Publications by authors named "Bertrand Liang"

Cerebellar mutism syndrome (also known as posterior fossa syndrome) has been mostly seen in pediatric patients after surgery for neoplastic disease and is characterized by mutism, with variable symptoms such as emotional lability, ataxia, apraxia, and hypotonia. While the mechanism is not precisely defined, it is thought to result from disconnections between the cortical and cerebellar brain networks. Presentation in adult patients is rare, with various etiologies including posterior fossa ischemia, hemorrhage, and tumors being most reported.

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Borderline personality disorder (BPD) and treatment-resistant depression (TRD) are common mental disorders that are challenging to treat. Ketamine is an N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist that has shown promise as a rapid-acting antidepressant when administered intravenously. BPD symptoms have also been demonstrated to improve with repeated intravenous administration of ketamine, and a single case report described improvement in BPD following the intranasal administration of esketamine.

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We report a case of adult-onset, sporadic, hyperkalemic periodic paralysis with primary brainstem musculature symptoms masquerading as recurrent transient ischemic attacks. Unilateral brainstem weakness could be induced with rapid eye blinking, which was followed by lower extremity weakness and cramping. Treatment with acetazolamide and albuterol ameliorated the patient's attacks.

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Protective antigen (PA), one of the components of the anthrax toxin, is the major component of human anthrax vaccine (Biothrax). Human anthrax vaccines approved in the United States and Europe consist of an alum-adsorbed or precipitated (respectively) supernatant material derived from cultures of toxigenic, non-encapsulated strains of Bacillus anthracis. Approved vaccination schedules in humans with either of these vaccines requires several booster shots and occasionally causes adverse injection site reactions.

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Cancer arises from the accumulation of nuclear and cytoplasmic abnormalities, a phenomenon allowing for the expression of the tumourigenic phenotype. Gliomas represent the most frequently diagnosed tumours of the central nervous system in adults. Warburg hypothesized the importance of glycolysis in cancer cells, and implicated additional roles of mitochondria in neoplasia.

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Mitochondria and Fas (CD95) play a role in tumorigenicity and apoptosis. In the present study, the functional relationship of mitochondria to Fas in mediating apoptosis was investigated. Glioblastoma cells (DBTRGO5MG, U87) were depleted of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) by treatment with ethidium bromide (Rho(-) cells).

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Zevalin (ibritumomab tiuxetan; IDEC Pharmaceuticals Corporation, San Diego, CA, USA) was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration on February 19, 2002, following 9 years of clinical development. Six clinical studies supported the Zevalin Biologics License Application. The Zevalin regimen is indicated for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory low-grade, follicular, or transformed B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), and for those with follicular NHL refractory to Rituxan (rituximab, MabThera; IDEC Pharmaceuticals Corporation, San Diego, CA and Genentech, South San Francisco, CA).

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The Kruppel-like transcription factor KLF6 is a novel tumor-suppressor gene mutated in a significant fraction of human prostate cancer. It is localized to human chromosome 10p14-15, a region that displays frequent loss of heterozygosity in glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Indeed, mutations of the KLF6 gene have recently been reported in this tumor type.

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