GA201 (RG7160): a novel, humanized, glycoengineered anti-EGFR antibody with enhanced ADCC and superior in vivo efficacy compared with cetuximab.

Purpose: Anti-EGF receptor (EGFR) antibodies and small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors have shown activity in epithelial tumors; however, agents that work by blocking the EGFR growth signal are ineffective when the oncogenic stimulus arises downstream, such as in tumors with KRAS mutations. Antibodies of the IgG1 subclass can also kill tumor cells directly through antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC), and the efficacy of this is determined by the interaction of the Fc portion of the target cell-bound antibody and Fc receptors present on immune effector cells.

Experimental Design: We report the development of GA201, a novel anti-EGFR monoclonal antibody with enhanced ADCC properties.

Differential effect of aging on axon sprouting and regenerative growth in spinal cord injury.

The demographics of acute spinal cord injury (SCI) are changing with an increased incidence in older age. However, the influence of aging on the regenerative growth potential of central nervous system (CNS) axons following SCI is not known. We investigated axonal sprouting along with the efficiency of the infusion of the stromal cell-derived growth factor-1 (SDF-1/CXCL12) and regenerative growth along with the anti-scarring treatment (AST) in young (2-3 months) and geriatric (22-28 months) female rats following SCI.

Ventilatory inefficiency in major depressive disorder: a potential adjunct for cardiac risk stratification in depressive disorders?

Background: Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) provides insights into ventilatory, cardiac and metabolic dysfunction in heart and lung diseases and might play a role in cardiac risk stratification in major depressive disorder (MDD).

Objective: The VE/VCO(2)-slope indicates ventilatory efficiency and has been applied to stratify the cardiac risk in heart failure (HF). Therefore, the current study was conducted to evaluate and classify ventilatory efficiency and its relationship to physical fitness and disease severity in MDD.

Dissociation of performance parameters at the IAT requires specific exercise recommendations for depressed patients.

Aerobic exercise training is considered an adequate complementary treatment strategy for major depressive disorder (MDD). However, there is a need for comparative methodological investigations to determine the appropriate exercise intensity for these patients. The study compared submaximal exercise intensity determination with those derived from maximal parameters such as percentages of heart rate reserve (HRR), maximal heart rate (HR(max)) and peak oxygen uptake (VO(2peak)) of patients and controls.

Does fine-needle aspiration cytology optimize the surgical management of thyroid disorders in endemic goiter region?

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic value of fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) before thyroidectomy in an endemic goiter region.

Methods: One hundred patients with preoperative FNAC of thyroid nodules who underwent thyroidectomy were recruited. FNAC were classified into five groups.