Articles: human.
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BACKGROUND Little is known about adult-onset opsoclonus-myoclonus syndrome (OMS) outside of individual case reports. OBJECTIVE To describe adult-onset OMS. DESIGN Review of medical records (January 1, 1990, through December 31, 2011), prospective telephone surveillance, and literature review (January 1, 1967, through December 31, 2011). ⋯ CONCLUSIONS Adult-onset OMS is rare. Paraneoplastic and parainfectious causes (particularly human immunodeficiency virus) should be considered. Complete remission achieved with immunotherapy is the most common outcome.
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Expert Rev Endocrinol Metab · Nov 2012
Research and development in the molecular genetics of pituitary adenomas and related tumors.
Interview by Rona Williamson Constantine A Stratakis received his MD and Doctor of Medical Sciences degrees from the University of Athens (Greece) in 1989 and 1994, respectively; he did predoctoral work at the Unit of Endocrinology, Department of Experimental Pharmacology of the same University and at Hospital Cochin (Paris, France), before joining the Developmental Endocrinology Branch of the then National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD) at the NIH (MD, USA). He continued his postgraduate medical education at Georgetown University Medical School (DC, USA), where he finished a residency in Pediatrics and two fellowships, in Pediatric Endocrinology, followed by Medical Genetics and Clinical Dysmorphology (in a joint program with the then newly founded National Center for Genomic Research, now NHGRI). Dr Stratakis is Board-certified in Pediatrics, Pediatric Endocrinology and Medical Genetics; after a brief stint as faculty at Georgetown University Department of Pediatrics and the Fairfax Children's Hospital, he joined the Developmental Endocrinology Branch, NICHD, NIH as a Unit Chief in 1996; he continued there as a Senior Investigator and Chief of the Section on Genetics & Endocrinology. ⋯ Dr Stratakis has been the recipient of the 1999 Pharmacia-Endocrine Society Award for Excellence in Published Clinical Research, three NIH Merit Awards and other honors, and has been named Visiting Professor in academic centers around the world. He was awarded the 2009 Ernst Oppenheimer Award of the Endocrine Society. Dr Stratakis has been the Scientific Director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development since 2011.
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Papp et al. (N Engl J Med 2012; 366: 1181-9) and Leonardi et al. (N Engl J Med 2012; 366: 1190-9) respectively assessed the efficacy and safety of brodalumab (AMG 827), a human monoclonal antibody directed against interleukin (IL)-17RA, the receptor of IL-17A and ixekizumab (LY2439821), a humanized anti-IL-17 monoclonal antibody for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. ⋯ Papp et al. and Leonardi et al. concluded that brodalumab and ixekizumab, respectively, significantly improved plaque psoriasis in 12-week, phase II studies. For difficult-to-treat areas such as the scalp and nails, significant differences from placebo were observed with ixekizumab treatment. These trials were not large enough or of long enough duration to ascertain uncommon adverse events or to assess the risk of infection or cardiovascular events.
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Traumatic brain injuries and their associated treatments carry high cost in both financial impact and morbidity to human life. Recent studies and trials present promising results in reducing secondary injury in the days and weeks following the primary insult. A number of studies, both pre-clinical and clinical, have found that different populations of stem/progenitor cells result in a reduction of inflammation, maintenance of the blood brain barrier, and an overall improved prognosis. ⋯ The spleen has become an area of intense interest as an arena where therapeutic cells interact with reactive macrophages to cause system-level changes in immune activity. Additionally, the spleen enacts anti-inflammatory responses originating in the CNS, delivered through vagal activity with a recently described mechanism culminating in acetylcholine release. This review provides a summary of recent findings as to the mechanisms of action observed in current cellular therapies.