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ObjectiveTo assess the effectiveness of combining botulinum toxin type A (BoNT-A) with functional occupational therapy (OT) at 9-month follow-up in children with cerebral palsy (CP) with bilateral upper limb impairments from the perspectives of both child and caregiver.MethodsTwelve children with CP and their caregivers were assessed across 5 time points over 9 months based on the ICF after BoNT-A injection and functional OT in this open-label study.ResultsSignificant differences were found across the 5 time points (p < .05) for both grasp and visual-motor integration with small effects (effect sizes = 0.12–0.24) and the self-care capability and performance of social function (p < .05). However, based on the effect sizes (0.02–0.14), no significant effects were found at the 4 post-test time points. Small effects were found on the psychological domain (effect sizes = 0.25–0.37) and environmental domains (effect size = 0.27) at follow-ups.ConclusionCombining a BoNT-A injection with OT not only reduced the muscle tone and increased ROM but also improved the upper limb function and self-care capability in children with CP. More importantly, these effects persisted for up to 9 months. Functional OT extends the effectiveness of a BoNT-A injection.

The aim of this study is to identify potential biomarkers for early diagnosis of gynecologic cancer in order to improve survival. Cervical cancer (CC) and endometrial cancer (EC) are the most common malignant tumors of gynecologic cancer among women in the world. As the underlying molecular mechanisms in both cervical and endometrial cancer remain unclear, a comprehensive and systematic bioinformatics analysis is required. In our study, gene expression profiles of GSE9750, GES7803, GES63514, GES17025, GES115810, and GES36389 downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) were utilized to analyze differential gene expression between cancer and normal tissues. A total of 78 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) common to CC and EC were identified to perform the functional enrichment analyses, including gene ontology and pathway analysis. KEGG pathway analysis of 78 DEGs indicated that three main types of pathway participate in the mechanism of gynecologic cancer such as drug metabolism, signal transduction, and tumorigenesis and development. Furthermore, 20 diagnostic signatures were confirmed using the least absolute shrink and selection operator (LASSO) regression with 10-fold cross validation. Finally, we used the GEPIA2 online tool to verify the expression of 20 genes selected by the LASSO regression model. Among them, the expression of PAMR1 and SLC24A3 in tumor tissues was downregulated significantly compared to the normal tissue, and found to be statistically significant in survival rates between the CC and EC of patients (p < 0.05). The two genes have their function: (1.) PAMR1 is a tumor suppressor gene, and many studies have proven that overexpression of the gene markedly suppresses cell growth, especially in breast cancer and polycystic ovary syndrome; (2.) SLC24A3 is a sodium–calcium regulator of cells, and high SLC24A3 levels are associated with poor prognosis. In our study, the gene signatures can be used to predict CC and EC prognosis, which could provide novel clinical evidence to serve as a potential biomarker for future diagnosis and treatment.

We have previously demonstrated that betel quid containing safrole induced DNA adducts are highly associated with the development of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) in Taiwan. Sulfotransferase (SULT) is essential for the formation of these adducts. To elucidate the effects of SULT1A1 haplotypes on OSCC susceptibility, 160 male OSCC cases and 218 age- and sex-matched controls were screened for single-nucleotide polymorphisms within the coding region of SULT1A1 by sequencing. We found that 445C>T (His149Tyr) and 507C>T polymorphisms were significantly associated with increased risk of OSCC. Based on the genotype analysis, haplotypes were constructed for 445C>T (His149Tyr), 507C>T, 600G>C and 638G>A (Arg213His) using GENECOUNTING software. After adjustment for age, cigarette smoking and betel quid chewing, we found that haplotype c containing 445C>T (His149Tyr), 507C>T or 600G>C but not 638G>A (Arg213His) variant was significantly associated with increased risk of OSCC (odds ratio, 3.24; 95% confidence interval, 1.57-6.68) when compared with the haplotype a (wild-type). We analyzed the activity in sulfonation of 2-naphthol and 1'-hydroxysafrole of recombinant His149Tyr (445C>T) variant, which led to 51 and 33% reduced activity, respectively; Arg213His (638G>A) variant led to 72 and 54% reduced activity, respectively, when compared with the wild-type. Taken together, haplotype analysis provides a novel evaluation of the SULT1A1 gene as a risk modifier on environmental carcinogen in OSCC and the association of SULT1A1 haplotypes with the risk of OSCC might be modified by betel quid chewing.

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