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Men and women differ substantially regarding height, weight, and body fat. Interestingly, previous work detecting genetic effects for waist-to-hip ratio, to assess body fat distribution, has found that many of these showed sex-differences. However, systematic searches for sex-differences in genetic effects have not yet been conducted. Therefore, we undertook a genome-wide search for sexually dimorphic genetic effects for anthropometric traits including 133,723 individuals in a large meta-analysis and followed promising variants in further 137,052 individuals, including a total of 94 studies. We identified seven loci with significant sex-difference including four previously established (near GRB14/COBLL1, LYPLAL1/SLC30A10, VEGFA, ADAMTS9) and three novel anthropometric trait loci (near MAP3K1, HSD17B4, PPARG), all of which were significant in women, but not in men. Of interest is that sex-difference was only observed for waist phenotypes, but not for height or body-mass-index. We found no evidence for sex-differences with opposite effect direction for men and women. The PPARG locus is of specific interest due to its link to diabetes genetics and therapy. Our findings demonstrate the importance of investigating sex differences, which may lead to a better understanding of disease mechanisms with a potential relevance to treatment options.
Bipolar disorder (BD) is a highly heritable neuropsychiatric disease characterized by recurrent episodes of mania and depression. BD shows substantial clinical and genetic overlap with other psychiatric disorders, in particular schizophrenia (SCZ). The genes underlying this etiological overlap remain largely unknown. A recent SCZ genome wide association study (GWAS) by the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium identified 128 independent genome-wide significant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The present study investigated whether these SCZ-associated SNPs also contribute to BD development through the performance of association testing in a large BD GWAS dataset (9747 patients, 14278 controls). After re-imputation and correction for sample overlap, 22 of 107 investigated SCZ SNPs showed nominal association with BD. The number of shared SCZ-BD SNPs was significantly higher than expected (p = 1.46x10-8). This provides further evidence that SCZ-associated loci contribute to the development of BD. Two SNPs remained significant after Bonferroni correction. The most strongly associated SNP was located near TRANK1, which is a reported genome-wide significant risk gene for BD. Pathway analyses for all shared SCZ-BD SNPs revealed 25 nominally enriched gene-sets, which showed partial overlap in terms of the underlying genes. The enriched gene-sets included calcium- and glutamate signaling, neuropathic pain signaling in dorsal horn neurons, and calmodulin binding. The present data provide further insights into shared risk loci and disease-associated pathways for BD and SCZ. This may suggest new research directions for the treatment and prevention of these two major psychiatric disorders.
The last decade has seen a sharp increase in the number of scientific publications describing physiological and pathological functions of extracellular vesicles (EVs), a collective term covering various subtypes of cell-released, membranous structures, called exosomes, microvesicles, microparticles, ectosomes, oncosomes, apoptotic bodies, and many other names. However, specific issues arise when working with these entities, whose size and amount often make them difficult to obtain as relatively pure preparations, and to characterize properly. The International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) proposed Minimal Information for Studies of Extracellular Vesicles (“MISEV”) guidelines for the field in 2014. We now update these “MISEV2014” guidelines based on evolution of the collective knowledge in the last four years. An important point to consider is that ascribing a specific function to EVs in general, or to subtypes of EVs, requires reporting of specific information beyond mere description of function in a crude, potentially contaminated, and heterogeneous preparation. For example, claims that exosomes are endowed with exquisite and specific activities remain difficult to support experimentally, given our still limited knowledge of their specific molecular machineries of biogenesis and release, as compared with other biophysically similar EVs. The MISEV2018 guidelines include tables and outlines of suggested protocols and steps to follow to document specific EV-associated functional activities. Finally, a checklist is provided with summaries of key points.
Nucleation and growth of aerosol particles from atmospheric vapors constitutes a major source of global cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). The fraction of newly formed particles that reaches CCN sizes is highly sensitive to particle growth rates, especially for particle sizes <10 nm, where coagulation losses to larger aerosol particles are greatest. Recent results show that some oxidation products from biogenic volatile organic compounds are major contributors to particle formation and initial growth. However, whether oxidized organics contribute to particle growth over the broad span of tropospheric temperatures remains an open question, and quantitative mass balance for organic growth has yet to be demonstrated at any temperature. Here, in experiments performed under atmospheric conditions in the Cosmics Leaving Outdoor Droplets (CLOUD) chamber at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), we show that rapid growth of organic particles occurs over the range from −25 ∘C to 25 ∘C. The lower extent of autoxidation at reduced temperatures is compensated by the decreased volatility of all oxidized molecules. This is confirmed by particle-phase composition measurements, showing enhanced uptake of relatively less oxygenated products at cold temperatures. We can reproduce the measured growth rates using an aerosol growth model based entirely on the experimentally measured gas-phase spectra of oxidized organic molecules obtained from two complementary mass spectrometers. We show that the growth rates are sensitive to particle curvature, explaining widespread atmospheric observations that particle growth rates increase in the single-digit-nanometer size range. Our results demonstrate that organic vapors can contribute to particle growth over a wide range of tropospheric temperatures from molecular cluster sizes onward.
HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DQB1 genetic diversity modulates response to lithium in bipolar affective disorders
(2021)
Bipolar affective disorder (BD) is a severe psychiatric illness, for which lithium (Li) is the gold standard for acute and maintenance therapies. The therapeutic response to Li in BD is heterogeneous and reliable biomarkers allowing patients stratification are still needed. A GWAS performed by the International Consortium on Lithium Genetics (ConLiGen) has recently identified genetic markers associated with treatment responses to Li in the human leukocyte antigens (HLA) region. To better understand the molecular mechanisms underlying this association, we have genetically imputed the classical alleles of the HLA region in the European patients of the ConLiGen cohort. We found our best signal for amino-acid variants belonging to the HLA-DRB1*11:01 classical allele, associated with a better response to Li (p < 1 × 10−3; FDR < 0.09 in the recessive model). Alanine or Leucine at position 74 of the HLA-DRB1 heavy chain was associated with a good response while Arginine or Glutamic acid with a poor response. As these variants have been implicated in common inflammatory/autoimmune processes, our findings strongly suggest that HLA-mediated low inflammatory background may contribute to the efficient response to Li in BD patients, while an inflammatory status overriding Li anti-inflammatory properties would favor a weak response.
The formation of secondary particles in the atmosphere accounts for more than half of global cloud condensation nuclei. Experiments at the CERN CLOUD (Cosmics Leaving OUtdoor Droplets) chamber have underlined the importance of ions for new particle formation, but quantifying their effect in the atmosphere remains challenging. By using a novel instrument setup consisting of two nano-particle counters, one of them equipped with an ion filter, we were able to further investigate the ion-related mechanisms of new particle formation. In autumn 2015, we carried out experiments at CLOUD on four systems of different chemical compositions involving monoterpenes, sulfuric acid, nitrogen oxides, and ammonia. We measured the influence of ions on the nucleation rates under precisely controlled and atmospherically relevant conditions. Our results indicate that ions enhance the nucleation process when the charge is necessary to stabilize newly formed clusters, i.e. in conditions where neutral clusters are unstable. For charged clusters that were formed by ion-induced nucleation, we were able to measure, for the first time, their progressive neutralization due to recombination with oppositely charged ions. A large fraction of the clusters carried a charge at 1.2 nm diameter. However, depending on particle growth rates and ion concentrations, charged clusters were largely neutralized by ion–ion recombination before they grew to 2.2 nm. At this size, more than 90 % of particles were neutral. In other words, particles may originate from ion-induced nucleation, although they are neutral upon detection at diameters larger than 2.2 nm. Observations at Hyytiälä, Finland, showed lower ion concentrations and a lower contribution of ion-induced nucleation than measured at CLOUD under similar conditions. Although this can be partly explained by the observation that ion-induced fractions decrease towards lower ion concentrations, further investigations are needed to resolve the origin of the discrepancy.
Mapping cortical brain asymmetry in 17,141 healthy individuals worldwide via the ENIGMA Consortium
(2017)
Bipolar disorder (BD) is a genetically complex mental illness characterized by severe oscillations of mood and behavior. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified several risk loci that together account for a small portion of the heritability. To identify additional risk loci, we performed a two-stage meta-analysis of >9 million genetic variants in 9,784 bipolar disorder patients and 30,471 controls, the largest GWAS of BD to date. In this study, to increase power we used ~2,000 lithium-treated cases with a long-term diagnosis of BD from the Consortium on Lithium Genetics, excess controls, and analytic methods optimized for markers on the Xchromosome. In addition to four known loci, results revealed genome-wide significant associations at two novel loci: an intergenic region on 9p21.3 (rs12553324, p = 5.87×10-9; odds ratio = 1.12) and markers within ERBB2 (rs2517959, p = 4.53×10-9; odds ratio = 1.13). No significant X-chromosome associations were detected and X-linked markers explained very little BD heritability. The results add to a growing list of common autosomal variants involved in BD and illustrate the power of comparing well-characterized cases to an excess of controls in GWAS.
In Baden-Württemberg sind in dem 30-jährigen Zeitraum einschließlich dervorliegenden insgesamt fünf Fassungen der Roten Liste der gefährdeten Vogelarten erschienen, die jeweils auf den neuesten Stand der Erforschung der Vogelwelt Baden-Württembergs gebracht wurden. Die einzelnen Fassungen der Roten Liste sind 1973 (1. Fassung, Berthold, Ertel & Hölzinger 1974, 1975), 1977 (2. Fassung, Berthold, Ertel, Hölzinger, Kalchreuter & Ruge 1977), 1981 (3. Fassung, Hölzinger, Berthold, Kroymann & Ruge 1981), 1996 (4. Fassung, Hölzinger, Berthold, König & Mahler 1996) und 2007 (5., vorliegende Fassung) herausgegeben worden. In diesem über 30-jährigen Zeitraum wurden die Kriterien für die Roten Listen entsprechend dem Fortschritt der ornithologischen Forschung zunehmend mehr auf quantitative Grundlagen gestellt. Die Roten Listen waren und sind das Ergebnis systematischer und programmatisch orientierter Bestandsaufnahmen der Vogelwelt abseits emotionaler und naturschutzpolitischer Beurteilung.
Eine fachübergreifende Zusammenarbeit von Fachleuten aus den Bereichen Makrophyten, Makrozoobenthos und Ornithologie hat am Bodensee zum ersten Mal das Beziehungsgefüge zwischen limnischen Nahrungsressourcen der Flachwasserzone und deren Hauptprädatoren, den Wasservögeln, aufgezeigt und die hohe Dynamik in diesem Ökosystem beleuchtet. Hierfür wurden bei dieser Untersuchung Stellen am Bodensee ausgewählt, die geeignet waren, um den Einfluss der Wasservögel auf Makrophyten beziehungsweise auf Dreikantmuscheln (Dreissena polymorpha PALLAS) zu untersuchen. Wasservögel wurden in halbmo-natlichem Abstand zwischen September und März quantifiziert und deren Aktivität abge-schätzt. Diese Erfassung wurde tags und nachts mit einem Infrarotgerät oder einem Restlichtverstärker durchgeführt. Die Beprobung von Makrophyten erfolgte über das gesamte Winterhalbjahr in 3 Tiefenstufen (-1, -1,5 und -2 m) bezogen auf die Mittelwasserlinie (MW, Pegel Konstanz = 361 cm) und wurde am Bodensee zum ersten Mal durchge-führt. Die Characeen-Vegetation im flacheren Litoralbereich des Zeller Sees war bis Dezember schon stark von Wasservögeln genutzt worden, während die tieferen Zonen erst nach der Vereisungsperiode im Februar und März abgeweidet wurden. Ferner zeigte die zum Ende des Winters noch vorhandene Biomasse in Fraßschutzkäfigen, dass der Seneszenzpro-zess am Biomasseverlust offensichtlich nur einen geringen Anteil hat. Bis in -2 m Wasser-tiefe wurde die vorhandene Characeen-Biomasse von den Wasservögeln fast vollständig als Nahrungsressource genutzt. In Iznang verknappten die Ressourcen in -1 m Tiefe frü-her als in Gundholzen. Die Vögel wichen aber nicht nach Gundholzen aus, wo noch genügend Nahrung in dieser Tiefenstufe vorhanden war, sondern sie erschlossen zunächst am selben Ort die tieferen Bereiche. Dies belegt eine Bevorzugung bestimmter Nahrungsgründe. Während der Untersuchungen im Dezem-ber 2001 wurden hier 10.000 Kolbenenten festgestellt, die wesentlich zur Reduktion der dortigen Chara-Bestände beitrugen. Aber im Gegensatz zu den Kolbenenten, die im Februar zahlenmäßig gering vertreten waren, schöpften die Blässhühner die aufgrund des gefallenen Wasserstandes leicht erreichbaren Chara-Rasen noch weiter ab. Die limnologischen Untersuchungen der Dreikantmuscheln erfolgten in vier Tiefenstufen (-1, -3, -7 und -11 m) unter dem Mittleren Niedrigwasserstand (MNW, Pegel Konstanz = 264 cm). Die Probennahmen fanden an allen Stellen vor (September), während (Januar) und nach der Prädation (März) durch Wasservögel statt.
Die 4. Fassung der Roten Liste der Brutvögel Deutschlands wurde durch das "Nationale Gremium Rote Liste Vögel" erarbeitet, in dem die wissenschaftlichen Institutionen der Ornithologie und Avifaunistik in Deutschland vertreten sind. Die Rote Liste ersetzt die 3. Fassung aus dem Jahr 2002 (BAUER et al. 2002); sie wurde erstmalig nach dem für alle Tier- und Pflanzenartengruppen sowie den Pilzen in Deutschland entwickelten Kriterienschema (5. LUDWIG et al. 2007) erarbeitet. Somit wird ein direkter Vergleich der Gefährdungssituation zwischen diesen Gruppen ermöglicht. Bestandsgröße, kurzfristiger (25 Jahre) und langfristiger (50-150 Jahre) Bestandstrend sind die wichtigsten Parameter zur Gefahrdungseinstufung der einzelnen Arten. Zusätzlich wurde jeweils die Wirksamkeit von Risikofaktoren artspezifisch identifiziert und berücksichtigt. Alle Einstufungen werden transparent vorgenommen und in der Anhangsliste publiziert. Der Dachverband Deutscher Avifaunisten (DDA) hat zur Erstellung der Datengrundlagen mit Stand 2005 für die Gefahrdungseinstufung ein neues Abfrageschema entwickelt, in dem die relevanten Informationen aus den nationalen Vogelmonitoring-Programmen aufgearbeitet und als Hintergrunddaten für die Einschätzungen von Bestandstrend und -größe auf Landesebene bereitgestellt wurden. Dadurch gewinnen die Einstufungen an Verlässlichkeit und Nachvollziehbarkeit. Der langfristige Trend wurde vom "Nationalen Gremium Rote Liste Vogel" ermittelt. Vor der Einstufung der Brutvogelarten wurde je Art eine Statuszuordnung vorgenommen, von denen nur die regelmäßig brütenden einheimischen Arten den weiteren Weg der Rote Liste-Erstellung durchlaufen. In der Roten Liste 2007 werden insgesamt 260 regelmäßige einheimische Brutvogelarten in Deutschland berücksichtigt, 25 weitere Arten brüteten nur unregelmäßig ('vermehrungsgäste': Status II), zudem wurden 29 Neozoen-Arten ermittelt (Status III), von denen 20 regelmäßig brüten. Dies ergibt zusammen 314 Arten, die höchste Zahl an Brutvogelarten, die je für eine Rote Liste zu Grunde gelegt wurde. Insgesamt befinden sich 110 regelmäßige Brutvogelarten in den Kategorien der Roten Liste 2007 (0 = ausgestorben, 1 = vom Aussterben bedroht, 2 :: stark gefährdet, 3 :: gefährdet und R = extrem selten), das entspricht 42,3 % der Arten, was einer minimal geringeren Gefahrdungsquote gegenüber der Vorgängerliste entspricht. Erfreulich ist, dass mit dem Bruchwasserläufer und dem Steinrötel zwei ehemals in Deutschland ausgestorbene Arten zwischen 2000 und 2005 wieder regelmäßig gebrütet haben. Dem entgegen ist mit der Blauracke eine weitere Art ausgestorben. Schwarzstorch, Wanderfalke, Seeadler und Uhu sind hier erstmals seit der ersten deutschen Roten Liste 1971 nicht mehr aufgeführt - ein Erfolg jahrzehntelanger direkter Schutzmaßnahmen der ehrenamtlichen und amtlichen Vogelschützer und gleichzeitig ein Beweis, dass sich Vogelschutz bei stark gefährdeten Arten lohnen kann. Andererseits sind mit Schreiadler, Zwergseeschwalbe oder Großem Brachvogel Alien in die höchste Gefährdungskategorie eingestuft worden, die zwar auch im Fokus des Vogelschutzes standen und stehen, bei denen aber bislang Maßnahmen nicht ausreichend erfolgreich umgesetzt werden konnten. Gerade die Kategorie "vom Aussterben bedroht" umfasst mit nunmehr 30 Arten den höchsten Wert seit Erscheinen der gesamtdeutschen Roten Liste. Der Analyse der aktuellen deutschen Brutvogelfauna zufolge sind die Boden brütenden Vogelarten, Großinsektenfresser und Langstreckenzieher am stärksten von Gefährdungen betroffen. Vogelgruppen mit einem hohen Anteil gefährdeter Arten sind demzufolge Hühnervögel, Rallen, Limikolen und Würger, während Eulen und Schnäpperverwandte derzeit vergleichsweise wenig gefährdet sind. Zudem erfolgt deutschlandweit ein weiteres Ausdünnen der typischen Vögel in der Normallandschaft, was sich vor allem in den Trendanalysen manifestiert, aber in der Roten Liste noch nicht sehr stark zum Ausdruck kommt. Die Nutzungsintensivierungen von Land- und Forstwirtschaft in jüngster Zeit geben hier großen Anlass zur Sorge in diesen Großlebensräumen. Diese Rote Liste stellt erneut ein kritisches Zeugnis über den Zustand der deutschen Vogelwelt aus. Aufgrund der in jüngster Zeit stark ausgeweiteten Monitoringprogramme wird es in Deutschland zukünftig noch besser möglich sein, die Gefahrdung aufzuzeigen. Um den dauerhaften Rückgang der Vogelbestände zu stoppen oder wenigstens zu verlangsamen, müssen die wirksamen Gefahrdungsfaktoren reduziert und minimiert werden. Dem gezielten Vogelartenschutz stellen sich dabei folgende vordringliche Aufgaben: Erhaltung der offenen Kulturlandschaft, Erhaltung strukturreicher Walder, Erhaltung nährstoffarmer Lebensräume, Sicherung der Schutzgebiete - insbesondere Natura 2000, Stärkung der internationalen Zusammenarbeit im Vogelschutz, Reduktion der Populationsverluste durch Unfälle und menschliche Verfolgung sowie Förderung des vogelkundlichen Nachwuchses.
Background: Evaluation of automated attenuation-based tube potential selection and its impact on image quality and radiation dose in CT (computed tomography) examinations for cancer staging.
Methods: A total of 110 (59 men, 51 women) patients underwent chest-abdomen-pelvis CT examinations; 55 using a fixed tube potential of 120 kV/current of 210 Reference mAs (using CareDose4D), and 55 using automated attenuation-based tube potential selection (CAREkV) also using a current of 210 Reference mAs. This evaluation was performed as a single-centre, observer-blinded retrospective analysis. Image quality was assessed by two readers in consensus. Attenuation, image noise, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) were measured or calculated for objective image evaluation. For the evaluation of radiation exposure, dose-length-product (DLP) values were compared and Size-specific dose estimates (SSDE) values were calculated.
Results: Diagnostic image quality was obtained from all patients. The median DLP (703.5 mGy · cm, range 390–2203 mGy · cm) was 7.9% lower when using the algorithm compared with the standard 120 kV protocol (median 756 mGy · cm, range 345–2267 mGy · cm). A reduction in potential to 100 kV occurred in 32 cases; therefore, these patients received significantly lower radiation exposure compared with the 120 kV protocol.
Conclusion: Automated attenuation-based tube potential selection produces good diagnostic image quality in chest-abdomen-pelvis CT and reduces the patient’s overall radiation dose by 7.9% compared to the standard 120 kV protocol.
Objectives: The aim of our study was to find out how much energy is applicable in second-generation dual source high-pitch computed tomography (CT) in imaging of the abdomen.
Materials and methods: We examined an upper abdominal phantom using a Somatom Definition Flash CT-Scanner (Siemens, Forchheim, Germany). The study protocol consisted of a scan-series at 100 kV and 120 kV. In each scan series we started with a pitch of 3.2 and reduced it in steps of 0.2, until a pitch of 1.6 was reached. The current was adjusted to the maximum the scanner could achieve. Energy values, image noise, image quality, and radiation exposure were evaluated.
Results: For a pitch of 3.2 the maximum applicable current was 142 mAs at 120 kV and in 100 kV the maximum applicable current was 114 mAs. For conventional abdominal imaging, current levels of 200 to 260 mAs are generally used. To achieve similar current levels, we had to decrease the pitch to 1.8 at 100 kV - at this pitch we could perform our imaging at 204 mAs. At a pitch of 2.2 in 120 kV we could apply a current of 206 mAs.
Conclusion: We conclude our study by stating that if there is a need for a higher current, we have to reduce the pitch. In a high-pitch dual source CT, we always have to remember where our main focus is, so we can adjust the pitch to the energy we need in the area of the body that has to be imaged, to find answers to the clinical question being raised.
In the upcoming years, the internet of things (IoT)will enrich daily life. The combination of artificial intelligence(AI) and highly interoperable systems will bring context-sensitive multi-domain services to reality. This paper describesa concept for an AI-based smart living platform with open-HAB, a smart home middleware, and Web of Things (WoT) askey components of our approach. The platform concept con-siders different stakeholders, i.e. the housing industry, serviceproviders, and tenants. These activities are part of the Fore-Sight project, an AI-driven, context-sensitive smart living plat-form.
RP1 (synonym: MAPRE2, EB2) is a member of the microtubule binding EB1 protein family, which interacts with APC, a key regulatory molecule in the Wnt signalling pathway. While the other EB1 proteins are well characterized the cellular function and regulation of RP1 remain speculative to date. However, recently RP1 has been implicated in pancreatic cancerogenesis. CK2 is a pleiotropic kinase involved in adhesion, proliferation and anti-apoptosis. Overexpression of protein kinase CK2 is a hallmark of many cancers and supports the malignant phenotype of tumor cells. In this study we investigate the interaction of protein kinase CK2 with RP1 and demonstrate that CK2 phosphorylates RP1 at Ser236 in vitro. Stable RP1 expression in cell lines leads to a significant cleavage and down-regulation of N-cadherin and impaired adhesion. Cells expressing a Phospho-mimicking point mutant RP1-ASP236 show a marked decrease of adhesion to endothelial cells under shear stress. Inversely, we found that the cells under shear stress downregulate endogenous RP1, most likely to improve cellular adhesion. Accordingly, when RP1 expression is suppressed by shRNA, cells lacking RP1 display significantly increased cell adherence to surfaces. In summary, RP1 phosphorylation at Ser236 by CK2 seems to play a significant role in cell adhesion and might initiate new insights in the CK2 and EB1 family protein association.
Background: Unlike metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) there are to date few reports concerning the predictive value of molecular biomarkers on the clinical outcome in stage II/III CRC patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy. Aim of this study was to assess the predictive value of proteins related with the EGFR- and VEGFR- signalling cascades in these patients.
Methods: The patients' data examined in this study were from the collective of the 5-FU/FA versus 5-FU/FA/irinotecan phase III FOGT-4 trial. Tumor tissues were stained by immunohistochemistry for VEGF-C, VEGF-D, VEGFR-3, Hif-1 α, PTEN, AREG and EREG expression and evaluated by two independent, blinded investigators. Survival analyses were calculated for all patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy in relation to expression of all makers above.
Results: Patients with negative AREG and EREG expression on their tumor had a significant longer DFS in comparison to AREG/EREG positive ones (p< 0.05). The benefit on DFS in AREG-/EREG- patients was even stronger in the group that received 5-FU/FA/irinotecan as adjuvant treatment (p=0.002). Patients with strong expression of PTEN profited more in terms of OS under adjuvant treatment containing irinotecan (p< 0.05). Regarding markers of the VEGFR- pathway we found no correlation of VEGF-C- and VEGFR-3 expression with clinical outcome. Patients with negative VEGF-D expression had a trend to live longer when treated with 5-FU/FA (p=0.106). Patients who were negative for Hif-1 α, were disease-free in more than 50% at the end of the study and showed significant longer DFS-rates than those positive for Hif-1 α (p=0.007). This benefit was even stronger at the group treated with 5-FU/FA/irinotecan (p=0.026). Finally, AREG-/EREG-/PTEN+ patients showed a trend to live longer under combined treatment combination.
Conclusions: The addition of irinotecan to adjuvant treatment with 5-FU/FA does not provide OS or DFS benefit in patients with stage II/III CRC. Nevertheless, AREG/EREG negative, PTEN positive and Hif-1 α negative patients might profit significantly in terms of DFS from a treatment containing fluoropyrimidines and irinotecan. Our results suggest a predictive value of these biomarkers concerning adjuvant chemotherapy with 5-FU/FA +/− irinotecan in stage II/III colorectal cancer.
Background: Refractory status epilepticus (RSE) represents a serious medical condition requiring early and targeted therapy. Given the increasing number of elderly or multimorbid patients with a limitation of life-sustaining therapy (LOT) or within a palliative care setting (PCS), guidelines-oriented therapy escalation options for RSE have to be omitted frequently. Objectives: This systematic review sought to summarize the evidence for fourth-line antiseizure drugs (ASDs) and other minimally or non-invasive therapeutic options beyond guideline recommendations in patients with RSE to elaborate on possible treatment options for patients undergoing LOT or in a PCS. Methods: A systematic review of the literature in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, focusing on fourth-line ASDs or other minimally or non-invasive therapeutic options was performed in February and June 2020 using the MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane databases. The search terminology was constructed using the name of the specific ASD or therapy option and the term ‘status epilepticus’ with the use of Boolean operators, e.g. “(brivaracetam) AND (status epilepticus)”. The respective Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) and Emtree terms were used, if available. Results: There is currently no level 1, grade A evidence for the use of ASDs in RSE. The best evidence was found for the use of lacosamide and topiramate (level 3, grade C), followed by brivaracetam, perampanel (each level 4, grade D) and stiripentol, oxcarbazepine and zonisamide (each level 5, grade D). Regarding non-medicinal options, there is little evidence for the use of the ketogenic diet (level 4, grade D) and magnesium sulfate (level 5, grade D) in RSE. The broad use of immunomodulatory or immunosuppressive treatment options in the absence of a presumed autoimmune etiology cannot be recommended; however, if an autoimmune etiology is assumed, steroid pulse, intravenous immunoglobulins and plasma exchange/plasmapheresis should be considered (level 4, grade D). Even if several studies suggested that the use of neurosteroids (level 5, grade D) is beneficial in RSE, the current data situation indicates that there is formal evidence against it. Conclusions: RSE in patients undergoing LOT or in a PCS represents a challenge for modern clinicians and epileptologists. The evidence for the use of ASDs in RSE beyond that in current guidelines is low, but several effective and well-tolerated options are available that should be considered in this patient population. More so than in any other population, advance care planning, advance directives, and medical ethical aspects have to be considered carefully before and during therapy.
The article Therapeutic Options for Patients with Refractory Status Epilepticus in Palliative Settings or with a Limitation of Life‑Sustaining Therapies: A Systematic Review, written by Laurent M. Willems, Sebastian Bauer, Kolja Jahnke, Martin Voss, Felix Rosenow, Adam Strzelczyk, was originally published Online First without Open Access. After publication in volume 34, issue 8, pages 801–826 the author decided to opt for Open Choice and to make the article an Open Access publication. Post-publication open access was funded by Projekt DEAL. Therefore, the copyright of the article has been changed to © The Author(s) 2021 and the article is forthwith distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. The original article has been corrected.
Memory consolidation tends to be less robust in childhood than adulthood. However, little is known about the corresponding functional differences in the developing brain that may underlie age-related differences in retention of memories over time. This study examined system-level memory consolidation of object-scene associations after learning (immediate delay), one night of sleep (short delay), as well as two weeks (long delay) in 5-to-7-year-old children (n = 49) and in young adults (n = 39), as a reference group with mature consolidation systems. Particularly, we characterized how functional neural activation and reinstatement of neural patterns change over time, assessed by functional magnetic resonance imaging combined with representational (dis)similarity analysis (RSA). Our results showed that memory consolidation in children was less robust (i.e., more forgetting) compared to young adults. For correctly retained remote memories, young adults showed increased neural activation from short to long delay in neocortical (parietal, prefrontal and occipital) and cerebellar brain regions, while children showed increased neural activation in prefrontal and decrease in neural activity in parietal brain regions over time. In addition, there was an overall attenuated scene-specific memory reinstatement of neural patterns in children compared to young adults. At the same time, we observed category-based reinstatement in medial-temporal, neocortical (prefrontal and parietal), and cerebellar brain regions only in children. Taken together, 5-to-7-year-old children, compared to young adults, show less robust memory consolidation, possibly due to difficulties in engaging in differentiated neural reinstatement in neocortical mnemonic regions during retrieval of remote memories, coupled with relying more on gist-like, category-based neural reinstatement.