Oxygen matters: Unraveling the role of oxygen in the neuronal response to cisplatin.

Background And Aims: Cell culture is a fundamental experimental tool for understanding cell physiology. However, translating these findings to in vivo settings has proven challenging. Replicating donor tissue conditions, including oxygen levels, is crucial for achieving meaningful results.

Analytical performance specifications for trace elements in biological fluids derived from six countries federated external quality assessment schemes over 10 years.

Objectives: This article defines analytical performance specifications (APS) for evaluating laboratory proficiency through an external quality assessment scheme.

Methods: Standard deviations for proficiency assessment were derived from Thompson's characteristic function applied to robust data calculated from participants' submissions in the Occupational and Environmental Laboratory Medicine (OELM) external quality assurance scheme for trace elements in serum, whole blood and urine. Characteristic function was based on two parameters: (1) β - the average coefficient of variation (CV) at high sample concentrations; (2) α - the average standard deviation (SD) at low sample concentrations.

The Metabolic Syndrome, a Human Disease.

This review focuses on the question of metabolic syndrome (MS) being a complex, but essentially monophyletic, galaxy of associated diseases/disorders, or just a syndrome of related but rather independent pathologies. The human nature of MS (its exceptionality in Nature and its close interdependence with human action and evolution) is presented and discussed. The text also describes the close interdependence of its components, with special emphasis on the description of their interrelations (including their syndromic development and recruitment), as well as their consequences upon energy handling and partition.

Incidence and risk factors for developing chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain in 500 cancer patients: A file-based observational study.

Objective: To define the incidence and risk factors for developing chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain (CINP).

Methods: Retrospective, file-based analysis on cancer patients who received any type of conventional chemotherapy and for whom neurological evaluation was asked to reveal the extent of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neurotoxicity (CIPN) with or without CINP. CINP was assessed by means of the PI-NRS and Douleur Neuropathique-4 questionnaire.

Visual and semi-quantitative analysis of 6-[F]FDOPA PET/CT in patients with brain tumors and suspected tumor recurrence versus radionecrosis.

Introduction: Amino acid PET is a tool recommended by the main neuroimaging societies in the differential diagnosis between radionecrosis (RNC) and umour recurrence (TR) in brain tumours, but its use in our country is still limited. The aim of this work is to present our experience with 6-[F]FDOPA PET/CT (FDOPA) in brain tumours (primary and M1), comparing these results with other published results.

Material And Methods: Retrospective study of 62 patients with suspected tumour recurrence (TR): 42 brain metastases (M1) and 20 primary, who underwent FDOPA.

Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus Following Cranial Radiation: Identification of Shunting Responders.

Background: We examined cognitive, brain MRI, and lumbar infusion test (LIT) features to identify predictors of response to ventriculoperitoneal shunting (VPS) in long-term cancer survivors with suspected normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) following cranial radiotherapy (RT).

Methods: Patients who completed cranial RT at least 2 years before with clinically suspected NPH and an Evans' index (EI) ≥ 0.30 underwent a cognitive and a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) volumetric (MRI) analysis ( = 36).

Myasthenia Gravis Induced by Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors: An Emerging Neurotoxicity in Neuro-Oncology Practice: Case Series.

Immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have been reported to induce de novo or exacerbate pre-existing Myasthenia Gravis (MG). We present a single center case series of patients who developed an immune-related myasthenia gravis (irMG) related with ICIs. We performed a retrospective chart review of the electronic medical records between 1 September 2017 and 2022.

The Roles of Androgens in Humans: Biology, Metabolic Regulation and Health.

Androgens are an important and diverse group of steroid hormone molecular species. They play varied functional roles, such as the control of metabolic energy fate and partition, the maintenance of skeletal and body protein and integrity and the development of brain capabilities and behavioral setup (including those factors defining maleness). In addition, androgens are the precursors of estrogens, with which they share an extensive control of the reproductive mechanisms (in both sexes).

Prospectively assessing serum neurofilament light chain levels as a biomarker of paclitaxel-induced peripheral neurotoxicity in breast cancer patients.

Our aim was to assess the significance of measuring serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL) levels as a biomarker of paclitaxel-induced peripheral neurotoxicity (PIPN). We longitudinally measured sNfL in breast cancer patients, scheduled to receive the 12-weekly paclitaxel-based regimen. Patients were clinically examined by means of the Total Neuropathy Score-clinical version (TNSc), while sNfL were quantified, using the highly sensitive Simoa technique, before starting chemotherapy (baseline), after 2 (week 2) and 3 (week 3) weekly courses, and at the end of chemotherapy (week 12).

Circulating oestradiol determines liver lipid deposition in rats fed standard diets partially unbalanced with higher lipid or protein proportions.

The ingestion of excess lipids often produces the accumulation of liver fat. The modulation of diet energy partition affects this process and other metabolic responses, and oestrogens and androgens are implied in this process. Ten-week-old male and female rats were fed with either standard rat chow (SD), SD enriched with coconut oil (high-fat diet, HF), SD enriched with protein (high-protein diet, HP) or a 'cafeteria' diet (CAF) for 1 month.

Gossypol Treatment Restores Insufficient Apoptotic Function of DFF40/CAD in Human Glioblastoma Cells.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a highly aggressive brain tumor and almost all patients die because of relapses. GBM-derived cells undergo cell death without nuclear fragmentation upon treatment with different apoptotic agents. Nuclear dismantling determines the point-of-no-return in the apoptotic process.

Estrogens and the regulation of glucose metabolism.

The main estrogens: estradiol, estrone, and their acyl-esters have been studied essentially related to their classical estrogenic and pharmacologic functions. However, their main effect in the body is probably the sustained control of core energy metabolism. Estrogen nuclear and membrane receptors show an extraordinary flexibility in the modulation of metabolic responses, and largely explain gender and age differences in energy metabolism: part of these mechanisms is already sufficiently known to justify both.

Paediatric teams in front of childhood obesity: A qualitative study within the STOP project.

Introduction: Understanding the underlying factors that influence the approach to overweight and obesity in children is basic to best support families searching a solution to this important public health problem.

Objective: To assess attitudes and feelings of paediatric staff in addressing overweight and childhood obesity to parents, exploring perceived barriers and facilitators, for an effective care.

Participants And Method: Qualitative study by means of individual semi-structured questionnaires of paediatric staff (paediatricians and paediatrician nurses; n = 57; 68% female) of primary health care centres and hospitals in Mallorca.

Predictive Biomarkers of Oxaliplatin-Induced Peripheral Neurotoxicity.

Oxaliplatin (OXA) is a platinum compound primarily used in the treatment of gastrointestinal cancer. OXA-induced peripheral neurotoxicity (OXAIPN) is the major non-hematological dose-limiting toxicity of OXA-based chemotherapy and includes acute transient neurotoxic effects that appear soon after OXA infusion, and chronic non-length dependent sensory neuronopathy symmetrically affecting both upper and lower limbs in a stocking-and-glove distribution. No effective strategy has been established to reverse or treat OXAIPN.

Perilesional edema in brain metastases as predictive factor of response to systemic therapy in non-small cell lung cancer patients: a preliminary study.

Background: The significance of upfront systemic therapies as an alternative to whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT) for multiple brain metastases (BM) is debatable. Our purpose is to investigate if peritumoral edema could predict the intracranial response to systemic chemotherapy (chemo) in patients with advanced non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (non-SQ-NSCLC) and synchronous multiple BM.

Methods: In this observational cohort study, we evaluated the outcome of 28 patients with multiple BM (≥3) treated with chemo based on cisplatin/carboplatin plus pemetrexed (chemo, group A, n=17) or WBRT plus subsequent chemo (group B, n=11).

Acute symptomatic seizures and epilepsy after mechanical thrombectomy. A prospective long-term follow-up study.

Introduction: New treatments for acute ischaemic stroke, such as mechanical thrombectomy, can achieve reperfusion of large ischaemic tissue. Some studies have suggested that reperfusion therapies can increase the risk of suffering acute symptomatic seizure (ASS) and poststroke epilepsy (PSE). The aim of the study was to determine the incidence of ASS and PSE in patients undergoing thrombectomy, and related factors.

Encephalitis Induced by Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors: A Systematic Review.

Importance: Encephalitis is a severe immune-related adverse event secondary to treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). The spectrum of ICI-induced encephalitis (ICI-iE) ranges from disease that resolves fully to lethal forms. Moreover, ICIs may unmask a paraneoplastic encephalitis.

Vagus nerve stimulation as a potential modulator of periictal psychotic episodes: A report of four cases.

Drug resistant epilepsy (DRE) has been associated with a high incidence of psychotic disorders. Patients can develop psychosis after starting a new antiseizure medication, after undergoing resective surgery, or after implantation of a vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) system. The aim of this study was to investigate the modulation effect of VNS on psychotic episodes in DRE patients with a pre-existing history of periictal psychotic episodes (PPE).

Late effects of cancer treatment: consequences for long-term brain cancer survivors.

Late adverse effects of cancer treatments represent a significant source of morbidity and also financial hardship among brain tumor patients. These effects can be produced by direct neurologic damage of the tumor and its removal, and/or by complementary treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, either alone or combined. Notably, young adults are the critical population that faces major consequences because the early onset of the disease may affect their development and socioeconomic status.

Dietary Energy Partition: The Central Role of Glucose.

Humans have developed effective survival mechanisms under conditions of nutrient (and energy) scarcity. Nevertheless, today, most humans face a quite different situation: excess of nutrients, especially those high in amino-nitrogen and energy (largely fat). The lack of mechanisms to prevent energy overload and the effective persistence of the mechanisms hoarding key nutrients such as amino acids has resulted in deep disorders of substrate handling.

Defining a Standardized Information Model for Multi-Source Representation of Breast Cancer Data.

This work aims to define a standardized information model for representation of multiple data sources in breast cancer. A set of data elements has been identified using ICHOM Breast Cancer as the minimum data set and adapting it to the needs of Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre. With this, an information model has been defined according to ISO 13606 and SNOMED CT standards.

Unconnected Body Accrual of Dietary Lipid and Protein in Rats Fed Diets with Different Lipid and Protein Content.

Scope: Eating large amounts of fat is usually associated with fat accumulation. However, different types of diets (not only lipids) elicit different metabolic responses.

Methods And Results: Male and female rats (10 week-old) are distributed in four groups and fed for 1 month a standard diet (SD), or this diet enriched with either lipid (high-fat diet, HF) or protein (high-protein diet, HP), or a cafeteria diet (CAF).

Incidence and characteristics of neurotoxicity in immune checkpoint inhibitors with focus on neuromuscular events: Experience beyond the clinical trials.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are associated with various neurological adverse events (NAEs). We herein explored the incidence and clinical phenotype of immune-related NAEs in cancer patients. Medical records of ICI-treated cancer patients were reviewed between the years 2010 and 2018, with an aim to characterize immuno-related NAEs.