T1b gallbladder cancer: is extended resection warranted?

Background: Although the prognosis for gallbladder cancer (GBCA) improves with early diagnosis and aggressive surgical treatment, the management of patients with muscle layer invasion (T1b) remains controversial. This study aimed to analyze the optimal surgical approach for these patients.

Methods: A database was queried for patients with early T1b GBCA treated at four Chilean hospitals.

Benchmarks and Geographic Differences in Gallbladder Cancer Surgery: An International Multicenter Study.

Background: High-quality surgery plays a central role in the delivery of excellent oncologic care. Benchmark values indicate the best achievable results. We aimed to define benchmark values for gallbladder cancer (GBC) surgery across an international population.

Surgical outcomes of gallbladder cancer: the OMEGA retrospective, multicentre, international cohort study.

Background: Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is rare but aggressive. The extent of surgical intervention for different GBC stages is non-uniform, ranging from cholecystectomy alone to extended resections including major hepatectomy, resection of adjacent organs and routine extrahepatic bile duct resection (EBDR). Robust evidence here is lacking, however, and survival benefit poorly defined.

Endocannabinoid 2-Arachidonoylglycerol Synthesis and Metabolism at Neuronal Nuclear Matrix Fractions Derived from Adult Rat Brain Cortex.

In this report, we describe the kinetics characteristics of the diacylglycerol lipase-α (DGLα) located at the nuclear matrix of nuclei derived from adult cortical neurons. Thus, using high-resolution fluorescence microscopy, classical biochemical subcellular fractionation, and Western blot techniques, we demonstrate that the DGLα enzyme is located in the matrix of neuronal nuclei. Furthermore, by quantifying the 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) level by liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry when 1-stearoyl-2-arachidonoyl-sn-glycerol (SAG) was exogenously added as substrate, we describe the presence of a mechanism for 2-AG production through DGLα dependent biosynthesis with an apparent () of 180 µM and a of 1.

Up-regulation of CB cannabinoid receptors located at glutamatergic terminals in the medial prefrontal cortex of the obese Zucker rat.

The present study describes a detailed neuroanatomical distribution map of the cannabinoid type 1 (CB) receptor, along with the biochemical characterization of the expression and functional coupling to their cognate G proteins in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPCx) of the obese Zucker rats. The CB receptor density was higher in the prelimbic (PL) and infralimbic (IL) subregions of the mPCx of obese Zucker rats relative to their lean littermates which was associated with a higher percentage of CB receptor immunopositive excitatory presynaptic terminals in PL and IL. Also, a higher expression of CB receptors and WIN55,212-2-stimulated [S]GTPγS binding was observed in the mPCx but not in the neocortex (NCx) and hippocampus of obese rats.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Pandemic: Chilean Air Force Experience in the Air Transport of Critically Ill Patients-The First 100 Cases.

Objective: Critical care air transport has played an important role during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The goal of this article is to analyze results and lessons learned from the evacuation of the first 100 COVID-19 patients transported between medical facilities in Chile.

Methods: We reviewed prospective data of patients who were referred for air transport between March 27, 2020, and July 9, 2020.

Fit-for-purpose based testing and validation of antibodies to amino- and carboxy-terminal domains of cannabinoid receptor 1.

Specific and selective anti-CB antibodies are among the most powerful research tools to unravel the complex biological processes mediated by the CB receptor in both physiological and pathological conditions. However, low performance of antibodies remains a major source of inconsistency between results from different laboratories. Using a variety of techniques, including some of the most commonly accepted ones for antibody specificity testing, we identified three of five commercial antibodies against different regions of CB receptor as the best choice for specific end-use purposes.

Conditional Recurrence-Free Survival after Oncologic Extended Resection for Gallbladder Cancer: An International Multicenter Analysis.

Background: Data to guide surveillance following oncologic extended resection (OER) for gallbladder cancer (GBC) are lacking. Conditional recurrence-free survival (C-RFS) can inform surveillance. We aimed to estimate C-RFS and identify factors affecting conditional RFS after OER for GBC.

Gallbladder cancer who is really cured?

Background: Although gallbladder cancer (GBCA) is characterized by a dismal prognosis, there is a proportion of patients who are cured. The aim of this study was to analyze the profile of these patients.

Methods: A database was queried for patients who underwent curative resection with a follow-up of at least 5 years.

Choices of Therapeutic Strategies for Colorectal Liver Metastases Among Expert Liver Surgeons: A Throw of the Dice?

Objective: To test the degree of agreement in selecting therapeutic options for patients suffering from colorectal liver metastasis (CRLM) among surgical experts around the globe.

Summary/background: Only few areas in medicine have seen so many novel therapeutic options over the past decades as for liver tumors. Significant variations may therefore exist regarding the choices of treatment, even among experts, which may confuse both the medical community and patients.

Comparison of oncological outcomes after open and laparoscopic re-resection of incidental gallbladder cancer.

Background: The safety and oncological efficacy of laparoscopic re-resection of incidental gallbladder cancer have not been studied. This study aimed to compare laparoscopic with open re-resection of incidentally discovered gallbladder cancer while minimizing selection bias.

Methods: This was a multicentre retrospective observational cohort study of patients with incidental gallbladder cancer who underwent re-resection with curative intent at four centres between 2000 and 2017.

Intermittent ethanol exposure during adolescence impairs cannabinoid type 1 receptor-dependent long-term depression and recognition memory in adult mice.

Binge drinking is a significant problem in adolescent populations, and because of the reciprocal interactions between ethanol (EtOH) consumption and the endocannabinoid (eCB) system, we sought to determine if adolescent EtOH intake altered the localization and function of the cannabinoid 1 (CB) receptors in the adult brain. Adolescent mice were exposed to a 4-day-per week drinking in the dark (DID) procedure for a total of 4 weeks and then tested after a 2-week withdrawal period. Field excitatory postsynaptic potentials (fEPSPs), evoked by medial perforant path (MPP) stimulation in the dentate gyrus molecular layer (DGML), were significantly smaller.

A systematic review of the effectiveness of adjuvant therapy for patients with gallbladder cancer.

Background: Equipoise exists regarding the benefit of adjuvant therapy (AT) in patients with gallbladder cancer (GBC). The aim of this study was to critically review the available evidence for the effectiveness of AT in patients with GBC following surgery with curative intent.

Methods: A systematic review was performed.

Genetic landscape of gallbladder cancer: Global overview.

Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is a rare malignancy of biliary tract cancer (BTC), characterized by late presentation and poor prognosis. It exhibits wide geographical as well as ethnical variations. So, diverse epidemiology along with etiological factors have been discussed in the current article.

Incidental Gallbladder Cancer: How Residual Disease Affects Outcome in Two Referral HPB Centers from South America.

Background: Residual disease (RD) has been described as one of the most relevant prognostic factors after radical surgical resection for incidental gallbladder cancer (IGC). The purpose of the present study was to analyze patterns of RD and determinant prognostic factors in patients undergoing re-resection for IGC.

Methods: Patients undergoing re-exploration due to IGC between 1990 and 2014 were identified in two referral centers from different South-American countries.

Laparoscopic management of incidental gallbladder cancer.

Background: The laparoscopic cholecystectomy has allowed the detection of an increasing number of incidental gallbladder cancers (IGBC). Although laparoscopy is employed in the management of a variety of abdominal tumors, its use in gallbladder cancer is reduced and controversial. This study analyzes the role of laparoscopy in gallbladder cancer with the focus in IGBC.

Data for the morphometric characterization of NT2-derived postmitotic neurons.

NTERA2/D1 human teratocarcinoma progenitors induced to differentiate into postmitotic neurons by either long-term treatment with retinoic acid or short-term treatment with the nucleoside analog cytosine β-D-arabinofuranoside were subjected to morphometric analysis and compared. Our data provide a methodological and conceptual framework for future investigations aiming at distinguishing neuronal phenotypes on the basis of morphometric analysis. Data presented here are related to research concurrently published in "Highly Efficient Generation of Glutamatergic/Cholinergic NT2-Derived Postmitotic Human Neurons by Short-Term treatment with the Nucleoside Analogue Cytosine β-D-Arabinofuranoside" [1].

Highly efficient generation of glutamatergic/cholinergic NT2-derived postmitotic human neurons by short-term treatment with the nucleoside analogue cytosine β-D-arabinofuranoside.

The human NTERA2/D1 (NT2) cells generate postmitotic neurons (NT2N cells) upon retinoic acid (RA) treatment and are functionally integrated in the host tissue following grafting into the rodent and human brain, thus representing a promising source for neuronal replacement therapy. Yet the major limitations of this model are the lengthy differentiation procedure and its low efficiency, although recent studies suggest that the differentiation process can be shortened to less than 1 week using nucleoside analogues. To explore whether short-term exposure of NT2 cells to the nucleoside analogue cytosine β-d-arabinofuranoside (AraC) could be a suitable method to efficiently generate mature neurons, we conducted a neurochemical and morphometric characterization of AraC-differentiated NT2N (AraC/NT2N) neurons and improved the differentiation efficiency by modifying the cell culture schedule.

Somatic Mutations of PI3K in Early and Advanced Gallbladder Cancer: Additional Options for an Orphan Cancer.

Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is the second-leading cause of death from malignant tumors in Chilean women. The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway is involved in proliferation, cell survival, and growth. We investigated mutations in exons 9 and 20 of the PI3K gene in GBC.

Inactivation of tumor suppressor gene pten in early and advanced gallbladder cancer.

Background: PTEN is a tumor suppressor gene that regulates the PTEN/PI3k/AKT/mTOR pathway, which is frequently altered in human cancers including gallbladder cancer (GBC). To determine the frequency of PTEN expression in GBC and to establish its relation to clinical and morphological parameters and survival in GBC.

Methods: The immunohistochemical expression of PTEN was studied in 108 GBC.

Gallbladder cancer in Chile: what have we learned?

Purpose Of Review: Gallbladder cancer (GBC) should be considered an orphan disease in oncology and represent a unique carcinogenetic model. This review will analyse some of the current aspects of GBC.

Recent Findings: Chile has the highest incidence and mortality of GBC in the world.

Nuclear diacylglycerol lipase-α in rat brain cortical neurons: evidence of 2-arachidonoylglycerol production in concert with phospholipase C-β activity.

In this report, we describe the localization of diacylglycerol lipase-α (DAGLα) in nuclei from adult cortical neurons, as assessed by double-immunofluorescence staining of rat brain cortical sections and purified intact nuclei and by western blot analysis of subnuclear fractions. Double-labeling assays using the anti-DAGLα antibody and NeuN combined with Hoechst staining showed that only nuclei of neuronal origin were DAGLα positive. At high resolution, DAGLα-signal displayed a punctate pattern in nuclear subdomains poor in Hoechst's chromatin and lamin B1 staining.

A review of recent data in the treatment of gallbladder cancer: what we know, what we do, and what should be done.

Gallbladder cancer is now considered a distinct clinical entity, allowing for a separate analysis from that of other malignancies of the biliary tree. Symptoms related to a malignant tumor of the gallbladder include jaundice and abdominal pain, or a palpable abdominal mass that occurs in a late stage of the disease. The majority of patients with operable gallbladder cancer are diagnosed by cholecystectomy performed for presumed benign disease, mostly cholelithiasis, a clinical entity known as incidental gallbladder cancer.