A mutation in MAP2 is associated with prenatal hair follicle density.

Hairlessness is usually a rare trait in pigs; however, in this study, we found hairless (HR) pigs at a relatively high frequency in 1 pig herd. We observed that, the lower hair shaft density of HR pigs could be mainly attributed to the lower hair follicle density, and during the embryonic period, d 39-45 were a critical stage for the formation of the hair follicle. In this regard, d 41 during gestation was a particularly important point. Hair follicle morphogenesis occurring at an early stage of embryo development is similar to humans and mice. Further analyses of association studies based on single-nucleotide polymorphism chip as well as sequence data, mRNA sequencing, immunohistochemistry, and comparative genomics demonstrated that microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2) is a key gene responsible for hair follicle density and 1 missense mutation of A-to-G at rs328005415 in MAP2, causing a valine-to-methionine substitution leads to the HR phenotype. Considering the high homology between pigs and humans, our research has some significance for the study of the mechanisms of skin development, hair morphogenesis, and hair loss in humans by showing that the pig may be a more appropriate model in which to study these processes.-Jiang, Y., Jiang, Y., Zhang, H., Mei, M., Song, H., Ma, X., Jiang, L., Yu, Z., Zhang, Q., Ding, X. A mutation in MAP2 is associated with prenatal hair follicle density.

Antihypertensive drug use and breast cancer risk: a meta-analysis of observational studies.

We conducted a meta-analysis of observational studies to examine the hypothesized association between breast cancer and antihypertensive drug (AHT) use. Fixed- or random- effect models were used to calculate pooled risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for all AHTs and individual classes (i.e., angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, [ACEi]; angiotensin-receptor blockers, [ARBs]; calcium channel blockers, [CCBs]; beta-blockers, [BBs], and diuretics). Twenty-one studies with 3,116,266 participants were included. Overall, AHT use was not significantly associated with breast cancer risk (RR = 1.02, 95% CI: 0.98-1.06), and no consistent association was found for specific AHT classes with pooled RRs of 1.02 (95% CI: 0.96-1.09) for BBs, 1.07 (95% CI: 0.99-1.16) for CCBs, 0.99 (95% CI: 0.93-1.05) for ACEi/ARBs, and 1.05 (95% CI: 0.99-1.12) for diuretics. When stratified by duration of use, there was a significantly reduced breast cancer risk for ACEi/ARB use ≥10 years (RR = 0.80, 95% CI: 0.67-0.95). Although there was no significant association between AHT use and breast cancer risk, there was a possible beneficial effect was found for long-term ACEi/ARB. Large, randomized controlled trials with long-term follow-up are needed to further test the effect of these medications on breast cancer risk.

Clinical experiences of ruptured posteroinferior cerebellar artery aneurysms and anatomical analysis in the cadaver in a single center of China.

OBJECTIVE: Posteroinferior cerebellar artery (PICA) aneurysms are uncommon and have not been well investigated previously. We report our series of 29 ruptured PICA aneurysms with surgical treatment along with the description of the surgical anatomy of the PICA to the lower cranial nerves in cadaveric specimen. METHODS: All patients with ruptured PICA aneurysms who were surgically treated at the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University during the period from January 1995 to December 2008 were reviewed retrospectively. Data relating to clinical, radiological, and intraoperative findings were analyzed. Forty formalin-fixed cerebellar hemispheres provided the material for the study of describing the detailed surgical anatomic relationship of the PICA to the lower cranial nerves. RESULTS: In our series, ruptured PICA aneurysms reached an incidence of 2.35% of all ruptured intracranial aneurysms. There were 13 aneurysms (44.8%) located in the proximal segment, and 16 (55.2%) located in the distal segment. Of these, 89.7% were saccular, 6.9% fusiform, and 3.4% dissecting aneurysms. Usually, the surgical outcome was influenced by Poor admission grade, the presence of obstructive hydrocephalus and associated distal AVM. In cadaveric specimen, 17.5% of PICAs passed between the glossopharyngeal and vagus nerves, 7.5% between the vagus and accessory nerves, and 62.5% through the rootlets of the accessory nerve. CONCLUSION: This report summarizes the presentation and outcome of a large series of 29 patients with ruptured PICA aneurysms, and we conclude that ruptured PICA with surgical treatment usually gets well recovered. The study does, however, also demonstrate that the anatomic relationship of the PICA and lower cranial nerves is somehow variable and irregular. Recognition of the findings in cadaveric dissection is essential in treating lesions of this region.