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Detection of autoantibodies against neurons and glia cells has brought about the early and specific diagnosis of autoimmune encephalitis in patients with variable neurological and psychiatric symptoms. Growing knowledge not only resulted in profound changes in treatment algorithms including immunotherapy but also in the understanding of disease mechanisms and etiological factors. The still increasing numbers of new autoantibodies calls for continuous updates on the state of the art in antibody diagnostics, frequencies of associated tumors and the clinical spectrum linked to each antibody, which can range from mood changes, cognitive impairment and epileptic seizures to abnormal movements, autonomic dysfunction and impaired levels of consciousness. This article summarizes the recent developments in the predominant clinical presentations of autoimmune encephalitis patients in imaging and cerebrospinal fluid diagnostics and also in prognostic markers, in the establishment of innovative immunotherapies, in the use of diagnostic pathways even before the results of the antibody tests are available and the understanding of the autoimmune etiology.

BACKGROUND: Instrumental motion analysis constitutes a promising development in the assessment of motor function in clinical populations affected by movement disorders. To foster implementation and facilitate interpretation of respective outcomes, we aimed to establish normative data of healthy subjects for a markerless RGB-Depth camera-based motion analysis system and to illustrate their use. METHODS: We recorded 133 healthy adults (56% female) aged 20 to 60 years with an RGB-Depth camera-based motion analysis system. Forty-three spatiotemporal parameters were extracted from six short, standardized motor tasks—including three gait tasks, stepping in place, standing-up and sitting down, and a postural control task. Associations with confounding factors, height, weight, age, and sex were modelled using a predictive linear regression approach. A z-score normalization approach was provided to improve usability of the data. RESULTS: We reported descriptive statistics for each spatiotemporal parameter (mean, standard deviation, coefficient of variation, quartiles). Robust confounding associations emerged for step length and step width in comfortable speed gait only. Accessible normative data usage was lastly exemplified with recordings from one randomly selected individual with multiple sclerosis. CONCLUSION: We provided normative data for an RGB depth camera-based motion analysis system covering broad aspects of motor capacity.

Objective: To examine whether treatment with epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) influences progression of brain atrophy, reduces clinical and further radiologic disease activity markers, and is safe in patients with progressive multiple sclerosis (PMS). Methods: We enrolled 61 patients with primary or secondary PMS in a randomized double-blind, parallel-group, phase II trial on oral EGCG (up to 1,200 mg daily) or placebo for 36 months with an optional open-label EGCG treatment extension (OE) of 12-month duration. The primary end point was the rate of brain atrophy, quantified as brain parenchymal fraction (BPF). The secondary end points were radiologic and clinical disease parameters and safety assessments. Results: In our cohort, 30 patients were randomized to EGCG treatment and 31 to placebo. Thirty-eight patients (19 from each group) completed the study. The primary endpoint was not met, as in 36 months the rate of decrease in BPF was 0.0092 +/- 0.0152 in the treatment group and -0.0078 +/- 0.0159 in placebo-treated patients. None of the secondary MRI and clinical end points revealed group differences. Adverse events of EGCG were mostly mild and occurred with a similar incidence in the placebo group. One patient in the EGCG group had to stop treatment due to elevated aminotransferases (>3.5 times above normal limit). Conclusions: In a phase II trial including patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) with progressive disease course, we were unable to demonstrate a treatment effect of EGCG on the primary and secondary radiologic and clinical disease parameters while confirming on overall beneficial safety profile. Clinicaltrial.gov Identifier NCT00799890. Classification of Evidence This phase II trial provides Class II evidence that for patients with PMS, EGCG was safe, well tolerated, and did not significantly reduce the rate of brain atrophy.

The article discusses the reinvention of marketing departments in order to focus on building long-term customer relationships. The strategy gives customer relationship management a priority over building brands. The reorganization of a marketing department into a 'customer department' which oversees research and development, market research, and customer service is discussed. The organizational transformation leads to customer profitability which can be measured in terms of customer lifetime value and equity. The service oriented Insurance Process Acceleration Framework used by International Business Machines Corp. is mentioned. INSETS: Idea in Brief;What Makes a Customer Manager?.

The identification and removal of persistently infected (PI) animals from a production system is a key component to controlling BVD. In order to achieve this, a reliable method of testing for PI animals must be used. Ear notching is a common and easy way to obtain diagnostic samples in a relatively non-invasive manner. Previously these tissue samples were examined by immunohistochemistry for the presence of the BVD virus in the epithelium. Recently, advancements have been made that allows the testing of a phosphate buffered saline ear notch extract by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). This technique of detecting BVD infected animals is much more rapid than the conventional IHC testing. Additionally, ELISA testing methods do not require the level of specialized equipment or number of personnel that other methods such as ear-notch immunohistochemistry or polymerase chain reaction require, and readily adapt themselves to automation., American Association of Bovine Practitioners Proceedings of the Annual Conference, 2007

Fifty mixed-breed, 790 lb (359 kg) preconditioned bulls were utilized to examine the effect of different castration methods on animal performance and behavior response. Cattle were blocked by weight and randomly assigned to one of five treatments: non-castrated control (CNT); castrated using high-tension rubber bands (BND); castrated using high-tension rubber bands with lidocaine local anesthesia (BNDL); castrated surgically (SURG); and castrated surgically with lidocaine local anesthesia (SURGL). Cattle were fed individually for 28 days post-castration. Castrated cattle tended to have lower dry matter intake (DMI) than CNT cattle throughout the study (P=0.12). BND/BNDL cattle had higher DMI than SURG/SURGL cattle during the first week post-castration (P=0.04), however, SURG/SURGL cattle had higher DMI than BND/BNDL cattle during the last week of the study (P=0.05). Castrated cattle had lower average daily gain (ADG; P, The Bovine Practitioner, Vol. 41, No. 2 (2007 Summer)

Fifty mixed-breed, preconditioned bulls (791 +/- 77 lb; 359.5 +/- 35.0 kg) were utilized to examine the effects of different castration methods on animal performance., American Association of Bovine Practitioners Proceedings of the Annual Conference, 2006

Anaplastic large cell lymphomas (ALCLs) can be subdivided into two subgroups on the basis of their expression of the ALK protein. ALK protein expression leads to activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 3, which is more commonly expressed in ALK-positive than in ALK-negative tumours. Activated STAT3 leads to the induction of several genes such as Mcl-1, Bcl-2 and Bcl-X-L, and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-1. In this study, we analysed TIMP-1 expression in five ALCL cell lines and 11 tumours by quantitative RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. We identified high-level TIMP-1 expression by RT-PCR in three ALK-positive ALCL-derived cell lines and in all ALK-positive ALCLs, whereas ALK-negative ALCLs generally demonstrated a lower level of TIMP-1 expression. Concordant with these results, we observed TIMP-1 immunostaining in all ALK-positive ALCLs and in only two of six ALK-negative ALCLs. No relationship was observed between the levels of ALK and TIMP-1 expression in the ALK-positive tumours. STAT3 expression levels were similar in all ALCL samples. Double staining with either CD30 or CD68 demonstrated that TIMP-1 expression was restricted to macrophages in the majority of TIMP-1-positive tumours. Expression of the TIMP-1 substrate MMP-2 was more prominent in ALK-negative tumours, while MMP-9 levels were low in all cases. Expression levels of IL-6 and TGF-beta 1, which are cytokines known to induce TIMP-1 were higher in ALK-negative ALCLs and moderate in ALK-positive tumours. No clear relationship was observed between IL-10 expression and ALK positivity. Overall, no correlation was seen in ALCLs between the expression of TIMP-1 and that of cytokines that induce TIMP-1. Lack of TIMP-I expression in the tumour cells of ALK-positive ALCLs argues against a direct role for ALK-induced activation of STAT3 in the regulation of TIMP-1 expression in ALCL. Copyright (c) 2005 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.