Prognostic factors and evaluation of a clinical score for predicting survival after resection of colorectal liver metastases.

Background: Patient outcome after resection of colorectal liver metastases can be predicted by various prognostic factors.

Aims: Development of a model for risk stratification based on analysis of prognostic factors.

Methods: Data of 201 patients were collected prospectively and included in a single-centre trial.

Callosal dysfunction in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis correlates with diffusion tensor imaging of the central motor system.

We investigated the frequency and functional relevance of corpus callosum degeneration in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). A total of 22 ALS patients and 29 healthy controls performed the newly developed Contralateral Co-Movement Test as indicator of callosal dysfunction. Diffusion tensor imaging was applied to determine fractional anisotropy values in the callosal area containing the crossing motor fibers and in the pyramidal tracts in 13 subjects of each group.

Reduced oxidative damage in ALS by high-dose enteral melatonin treatment.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is the collective term for a fatal motoneuron disease of different etiologies, with oxidative stress as a common molecular denominator of disease progression. Melatonin is an amphiphilic molecule with a unique spectrum of antioxidative effects not conveyed by classical antioxidants. In preparation of a possible future clinical trial, we explored the potential of melatonin as neuroprotective compound and antioxidant in: (1) cultured motoneuronal cells (NSC-34), (2) a genetic mouse model of ALS (SOD1(G93A)-transgenic mice), and (3) a group of 31 patients with sporadic ALS.