The purpose of this study was to investigate the early alterations of retinal function, assessed with electrophysiology, in newly onset type 2 diabetes patients without vascular retinopathy. Seventeen patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes (duration 7 ± 3 months), without any vascular retinopathy in fundus photographs, were examined with full-field electroretinogram (ERG) and multifocal ERG

The use of a rigid disc as a barrier between the wound bed and the wound filler during negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) has been suggested to prevent damage to exposed organs. However, it is important to determine that the effects of NPWT, such as wound contraction and fluid removal, are maintained during treatment despite the use of a barrier. This study was performed to examine the effect

Gene therapy using recombinant adeno-associated viral vectors overexpressing neuropeptide Y in the hippocampus exerts seizure-suppressant effects in rodent epilepsy models and is currently considered for clinical application in patients with intractable mesial temporal lobe epilepsy. Seizure suppression by neuropeptide Y in the hippocampus is predominantly mediated by Y2 receptors, which, together

Purpose. To assess if 3T MRI can be further improved by adding surface coil imaging, in the context of detection and characterization of cerebral lesions in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy. Methods. Twenty five patients with drug-resistant epilepsy undergoing evaluation for epilepsy surgery were examined with high resolution 3T MRI. The patients were MRI-negative (n = 15), or had unclear fin

Abstract PURPOSE: Low-grade fibromyxoid sarcoma (LGFMS) is typically characterized by the specific translocation t(7;16)(q33;p11) and the corresponding fusion gene FUS-CREB3L2. The present study aimed to extract LGFMS-specific, and putatively FUS-CREB3L2-dependent, gene expression patterns to learn more about the pathogenesis of this tumor. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We carried out single nucleotide po

The tubules of the kidney display a remarkable capacity for self-renewal on damage. Whether this regeneration is mediated by dedifferentiating surviving cells or, as recently suggested, by stem cells has not been unequivocally settled. Herein, we demonstrate that aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity may be used for isolation of cells with progenitor characteristics from adult human renal cortica

There seems to be a double track in the relationship to the other. On the one hand, there is dialogue—an attitude of seeing the other as she is. On the other hand, we all seem to have some kind of worldview implying that My Way is the Best Way, at least in a certain respect—there seem to be certain points where I would like other people to see things in the same way as I do. I argue that these two

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Although recent studies propose that epigenetic factors influence insulin expression, the regulation of the insulin gene in type 2 diabetic islets is still not fully understood. Here, we examined DNA methylation of the insulin gene promoter in pancreatic islets from patients with type 2 diabetes and non-diabetic human donors and related it to insulin expression, HbA(1c) levels, BM

INTRODUCTION: Critical limb ischemia (CLI) is a severe peripheral arterial disease, characterized by rest pain, ulcers and gangrene in the legs. Gas6 is a vitamin K-dependent protein, which binds and activates the tyrosine kinase receptor Axl. Gas6-mediated Axl-signaling influences endothelial activation, neointima formation and immune regulation. Axl can be cleaved and soluble Axl (sAxl) is detec

The associations between depressive symptoms and deliberate self-harm were studied by means of a 2-wave longitudinal design in a community sample of 1052 young adolescents, with longitudinal data for 83.6% of the sample. Evidence was found for a bidirectional relationship in girls, with depressive symptoms being a risk factor for increased self-harm one year later and self-harm a risk factor for i

Abstract Purpose: To evaluate the midterm outcomes and potential risk factors associated with the fascia suture technique (FST) for closure of femoral artery access sites after percutaneous endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR). Methods: Between April 2007 and April 2008, 100 consecutive EVAR cases were evaluated retrospectively. A third of the procedures were emergent (16 ruptured aneurysms). Of th

AIMS: To describe the mortality and causes of death among subjects with alcohol use disorder in comparison with those without alcohol disorder and to study whether mental disorders increase mortality in alcoholics. DESIGN AND SETTING: Data were analysed from the database of the Lundby Study, comprising 3563 subjects followed from 1947 to 1997. METHOD: A community-based sample was investigated in 1

BACKGROUND: It has been hypothesized that resuscitation with crystalloids after brain trauma increases brain edema compared with colloids, but previous studies on the subject have been inconclusive. To test this hypothesis, the authors compared groups resuscitated with either colloid or crystalloid. METHODS: After fluid percussion injury, rats were subjected to a controlled hemorrhage of 20 ml/kg

One interestingway of measuring sorption isotherms and heats of sorption is the newly developed micro-calorimetric method. It turns out, however, that the adsorption kinetics must be proven to be rapid enough to fulfill the assumptions behind the theory for the determination of the isotherm to be valid. Here, the lower limit of the accepted rate of adsorption will be analyzed by making calculation

BACKGROUNDThe sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA) is a valuable tool for prediction of fertility in vivo, with DNA fragmentation index (DFI) of 30% as a clinically useful cut-off level. Previous studies on fertile men have shown a high level of repeatability, with an intra-individual variability in DFI of ∼10%. However, conflicting data on how much the DFI fluctuates within individuals exist. T