Upper extremity lymphatic function at rest and during exercise in breast cancer survivors with and without lymphedema compared with healthy controls.

Lymphoscintigraphy was used to measure lymphatic function at rest and during exercise in breast cancer survivors with lymphedema (BCRL, n = 10), breast cancer survivors (BC, n = 10), and controls (Cont, n = 10). After injection of (99m)Tc-antimony colloid to the hands, subjects rested or performed 12 repeated sets of arm cranking for 2.5 min at 0.6 W/kg followed by 2.5 min of rest. One-minute spot views were taken with a gamma-radiation camera immediately postinjection and every 10 min over 60 min to calculate clearance rate. As well, an upper body scan was taken at 65 min postinjection to measure radiopharmaceutical uptake in the axilla (Ax) and forearm (Fore). All groups displayed similar increases in clearance rate with exercise (P = 0.000). Ax significantly increased with exercise in Cont only [Cont: (mean +/- SD) 4.9 +/- 2.6 vs. 7.9 +/- 4.2%, P = 0.000; BCRL: 1.4 +/- 1.2 vs. 1.7 +/- 2.1%, P = 0.531; BC: 3.9 +/- 3.4 vs. 5.2 +/- 3.2%, P = 0.130], whereas Fore, indicating dermal backflow, significantly increased in BCRL only (BCRL: 2.4 +/- 0.87 vs. 4.4 +/- 2.0%, P = 0.004; BC: 1.1 +/- 0.25 vs. 1.1 +/- 0.31%, P = 0.784; Cont: 0.93 +/- 0.26 vs. 1.0 +/- 0.20%, P = 0.296). The results indicate that, in women with BCRL, exercise causes radiopharmaceuticals to clear from the hand at the same rate as BC and Cont, but, instead of reaching the axilla, a greater amount of activity gets trapped in the dermis of the forearm. BC, meanwhile, have similar lymphatic function as Cont; however, there is a highly variable response that may suggest that some BC subjects may be at risk for developing lymphedema.     

Advantages of larval control for African malaria vectors: Low mobility and behavioural responsiveness of immature mosquito stages allow high effective coverage

Background  

Based on sensitivity analysis of the MacDonald-Ross model, it has long been argued that the best way to reduce malaria transmission is to target adult female mosquitoes with insecticides that can reduce the longevity and human-feeding frequency of vectors. However, these analyses have ignored a fundamental biological difference between mosquito adults and the immature stages that precede them: adults are highly mobile flying insects that can readily detect and avoid many intervention measures whereas mosquito eggs, larvae and pupae are confined within relatively small aquatic habitats and cannot readily escape control measures.     

N-myc downstream-regulated gene 1 is mutated in hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy-Lom

Hereditary motor and sensory neuropathies, to which Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease belongs, are a common cause of disability in adulthood. Growing awareness that axonal loss, rather than demyelination per se, is responsible for the neurological deficit in demyelinating CMT disease has focused research on the mechanisms of early development, cell differentiation, and cell-cell interactions in the peripheral nervous system. Autosomal recessive peripheral neuropathies are relatively rare but are clinically more severe than autosomal dominant forms of CMT, and understanding their molecular basis may provide a new perspective on these mechanisms. Here we report the identification of the gene responsible for hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy-Lom (HMSNL). HMSNL shows features of Schwann-cell dysfunction and a concomitant early axonal involvement, suggesting that impaired axon-glia interactions play a major role in its pathogenesis. The gene was previously mapped to 8q24.3, where conserved disease haplotypes suggested genetic homogeneity and a single founder mutation. We have reduced the HMSNL interval to 200 kb and have characterized it by means of large-scale genomic sequencing. Sequence analysis of two genes located in the critical region identified the founder HMSNL mutation: a premature-termination codon at position 148 of the N-myc downstream-regulated gene 1 (NDRG1). NDRG1 is ubiquitously expressed and has been proposed to play a role in growth arrest and cell differentiation, possibly as a signaling protein shuttling between the cytoplasm and the nucleus. We have studied expression in peripheral nerve and have detected particularly high levels in the Schwann cell. Taken together, these findings point to NDRG1 having a role in the peripheral nervous system, possibly in the Schwann-cell signaling necessary for axonal survival.     

Comparative performance of the Mbita trap, CDC light trap and the human landing catch in the sampling of Anopheles arabiensis, An. funestus and culicine species in a rice irrigation in western Kenya

Background

IL-1β and IL-1RA levels are higher in the serum of cerebral malaria patients than in patients with mild malaria. Recently, the level of IL1B expression was reported to be influenced by a polymorphism in the promoter of IL1, IL1B -31C>T.

Methods

To examine whether polymorphisms in IL1B and IL1RA influence the susceptibility to cerebral malaria, IL1B -31C>T, IL1B 3953C>T, and IL1RA variable number of tandem repeat (VNTR) were analysed in 312 Thai patients with malaria (109 cerebral malaria and 203 mild malaria patients).

Results

In this population, IL1B -31C>T and IL1RA VNTRwere detected, while IL1B 3953C>T (i.e., IL1B 3953T) was not observed in the polymorphism screening for 32 patients. Further analyses for IL1B -31C>T and IL1RA VNTR in 110 cerebral malaria and 206 mild malaria patients showed no significant association of these polymorphisms with cerebral malaria.

Conclusion

The present results suggest that IL1B -31C>T and IL1RA VNTR polymorphisms do not play a crucial role in susceptibility or resistance to cerebral malaria.