Phase II trial of lenalidomide in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

Lenalidomide (CC-5013) is a structural derivative of thalidomide, with antiangiogenic and immunomodulatory effects. Fourteen patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) were enrolled on a phase 2 trial of lenalidomide administered orally at 25 mg daily for 21 days followed by a rest period of 7 days. The best response was stable disease in eight patients (57%) of the 14 evaluable patients.

beta-Catenin is a Nek2 substrate involved in centrosome separation.

beta-Catenin plays important roles in cell adhesion and gene transcription, and has been shown recently to be essential for the establishment of a bipolar mitotic spindle. Here we show that beta-catenin is a component of interphase centrosomes and that stabilization of beta-catenin, mimicking mutations found in cancers, induces centrosome splitting. Centrosomes are held together by a dynamic linker regulated by Nek2 kinase and its substrates C-Nap1 (centrosomal Nek2-associated protein 1) and Rootletin.

A semester-long student-directed research project involving enzyme immunoassay: appropriate for immunology, endocrinology, or neuroscience courses.

The following project aimed at promoting integrated and long-lasting learning is described for an Immunology course, but it may be adapted to other disciplines. Students were asked to develop and carry out a research project to examine the relationship between immune function and stress. The experiments were required to include the assessment of salivary cortisol and salivary IgA (sIgA) with enzyme immunoassays.

Spindle microtubules: getting attached at both ends.

A recent study describes a novel role for the centrosomal protein Cep57 in attaching spindle microtubules to both kinetochores and centrosomes, suggesting similar mechanisms may be used for generating these two distinct linkages in mitosis.

Relationship of the Multiple Sclerosis Neuropsychological Questionnaire (MSNQ) to functional, emotional, and neuropsychological outcomes.

Objective: To explore the relationship of the Multiple Sclerosis Neuropsychology Questionnaire (MSNQ; [Benedict, R. H. B.

Examining lactate in severe TBI using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Primary Objective: Clinical management of acute traumatic brain injury (TBI) has emphasized identification of secondary mechanisms of pathophysiology. An important objective in this study is to use proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (pMRS) to examine early metabolic disturbance due to TBI.

Research Design: The current design is a case study with repeated measures.

Treatment to improve self-awareness in persons with acquired brain injury.

Aim: To examine the effects of an awareness training protocol embedded within the practice of instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) in participants with acquired brain injury on levels of self-awareness and functional performance.

Methods: This study used a randomized control trial design: 10 participants with moderate-to-severe brain injury received six sessions of the self-awareness training while they performed IADLs (experimental group) and 10 participants performed the same IADLs but received conventional therapeutic practice (control group). In the experimental group, participants were asked to predict their performance before each task performance and to estimate their performance level after the performance.

Traumatic brain injury and functional outcomes: does minority status matter?

Objectives: (1) to determine differences between minorities vs. non-minorities on demographic, injury and rehabilitation characteristics and functional outcomes at admission, discharge and 1-year post-injury and (2) to examine differences in functional outcome at 1-year post-injury among (African-Americans, Hispanics and Whites).

Design: Retrospective study.

The relationship between neuropsychological measures and the Timed Instrumental Activities of Daily Living task in multiple sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) can result in cognitive deficits and a loss of functional independence. To date, little research has linked the observed cognitive and behavioral deficits in MS, especially those in the processing speed domain, to performance on tasks of everyday functioning. The present study examined the relationship between neuropsychological test performance and performance on the Timed Instrumental Activities of Daily Living task (TIADL) in individuals with MS, and in healthy controls (HCs).

An investigation of the differential effect of self-generation to improve learning and memory in multiple sclerosis and traumatic brain injury.

The generation effect (GE) is a phenomenon in which material that is produced by an individual is learned and remembered better than information that is provided to that individual. The current study examined the potential benefits of self-generation on learning and memory in individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and multiple sclerosis (MS). The impact of cognitive impairment on the benefits of self-generation was also examined.

Is learning and memory different in a virtual environment?

It has been suggested that virtual reality may provide a medium for producing neuropsychological measures with greater ecological validity. The present study examined the usefulness of virtual reality (VR) to assess learning and memory in individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI). A total of 20 TBI participants were compared with 20 healthy controls on their ability to learn and recall 16 target items presented within a VR-based generic office environment.

[Neuropsychological profile of multiple sclerosis].

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is the most common non-traumatic neurological disorder among young and middle-aged people. The aim of the present study was to examine the cognitive functioning of a group of MS patients. A sample of 80 participants diagnosed with MS and 40 controls received a comprehensive neuropsychological battery.

Injuries associated with pediatric liver trauma.

Injury remains the leading cause of childhood mortality for children younger than 14 years of age, with the liver being particularly susceptible to blunt trauma in children. This study reviews the authors' institutions' experience with pediatric liver injuries in an attempt to establish current patterns of injury, management and outcomes. A single-center, retrospective review was conducted of 105 consecutive pediatric patients who presented with a traumatic liver injury from January 1996 through February 2004.

Functional outcomes from inpatient rehabilitation after traumatic brain injury: how do Hispanics fare?

Objective: To examine the relation between Hispanic ethnicity and rehabilitation outcome in traumatic brain injury (TBI) survivors.

Design: Retrospective study.

Setting: Longitudinal dataset of the Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems national database.

Paclitaxel plus Ifosfamide followed by high-dose carboplatin plus etoposide in previously treated germ cell tumors.

Purpose: To evaluate the optimal dose of carboplatin as well as the efficacy and tolerability of sequential, dose-intense chemotherapy with paclitaxel and ifosfamide followed by carboplatin and etoposide (TICE) plus peripheral-blood stem-cell (PBSC) support in patients with germ cell tumors (GCT) who are likely to experience treatment failure with conventional-dose salvage treatment. This prospective trial followed a similarly designed report of TICE, which used a different means of carboplatin dosing.

Patients And Methods: The 48 patients entered onto this trial had progressive GCT and unfavorable prognostic features after chemotherapy.

Best-evidence interventions: findings from a systematic review of HIV behavioral interventions for US populations at high risk, 2000-2004.

Objectives: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's HIV/AIDS Prevention Research Synthesis Team conducted a systematic review of US-based HIV behavioral intervention research literature from 2000 through 2004 to identify interventions demonstrating best evidence of efficacy for reducing HIV risk.

Methods: Standard systematic review methods were used. Each eligible study was reviewed on the basis of Prevention Research Synthesis Team efficacy criteria that focused on 3 domains: study design, implementation and analysis, and strength of evidence.

Kinetochore microtubule dynamics and attachment stability are regulated by Hec1.

Mitotic cells face the challenging tasks of linking kinetochores to growing and shortening microtubules and actively regulating these dynamic attachments to produce accurate chromosome segregation. We report here that Ndc80/Hec1 functions in regulating kinetochore microtubule plus-end dynamics and attachment stability. Microinjection of an antibody to the N terminus of Hec1 suppresses both microtubule detachment and microtubule plus-end polymerization and depolymerization at kinetochores of PtK1 cells.

Does the scoring of late responses affect the outcome of the paced auditory serial addition task (PASAT)?

The Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task (PASAT) is a cognitive task purported to measure working memory, speed of information processing, and sustained and divided attention (Spreen, O. & Strauss, E. (1998).

Excessive toxicity when treating central tumors in a phase II study of stereotactic body radiation therapy for medically inoperable early-stage lung cancer.

Purpose: Surgical resection is standard therapy in stage I non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC); however, many patients are inoperable due to comorbid diseases. Building on a previously reported phase I trial, we carried out a prospective phase II trial using stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) in this population.

Patients And Methods: Eligible patients included clinically staged T1 or T2 (< or = 7 cm), N0, M0, biopsy-confirmed NSCLC.

The efficacy of behavioral interventions in reducing HIV risk sex behaviors and incident sexually transmitted disease in black and Hispanic sexually transmitted disease clinic patients in the United States: a meta-analytic review.

Objectives: Interventions targeting sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic patients provide an important opportunity to modify high-risk sex behaviors related to HIV/STD transmission. Identifying efficacious interventions for blacks and Hispanics is urgently needed because these 2 groups are disproportionately affected by the HIV/STD epidemics.

Goal: This meta-analysis evaluates the efficacy of behavioral interventions in reducing unprotected sex and incident STD among black and Hispanic STD clinic patients.

A phase II trial of 17-(Allylamino)-17-demethoxygeldanamycin in patients with papillary and clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

The aim of this study was to determine the antitumor activity of 17-(Allylamino)-17-demethoxyge-ldanamycin (17-AAG), a heat shock protein 90(hsp90) inhibitor in patients with metastatic papillary renal cell carcinoma (RCC) or metastatic clear cell RCC. Eligible patients were divided into 2 cohorts based on histological subtype: papillary or clear cell RCC. All patients had advanced RCC with measurable disease, a Karnofsky performance status of at least 70, and no evidence of brain metastases.

The relationship between depressive symptoms and cognitive dysfunction in multiple sclerosis.

Introduction: Although it has been well established that otherwise healthy persons with depression experience various neuropsychological deficits, such a relationship has not been robustly supported in the initial investigations using the multiple sclerosis (MS) population. The relative inability to discover a significant relationship between depression and cognitive dysfunction may be due to methodological difficulties in previous studies (e.g.

Processing speed interacts with working memory efficiency in multiple sclerosis.

Information processing speed was assessed using the visual threshold serial addition test (VT-SAT), a computerized modification of the PASAT designed to assess processing speed by controlling for performance accuracy. Persons with MS (N=43) and healthy individuals (N=32) were administered the VT-SAT varying working memory loads (1-back versus 2-back). Results indicated that at the lower working memory load (1-back) all individuals with MS were able to achieve a working memory performance level equivalent to healthy individuals, but required significantly more processing time to do so.

Prefrontal modulation of working memory performance in brain injury and disease.

The inter-related cognitive constructs of working memory (WM) and processing speed are fundamental components to general intellectual functioning in humans. Importantly, both WM and processing speed are highly susceptible to disruption in cases of brain injury, neurologic illness, and even in normal aging. A goal of this article is to summarize and critique the functional imaging studies of speeded working memory in neurologically impaired populations.