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Background Etiological diagnosis is an important part of the diagnosis and treatment of acute pancreatitis. Hantavirus infection is a rare cause of acute pancreatitis, which is easy to ignore. There is a need to analyze clinical features of acute pancreatitis caused by Hantavirus. Methods This is a retrospective study conducted from May 1, 2006 to May 31, 2012 on patients diagnosed with hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome at our hospital. We reviewed these patients medical records, laboratory results and radiologic examinations to determine the prevalence and summarize clinical features of acute pancreatitis in patients with hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. Results A total of 218 patients were diagnosed with hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome during the 6-year study period. Only 2.8% (6/218) of the total hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome patients were diagnosed with acute pancreatitis. The first symptom for all six of the patients with acute pancreatitis was fever. All six patients experienced hemorrhage and thrombocytopenia during the disease course, which was different from general acute pancreatitis. In addition, we presented two misdiagnosed clinical cases. Conclusions Acute pancreatitis is not a frequent complication in patients with hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. Clinicians should be alerted to the possibility of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome when acute pancreatitis patients with epidemiological data have high fever before abdominal pain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The differential diagnosis for hereditary ataxia encompasses a variety of diseases characterized by both autosomal dominant and recessive inheritance. There are no curative treatments available for these neurodegenerative conditions. This open label treatment study used human umbilical cord blood-derived mononuclear cells (CBMC) combined with rehabilitation training as potential disease modulators.Methods: 30 patients suffering from hereditary ataxia were treated with CBMCs administered systemically by intravenous infusion and intrathecally by either cervical or lumbar puncture. Primary endpoint measures were the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), serum markers of immunoglobulin and T-cell subsets, measured at baseline and pre-determined times post-treatment.Results: A reduction of pathological symptoms and signs was shown following treatment. The BBS scores, IgG, IgA, total T cells and CD3+CD4 T cells all improved significantly compared to pre-treatment values (P < 0.01~0.001). There were no adverse events.Conclusion: The combination of CBMC infusion and rehabilitation training may be a safe and effective treatment for ataxia, which dramatically improves patients' functional symptoms. These data support expanded double blind, placebo-controlled studies for these treatment modalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Etiological diagnosis is an important part of the diagnosis and treatment of acute pancreatitis. Hantavirus infection is a rare cause of acute pancreatitis, which is easy to ignore. There is a need to analyze clinical features of acute pancreatitis caused by Hantavirus.Methods: This is a retrospective study conducted from May 1, 2006 to May 31, 2012 on patients diagnosed with hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome at our hospital. We reviewed these patients medical records, laboratory results and radiologic examinations to determine the prevalence and summarize clinical features of acute pancreatitis in patients with hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome.Results: A total of 218 patients were diagnosed with hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome during the 6-year study period. Only 2.8% (6/218) of the total hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome patients were diagnosed with acute pancreatitis. The first symptom for all six of the patients with acute pancreatitis was fever. All six patients experienced hemorrhage and thrombocytopenia during the disease course, which was different from general acute pancreatitis. In addition, we presented two misdiagnosed clinical cases.Conclusions: Acute pancreatitis is not a frequent complication in patients with hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. Clinicians should be alerted to the possibility of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome when acute pancreatitis patients with epidemiological data have high fever before abdominal pain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Very little is known about manganese (Mn)-toxicity-responsive genes in citrus plants. Seedlings of 'Xuegan' (Citrus sinensis) and 'Sour pummelo' (Citrus grandis) were irrigated for 17 weeks with nutrient solution containing 2 μM (control) or 600 μM (Mn-toxicity) MnSO₄. The objectives of this study were to understand the mechanisms of citrus Mn-tolerance and to identify differentially expressed genes, which might be involved in Mn-tolerance., Results: Under Mn-toxicity, the majority of Mn in seedlings was retained in the roots; C. sinensis seedlings accumulated more Mn in roots and less Mn in shoots (leaves) than C. grandis ones and Mn concentration was lower in Mn-toxicity C. sinensis leaves compared to Mn-toxicity C. grandis ones. Mn-toxicity affected C. grandis seedling growth, leaf CO₂ assimilation, total soluble concentration, phosphorus (P) and magenisum (Mg) more than C. sinensis. Using cDNA-AFLP, we isolated 42 up-regulated and 80 down-regulated genes in Mn-toxicity C. grandis leaves. They were grouped into the following functional categories: biological regulation and signal transduction, carbohydrate and energy metabolism, nucleic acid metabolism, protein metabolism, lipid metabolism, cell wall metabolism, stress responses and cell transport. However, only 7 up-regulated and 8 down-regulated genes were identified in Mn-toxicity C. sinensis ones. The responses of C. grandis leaves to Mn-toxicity might include following several aspects: (1) accelerating leaf senescence; (2) activating the metabolic pathway related to ATPase synthesis and reducing power production; (3) decreasing cell transport; (4) inhibiting protein and nucleic acid metabolisms; (5) impairing the formation of cell wall; and (6) triggering multiple signal transduction pathways. We also identified many new Mn-toxicity-responsive genes involved in biological and signal transduction, carbohydrate and protein metabolisms, stress responses and cell transport., Conclusions: Our results demonstrated that C. sinensis was more tolerant to Mn-toxicity than C. grandis, and that Mn-toxicity affected gene expression far less in C. sinensis leaves. This might be associated with more Mn accumulation in roots and less Mn accumulation in leaves of Mn-toxicity C. sinensis seedlings than those of C. grandis seedlings. Our findings increase our understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in the responses of plants to Mn-toxicity.

Background: The differential diagnosis for hereditary ataxia encompasses a variety of diseases characterized by both autosomal dominant and recessive inheritance. There are no curative treatments available for these neurodegenerative conditions. This open label treatment study used human umbilical cord blood-derived mononuclear cells (CBMC) combined with rehabilitation training as potential disease modulators., Methods: 30 patients suffering from hereditary ataxia were treated with CBMCs administered systemically by intravenous infusion and intrathecally by either cervical or lumbar puncture. Primary endpoint measures were the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), serum markers of immunoglobulin and T-cell subsets, measured at baseline and pre-determined times post-treatment., Results: A reduction of pathological symptoms and signs was shown following treatment. The BBS scores, IgG, IgA, total T cells and CD3+CD4 T cells all improved significantly compared to pre-treatment values (P < 0.01~0.001). There were no adverse events., Conclusion: The combination of CBMC infusion and rehabilitation training may be a safe and effective treatment for ataxia, which dramatically improves patients' functional symptoms. These data support expanded double blind, placebo-controlled studies for these treatment modalities.