Rhythmic auditory stimulation improves gait more than NDT/Bobath training in near-ambulatory patients early poststroke: a single-blind, randomized trial.

OBJECTIVES: The effectiveness of 2 different types of gait training in stroke rehabilitation, rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) versus neurodevelopmental therapy (NDT)/Bobath- based training, was compared in 2 groups of hemiparetic stroke patients over a 3-week period of daily training (RAS group, n = 43; NDT/Bobath group =35). METHODS: Mean entry date into the study was 21.3 days poststroke for the RAS group and 22.3 days for the control group. Patients entered the study as soon as they were able to complete 5 stride cycles with handheld assistance. Patients were closely equated by age, gender, and lesion site. Motor function in both groups was pre-assessed by the Barthel Index and the Fugl-Meyer Scales. RESULTS: Pre- to posttest measures showed a significant improvement in the RAS group for velocity (P = .006), stride length (P = .0001), cadence (P = .0001) and symmetry (P = .0049) over the NDT/Bobath group. Effect sizes for RAS over NDT/Bobath training were 13.1 m/min for velocity, 0.18 m for stride length, and 19 steps/min for cadence. CONCLUSIONS: The data show that after 3 weeks of gait training, RAS is an effective therapeutic method to enhance gait training in hemiparetic stroke rehabilitation. Gains were significantly higher for RAS compared to NDT/Bobath training.

Significant growth inhibition of orthotopic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma by CpG oligonucleotides in immunodeficient mice.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The high rate of local recurrence after radical resection of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma fosters intensive efforts to develop new approaches for adjuvant treatment. Antisense and modified oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) have demonstrated significant tumour growth inhibitory effects in preclinical systems. Our aim was to evaluate the possible therapeutic potential of ODNs containing unmethylated deoxycytidyl-deoxyguanosine dinucleotides (CpG motifs). METHODOLOGY: For in vitro analysis, [(3)H]thymidine incorporation for DNA synthesis, colorimetric cell vitality assay (EZ4U assay), and DNA fragmentation assay (JAM-[(3)H]thymidine incorporation assay) to test for apoptosis were performed. In vivo testing was done on an orthotopic pancreatic xenotransplantation model using severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) beige and nude mice. RESULTS: No significant differential effect of either control ODN or CpG-1826 ODN with regard to tumour cell proliferation or induction of apoptosis was observed in vitro. In vivo, ODN-1826 proved to have a significant inhibitory effect (up to 40% reduction of tumour weight) when compared with tumour-bearing animals treated with saline or control ODN. This was accompanied by sevenfold increase in splenomegaly and moderate hepatomegaly. The reduction of tumour weight by ODN-1826 was only slightly more pronounced in nude compared with SCID beige mice. CONCLUSION: CpG-1826 induces significant growth-inhibitory effects on orthotopic xenotransplanted pancreatic tumours in highly immunodeficient mice, which might be explained by innate immunity mechanisms and possibly a complex interaction of tumour and stroma cells.

Sonography and neuropathology of a congenital brain tumor: report of a rare incident.

A rare case of a congenital brain tumor was diagnosed by sonography in a fetus at 33 weeks' gestation. The ultrasound examination showed a large area of both increased echogenicity and echolucency in one hemisphere suggestive of brain tumor or hemorrhage. The neuropathological examination revealed an undifferentiated glial tumor with large areas of necrosis.