Effects of psychiatric history on cognitive performance in old-age depression.

Cognitive deficits in old-age depression vary as a function of multiple factors; one rarely examined factor is long-term psychiatric history. We investigated effects of psychiatric history on cognitive performance in old-age depression and in remitted persons. In the population-based Swedish National Study on Aging and Care in Kungsholmen study, older persons (≥60 years) without dementia were tested with a cognitive battery and matched to the Swedish National Inpatient Register (starting 1969).

Blood monitoring of granzyme B and perforin expression after intestinal transplantation: considerations on clinical relevance.

Background: The use of biomarkers for rejection monitoring represents a major goal in intestinal transplantation. We analyzed the blood expression of Granzyme B (GB) and Perforin (PF) in the following pathological conditions after intestinal transplantation: acute rejection (AR), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection, and posttransplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD). The diagnostic accuracy and the clinical utility of these tests are finally discussed.

Modified doxorubicin for improved encapsulation in PVA polymeric micelles.

Polyvinylalcohol, partially substituted with lipophilic acyl chains, generates polymeric micelles in aqueous phase, containing a hydrophobic core able to encapsulate lipophilic drugs. Two types of polymers were obtained by conjugation of polyvinylalcohol with oleoyl or linoleoyl chains as pendant groups. The polymers, at a substitution degree of approximately 1%, are soluble in water and form polymeric micelles whose size increases with polymer concentration.