Vancouver General Hospital

About: Vancouver General Hospital is a healthcare organization based out in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Prostate cancer. The organization has 3056 authors who have published 3644 publications receiving 118409 citations.

International standards for neurological classification of spinal cord injury (Revised 2011)

Abstract: This article represents the content of the booklet, International Standards for Neurological Classification of Spinal Cord Injury, revised 2011, published by the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA). For further explanation of the clarifications and changes in this revision, see the accompanying article (Kirshblum S., et al. J Spinal Cord Med. 2011:doi 10.1179/107902611X13186000420242 The spinal cord is the major conduit through which motor and sensory information travels between the brain and body. The spinal cord contains longitudinally oriented spinal tracts (white matter) surrounding central areas (gray matter) where most spinal neuronal cell bodies are located. The gray matter is organized into segments comprising sensory and motor neurons. Axons from spinal sensory neurons enter and axons from motor neurons leave the spinal cord via segmental nerves or roots. In the cervical spine, there are 8 nerve roots. Cervical roots of C1-C7 are named according to the vertebra above which they exit (i.e. C1 exits above the C1 vertebra, just below the skull and C6 nerve roots pass between the C5 and C6 vertebrae) whereas C8 exists between the C7 and T1 vertebra; as there is no C8 vertebra. The C1 nerve root does not have a sensory component that is tested on the International Standards Examination. The thoracic spine has 12 distinct nerve roots and the lumbar spine consists of 5 distinct nerve roots that are each named accordingly as they exit below the level of the respective vertebrae. The sacrum consists of 5 embryonic sections that have fused into one bony structure with 5 distinct nerve roots that exit via the sacral foramina. The spinal cord itself ends at approximately the L1-2 vertebral level. The distal most part of the spinal cord is called the conus medullaris. The cauda equina is a cluster of paired (right and left) lumbosacral nerve roots that originate in the region of the conus medullaris and travel down through the thecal sac and exit via the intervertebral foramen below their respective vertebral levels. There may be 0, 1, or 2 coccygeal nerves but they do not have a role with the International Standards examination in accordance with the International Standards for Neurological Classification of Spinal Cord Injury (ISNCSCI). Each root receives sensory information from skin areas called dermatomes. Similarly each root innervates a group of muscles called a myotome. While a dermatome usually represents a discrete and contiguous skin area, most roots innervate more than one muscle, and most muscles are innervated by more than one root. Spinal cord injury (SCI) affects conduction of sensory and motor signals across the site(s) of lesion(s), as well as the autonomic nervous system. By systematically examining the dermatomes and myotomes, as described within this booklet, one can determine the cord segments affected by the SCI. From the International Standards examination several measures of neurological damage are generated, e.g., Sensory and Motor Levels (on right and left sides), NLI, Sensory Scores (Pin Prick and Light Touch), Motor Scores (upper and lower limb), and ZPP. This booklet also describes the ASIA (American Spinal Injury Association) Impairment Scale (AIS) to classify the severity (i.e. completeness) of injury. This booklet begins with basic definitions of common terms used herein. The section that follows describes the recommended International Standards examination, including both sensory and motor components. Subsequent sections cover sensory and motor scores, the AIS classification, and clinical syndromes associated with SCI. For ease of reference, a worksheet (Appendix 1) of the recommended examination is included, with a summary of steps used to classify the injury (Appendix 2). A full-size version for photocopying and use in patient records has been included as an enclosure and may also be downloaded from the ASIA website (www.asia-spinalinjury.org). Additional details regarding the examination and e-Learning training materials can also be obtained from the website15.

Comprehensive genomic profiles of small cell lung cancer

Abstract: We have sequenced the genomes of 110 small cell lung cancers (SCLC), one of the deadliest human cancers. In nearly all the tumours analysed we found bi-allelic inactivation of TP53 and RB1, sometimes by complex genomic rearrangements. Two tumours with wild-type RB1 had evidence of chromothripsis leading to overexpression of cyclin D1 (encoded by the CCND1 gene), revealing an alternative mechanism of Rb1 deregulation. Thus, loss of the tumour suppressors TP53 and RB1 is obligatory in SCLC. We discovered somatic genomic rearrangements of TP73 that create an oncogenic version of this gene, TP73Δex2/3. In rare cases, SCLC tumours exhibited kinase gene mutations, providing a possible therapeutic opportunity for individual patients. Finally, we observed inactivating mutations in NOTCH family genes in 25% of human SCLC. Accordingly, activation of Notch signalling in a pre-clinical SCLC mouse model strikingly reduced the number of tumours and extended the survival of the mutant mice. Furthermore, neuroendocrine gene expression was abrogated by Notch activity in SCLC cells. This first comprehensive study of somatic genome alterations in SCLC uncovers several key biological processes and identifies candidate therapeutic targets in this highly lethal form of cancer.

Risk of cardiovascular mortality in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a meta-analysis of observational studies.

Abstract: Objective To determine the magnitude of risk of cardiovascular mortality in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) compared with the general population through a meta-analysis of observational studies. Methods We searched Medline, EMBase, and Lilacs databases from their inception to July 2005. Observational studies that met the following criteria were assessed by 2 researchers: 1) prespecified RA definition, 2) clearly defined cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcome, including ischemic heart disease (IHD) and cerebrovascular accidents (CVAs), and 3) reported standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). We calculated weighted–pooled summary estimates of SMRs (meta-SMRs) for CVD, IHD, and CVAs using the random-effects model, and tested for heterogeneity using the I2 statistic. Results Twenty-four studies met the inclusion criteria, comprising 111,758 patients with 22,927 cardiovascular events. Overall, there was a 50% increased risk of CVD death in patients with RA (meta-SMR 1.50, 95% CI 1.39–1.61). Mortality risks for IHD and CVA were increased by 59% and 52%, respectively (meta-SMR 1.59, 95% CI 1.46–1.73 and meta-SMR 1.52, 95% CI 1.40–1.67, respectively). We identified asymmetry in the funnel plot (Egger's test P = 0.002), as well as significant heterogeneity in all main analyses (P < 0.0001). Subgroup analyses showed that inception cohort studies (n = 4, comprising 2,175 RA cases) were the only group that did not show a significantly increased risk for CVD (meta-SMR 1.19, 95% CI 0.86–1.68). Conclusion Published data indicate that CVD mortality is increased by ∼50% in RA patients compared with the general population. However, we found that study characteristics may influence the estimate.

A prospective study of sleep duration and coronary heart disease in women.

Abstract: Background: Long-term sleep deprivation is common in today’s society. Recent experiments have demonstrated that short-term sleep deprivation in healthy subjects results in adverse physiologic changes, including a decreasedglucosetoleranceandanincreasedbloodpressure.However,thelong-termhealthconsequencesoflongterm sleep deprivation are unclear. The objective of this study was to determine whether decreased sleep duration (from self-reports) is associated with an increased risk of coronary events. Methods:Westudiedacohortof71617USfemalehealth professionals (aged 45-65 years), without reportedcoronary heart disease (CHD) at baseline, who were enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study. Subjects were mailed a questionnaire in 1986 asking about daily sleep duration. Subjects were followed up until June 30, 1996, for the occurrence of CHD-related events. We assessed the relationshipbetweenself-reportedsleepdurationandincident CHD. Results: A total of 934 coronary events were documented (271 fatal and 663 nonfatal) during the 10 years of follow up. Age-adjusted relative risks (95% confidenceintervals)ofCHD(with8hoursofdailysleepbeing considered the reference group) for individuals reporting 5 or fewer, 6, and 7 hours of sleep were 1.82 (1.342.41), 1.30 (1.08-1.57), and 1.06 (0.89-1.26), respectively. The relative risk (95% confidence interval) for 9 or more hours of sleep was 1.57 (1.18-2.11). After adjustingforvariouspotentialconfounders,includingsnoring, body mass index, and smoking, the relative risks of CHD (95% confidence intervals) for individuals reporting 5 or fewer, 6, and 7 hours of sleep were 1.45 (1.101.92), 1.18 (0.98-1.42), and 1.09 (0.91-1.30), respectively. The relative risk (95% confidence interval) for 9 or more hours of sleep was 1.38 (1.03-1.86).