Poor prognosis in acute lymphoblastic leukemia may relate to promoter hypermethylation of cancer-related genes.

The hallmark of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a progressive appearance of malignant cell behavior that is triggered by the evolution of altered gene function. ALL has traditionally been viewed as a genetic disease; however, epigenetic defects also play an important role. DNA promoter methylation has gained increasing recognition as an important mechanism for transcriptional silencing of tumor-suppressor genes.

Functional and magnetic resonance imaging correlates of corpus callosum in normal pressure hydrocephalus before and after shunting.

Background: Normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) is associated with corpus callosum abnormalities.

Objectives: To study the clinical and neuropsychological effect of callosal thinning in 18 patients with idiopathic NPH and to investigate the postsurgical callosal changes in 14 patients.

Methods: Global corpus callosum size and seven callosal subdivisions were measured.

Venous thrombosis associated with pernicious anaemia. A report of two cases and review.

Since homocystinuria, an inborn metabolism error is complicated by venous thrombosis in about half of the patients, hyperhomocysteinemia has been suspected of favouring thrombosis. Several case-control studies and even meta-analysis have confirmed a link between venous thrombosis and mild hyperhomocysteinemia. Nevertheless, the proper role of homocysteine remains debated.

Photolocalized purpura during ciprofloxacin therapy.

Photosensitivity reactions reported with ciprofloxacin mimic those of sunburn, with erythema and edema in the milder forms, and painful blistering with subsequent peeling when severe. Purpuric eruptions during treatment with ciprofloxacin have been rarely reported. We describe a 30-year-old man who was given a 15-day course with ciprofloxacin 500 mg twice a day for a prostatitis.

Promoter hypomethylation of the LINE-1 retrotransposable elements activates sense/antisense transcription and marks the progression of chronic myeloid leukemia.

Aberrant genome-wide hypomethylation is thought to be related to tumorigenesis by promoting genomic instability. Since DNA methylation is considered an important mechanism for the silencing of retroelements, hypomethylation in human tumors may lead to their reactivation. However, the role of DNA hypomethylation in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) remains to be elucidated.

Frontal lobe alterations in schizophrenia: neuroimaging and neuropsychological findings.

Functional neuroimaging and neuropsychological performance indicate a prefrontal dysfunction in schizophrenia patients. Frontal morphological brain abnormalities are also evident in these patients, but the relationship between neuropsychology and neuroimaging findings remains unclear. In this study, thirty patients with schizophrenia and 30 control participants were assessed using a neuropsychological test battery sensitive to fronto-striatal system dysfunction.

Cytomegalovirus-induced thrombocytopenia in an immunocompetent adult effectively treated with intravenous immunoglobulin: a case report and review.

The authors report the case of an 80-year-old male patient who presented with colitis and severe thrombocytopenia. The work-up revealed concurrent cytomegalovirus infection. After failure of prednisone, a single infusion of high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin produced a rapid and sustained response.

Genetic homogeneity within Leishmania (L.) infantum isolated from human and dogs: the relationship with the sandfly fauna distribution in endemic areas of Nueva Esparta State, Venezuela.

Leishmania infantum has been described as a highly polymorphic group of parasites, responsible for visceral leishmaniasis and cutaneous leishmaniasis. In this paper we report the life-cycle of L. (L.

[Evaluation of the activity of polymorphonuclear neutrophils against Entamoeba histolytica antigens].

This paper evaluates the production of superoxide as an indicator of the activity of neutrophils from healthy individuals, stimulated with Entamoeaba histolytica membrane antigens, chemical stimulators and antigens from other parasites. The kinetic nitroblue tetrazolium reduction test was used. No significant differences were observed in the control group as to superoxide production by neutrophils primed with Entamoeba histolytica antigens or Cisticercus cellulosae, Toxoplasma gondii and Giardia lamblia antigens.

Angiotensin I converting enzyme polymorphism effects in patients with normal pressure hydrocephalus syndrome before and after surgery.

Previous reports have suggested an association between the insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), cardiovascular disease, and cognitive performance. Normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) is considered to be an example of reversible dementia although the clinical improvement after shunting varies from subject to subject. An association has been suggested between vascular risk factors and the development of NPH.

Reliable quantification of hematopoietic chimerism after allogeneic transplantation for acute leukemia using amplification by real-time PCR of null alleles and insertion/deletion polymorphisms.

Increasing mixed chimerism (MC) after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) has been associated with a high risk of relapse in acute leukemia. We evaluated a new method for chimerism detection, based on the quantitative real-time PCR (qrt-PCR) amplification of null alleles or insertion/deletion polymorphisms (indels). All qrt-PCR assays with null alleles and indels attained a sensitivity of at least 10(-4), as well as good intra- and interassay concordance, and a high accuracy in experiments with cell mixtures.

Transcriptional silencing of the Dickkopfs-3 (Dkk-3) gene by CpG hypermethylation in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

DKK-3: is a newly characterised mortalisation-related gene and an antagonist of the Wnt oncogenic signalling pathway whose expression is decreased in a variety of cancer cell lines, suggesting that the Dkk-3 gene, located at chromosome 11p15.1, functions as a tumour suppressor gene. Although 11p15 is a 'hot spot' for methylation in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), the role of Dkk-3 abnormalities has never been evaluated in this disease.

Familial iridogoniodysgenesis and skeletal anomalies: a probable new autosomal recessive disorder.

Three sibs with congenital glaucoma, skeletal anomalies, and peculiar facial appearance were studied. At birth, enlarged eyes and corneae were present in the proposita and her two brothers due to congenital glaucoma secondary to iridogoniodysgenesis (IGD). The purpose of this article is to describe the second familial case with IGD and skeletal anomalies as the family previously described by García-Cruz et al.

Promoter hypermethylation of cancer-related genes: a strong independent prognostic factor in acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Promoter hypermethylation plays an important role in the inactivation of cancer-related genes. This abnormality occurs early in leukemogenesis and seems to be associated with poor prognosis in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). To determine the extent of hypermethylation in ALL, we analyzed the methylation status of the CDH1, p73, p16, p15, p57, NES-1, DKK-3, CDH13, p14, TMS-1, APAF-1, DAPK, PARKIN, LATS-1, and PTEN genes in 251 consecutive ALL patients.

The suppressor of cytokine signaling-1 is constitutively expressed in chronic myeloid leukemia and correlates with poor cytogenetic response to interferon-alpha.

Background And Objectives: Interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) has proven useful for treating chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). However, only 7% of patients achieve a complete cytogenetic response. Although efforts to understand the molecular basis of this resistance to IFN-alpha have been made, the mechanism is still unknown.

The role of DNA hypermethylation in the pathogenesis and prognosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

The hallmark of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a progressive appearance of malignant cell behavior that is triggered by the evolution of altered gene function. ALL has traditionally been viewed as a genetic disease, however, epigenetic defects also play an important role. DNA promoter methylation has gained increasing recognition as an important mechanism for transcriptional silencing of cancer related genes.

Febrile pancytopenia and psychosis revealing pernicious anemia.

The rare case of a 42-year-old woman of African origin presenting with persecution mania leading to admission to a psychiatric hospital is reported. The outcome was rapidly marked by febrile pancytopenia and ataxia leading to the diagnosis of pernicious anemia. Although the hematologic abnormalities and mania were corrected within 2 weeks under vitamin therapy, neural improvement was slower as observed classically.

Chimerism status is a useful predictor of relapse after allogeneic stem cell transplantation for acute leukemia.

Background And Objectives: The role of hematopoietic chimerism after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) for acute leukemia remains controversial. We studied the relationship between hematopoietic chimerism and several prognostic variables on the outcome of SCT in patients with acute leukemia.

Design And Methods: Chimerism was determined by a semiquantitative method, based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) minisatellites, in 133 consecutive patients who underwent allogeneic SCT for acute leukemia (68 myeloid, 58 lymphoid and 7 biphenotypic), all receiving a myeloablative conditioning regimen.

Tumor angiogenesis as a predictive marker for organ preservation in patients with advanced laryngeal carcinoma.

Background: The purpose of this study was to retrospectively investigate tumor angiogenesis as a predictive marker for response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, organ preservation, and survival in patients with advanced laryngeal carcinoma.

Methods: A total of 332 patients with stage III (188 patients) or stage IV (144 patients) squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx were entered in the prospective trial conducted by the Department of Veteran Affairs Laryngeal Cancer Study Group. Of this patient population, 20 pretreatment biopsy specimens were available from the chemotherapy arm for immunohistochemical analysis of Factor VIII expression.