Brain Amyloid-ß Deposition and Blood Biomarkers in Patients with Clinically Diagnosed Alzheimer's Disease.

Brain amyloid-ß (Aß) deposition is a hallmark to define Alzheimer's disease (AD). We investigated the positive rate of brain amyloid deposition assessed with 11C-Pittsburgh compound (PiB)-PET and blood Aß levels in a cohort of probable AD patients who were diagnosed according to the 1984 NINCDS-ADRDA criteria. Eighty-four subjects with a clinical diagnosis of probable AD dementia, amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and cognitively normal (CN) status were subjected to PiB-PET and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-PET scans. Plasma biomarkers of Aß42, Aß40, and T-tau were measured using single molecule array technology. The positive rate of PiB-PET, the associations between PiB-PET status and FDG-PET, plasma biomarkers, and clinical manifestations were analyzed. PiB-PET was positive in 77.36% of probable AD patients, 31.80% of MCI patients, and 0 of NC. Plasma Aß42/Aß40 ratio was associated with PiB-PET, the ROC curve analysis revealing an AUC of 0.77 (95% CI: 0.66-0.87), with a sensitivity of 82% and specificity of 64%. Some clinical manifestations were associated with PiB-PET imaging. Our findings indicate that only three-fourths of patients diagnosed with probable AD fit the pathological criteria, suggesting that we should be cautious regarding the accuracy of AD diagnosis when no biomarker evidence is available in our clinical practice.

Application of radionuclide imaging to hepatic impact injury in rabbits.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role and clinical value of radionuclide imaging in hepatic impact injuries in rabbits. METHODS: Rabbits were experimentally impacted on the liver with BIM-IV bio-impact machine. Liver imaging was performed with 99mTc labeled sodium phytate. Liver blood pool imaging was performed with 99mTc-stannous pyrophosphate labeled red blood cells. The results of radionuclide imaging were compared with the anatomic results. RESULTS: There was significant difference between the images of the injured liver and the control. Radio diminution and defect were shown in the injured liver areas. Various sorts of abnormal radioactivity distribution were observed with hepatic blood pool imaging. The results of the liver imaging and liver blood pool imaging were accorded with the results of the anatomic findings. CONCLUSIONS: Radionuclide imaging may well display the changes of hepatocellular structures and functions after injury, which is valuable in locating the concrete injured position and differentiating the injured degrees of liver.

Changes of pulmonary intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and CD11b/CD18 in peripheral polymorphonuclear neutrophils and their significance at the early stage of burns.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) in the accumulation of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) in the lungs at the early stage of burns. METHODS: Myeloperoxidase content in lung tissues and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were detected. ICAM-1 and its mRNA expression in lung tissues were determined by immunohistochemical method and in situ hybridization. CD11b/CD18 expression on the peripheral PMNs was measured by flow cytometry. RESULTS: The levels of myeloperoxidase in lung tissues and BALF after burn injury were markedly higher than those of control. Expression of ICAM-1 and its mRNA in the lung tissues and CD11b/CD18 on peripheral PMNs surface was significantly increased at 2, 6, 12, 24 h after burns. CONCLUSIONS: PMNs accumulation in the lungs is related to increased ICAM-1 expression on pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells and CD11b/CD18 expression on PMN at the early stage of burn injury.