[Thrombolytic treatment of acute cerebral infarction]

INTRODUCTION

Thrombolytic therapy of acute ischaemic stroke within three hours of the onset of symptoms is approved by health authorities in the USA and Canada, but not in Europe.

METHODS

We report seven patients treated with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) within three hours of the onset of stroke according to an open protocol following internationally accepted guidelines.

RESULTS

Three patients with initial severe neurological deficits made an almost complete recovery within the first 24 hours after treatment. Two patients had a partial remission, and two patients had no benefit. There were no bleeding complications.

DISCUSSION

The present results are in accordance with the Cochrane Library's analysis of published data regarding thrombolytic therapy.

Arabidopsis knockout mutation of ADC2 gene reveals inducibility by osmotic stress

We isolated an Arabidopsis thaliana mutant line carrying an insertion of the En-1 transposable element at the ADC2 locus. The insertion causes a knockout of the arginine decarboxylase 2 gene. We demonstrated that ADC2 is the gene responsible for induction of the polyamine biosynthetic pathway by osmotic stress. No induction of ADC activity by the osmolite sorbitol could be observed in the homozygous mutant, indicating a predominant role of ADC2 in stress response. ADC activity is reduced in the mutant by 44% under non-stressed conditions and the mutant shows no obvious phenotype. This is the first report of a genetically mapped mutation in the polyamine biosynthetic pathway in plants.