Cerebellar degeneration-related proteins 2 and 2-like are present in ovarian cancer in patients with and without Yo antibodies.

BACKGROUND: Cerebellar degeneration-related protein 2 (CDR2) has been presumed to be the main antigen for the onconeural antibody Yo, which is strongly associated with ovarian cancer and paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration (PCD). Recent data show that Yo antibodies also target the CDR2-like protein (CDR2L). We, therefore, examined the expression of CDR2 and CDR2L in ovarian cancer tissue from patients with and without Yo antibodies and from various other cancerous and normal human tissues. METHODS: Ovarian cancer tissue and serum samples from 16 patients were included in the study (four with anti-Yo and PCD, two with anti-Yo without PCD, five with only CDR2L antibodies, and five without onconeural antibodies). Clinical data were available for all patients. The human tissues were examined by western blot and immunohistochemistry using rabbit CDR2 and CDR2L antibodies. RESULTS: Ovarian cancers from all 16 patients expressed CDR2 and CDR2L proteins. Both proteins were also present in normal and cancer tissue from mammary tissue, kidney, ovary, prostate, and testis. CONCLUSION: CDR2L is present in ovarian cancers from patients with and without Yo antibodies as was shown previously for CDR2. In addition, both CDR2 and CDR2L proteins are more widely expressed than previously thought, both in normal and cancerous tissues.

Immediate effects of inhibitive distraction on active range of cervical flexion in patients with neck pain: a pilot study.

The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the immediate effects of a manual therapy technique called Inhibitive Distraction (ID) on active range of motion (AROM) for cervical flexion in patients with neck pain with or without concomitant headache. A secondary objective of this study was to see whether patient subgroups could be identified who might benefit more from ID by studying variables such as age, pain intensity, presence of headache, or pre-intervention AROM. We also looked at patients' ability to identify pre- to post-intervention changes in their ability to actively move through a range of motion. Forty subjects (mean age 34.7 years; range 16-48 years) referred to a physical therapy clinic due to discomfort in the neck region were randomly assigned to an experimental and a control group. We used the CROM goniometer to measure pre- and post-intervention cervical flexion AROM in the sagittal plane within a single treatment session. The between-group difference in AROM increase was not statistically significant at P<0.05 with a mean post-intervention increase in ROM of 2.4 degrees (SD 6.2 degrees ) for the experimental group and 1.2 degrees (SD 5.8 degrees ) for the placebo group. We were also unable to identify potential subgroups more likely to respond to ID, although a trend emerged for greater improvement in chronic patients with headaches, lower pain levels, and less pre-intervention AROM. In the experimental group and in both groups combined, subjects noting increased AROM indeed had a significantly greater increase in AROM than those subjects not noting improvement. In conclusion, this study did not confirm immediate effects of ID on cervical flexion AROM but did provide indications for potential subgroups likely to benefit from this technique. Recommendations are provided with regard to future research and clinical use of the technique studied.