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“Tumors associated with the spinal cord can have devastating effects on patient function and quality of life. Most of these tumors are from metastatic disease, usually to the epidural space. Less frequently, the tumors are intrinsic to the spinal cord itself (ie, primary tumor). Regardless of the etiology, spinal cord tumors often present first with progressive

local or radicular pain, or both. Other symptoms include weakness, sensory changes, or sphincter dysfunction. The timeliness of diagnosis of spinal cord tumors and promptness of treatment are important, as they directly affect outcome. Dexamethasone, a corticosteroid, is used as a temporizing measure to improve or stabilize neurologic function until definitive treatment. For nonambulatory patients with epidural Ulixertinib metastatic tumors, surgery followed by radiation therapy maximizes neurologic function and modestly lengthens survival. However, palliative radiotherapy alone is recommended for those with neurologic deficits lasting longer than 48 hours, survival prognosis less than 3 months, inability

to tolerate surgery, multiple areas of compression, or radiosensitive tumors. An ambulatory patient with a stable spine should be considered for radiation treatment only. The role of chemotherapy for epidural AZD6094 cost metastatic tumors is not well established. For intramedullary metastases, the role of surgery and chemo therapy remains controversial and radiation is the mainstay. For see more low-grade or benign primary spinal cord tumors, resective surgery is of benefit and can be curative. For high-grade tumors, the benefit of resection is less clear, and radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy may be helpful. The use of chemotherapy for primary spinal cord tumors has rarely been assessed. Agents reported in the literature for treatment of spinal cord gliomas include temozolomide, irinotecan, cisplatin, and carboplatin. A multidisciplinary approach is often required to maximize the therapeutic and

functional outcome of patients with metastatic and primary spinal cord tumors.”
“Background: beta-Catenin exerts its crucial role in hair follicle development and hair growth cycle. Although the importance of Wnt/beta-catenin is well recognized, the downstream effectors of beta-catenin have not been clearly elucidated yet.

Objective: The aim of this study is to identify the beta-catenin-regulated genes in cultured human hair outer root sheath (ORS) cells.

Methods: We transduced ORS cells with adenovirus harboring the expression cassette for constitutive active form of beta-catenin, then performed cDNA microarray.

Results: Overexpression of beta-catenin led to the upregulation of hair cell differentiation markers such as keratin 16 and 17.