Research on ketamine in mediating autophagy and inhibiting apoptosis of astrocytes in cerebral cortex of rats through NF-κB pathway.

Objective: To investigate the effects of ketamine on autophagy and apoptosis of astrocytes in the cerebral cortex of rats, and determine whether nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) pathway is involved in the regulation of autophagy and apoptosis of astrocytes.

Materials And Methods: A total of 36 male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: control group (Group C: intraperitoneal injection of equal amount of normal saline), glutamic acid group (Group G: intraperitoneal injection of 1 mg/kg glutamic acid) and glutamic acid + ketamine group (Group GK: intraperitoneal injection of 1 mg/kg glutamic acid and then injection of 5 mg/kg ketamine after 30 min). The cerebral cortex of rats in each group was taken after successive administration for 5 d.

Successful treatment with lenalidomide of secondary multiple myeloma with extramedullary liver plasmacytoma in a renal transplant recipient: A case report and review of the literature.

Multiple myeloma (MM) represents a rare form of post-transplantation lymphoproliferative disorder, and the presence of plasma cells in the liver is generally associated with aggressive forms of MM. In the present study, an unusual case of extramedullary plasmacytoma, affecting the liver and vertebrae of a recipient of a renal transplant, is reported. The patient had been previously treated with bortezomib for an MM following renal transplantation, as diagnosed by percutaneous needle biopsy of the hepatic lesion.

Clinical characteristics of acute promyelocytic leukemia manifesting as early death.

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is currently considered to be a highly curable disease. However, early death (ED) remains a major cause of treatment failure in APL. The purpose of this study was to retrospectively review the morphological, immunophenotypic and molecular characteristics of 26 patients with APL resulting in ED.