Demyelinating neuropathy in patients with hepatitis B virus: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis B rarely leads to demyelinating neuropathy, despite peripheral neuropathy being the first symptom of hepatitis B infection. CASE SUMMARY: A 64-year-old man presented with sensorimotor symptoms in multiple peripheral nerves. Serological testing showed that these symptoms were due to hepatitis B. After undergoing treatment involving intravenous immunoglobulin and an antiviral agent, there was a notable improvement in his symptoms. CONCLUSION: Although hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is known to affect hepatocytes, it is crucial to recognize the range of additional manifestations linked to this infection. The connection between long-term HBV infection and demyelinating neuropathy has seldom been documented; hence, prompt diagnostic and treatment are essential. The patient's positive reaction to immunoglobulin seems to be associated with production of the antigen-antibody immune complex.

Palladium-Catalyzed Direct Esterification via C-H Bond Activation of Aldehydes.

A concise and highly efficient synthesis method of direct esterification of aldehydes via Pd-catalyzed C-H bond activation of aldehyde group has been developed. The strategy avoids the preoxidation step of aldehyde or use of condensing agents in ester synthesis, which is not only applicable to various alcohols but also suitable for the esterification of phenolics which are usually difficult to be esterified. The methodology has the significant advantages of broad substrate scope, mild reaction conditions, and nonrequirement of additional oxidants.

Transient Receptor Potential Melastatin 2 Enhances Vascular Reactivity During Development of Atherosclerosis in Mice.

BACKGROUND: To investigate the function of transient receptor potential melastatin 2 (TRPM2) in vascular reactivity induced by 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) in the aorta during development of atherosclerosis in mice. METHODS: Forty mice were randomly divided into 4 groups: C57BL/6J on normal diet (C57 + ND), C57BL/6J on high-fat diet (C57 + HFD), apolipoprotein E gene knockout mice (ApoE-/-) on ND (ApoE-/- + ND), and ApoE-/- on HFD (ApoE-/- + HFD). They were fed with a ND or HFD for 16 weeks. Aortic TRPM2 expression and isometric contractions were analyzed. RESULTS: In the ApoE-/- + HFD group, body weight, blood glucose, and blood lipid concentrations were increased, and aortic plaques were developed. Compared with the other 3 groups, aortic TRPM2 mRNA and protein levels were significantly increased in the ApoE-/- + HFD group (P < 0.01). Aortic reactivity to 5-HT was enhanced in ApoE-/- + HFD mice with lower EC50 values. The enhanced reactivity to 5-HT was significantly inhibited by TRPM2 inhibitors, N-p-amylcinnamoyl anthranilic acid (1 µmol/l) and 2-aminoethyl diphenylborinate (10 µmol/l). CONCLUSIONS: Aortic TRPM2 expression is upregulated in ApoE knockout mice fed with a HFD. Upregulation of TRPM2 enhances 5-HT vascular reactivity during development of atherosclerosis.

Differential Lesion Patterns on T2WI and FLAIR Sequences in Cryptogenic Stroke Patients With Patent Foramen Ovale.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to determine lesion patterns and stroke mechanisms in cryptogenic ischemic stroke patients with patent foramen ovale (PFO) on T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery sequences combined. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: Twenty-nine patients with cryptogenic ischemic stroke and an isolated PFO (CS-PFO+ group) compared with 51 cryptogenic stroke patients without PFO (CS-PFO- group) were evaluated and the characteristics of their lesion patterns on T2-weighted and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery sequences combined were investigated. We compared the number, the size, and the distribution of ischemic lesions on magnetic resonance imaging between the 2 groups. RESULTS: Twenty-four of 29 patients had a total of 271 small ischemic lesions (diameter<1 cm) in the CS-PFO+ group against 24 of 51 patients with 156 small ischemic lesions in the CS-PFO- group, respectively; 11.29±8.14 and 6.36±4.33 ischemic lesions per person (P=0.015). Multiple small ischemic lesions occurred more frequently in the CS-PFO+ group (20/29, 69%) than in the CS-PFO- group (16/51, 31%, P=0.001). Subcortical frontal and parietal infarct lesions were more frequent in the CS-PFO+ group (19/29, 66%) than in the CS-PFO- group (18/51, 35%, P=0.009). CONCLUSIONS: Multiple small ischemic lesions and subcortical frontal and parietal infarct lesions were significantly associated with cryptogenic stroke patients with PFO, which suggested that paradoxical embolism is the pathogenic mechanism in cryptogenic stroke patients with PFO.

Disrupted Structural Brain Network in AD and aMCI: A Finding of Long Fiber Degeneration.

Although recent evidence has emerged that Alzheimer's disease (AD) and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) patients show both regional brain abnormalities and topological degeneration in brain networks, our understanding of the effects of white matter fiber aberrations on brain network topology in AD and aMCI is still rudimentary. In this study, we investigated the regional volumetric aberrations and the global topological abnormalities in AD and aMCI patients. The results showed a widely distributed atrophy in both gray and white matters in the AD and aMCI groups. In particular, AD patients had weaker connectivity with long fiber length than aMCI and normal control (NC) groups, as assessed by fractional anisotropy (FA). Furthermore, the brain networks of all three groups exhibited prominent economical small-world properties. Interestingly, the topological characteristics estimated from binary brain networks showed no significant group effect, indicating a tendency of preserving an optimal topological architecture in AD and aMCI during degeneration. However, significantly longer characteristic path length was observed in the FA weighted brain networks of AD and aMCI patients, suggesting dysfunctional global integration. Moreover, the abnormality of the characteristic path length was negatively correlated with the clinical ratings of cognitive impairment. Thus, the results therefore suggested that the topological alterations in weighted brain networks of AD are induced by the loss of connectivity with long fiber lengths. Our findings provide new insights into the alterations of the brain network in AD and may indicate the predictive value of the network metrics as biomarkers of disease development.

[Preparation and characterization of oxaliplatin-loaded nanostructured lipid carriers].

Oxaliplatin-loaded nanostuctured lipid carriers (OP-NLC) were prepared by ultrasonic emulsification method. And its optimal prescription was selected by orthogonal design. The laser light scattering technique, zeta potential analyzer, TEM, DSC, XRD and HPLC were employed to study the physicochemical parameters of OP-NLC, which displayed in terms of particle size, zeta potential, crystalline, drug loading and encapsulation efficiency. The results showed that OP-NLC had an average diameter of (111 +/- 20) nm, zeta potential of (-27.4 +/- 13.1) mV, encapsulation efficiency of (77.4 +/- 2.5) % and drug content of (0.8 +/- 1.5) mg mL(-1). TEM, DSC and XRD indicated that OP-NLC was spherical and the drug was dispersed as nanoparticles by means of non-crystalline. The in vitro release test showed that the drug could be sustained-released from NLC in buffer solution (pH 4.5) after a burst release in initial phase.

Genomewide association study of leprosy.

BACKGROUND: The narrow host range of Mycobacterium leprae and the fact that it is refractory to growth in culture has limited research on and the biologic understanding of leprosy. Host genetic factors are thought to influence susceptibility to infection as well as disease progression. METHODS: We performed a two-stage genomewide association study by genotyping 706 patients and 1225 controls using the Human610-Quad BeadChip (Illumina). We then tested three independent replication sets for an association between the presence of leprosy and 93 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that were most strongly associated with the disease in the genomewide association study. Together, these replication sets comprised 3254 patients and 5955 controls. We also carried out tests of heterogeneity of the associations (or lack thereof) between these 93 SNPs and disease, stratified according to clinical subtype (multibacillary vs. paucibacillary). RESULTS: We observed a significant association (P<1.00x10(-10)) between SNPs in the genes CCDC122, C13orf31, NOD2, TNFSF15, HLA-DR, and RIPK2 and a trend toward an association (P=5.10x10(-5)) with a SNP in LRRK2. The associations between the SNPs in C13orf31, LRRK2, NOD2, and RIPK2 and multibacillary leprosy were stronger than the associations between these SNPs and paucibacillary leprosy. CONCLUSIONS: Variants of genes in the NOD2-mediated signaling pathway (which regulates the innate immune response) are associated with susceptibility to infection with M. leprae.