Cologastric fistula with a foreign body in a patient with Crohn's disease

Although the medical management of fistulizing Crohn's disease is improving, a subset of patients does not respond to maximal medical therapy and is referred for surgical consultation. We report a case of Crohn's colitis with an ingested foreign body resulting in a cologastric fistula. The patient underwent segmental colectomy and takedown of the cologastric fistula. At the time of laparotomy, the foreign body was found in the fistulous colonic segment. The presence of an ingested foreign body likely contributed to a rare fistula that was refractory to medical management.     

Alzheimer disease gamma-secretase: a complex story of GxGD-type presenilin proteases

γ-Secretase is a pivotal enzymatic activity in Alzheimer disease that was hidden within a huge number of unrelated proteases. Only recently it has become clear that a protease complex containing presenilin, nicastrin, PEN-2 and probably APH-1 provides the long sought γ-secretase activity. Presenilin itself appears to be a novel polytopic aspartyl protease of the GxGD type, whereas the other components might be required for substrate recognition, complex assembly, stability and targeting of the complex to its sites of action.     

Effects of a zoonotic pathogen,Borrelia burgdorferi,on the behavior of a key reservoir host

Most emerging infectious diseases of humans are transmitted to humans from other animals. The transmission of these “zoonotic” pathogens is affected by the abundance and behavior of their wildlife hosts. However, the effects of infection with zoonotic pathogens on behavior of wildlife hosts, particularly those that might propagate through ecological communities, are not well understood. Borrelia burgdorferi is a bacterium that causes Lyme disease, the most common vector‐borne disease in the USA and Europe. In its North American range, the pathogen is most frequently transmitted among hosts through the bite of infected blacklegged ticks (Ixodes scapularis). Using sham and true vaccines, we experimentally manipulated infection load with this zoonotic pathogen in its most competent wildlife reservoir host, the white‐footed mouse, Peromyscus leucopus, and quantified the effects of infection on mouse foraging behavior, as well as levels of mouse infestation with ticks. Mice treated with the true vaccine had 20% fewer larval blacklegged ticks infesting them compared to mice treated with the sham vaccine, a significant difference. We observed a nonsignificant trend for mice treated with the true vaccine to be more likely to visit experimental foraging trays (20%–30% effect size) and to prey on gypsy moth pupae (5%–20% effect size) compared to mice treated with the sham vaccine. We observed no difference between mice on true‐ versus sham‐vaccinated grids in risk‐averse foraging. Infection with this zoonotic pathogen appears to elicit behavioral changes that might reduce self‐grooming, but other behaviors were affected subtly or not at all. High titers of B. burgdorferi in mice could elicit a self‐reinforcing feedback loop in which reduced grooming increases tick burdens and hence exposure to tick‐borne pathogens.     

Plasma lipid profiling in a large population-based cohort

We have performed plasma lipid profiling using liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry on a population cohort of more than 1,000 individuals. From 10 μl of plasma we were able to acquire comparative measures of 312 lipids across 23 lipid classes and subclasses including sphingolipids, phospholipids, glycerolipids, and cholesterol esters (CEs) in 20 min. Using linear and logistic regression, we identified statistically significant associations of lipid classes, subclasses, and individual lipid species with anthropometric and physiological measures. In addition to the expected associations of CEs and triacylglycerol with age, sex, and body mass index (BMI), ceramide was significantly higher in males and was independently associated with age and BMI. Associations were also observed for sphingomyelin with age but this lipid subclass was lower in males. Lysophospholipids were associated with age and higher in males, but showed a strong negative association with BMI. Many of these lipids have previously been associated with chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease and may mediate the interactions of age, sex, and obesity with disease risk.     

细金属丝定位乳腺隐匿性病灶切除术

目的：探讨应用细金属丝定位行乳腺隐匿性病灶切除。方法：手术前用钼靶机立体定位仪或用彩超引导置细金属丝于乳腺隐匿性病灶中,共36例。手术中沿细金属丝找出病灶,予以切除并冰冻切片。结果：36例病人均找到乳腺隐匿性病灶并切除,术中冰冻发现13例隐匿性乳腺癌。结论：应用细金属丝定位行乳腺隐匿性病灶切除准确性高,为确诊治疗隐匿性乳腺癌提供了一种可靠的方法。     

Enteric pathogens and soil: a short review

It is known that soil is a recipient of solid wastes able to contain enteric pathogens in high concentrations. Although the role of soil as a reservoir of certain bacterial pathogens is not in question, recent findings show that soil may have a larger role in the transmission of enteric diseases than previously thought. Many of the diseases caused by agents from soil have been well characterized, although enteric diseases and their link to soil have not been so well studied. Gastrointestinal infections are the most common diseases caused by enteric bacteria. Some examples are salmonellosis (Salmonella sp.), cholera (Vibrio cholerae), dysentery (Shigella sp.) and other infections caused by Campylobacter jejuni, Yersinia sp. and Escherichia coli O157:H7 and many other strains. Viruses are the most hazardous and have some of the lowest infectious doses of any of the enteric pathogens. Hepatitis A, hepatitis E, enteric adenoviruses, poliovirus types 1 and 2, multiple strains of echoviruses and coxsackievirus are enteric viruses associated with human wastewater. Among the most commonly detected protozoa in sewage are Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia intestinalis and Cryptosporidium parvum. This article reviews the existing literature of more than two decades on waste disposal practices that favor the entry of enteric pathogens to soil and the possible consequent role of the soil as a vector and reservoir of enteric pathogens. Electronic Publication     

Zebrafish as a new animal model for movement disorders

The zebrafish, long recognized as a model organism for the analysis of basic developmental processes, is now also emerging as an alternative animal model for human diseases. This review will first provide an overview of the particular characteristics of zebrafish in general and their dopaminergic nervous system in particular. We will then summarize all work undertaken so far to establish zebrafish as a new animal model for movement disorders and will finally emphasize its particular strength – amenability to high throughput in vivo drug screening.     

Dictyostelium, a microbial model for brain disease

Background

Most neurodegenerative diseases are associated with mitochondrial dysfunction. In humans, mutations in mitochondrial genes result in a range of phenotypic outcomes which do not correlate well with the underlying genetic cause. Other neurodegenerative diseases are caused by mutations that affect the function and trafficking of lysosomes, endosomes and autophagosomes. Many of the complexities of these human diseases can be avoided by studying them in the simple eukaryotic model Dictyostelium discoideum.

Scope of review

This review describes research using Dictyostelium to study cytopathological pathways underlying a variety of neurodegenerative diseases including mitochondrial, lysosomal and vesicle trafficking disorders.

Major conclusions

Generalised mitochondrial respiratory deficiencies in Dictyostelium produce a consistent pattern of defective phenotypes that are caused by chronic activation of a cellular energy sensor AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase) and not ATP deficiency per se. Surprisingly, when individual subunits of Complex I are knocked out, both AMPK-dependent and AMPK-independent, subunit-specific phenotypes are observed. Many nonmitochondrial proteins associated with neurological disorders have homologues in Dictyostelium and are associated with the function and trafficking of lysosomes and endosomes. Conversely, some genes associated with neurodegenerative disorders do not have homologues in Dictyostelium and this provides a unique avenue for studying these mutated proteins in the absence of endogeneous protein.

General significance

Using the Dictyostelium model we have gained insights into the sublethal cytopathological pathways whose dysregulation contributes to phenotypic outcomes in neurodegenerative disease. This work is beginning to distinguish correlation, cause and effect in the complex network of cross talk between the various organelles involved. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Frontiers of Mitochondrial Research     

Index of cardiometabolic health: a new method of measuring allostatic load using electronic health records

Objective: We developed a measure of allostatic load from electronic medical records (EMRs), which we named “Index of Cardiometabolic Health” (ICMH).

Methods: Data were collected from participants’ EMRs and a written survey in 2005. We computed allostatic load scores using the ICMH score and two previously described approaches.

Results: We included 1865 employed adults who were 25–59 years old. Although the magnitude of the association was small, all methods of were predictive of SF-12 physical component subscales (all p?<?0.001).

Conclusion: We found that the ICMH had similar relationships with health-related quality of life as previously reported in the literature.     

Equine disease association studies: a clinician''s perspective

Diagnostic criteria should be carefully defined and described in disease association studies to allow (1) comparison among studies from different laboratories evaluating the same disease, (2) critical evaluation of selection procedures of patients, and (3) to strengthen genuine associations with any genetic marker system. Factors to consider include age at onset of disease, specialized diagnostic methods necessary to diagnose or eliminate patients with a selected disease, ranges of affectedness and differences in sex expression.     

植物同工酶与抗病关系研究(综述)

本文通过植物同工酶与抗病关系研究的综述,总结了植物同工酶的研究方法,探讨了植物抗病性可能的生化机制,指出,同工酶的相对含量可以作为鉴定作物品种是否具抗性的生化指标。     

中型景观尺度下杨树人工林林分特征对树干病害发生的影响——以河南省清丰县为例

首次利用景观病理学原理和方法对河南省清丰县一个中型景观下杨树人工林干部病害发生特征开展了研究,目的是解析在大尺度下杨树人工林病害发生与寄主本身及其群体特征间的关系。在100 km²的调查区域,杨树人工林的平均发病株率在不同林龄、不同密度及不同郁闭度下均存在极显著的差异,且发病株率与林龄(1-12 a)及林分密度呈极显著的正相关关系、并随着林分郁闭度升高而增高。以种植方式和林分类型划分斑块类型,分析显示发病株率在不同斑块间差异显著:农田间作斑块的林木发病株率显著低于孤立斑块、纯林斑块、混交林等斑块的发病株率;但发病株率在孤立斑块、纯林斑块及混交林等斑块间无显著差异。不同品种、不同树龄个体的发病指数(即病害严重程度)差异极显著,所有品种的发病指数均在10-12 a时达到最大;其中三倍体毛白杨的平均发病指数最高,达10.48％,显著高于其他所有品种。总体看,林分密度及林龄对发病株率、发病指数起到关键作用。因此,分龄期间伐以调节林分密度有可能成为预防杨树人工林病害在林分及景观水平上发生、流行与爆发的关键;确立不同用途的人工林栽培模式也是预防病害发生的一个有效途径,如采用密植技术并以2-4 a为采伐周期、以收获生物量为目的的短周期作物林,可以避免到生长后期发病株率和发病指数升高的问题。根据发病指数的差异,I-69杨和三倍体毛白杨不适宜在这个区域培育大径级用材;因此,景观病理学能够帮助判别不同栽培品种在同一景观区域内的适应性,尤其是在气候条件一致以及土壤条件基本一致的情况下。     

一个罕见的屈指畸形家系的遗传学调查

报告一个罕见的常染色体显性遗传病家系的遗传学调查情况,该家系患者主要表现为第Ⅱ、Ⅲ、Ⅳ、Ⅴ指近节指间关节先天性屈曲畸形,功能障碍,部分患者伴有先天性高度近视。 Genetical Investigation on a Rare Genealogy of Congenital Camptodactyly XIA Feng1,CAO Yong-jun1,HONG Zhong-yuan2,LI Mei-ying1,DING Shao-qing1 1.Department of Neurology,Maanshan Municipal People's Hospital of Medical College of Southeast University,Maanshan 243000,China; 2.Life Science College of Chinese Science and Technology University,Hefei 230022,China Abstract:Introduced a rare genealogy of autosomal dominant inheritance disease,which cardinal signs were congenital camptodactyly and functional disturbance of the proximal interphalangeal joints of the Ⅱ,Ⅲ,Ⅳ,Ⅴ fingers.Part cases had congenital high myopia. Key words：congenital camptodactyly; inherited disease     

模式动物斑马鱼在神经系统疾病研究中的应用

近年来,斑马鱼作为一种新型模式动物被广泛地应用于发育学、遗传学、行为学和分子生物学等研究领域。其具有繁殖能力强、发育迅速且同步、体外受精和幼体透明等生物学和形态学特点,经广泛培养和筛选突变品种,目前斑马鱼品系资源丰富。与其他非脊椎模式动物相比,它与人类有更高的同源性。本文主要介绍斑马鱼作为一种理想的模式动物,结合其特殊的行为学检测手段和分子生物学特点,在研究神经系统疾病的发病机制、构建疾病模型和相应药物筛选等方面的应用。     

Epizootiology of blood parasites in an Australian lizard: a mark-recapture study of a natural population

The dynamics of a naturally endemic blood parasite (Hepatozoon hinuliae) were studied in a lizard (Eulamprus quoyii) host population, using 2 years of longitudinal data. We investigated how parasite abundance in the population varied over time, examined whether certain host sub-populations were more prone to infection, and compared parasite loads in relation to host reproductive behaviour. We recorded blood parasite infections of 331 individuals, obtained in 593 captures. Prevalence (the proportion of the host population infected) of blood parasites was high; approximately 66% of the lizard population was infected. Probability of infection increased with host age and size, but did not differ between the sexes. Within individuals, parasite load (the intensity of infection within individuals) did not vary over time, and was independent of host reproductive behaviour. Parasite load was significantly higher in males compared to females.     

Pulmonary vascular disease in a rabbit a high altitude

A male weanling rabbit of the New Zealand White strain, born and living at an altitude of 3800 m in La Paz, Bolivia, developed right ventricular hypertrophy. This was found to be associated with growth of vascular smooth muscle cells in the intima of pulmonary arterioles, and contrasted with muscularization of the walls of pulmonary arterioles, without extension into the intima, found in a healthy, high-altitude control rabbit of the same strain. A low-altitude control showed no such muscularization. It is concluded that alveolar hypoxia, acting directly or through an intermediate agent, is a growth factor for vascular smooth muscle cells in pulmonary arterioles. This is the first report of pulmonary vascular disease due to high altitude in rabbits.     

Seasonal variation in Plasmodium prevalence in a population of blue tits Cyanistes caeruleus

1. Seasonal variation in environmental conditions is ubiquitous and can affect the spread of infectious diseases. Understanding seasonal patterns of disease incidence can help to identify mechanisms, such as the demography of hosts and vectors, which influence parasite transmission dynamics. 2. We examined seasonal variation in Plasmodium infection in a blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus population over 3 years using sensitive molecular diagnostic techniques, in light of Beaudoin et al.'s (1971; Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 7, 5-13) model of seasonal variation in avian malaria prevalence in temperate areas. This model predicts a within-year bimodal pattern of spring and autumn peaks with a winter absence of infection. 3. Avian malaria infections were mostly Plasmodium (24.4%) with occasional Haemoproteus infections (0.8%). Statistical nonlinear smoothing techniques applied to longitudinal presence/absence data revealed marked temporal variation in Plasmodium prevalence, which apparently showed a within-year bimodal pattern similar to Beaudoin et al.'s model. However, of the two Plasmodium morphospecies accounting for most infections, only the seasonal pattern of Plasmodium circumflexum supported Beaudoin et al.'s model. On closer examination there was also considerable age structure in infection: Beaudoin et al.'s seasonal pattern was observed only in first year and not older birds. Plasmodium relictum prevalence was less seasonally variable. 4. For these two Plasmodium morphospecies, we reject Beaudoin et al.'s model as it does not survive closer scrutiny of the complexities of seasonal variation among Plasmodium morphospecies and host age classes. Studies of host-parasite interactions should consider seasonal variation whenever possible. We discuss the ecological and evolutionary implications of seasonal variation in disease prevalence.     

Borrelia burgdorferi possesses a collagenolytic activity

Abstract Lyme disease is a multisystemic disorder caused by Borrelia burgdorferi , an invasive spirochete. B. burgdorferi has a predilection for collagenous tissue and one major clinical manifestation of the disease is arthritis. We have identified a collagenolytic activity in B. burgdorferi detergent lysates using iodinated gelatin as well as iodinated pepsinized human collagen types II and IV as protein substrates. In addition, we describe several proteolytic activities in B. burgdorferi with molecular masses greater than 200 kDa on sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gels containing copolymerized gelatin. We propose that the collagenolytic activity of B. burgdorferi has a role in invasion, in the pathogenesis of Lyme arthritis, and perhaps also in other manifestations of Lyme borreliosis.     

Diseases of American lobsters (Homarus americanus): a review

The American lobster fishery is a significant economic driver in coastal communities of North America. Increasingly, the impacts of infectious disease are recognized as important components and factors in the population ecology and subsequent management of the lobster fishery. Both environmental and anthropogenic factors impact marine diseases. The review herein highlights aspects of several important bacterial, fungal and protistan diseases, including gaffkemia, shell disease, vibriosis, disease caused by species of Lagenidium, Haliphthoros and Fusarium, paramoebiasis and Bumper Car disease. As the global environment continues to change, these diseases could more severely affect both wild caught and impounded lobsters.     

Vibrio harveyi: a significant pathogen of marine vertebrates and invertebrates

Vibrio harveyi, which now includes Vibrio carchariae as a junior synonym, is a serious pathogen of marine fish and invertebrates, particularly penaeid shrimp. In fish, the diseases include vasculitis, gastro-enteritis and eye lesions. With shrimp, the pathogen is associated with luminous vibriosis and Bolitas negricans. Yet, the pathogenicity mechanisms are imprecisely understood, with likely mechanisms involving the ability to attach and form biofilms, quorum sensing, various extracellular products including proteases and haemolysins, lipopolysaccharide, and interaction with bacteriophage and bacteriocin-like substances.