Comparing Ictal Cardiac Autonomic Changes in Patients with Frontal Lobe Epilepsy and Temporal Lobe Epilepsy by Ultra-Short-Term Heart Rate Variability Analysis.

Background and Objectives: Abnormal epileptic discharges in the brain can affect the central brain regions that regulate autonomic activity and produce cardiac symptoms, either at onset or during propagation of a seizure. These autonomic alterations are related to cardiorespiratory disturbances, such as sudden unexpected death in epilepsy. This study aims to investigate the differences in cardiac autonomic function between patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE) using ultra-short-term heart rate variability (HRV) analysis around seizures. Materials and Methods: We analyzed electrocardiogram (ECG) data recorded during 309 seizures in 58 patients with epilepsy. Twelve patients with FLE and 46 patients with TLE were included in this study. We extracted the HRV parameters from the ECG signal before, during and after the ictal interval with ultra-short-term HRV analysis. We statistically compared the HRV parameters using an independent t-test in each interval to compare the differences between groups, and repeated measures analysis of variance was used to test the group differences in longitudinal changes in the HRV parameters. We performed the Tukey-Kramer multiple comparisons procedure as the post hoc test. Results: Among the HRV parameters, the mean interval between heartbeats (RRi), normalized low-frequency band power (LF) and LF/HF ratio were statistically different between the interval and epilepsy types in the t-test. Repeated measures ANOVA showed that the mean RRi and RMSSD were significantly different by epilepsy type, and the normalized LF and LF/HF ratio significantly interacted with the epilepsy type and interval. Conclusions: During the pre-ictal interval, TLE patients showed an elevation in sympathetic activity, while the FLE patients showed an apparent increase and decrease in sympathetic activity when entering and ending the ictal period, respectively. The TLE patients showed a maintained elevation of sympathetic and vagal activity in the pos-ictal interval. These differences in autonomic cardiac characteristics between FLE and TLE might be relevant to the ictal symptoms which eventually result in SUDEP.

Effect of Long-Term Treatment with Vagus Nerve Stimulation on Mood and Quality of Life in Korean Patients with Drug-Resistant Epilepsy.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: This study aimed to determine the long-term effects of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) treatment on suicidality, mood-related symptoms, and quality of life (QOL) in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE). We also investigated the relationships among these main effects, clinical characteristics, and VNS parameters. METHODS: Among 35 epilepsy patients who underwent VNS implantation consecutively in our epilepsy center, 25 patients were recruited to this study for assessing the effects of VNS on suicidality, mood-related symptoms, and QOL. The differences in these variables between before and after VNS treatment were analyzed statistically using paired t-tests. Multiple linear regression analyses were also performed to determine how the patients' demographic and clinical characteristics influenced the variables that showed statistically significant changes after long-term VNS treatment. RESULTS: After VNS, our patients showed significant improvements not only in the mean seizure frequency but also in suicidality, depression, and QOL. The reduction in depression was associated with the improvement in QOL and more-severe depression at baseline. The reduction in suicidality was associated with higher suicidality at baseline, smaller changes in depression, and less-severe depression at baseline. Improved QOL was associated with lower suicidality at baseline. CONCLUSIONS: This study found that VNS decreased the mean seizure frequency in patients with DRE, and also improved their depression, suicidality, and QOL. These results provide further evidence for therapeutic effect of VNS on psychological comorbidities of patients with DRE.

Desulfurization Characteristics of Fuel-Born Alkali and Alkali Earth Metal Compounds in Coal Ashes from Lab-Scale Experiment to Real-Scale Monitoring of CFBC and PC Boiler.

Previous research findings and experiential accounts have provided evidence that specific components of coal ash play a catalytic role in the dry desulfurization of flue gas such that their contributions need to be considered for determining the optimal amount of desulfurizing agent such as limestone. The purpose of this study was to quantify the desulfurization characteristics of coal ash in a 500 MW pulverized coal combustion (PC) boiler as well as a 1000 MW circulating fluidized bed combustion (CFBC) boiler. In parallel with a year-long data collection of coal blends and emission characteristics, a series of temperature-controlled fixed bed (lab scale) experiments were conducted for 11 individual (but representative) coal samples. The results indicated that desulfurization by fly ashes appeared to proceed roughly in proportion to the total alkali (TA) contents of the ash, which were consistent with our preliminary test result of the CFBC boiler. In the PC boiler, however, the desulfurization reaction seemed to be very kinetically limited, apparently deactivating the TA components. We developed a practical equation for a priori prediction of SO2 concentration based on the sulfur content of coal blends.

Juvenile Polyp associated with Hypovolemic Shock Due to Massive Lower Gastrointestinal Bleeding.

Juvenile polyps are the most common types of polyps in children, and patients usually present with lower gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding as the predominant symptom. These lesions, which are referred to as hamartomas, usually measure approximately 2 cm in size and are benign tumors located mainly in the rectum and sigmoid colon. The most common symptom of a juvenile polyp is mild intermittent rectal bleeding. It is rare for anemic patients because the amount of blood loss is small and often not diagnosed immediately. We present the case of a 6-year-old girl with a juvenile polyp in the distal transverse colon, who developed hypovolemic shock due to massive lower GI bleeding. Pediatricians must perform colonoscopy for thorough evaluation of polyps, because their location and size can vary and they can cause massive bleeding.

Role of miRNA-181a-2-3p in cadmium-induced inflammatory responses of human bronchial epithelial cells.

BACKGROUND: Inflammation is an important priming event in the pathogenesis of pulmonary diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Increasing evidence indicates that microRNAs (miRNAs) contribute to the pathogenesis of COPD by regulating inflammatory response. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate novel molecular targets in COPD without any validation in COPD samples in airway inflammation. The aim of our study is to reveal novel miRNAs that can influence molecular targets for COPD and to examine the underlying mechanism in airway inflammation. METHODS: We identified the downregulation of miR-181a-2-3p in the serum of COPD patients and further investigated the role of miR-181a-2-3p in cadmium (Cd)-induced inflammation of a human bronchial epithelial cell line (BEAS-2B) and normal human bronchial epithelial (NHBE) cells. RESULTS: Our results showed that expression of miR-181a-2-3p was significantly decreased in Cd-treated cells and silencing of miR-181a-2-3p enhanced Cd-induced inflammatory responses and inflammasome activation. This negative regulatory effect of miR-181a-2-3p on inflammation is partly mediated by the calcium signaling pathway. Furthermore, global gene expression profiling revealed that Toll-like receptor 4 or sequestosome 1 genes were identified as potential targets of miR-181a-2-3p, which were significantly upregulated by knockdown of miR-181a-2-3p in Cd-treated cells. CONCLUSIONS: Our results strongly suggest that miR-181a-2-3p has a critical role in Cd-induced inflammation of airway by regulating its potential target genes, which could be molecular targets for COPD.

Identification of Putative Regulatory Alterations Leading to Changes in Gene Expression in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Various genetic and environmental factors are known to be associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We identified COPD-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs) using 189 samples accompanying either adenocarcinoma (AC) or squamous cell carcinoma (SC), comprising 91 normal and 98 COPD samples. DEGs were obtained from the intersection of two DEG sets separately identified for AC and SC to exclude the influence of different cancer backgrounds co-occurring with COPD. We also measured patient samples named group 'I', which were unable to be determined as normal or COPD based on alterations in gene expression. The Gene Ontology (GO) analysis revealed significant alterations in the expression of genes categorized with the 'cell adhesion', 'inflammatory response', and 'mitochondrial functions', i.e., well-known functions related to COPD, in samples from patients with COPD. Multi-omics data were subsequently integrated to decipher the upstream regulatory changes linked to the gene expression alterations in COPD. COPD-associated expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) were located at the upstream regulatory regions of 96 DEGs. Additionally, 45 previously identified COPD-related miRNAs were predicted to target 66 of the DEGs. The eQTLs and miRNAs might affect the expression of 'respiratory electron transport chain' genes and 'cell proliferation' genes, respectively, while both eQTLs and miRNAs might affect the expression of 'apoptosis' genes. We think that our present study will contribute to our understanding of the molecular etiology of COPD accompanying lung cancer.

The improvement of right ventricular function after adenotonsillectomy in children with obstructive sleep apnea.

PURPOSE: Adenotonsillar hypertrophy (ATH) that causes upper airway obstruction might lead to chronic hypoxemic pulmonary vasoconstriction and right ventricular (RV) dysfunction. We aimed to evaluate whether adenotonsillectomy (T&A) in children suffering from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) due to severe ATH could improve RV function. METHODS: Thirty-seven children (boy:girl=21:16; mean age, 9.52±2.20 years), who underwent T&A forsleep apnea due to ATH, were included. We analyzedthe mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP), the presence and the maximal velocity of tricuspid regurgitation (TR), the tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE), and the right ventricular myocardial performance index (RVMPI) with tissue Doppler echocardiography (TDE) by transthoracic echocardiography pre- and post-T&A. The follow-up period was 1.78±0.27 years. RESULTS: Only the RVMPI using TDE improved after T&A (42.18±2.03 vs. 40±1.86, P=0.001). The absolute value of TAPSE increased (21.45±0.90 mm vs. 22.30±1.10 mm, P=0.001) but there was no change in the z score of TAPSE pre- and post-T&A (1.19±0.34 vs. 1.24±0.30, P=0.194). The mPAP was within normal range in children with ATH, and there was no significant difference between pre- and post-T&A (19.6±3.40 vs. 18.7±2.68, P=0.052). There was no difference in the presence and the maximal velocity of TR (P=0.058). CONCLUSION: RVMPI using TDE could be an early parameter of RV function in children with OSA due to ATH.

Sauchinone controls hepatic cholesterol homeostasis by the negative regulation of PCSK9 transcriptional network.

Whole-transcriptome analysis and western blotting of sauchinone-treated HepG2 cells demonstrated that sauchinone regulated genes relevant to cholesterol metabolism and synthesis. In particular, it was found that the expression of proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) was downregulated, and the expression of low density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) was upregulated in sauchinone-treated HepG2 cells. Consequently, LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) uptake was increased. As a transcriptional regulator of PCSK9 expression, sterol regulatory elements binding protein-2 (SREBP-2) was proposed by transcriptome analysis and western blotting. Oral administration of sauchinone increased hepatic LDLR through PCSK9 inhibition in obese mice and showed the reduced serum LDL-C levels and downstream targets of SREBP-2. Thus, it is evident that sauchinone reduces hepatic steatosis by downregulating the expression of hepatic PCSK9 via SREBP-2.

Brain metastasis from colorectal cancer: a single center experience.

PURPOSE: The detection rate of brain metastasis (BM) from colorectal cancer (CRC) is increasing. This study was designed to analyze the clinical features of BM and prognosis according to the therapeutic modalities. METHODS: A total of 19 cases were collected in this study between November 2008 and December 2015. We reviewed the patients' demographic data and the clinical features of BM retrospectively and investigated their prognostic significance. RESULTS: Nineteen patients included 8 male and 11 female patients. The median age at diagnosis of BM was 62.4 years (range, 32-83 years). The median interval between diagnosis of CRC and BM was 39 months (range, 0-98 months). Eighteen patients (94.7%) had extracranial metastasis at the diagnosis of BM. Lung was the most common site of extracranial metastasis in 14 patients (73.7%). Synchronous BMs were found at the diagnosis of primary CRC in 2 patients (10.5%). The location of primary CRC was the colon in 6 patients (31.6%) and the rectum in 13 patients (68.4%). At the diagnosis of BM, 10 patients (52.6%) had a solitary BM. The common neurologic symptoms were headache in 8 cases (42.1%) and ataxia in 6 cases (31.6%). The median survival after the diagnosis of BM was 3 months (range, 1-10 months). The patients who underwent surgery plus stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) had an improved survival (range, 3-10 months) than the other patients (range, 1-6 months) (P = 0.016). CONCLUSION: In patients with BM from CRC, surgical resection plus SRS might improve survival.

Clinical patterns of primary stabbing headache: a single clinic-based prospective study.

BACKGROUND: The clinical features and disease courses of primary stabbing headache (PSH) are diverse. We aimed to identify distinct clinical patterns of PSH. METHODS: We prospectively screened consecutive first-visit patients who presented with stabbing headache at the Samsung Medical Centre Headache Clinic from June 2015 to March 2016. Demographics, headache characteristics, and disease courses were prospectively evaluated. After discerning factors related to the chronicity at the time of presentation, clinical patterns were identified based on the frequency (daily vs. intermittent), clinical course (remitted or not), and total disease duration (<3 or >3 months). RESULTS: In the 65 patients with PSH included in this study, monophasic (n = 31), intermittent (n = 17), and chronic daily (n = 12) patterns were identified. The median disease durations were 9 days for monophasic PSH, 9 months for chronic daily PSH, and 2 years for intermittent PSH. The features of monophasic PSH were greater severity, single and side-locked locations, more attacks per day, daily occurrence, and good treatment response. Chronic daily PSH was associated with female predominance, longer-lasting stabs, and multiple or migrating locations on bilateral or alternating sides. The characteristics of intermittent PSH included female predominance and sporadic stabs with less intensity. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated distinct clinical patterns of PSH. In addition to help early recognition of disease, our findings suggest different pathophysiologic mechanisms. Future prospective studies are required to reveal the etiologies of these different PSH patterns and their optimal treatment strategies.

Infarct Pattern and Collateral Status in Adult Moyamoya Disease: A Multimodal Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Moyamoya disease (MMD) is a unique cerebrovascular disease characterized by the progressive stenosis of large intracranial arteries and a hazy network of basal collaterals, called moyamoya vessels. Although hemodynamic studies have been applied in MMD patients, the mechanisms of stroke in MMD are still unclear. The present study evaluated the infarct pattern and collateral status using multimodal magnetic resonance imaging in MMD patients. METHODS: Adult MMD patients with acute ischemic stroke were prospectively recruited, and infarct pattern on diffusion-weighted imaging was evaluated. A collateral flow map, derived from magnetic resonance perfusion-weighted imaging data, was generated through automatic postprocessing, and collateral status was assigned into 3 grades. Transcranial Doppler monitoring was performed to detect microembolic signals in selected patients. RESULTS: A total of 67 hemispheres (31 patients with bilateral and 5 patients with unilateral MMD) were analyzed. Most patients (83.7%) showed embolic pattern and rarely deep (9.3%) or hemodynamic infarct pattern (7.0%) on diffusion-weighted imaging. Most cases (86%) showed good collateral status, and few patients with acute infarcts of embolic pattern showed poor collateral status (n=7). One third (31.6%) of patients who underwent transcranial Doppler monitoring showed microembolic signals. CONCLUSIONS: In the studied population of adult MMD patients, embolic phenomenon played an important role in ischemic stroke. Therapeutic strategies against thromboembolism, as well as collateral enhancing strategies targeting improvement of hemodynamic status or increased washout of emboli, are warranted.

Anthropometric study of the proximal radius: does radial head implant fit in all cases?

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate anthropometry of the radial head and neck and compare the results with radial head prosthesis in current use. METHODS: A total of 144 cases were analysed that underwent antero-posterior (AP) elbow radiographs in full supination and extension position between January 2013 and April 2013. Mean age was 54.3 years (range, 21-79). The distance between the articular surface and the radial tuberosity, the height of the radial head, the diameter of the radial head, and the width of the proximal radioulnar joint were measured. The specifications of 13 products from nine companies were compared with the parameters. RESULTS: The mean distance between the articular surface and the radial tuberosity was 19.6 mm. Mean height, diameter, and width of the proximal radioulnar joint were 10.6, 22.0, and 8.9 mm, respectively. A violation of the distal biceps insertion will occur in up to 87.5 % of the cases when some of the bipolar implants were used. The height of some of the implant heads was larger than the height of head in our study. Although the height and diameter of the radial head were similar to those of previous reports, the distance between the articular surface of the head and radial tuberosity was different. CONCLUSION: The anatomical parameters of the proximal radius of the cases, especially the distance between the articular surface of the head and the radial tuberosity, and the radial head implant specifications should be assessed when selecting a radial head implant.