cox analysis showed that TUSC7 was an independent prognostic indicator for OS and DFS. CONCLUSIONS: These results provided evidence that TUSC7 may be a potential biomarker in the prognosis of glioma.

Fondaparinux vs. enoxaparin in patients with non-ST elevation acute coronary syndromes (NSTE-ACS) treated with percutaneous coronary intervention and tirofiban: an exploratory study in China.

WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE: Fondaparinux and enoxaparin are used in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), but their effect in particular populations of patients is not well known. The objective was to explore the difference between fondaparinux and enoxaparin in patients with non-ST elevation ACS (NSTE-ACS) treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and tirofiban. METHODS: We prospectively enrolled 461 patients with NSTE-ACS treated with PCI, tirofiban, and either fondaparinux (n = 229) or enoxaparin (n = 232). Death, myocardial infarction, recurrent ischaemia and its composite outcome were assessed. The incidences of major or minor bleeding not related to coronary artery bypass grafting were also evaluated. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The rates of death, MI or refractory angina did not differ between the fondaparinux and enoxaparin groups at day 7 (4·40% vs. 4·70%), 30 (7·90% vs. 8·60%) or 180 (9·60% vs. 10·80%). Similarly, there were not statistically significant differences in the rates of major bleeding at day 7 (0·87% vs. 2·16%), 30 (1·31% vs. 2·59%) or 180 (2·18% vs. 3·88%), or in the rates of minor bleeding at day 7 (3·49% vs. 6·47%), 30 (5·68% vs. 9·48%) or 180 (8·30% vs. 13·36%). WHAT IS NEW AND CONCLUSION: In this relatively small study of Chinese patients with NSTE-ACS treated with tirofiban, there was no statistically significant difference in ischaemic or bleeding outcomes with the use of either fondaparinux or enoxaparin.

Valve-sparing operation for aortic root aneurysm in patients with Marfan syndrome.

BACKGROUND: We report our experience with aortic valve-sparing procedures in patients with Marfan syndrome and aortic root aneurysm. METHODS: Between August 2003 and July 2007, we performed aortic valve-sparing procedures in 20 patients with aortic root aneurysm resulting from Marfan syndrome. Mean age was 28 +/- 10 years (range, 10 to 57 years), and there were 9 females and 11 males. A reimplantation technique was used in 9 cases, a remodeling technique in 8 and a patch technique in 3 cases. Additional procedures included total aorta replacement in 1 patient, and aortic arch replacement plus stented elephant trunk in 2 patients. The mean follow-up time was 46 +/- 16 months (range, 17 to 64 months). RESULTS: No in-hospital or late death occurred. Reexploration for bleeding was required in one case on postoperative day 1. No valve-related complications occurred during the follow-up period. At the end of follow-up, trivial or no aortic regurgitation was demonstrated in 14 patients, mild in 4 patients, moderate in 1 and severe in 1. Two patients with moderate and severe aortic regurgitation required reoperation. CONCLUSIONS: The early and mid-term results of the valve-sparing operations were favorable, and the durability of the preserved valve should encourage use of this technique in patients with Marfan syndrome.

Effects of dietary phospholipid level in cobia (Rachycentron canadum) larvae: growth, survival, plasma lipids and enzymes of lipid metabolism.

A study was conducted to determine the effects of dietary phospholipid (PL) levels in cobia (Rachycentron canadum) larvae with regard to growth, survival, plasma lipids and enzymes of lipid metabolism. Fish with an average weight of 0.4 g were fed diets containing four levels of PL (0, 20, 40 and 80 g kg(-1)dry matter: purity 97%) for 42 days. Final body weight (FBW), weight gain (WG) and survival ratio were highest in the 8% PL diet group and mortality was highest in PL-free diet group. We examined the activities of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and hepatic lipase (HL) in liver, lecithin-cholesterolacyltransferase (LCAT) in plasma as well as plasma lipids and lipoprotein. LCAT activity showed a decrease of more than two-fold in PL-supplemented diet groups compared with the PL-free diet group. HL activity was highest in the 8% PL diet group and the other three groups showed no difference. LPL activity was significantly higher in the PL-supplemented diet groups than in the PL-free diet group. The dietary intervention significantly increased plasma phospholipids and total cholesterol (TC) levels, and the higher free cholesterol (FC) level contributed to the TC level. However, the fish fed PL exhibited a significantly decreased plasma triglyceride (TG) level. The lipoprotein fractions were also affected significantly by the PL. The PL-supplemented diet groups had significantly higher high-density lipoprotein (HDL) compared with the PL-free diet group, but showed a marked decrease in very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL). The results suggested that PL could modify plasma lipoprotein metabolism and lipid profile, and that the optimal dietary PL level may well exceed 80 g kg(-1) for cobia larvae according to growth and survival.

Neuroprotective effect of deep hypothermic circulatory arrest with low priming volume: study in a rabbit model.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to investigate the possible neuroprotective effects of a low priming volume following deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (DHCA) in a rabbit model. METHODS: Rabbits were randomized into three groups: DHCA with low priming volume (Group L), DHCA with high priming volume (Group H), and sham-operated group (Group S). The priming volume of Groups L and H were 75 ml and 210 ml, respectively. The rabbits were simultaneously placed on CPB and brain microdialysis, cooled to 16 to 18 degrees C with DHCA for 60 minutes. Physiological parameters were regularly recorded. The extracellular levels of glutamate, glucose, lactate, and pyruvate in the hippocampus were collected by microdialysis and measured by HPLC and a microdialysis analyzer. Brain damage was evaluated with light microscopy and electron microscopy and TUNEL staining. RESULTS: In order to keep the mean arterial pressure and acid-base balance within defined physiological ranges, more doses of dopamine and sodium bicarbonate were administered in Group H than in Group L (P < 0.05). The ratios of lactate/glucose and lactate/pyruvate in Group H increased significantly compared with those in Group L from the beginning of weaning from CPB (P < 0.05). The levels of extracellular glutamate in the two DHCA groups increased significantly (P < 0.05). After weaning from CPB, the glutamate values in Group H remained at higher levels compared with those in Group L (P < 0.05). The percentage of injured neurons, TUNEL positive staining, and the mitochondria score of the hippocampus CA1 in Group H were significantly higher than in Group L (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: A low priming volume during DHCA could have a neuroprotective effect compared with a high priming volume.

Discriminative analysis of brain function at resting-state for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

In this work, a discriminative model of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is presented on the basis of multivariate pattern classification and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). This model consists of two parts, a classifier and an intuitive representation of discriminative pattern of brain function between patients and normal controls. Regional homogeneity (ReHo), a measure of brain function at resting-state, is used here as a feature of classification. Fisher discriminative analysis (FDA) is performed on the features of training samples and a linear classifier is generated. Our initial experimental results show a successful classification rate of 85%, using leave-one-out cross validation. The classifier is also compared with linear support vector machine (SVM) and Batch Perceptron. Our classifier outperforms the alternatives significantly. Fisher brain, the optimal projective-direction vector in FDA, is used to represent the discriminative pattern. Some abnormal brain regions identified by Fisher brain, like prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex, are well consistent with that reported in neuroimaging studies on ADHD. Moreover, some less reported but highly discriminative regions are also identified. We conclude that the discriminative model has potential ability to improve current diagnosis and treatment evaluation of ADHD.