BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:Although intracranial atherosclerotic disease is often encountered during endovascular treatment for acute vertebrobasilar occlusions, its clinical implication is not well-known. We aimed to evaluate whether intracranial atherosclerotic disease influences the clinical outcomes following endovascular treatment of acute vertebrobasilar occlusive stroke.

The observation that Toll-like receptor (TLR)2-deficient mice are highly susceptible to mycobacteria suggests that mutations altering TLR2 expression may impair host response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis. We evaluated the association between guanine-thymine (GT) repeat polymorphism in intron II of the TLR2 gene and the presence of tuberculosis (TB) in Koreans. The numbers of GT repeats were determined by PCR and gene scans for 176 TB patients and 196 controls. The recombinant TLR2 promoter/exonI/exonII/intronII/luciferase constructs including three representative repeats: (GT) 13 , (GT) 20 , and (GT) 24 were transfected into K562 cells, and luciferase activities were estimated and compared. The expression of TLR2 on CD14 þ peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from healthy volunteers were measured with flow cytometry. Genotypes with shorter GT repeats were more common among TB patients (49.4 vs 37.7%, P ¼ 0.02). This observation was confirmed among 82 other TB patients as a validation cohort. Shorter GT repeats were associated with weaker promoter activities and lower TLR2 expression on CD14 þ PBMCs. In conclusion, the development of TB disease in Koreans was associated with shorter GT repeats in intron II of the TLR2 gene. This association is correlated with lower expression of TLR2 through weaker promoter activity for genes with shorter GT repeats. Genes and Immunity (2006) 7, 150-155.

Continuous aspirin use increases the risk of bleeding after gastric ESD. Aspirin use should be stopped in patients with a low risk for thromboembolic disease to minimize bleeding complications.

The effects of malnutrition on outcomes in miliary tuberculosis (MTB) are not well described. The aim of the present study was to find predictors for the development of acute respiratory failure (ARF) and survival in MTB patients, focusing on parameters reflecting nutritional condition.Out of the patients from three hospitals who had microbiologically or histopathologically confirmed tuberculosis, 56 patients presenting with typical disseminated pulmonary nodules on radiographs were retrospectively enrolled. A four-point nutritional risk score (NRS) was defined according to the presence of four nutritional factors: low body mass index (BMI; ,18.5 kg?m The male to female ratio was 1:3. ARF developed in 25% of patients (14 out of 56), with a 50% fatality rate. A high NRS (o3 points) was an independent risk factor for the development of ARF and fatality. In 90-day survival analysis, ARF, severe lymphocytopenia, hypocholesterolaemia, low BMI and higher NRS were risk factors for poor outcome. In multivariate analysis, only high NRS was an independent risk factor for 90-day survival rate in patients with MTB.A high nutritional risk score was a good predictor of poor outcome in miliary tuberculosis patients. Additional approaches to recover the nutritional deficits may become a focus in future management of miliary tuberculosis.

Although surgical lung resection could improve prognosis in some patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), there are no reports on the optimal candidates for this surgery. The aim of the present study was to elucidate the prognostic factors for surgery in patients with MDR-TB.Patients who underwent lung resection for the treatment of MDR-TB between March 1993 and December 2004 were included in the present study. Treatment failure was defined as greater than or equal to two of the five cultures recorded in the final 12 months of treatment being positive, any one of the final three cultures being positive, or the patient having died during treatment. The variables that affected treatment outcomes were identified through univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis.In total, 79 patients with MDR-TB were included in the present study. The treatment outcomes of 22 (27.8%) patients were classified as failure. A body mass index ,18.5 kg?m -2 , primary resistance, resistance to ofloxacin and the presence of a cavitary lesion beyond the range of the surgical resection were associated with treatment failure. Low body mass index, primary resistance, resistance to ofloxacin and cavitary lesions beyond the range of resection are possible poor prognostic factors for surgical lung resection in multidrug-resistant tuberculosis patients.