Results were compared to 1641 European Americans and 1800 African Americans as unselected controls. While no association was observed in the cohort of European Americans, the case-control comparison of African Americans found variants within a 60 kb region of chromosome 22 containing

part of the APOL1 and AZD1480 MYH9 genes associated with increased risk of FSGS. This region spans different linkage disequilibrium blocks, and variants associating with disease within this region are in linkage disequilibrium with variants which have shown signals of natural selection. APOL1 is a strong candidate for a gene that has undergone recent natural selection and is known to be involved in the infection by Trypanosoma brucei, a parasite common in Africa that has recently adapted to infect human hosts. Further studies will be required to establish which variants are causally related to kidney disease, what mutations caused the selective sweep, and to ultimately

determine if these are the same. Kidney International (2010) 78, 698-704; doi:10.1038/ki.2010.251; published online 28 July 2010″
“BACKGROUND: Chronic, drug-resistant neuropathic pain can be treated by surgically implanted motor cortex stimulation (MCS). The leads used for MCS have not been specifically designed for this application.

OBJECTIVE: To study the value of a new 8-contact lead for MCS therapy in a series of 6 patients with refractory central poststroke pain.

METHODS: The study comprised a 1-month randomized phase, starting 1 month after implantation, during which the neurostimulator was switched on in one-half selleck chemicals however of the patients or remained off in the other half, followed by an open phase of 10 months, during which the stimulator was switched on in all patients. Clinical assessment was performed at baseline and 1, 2, 3, 6, and 12 months after implantation with the following

scales: Visual Analog Scale, Verbal Rating Scale, Brief Pain Inventory, McGill Pain Questionnaire, Sickness Impact Profile, and Medication Quantification Scale.

RESULTS: In the randomized phase, clinical scores were found to be globally reduced in the on-vs off-stimulation condition. In the open follow-up phase, all clinical scores improved significantly over time. The ratio between affective and sensory McGill Pain Questionnaire subscores decreased, suggesting a preferential effect of MCS on the affective component of pain. Compared with preoperative baseline, 2 patients were totally relieved of central poststroke pain, 3 patients were very much relieved, and 1 patient remained unchanged at the final examination.

CONCLUSION: A good clinical outcome was observed in all patients except 1, suggesting that this new octopolar lead could be used for MCS therapy to treat refractory central poststroke pain.