Massive upper gastrointestinal bleeding due to splenoportal axis thrombosis in a patient with a tested JAK2 mutation: A case report and review literature.

Portal hypertension is a clinical syndrome defined as a portal venous pressure that exceeds 10mmHg. Cirrhosis is the most common cause of portal hypertension and thrombosis of the splenoportal axis not associated with liver cirrhosis is the second cause of portal hypertension in the Western world. The primary myeloproliferative disorders are the main cause of portal venous thrombosis and somatic mutation of Janus Kinase 2 gene (JAK2 V617F) can be found in approximately 90% of polycythemia vera, 50% of essential thrombocyrosis and 50% primary myelofibrosis.

COMT haplotypes, catecholamine metabolites in plasma and clinical response in schizophrenic and bipolar patients.

Aim: We examined the association of COMT haplotypes and plasma metabolites of catecholamines in relation to the clinical response to antipsychotics in schizophrenic and bipolar patients.

Patients & Methods: We studied 165 patients before and after four weeks of treatment, and 163 healthy controls. We assessed four COMT haplotypes and the plasma concentrations of HVA, DOPAC and MHPG.

Molecular and biochemical characterization of a beta-fructofuranosidase from Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous.

An extracellular beta-fructofuranosidase from the yeast Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous was characterized biochemically, molecularly, and phylogenetically. This enzyme is a glycoprotein with an estimated molecular mass of 160 kDa, of which the N-linked carbohydrate accounts for 60% of the total mass. It displays optimum activity at pH 5.