Optic atrophy differentially diagnosed as spinocerebellar ataxia from Leber hereditary optic neuropathy by gene mutation analysis

Optic atrophy describes a group of diseases of retinal ganglion cells and axons that eventually lead to loss of vision. Optic atrophy has both congenital and acquired causes, and its diagnosis (or differential diagnosis) is complicated. This case report describes a 20-year-old man who presented with a 1-year history of progressive vision loss in both eyes and no obvious systemic symptoms. Fundus examination revealed bilateral optic atrophy. Based on clinical characteristics, visual field analysis and pattern visual evoked potential examination, the presumptive diagnosis was Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON). Analysis of mitochondrial DNA indicated the absence of all of three common mutations associated with LHON (m.3460G>A, m.11778G>A, m.14484T>C). Detailed questioning of the patient revealed a history of prolonged language development and poor balance. Neurological examination indicated abnormal co-ordination, suggesting the presence of inherited spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA). Analysis of the SCA7 gene revealed a high number of trinucleotide repeats [(CAG)(n), n > 64], confirming the diagnosis of SCA. The aetiology of optic atrophies is complicated and the molecular genetic detection approach provides the best information for diagnosing these diseases.

Aclarubicin and low-dose Cytosine arabinoside in combination with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor in treating acute myeloid leukemia patients with relapsed or refractory disease and myelodysplastic syndrome: a multicenter study of 112 Chinese patients

One hundred twelve patients with geriatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML), refractory or relapsed AML, or myelodysplastic syndrome and refractory anemia with excess of blasts in transformation (MDS-RAEBt) were entered into this study to receive CAG (aclarubicin and low-dose cytosine arabinoside [Ara-C]in combination with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor [G-CSF]) with the objective of evaluating the efficacy and tolerance of this regimen. Low-dose Ara-C was given subcutaneously at a dosage of 10 mg/m2 every 12 hours on days 1 to 14. Aclarubicin was administered intravenously at a dosage of 14 mg/m2 per day on days 1 to 4 (CAG regimen A) or 7 mg/m2 on days 1 to 8 (CAG regimen B). Recombinant G-CSF was given subcutaneously at a dosage of 200 3g/m2 per day on days 1 to 14. We demonstrated comparable overall complete remission rates for the 4 groups of patients: 30.8% (8/26) in the elderly patients, 48.4% (30/62) in the refractory AML patients, 44.4% (8/18) in the relapsed AML patients, and 38.5% (5/13) in the MDS-RAEBt patients. Of the 52 patients followed up, the 12-month progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rates estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method were 40.73% 3 8.15% and 42.85% 3 8.23%, respectively. The median PFS and OS times were 9.0 3 2.2 months and 11.0 3 1.6 months, respectively. Toxic effects were very rare and mainly consisted of neutropenia and thrombocytopenia due to myelosuppression; approximately 70% to 80% of patients had neutropenia or thrombocytopenia that exceeded National Cancer Institute grade II. Nonhematologic toxicities were not observed in this study. The CAG regimen seems promising, with acceptable toxicity, for the treatment of various categories of poor-prognosis AML and MDS-RAEBt.

Production, purification, and characterization of an intracellular aflatoxin-detoxifizyme from Armillariella tabescens (E-20)

Some Armillariella tabescens (E-20) multienzymes have previously been reported to present detoxifying activities against aflatoxins. In this paper, we describe the isolation purification of an intracellular enzyme, named aflatoxin-detoxifizyme, which exhibited detoxification activity on aflatoxin B(1) (AFB(1)). This aflatoxin-detoxifizyme exhibited a specific activity of 7.09 nmol min/mg at pH 6.0 and 28 degrees C. The apparent molecular mass was 51.8 kDa as determined by SDS-PAGE. The isoelectric point was estimated to be 5.4 and optimum activity for the enzyme was found at pH 6.8 and 35 degrees C. The activity of the purified enzyme was confirmed by Ames test.

[Effects of 6-OHDA lesions of the bilateral dorsal noradrenergic bundle on learning-dependent long-term synaptic potentiation in dentate gyrus]

In the present study, the role of NE in learning-dependent long-term potentiation (LdLTP) was investigated by examining the effects of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) lesion made in the bilateral dorsal noradrenergic bundle on the changes of synaptic efficacy in dentate gyrus (DG) and related conditioned response during drinking conditioning. Bilateral injection of 6-OHDA (12 micrograms/4 microliters) into the dorsal noradrenergic bundle caused a continuous decrease of the amplitude of population spike (PS) reaching a value of 50 +/- 6.3% and 28 +/- 6.4% respectively at the 6th and the 12th day after injection of the drug. During this period of 7 days, the LdLTP could not be produced in spite of 20 trainings per day for a total of 140 trials, and the conditioned drinking response could not be established. The above results indicate that normal levels of norepinephrine in the hippocampus are necessary to the establishment of LdLTP in the DG and suggest that the development of LdLTP in the DG may be modulated by the nucleus locus ceruleus via the dorsal noradrenergic bundle.