The real estate factor: quantifying the impact of infarct location on stroke severity.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The severity of the neurological deficit after ischemic stroke is moderately correlated with infarct volume. In the current study, we sought to quantify the impact of location on neurological deficit severity and to delineate this impact from that of volume. METHODS: We developed atlases consisting of location-weighted values indicating the relative importance in terms of neurological deficit severity for every voxel of the brain. These atlases were applied to 80 first-ever ischemic stroke patients to produce estimates of clinical deficit severity. Each patient had an MRI and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) examination just before or soon after hospital discharge. The correlation between the location-based deficit predictions and measured neurological deficit (NIHSS) scores were compared with the correlation obtained using volume alone to predict the neurological deficit. RESULTS: Volume-based estimates of neurological deficit severity were only moderately correlated with measured NIHSS scores (r=0.62). The combination of volume and location resulted in a significantly better correlation with clinical deficit severity (r=0.79, P=0.032). CONCLUSIONS: The atlas methodology is a feasible way of integrating infarct size and location to predict stroke severity. It can estimate stroke severity better than volume alone.

Nanoparticles as a vaccine adjuvant of anti-idiotypic antibody against schistosomiasis.

BACKGROUND: The development of new adjuvants for human use has been the focus of attention. This study's aim is to explore the possibility of using nanoparticle Ca nanoparticles (CA) as a vaccine adjuvant of anti-idiotypic antibody NP30 against schistosomiasis and its protective mechanisms. METHODS: Nanoparticle CA-NP30 conjugate (CA-NP30) was fabricated. BALB/c mice were immunized actively with CA-NP30 to evaluate its effects of protective immunity on mice. The serum levels of specific IgG, IgG1 and IgG2a antibodies against NP30 and the concentrations of IFN-gamma and IL-4 in supernatant of splenocytes were determined via ELISA. RESULTS: Nanoparticle CA could enhance significantly the protective immunity of NP30 against infection of Schistosoma japonicum and the worm reduction rose from 36.0% (NP30 alone) to 52.6%. The serum levels of specific IgG, IgG1 and IgG2a antibodies against NP30 increased remarkably, as compared with those of the group immunized with NP30 alone. The concentration of IFN-gamma in supernatant of splenocyte was drastically elevated [the groups immunized with CA-NP30 and NP30 alone were (493.80 +/- 400.74) pg/ml and (39.03 +/- 39.58) pg/ml, respectively], but the concentration of IL-4 showed no significant difference from that of NP30 alone [(27.94 +/- 9.84) pg/ml vs (27.28 +/- 14.44) pg/ml]. CONCLUSIONS: Nanoparticle CA could act as a vaccine adjuvant of anti-idiotypic antibody NP30 against schistosomiasis. The mechanism could be that CA-NP30 enhances humoral and cellular immune responses in mice.

[Construction and expression of single chain Fv gene of anti-idiotypic monoclonal antibody NP30 of Schistosoma japonicum].

OBJECTIVE: To construct single chain Fv (scFv) gene of anti-idiotypic monoclonal antibody NP30 of Schistosoma japonicum. METHODS: The heavy and light chain variable region genes of anti-idiotypic monoclonal antibody NP30 of Schistosoma japonicum were inserted into two corresponding sites of expression vector pTHA90, and a scFv gene was constructed with a short peptide (Gly4Ser)3 linker gene. The recombinants were determined by digesting with XhoI/SpeI, XbaI/EcoRI and XhoI/EcoRI, and then were introduced into E. coli Top10. The antigen binding activity of expressed product was detected with ELISA. RESULTS: The recombinants were determined by digesting with endonucleases and expected bands were identified. The value of expressed scFv was 3 times higher than negative control by ELISA(OD492 = 1.06). CONCLUSION: The scFv gene of anti-idiotypic monoclonal antibody NP30 of Schistosoma japonicum was successfully cloned, and the expressed scFv fragment could interact specifically with antigen NP48.

[Study of the acupuncture effect on monoamine transmitters in rabbit plasma and brain tissue by high performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection].

A rapid and simple method for the study of the acupuncture effect on monoamine transmitters and related compounds in rabbit plasma and brain tissue by high performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection was developed. An ODS column was selected as the separation column at 25 degrees C, and pH 4.50, 0.02 mol/L of trisodium citrate-0.05 mol/L sodium phosphate dibasic to methanol (95:5, volume ratio) without ion-pair at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. Four compounds, epinephrine (E), norepinephrine (NE), dopamine (DA) and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), were simultaneously separated and determined under the above conditions. Twenty rabbits were investigated after the acupuncture action upon the central neurotransmitters. The sufficient data showed that acupuncture could significantly affect the activities of the neurotransmitters including E, NE, DA and 5-HT, and the changed functions of the neurotransmitter systems induced by acupuncture not only lead to the neurotransmitter content increase both in brain and plasma but also cause the increase of rabbit breed ability. The results show that the method is very simple and fast. The method is valuable not only for clinical diagnosis but also for research work.