Single institution experience of paediatric melanoma in Victoria, Australia.

Background/objectives: Paediatric melanoma is an uncommon presentation of melanoma that accounts for 3% of all paediatric cancers. The objective was to describe a series of paediatric melanoma cases presenting to a state-wide tertiary referral service over the past 19 years.

Methods: A search of the Victorian Melanoma Service database was performed to identify all patients under the age of 20 years diagnosed with melanoma from 1994 to 2013.

Increased levels of apolipoprotein E in the frontal cortex of subjects with schizophrenia.

Background: It is unclear whether altered expression of a specific isoform of apolipoprotein E (apoE) is associated with the pathology of schizophrenia.

Methods: To address whether apoE may be involved in the pathology of schizophrenia, we measured the genotypic and allelic frequency of polymorphisms in its gene and transcriptional regulatory region in DNA from Brodmann's area (BA) 9 obtained postmortem from schizophrenic and control subjects as well as its levels in the same tissue using Western blot analysis.

Results: The genotypic or allelic frequencies of any polymorphism studied did not vary between diagnostic cohorts.

Apolipoprotein D levels are elevated in prefrontal cortex of subjects with Alzheimer's disease: no relation to apolipoprotein E expression or genotype.

Background: Apolipoprotein E (apoE) has been implicated in the pathology of AD ever since inheritance of the epsilon4 allele was shown to be an important risk factor for the development of AD. Apolipoprotein D (apoD) is elevated in association with several central nervous system disorders, including Alzheimer's disease (AD), and has been proposed to be an especially robust marker for brain regions specifically affected by particular neuropathologies. Progressive cognitive decline is the core clinical feature of AD and is associated with disturbances in the prefrontal cortex.