Compound subretinal prostheses with extra-ocular parts designed for human trials: successful long-term implantation in pigs.

Background: Subretinal implants aim to replace photoreceptor function in patients suffering from degenerative retinal disease like retinitis pigmentosa by topically applying electrical stimuli in the subretinal space. This study-as a last step before upcoming human trials-explored a newly developed surgical technique for permanent implantation of complex subretinal implants with extra-ocular parts.

Methods: The implant consisted of a microphoto-diode array (MPDA) with 1550 electrodes and a 4x4 array of gold electrodes for direct electrical stimulation; both were mounted onto a polyimide foil for transscleral placement into the subretinal space.

Effect of the HIV epidemic on infant feeding in South Africa: "When they see me coming with the tins they laugh at me".

Objective: To explore how the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic has affected the infant-feeding experiences of HIV-positive mothers in South Africa.

Methods: This was a qualitative interview study within a prospective cohort study. We purposively selected a subsample of 40 women from a larger cohort of 650 HIV-positive mothers for in-depth interviews.

Decreased Mdm2 expression inhibits tumor development induced by loss of ARF.

The tumor suppressor p14/p19(ARF) regulates Mdm2, which is known for controlling the p53 tumor suppressor. Here we report that loss of one allele of Mdm2 in cells that lack ARF resulted in a decreased rate of proliferation, fewer chromosomal aberrations, and suppression of Ras-induced transformation. Moreover, a haploinsufficiency of Mdm2 inhibited spontaneous tumor development in ARF-null mice.

Health education to prevent anemia among women of reproductive age in southern India.

In this study, we used a narrow, but easily measured, indicator of how communication proceeded among health workers and women in Southern India. Anemia prevention during pregnancy was studied using a semistructured questionnaire. Participants included 5 nurses, 10 health aides, and 10 (traditional birth attendants) TBAs working with maternal health care and education, as well as 32 women seeking maternal health care.

Mutation and genomic deletion status of ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) and p53 confer specific gene expression profiles in mantle cell lymphoma.

Although mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) frequently harbors inactivated ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) and p53 alleles, little is known about the molecular phenotypes caused by these genetic changes. We identified point mutations and genomic deletions in these genes in a series of cyclin D1-positive MCL cases and correlated genotype with gene expression profiles and overall survival. Mutated and/or deleted ATM and p53 alleles were found in 56% (40/72) and 26% (21/82) of the cases examined, respectively.

BCL2 expression is a prognostic marker for the activated B-cell-like type of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Background: The role of BCL2 as a predictor of survival in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is controversial. DLBCL is heterogeneous, and the expression of BCL2 is variable within the two major subgroups of DLBCL, germinal center B-cell-like (GCB) and activated B-cell-like (ABC) DLBCL, as well as primary mediastinal DLBCL.

Patients And Methods: In this study, we investigated the correlation of BCL2 expression with survival in the two major subgroups of DLBCL, as well as the mechanisms of BCL2 expression.

Loss of major histocompatibility class II expression in non-immune-privileged site diffuse large B-cell lymphoma is highly coordinated and not due to chromosomal deletions.

Decreased major histocompatibility class II (MHCII) expression is associated with poor survival in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Immune-privileged site DLBCL (IP-DLBCL) patients reportedly have frequent large deletions at the MHCII locus whereas the mechanism of decreased expression in non-IP-DLBCL is unknown. Gene expression profiling data were used for correlation analyses between expression levels of MHCII genes with each other and their transcriptional regulator, CIITA.

A two year family based behaviour treatment for obese children.

Background: Childhood obesity has become a nutritional problem in China since the 1990s.

Aims: A family based behavioural treatment was developed and tested, to see if its use was feasible in China and to evaluate its impact on obese schoolchildren.

Methods: In a single school in Beijing, 33 obese children were randomly assigned to a treatment group and 35 to a control group.

Low-dose chemotherapy for Epstein-Barr virus-positive post-transplantation lymphoproliferative disease in children after solid organ transplantation.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of a low-dose chemotherapy regimen in children with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) -positive, post-transplantation lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) after organ transplantation who have experienced failure with front-line therapy for PTLD.

Patients And Methods: Eligible patients received cyclophosphamide (600 mg/m2 intravenous for 1 day) and prednisone (2 mg/kg orally for 5 days) every 3 weeks for six cycles.

Results: Thirty-six patients treated on study were assessable for analyses.

Anticancer activity of a lectin-rich mistletoe extract injected intratumorally into human pancreatic cancer xenografts.

Background: In single case observations, tumour remissions after intratumoral injections of mistletoe extracts have been described.

Materials And Methods: We investigated the antitumour activity of intratumorally (i.t.

Cyclin D1-negative mantle cell lymphoma: a clinicopathologic study based on gene expression profiling.

Cyclin D1 overexpression is believed to be essential in the pathogenesis of mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). Hence, the existence of cyclin D1-negative MCL has been controversial and difficult to substantiate. Our previous gene expression profiling study identified several cases that lacked cyclin D1 expression, but had a gene expression signature typical of MCL.

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma subgroups have distinct genetic profiles that influence tumor biology and improve gene-expression-based survival prediction.

Gene-expression profiling has identified 3 major subgroups of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL): germinal center B-cell-like (GCB), activated B-cell-like (ABC), and primary mediastinal DLBCL (PMBCL). Using comparative genomic hybridization (CGH), we investigated the genetic alterations of 224 cases of untreated DLBCL (87 GCB-DLBCL, 77 ABC-DLBCL, 19 PMBCL, and 41 unclassified DLBCL) previously characterized by gene-expression profiling. The DLBCL subgroups differed significantly in the frequency of particular chromosomal aberrations.

Iodine nutrition among indigenous Tarahumara schoolchildren in Mexico.

This paper adds iodine data to the nutritional survey recently published in the Eur J Clin Nutr (2004;58:532-540) to identify growth retardation and micronutrient deficiencies among Tarahumara children from five selected indigenous boarding schools in Mexico. Total goiter rate (TGR) (n=384), urinary iodine concentrations (UI) (n = 100), and iodine content of salt were measured. Overall, TGR was 7.

Expression of PKC-beta or cyclin D2 predicts for inferior survival in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

We sought to determine whether identification of poor-risk subgroups of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) using immunohistochemical stains would have practical utility with regard to prognosis and therapeutic decisions. Tissue microarray blocks were created using replicate samples of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue from 200 cases of de novo DLBCL. The sections were stained with antibodies to proteins that are expressed by activated or proliferating B cells including MUM1, FOXP1, bcl-2, survivin, protein kinase C-beta (PKC-beta), cyclin D2, cyclin D3, and Ki-67.

Prediction of survival in follicular lymphoma based on molecular features of tumor-infiltrating immune cells.

Background: Patients with follicular lymphoma may survive for periods of less than 1 year to more than 20 years after diagnosis. We used gene-expression profiles of tumor-biopsy specimens obtained at diagnosis to develop a molecular predictor of the length of survival.

Methods: Gene-expression profiling was performed on 191 biopsy specimens obtained from patients with untreated follicular lymphoma.

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma arising in nodular lymphocyte predominant Hodgkin lymphoma: a report of 21 cases from the Nebraska Lymphoma Study Group.

We sought to investigate the clinical characteristics and pathologic features and survival outcome of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) arising in nodular lymphocyte predominant Hodgkin lymphoma (NLPHL), since controversy regarding their prognosis exists in the literature. Twenty-one patients with DLBCL arising either concurrently with (n = 7) or subsequent to (n = 14) a diagnosis of NLPHL were identified in the Nebraska Lymphoma Study Group Registry. The clinical and pathologic features of the cases were evaluated, and survival analysis was performed from the time of diagnosis of DLBCL.

Resection of the inferior superior turbinate: does it affect olfactory ability or contain olfactory neuronal tissue?

Background: One approach to the sphenoid sinus involves resection of the inferior portion of the superior turbinate. There is general agreement from anatomic investigations that this area contains olfactory mucosa. This study will determine if olfactory tissue can be found in the superior turbinate mucosa of patients with chronic sphenoiditis and what effect its removal has on a patient's olfactory ability.

mRNA microarray analysis in lymphoma and leukemia.

We have reviewed the ability of gene expression microarrays to characterize subgroups of lymphoma and leukemia, identify expression profiles that correlate with known cytogenetic abnormalities, demonstrate that expression profiles can predict prognosis, new proteins identified for diagnosis and followup, and provided new therapeutic targets for chemotherapy. We can expect that new prognostic models will be designed and tested, incorporating the pathologic diagnosis based on morphology, the molecular gene expression profile, and the clinical assessment (e.g.

BCL2 translocation defines a unique tumor subset within the germinal center B-cell-like diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Gene expression profiling of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) has revealed prognostically important subgroups: germinal center B-cell-like (GCB) DLBCL, activated B cell-like (ABC) DLBCL, and primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma. The t(14;18)(q32;q21) has been reported previously to define a unique subset within the GCB-DLBCL. We evaluated for the translocation in 141 cases of DLBCL that were successfully gene expression profiled.

Variability in the human m. spinalis capitis and cervicis: frequencies and definitions.

The spinalis muscle is defined as the medial component of the erector spinae muscle group, and is typically subdivided into three regional components: m. spinalis thoracis, m. spinalis cervicis and m.

Nutritional status of indigenous children at boarding schools in northern Mexico.

Objective: To assess the nutritional status of Tarahumara children at indigenous boarding schools.

Design: Cross-sectional comprehensive nutritional survey.

Setting: The schools sampled were located in indigenous municipalities of the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua.