Medicine
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Observational Study
Association between BDNF Val66Met polymorphism and generalized anxiety disorder and clinical characteristics in a Mexican population: A case-control study.
The aim of the present case-control study was to explore the association between BDNF Val66Met (rs6265) polymorphism and generalized anxiety disorder in Mexican individuals, and whether this polymorphism plays a role in the symptomatology of anxiety. A total of 212 subjects were included in the study. Around 75 patients with generalized anxiety disorder were diagnosed by psychiatrists based on the DSM-IV instrument and 137 unrelated subjects psychiatrically healthy were used as comparison group. ⋯ The present study showed that carrying the Met allele confers increased risk for the presence of generalized anxiety disorder (χ = 4.7, P = .03; OR (95%) 1.96 (1.05-3.56)) when patients with generalized anxiety disorder were compared with the comparison group. Our results provide evidence of an association between the Val66Met polymorphism of the BDNF gene and generalized anxiety disorder in a Mexican population. However, no association was observed between this polymorphism and the symptomatology of anxiety.
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Case Reports
Bacterial meningitis and cauda equina syndrome after trans-sacral epiduroscopic laser decompression: A case report.
Trans-sacral epiduroscopic laser decompression (SELD) is a noninvasive pain-relieving procedure for treatment of herniated lumbar disc (HLD), and is known to have positive effects in alleviating lower back pain or radicular leg pain after HLD. However, little is known about the possible complications of SELD. ⋯ In this study, we described a patient who had bacterial meningitis after SELD. During SELD, clinicians should keep in mind the possibility of infection.
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Patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) are at increased risk of developing colitis-associated colon cancer. Accumulating evidence suggests that follicular T helper (TFH) cells play a crucial role in the pathogenic process of autoimmune diseases. However, little is known about the role of TFH cells in the development of UC. ⋯ Moreover, aberrant frequencies of different subsets of B cells were observed in UC patients, and a positive correlation was found between CD38CD19 B cells and TFH cells and between CD86CD19 B cells and TFH cells. A high number of TFH cells were positively associated with Mayo score, serum C-reaction protein (CRP) and serum IgG in UC patients. Our data indicate that TFH cells and IL-21 are involved in the pathogenesis of UC.