Pediatric infectious aneurysms: individual patient pooled analysis on presentation, management and outcomes.

Background: Infectious intracranial aneurysms (IIAs) are a rare sequel of systemic infection and occur most commonly in patients with infective endocarditis (IE). Despite the increasing use of non-invasive screening angiography in patients with IE, the incidence remains low, yielding limited data on the management of IIAs in pediatric populations. We performed a pooled analysis of all published series of pediatric patients with IIAs to study the disease landscape including presentation, management, and outcomes.

Vasospasm in Pediatric Subarachnoid Hemorrhage.

Cerebral vasospasm (CV) is a common severe complication of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), a severe type of intracranial bleeding that is uncommon in children. The purpose of this article is to review the current literature regarding this potentially devastating complication. CV may be asymptomatic and is less common in children compared to adults.

A rare case of combined small cell lung carcinoma with heterologous component of rhabdomyosarcoma diagnosed by endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS)-guided biopsy.

We describe an unusual case of combined small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) with a heterologous sarcomatous component of rhabdomyosarcoma in a 61-year-old male smoker. The diagnosis was made using endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS)-guided fine needle aspiration and biopsy. This report highlights the challenges of diagnosing small round blue cell tumors in limited material and the importance of ancillary testing.

Lhermitte-Duclos disease with concomitant KCNT2 gene mutation: report of an extremely rare combination.

Lhermitte-Duclos disease (LDD) refers to cerebellar dysplastic gangliocytoma, a slow-growing tumor. Pathogenic variants of voltage-gated potassium channels have been associated with epilepsy of variable severity. These include the sodium-activated potassium channel subfamily T member 2 (KCNT2) gene, which encodes for pore-forming alpha subunits.

Psychosocial benefits of fertility preservation for young cancer patients.

Purpose: The risk of ovarian failure after radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy is a concern among oncologic women. There is no doubt regarding the psycho-emotional benefits of fertility preservation (FP) after a cancer diagnosis because concerns about biological conception are a source of anxiety and can even affect the patient's cancer recovery. The aim of this study was to evaluate oncology patients' feelings, concerns, and life quality impacts related to FP.

Serial post-surgical stimulated and unstimulated highly sensitive thyroglobulin measurements in low- and intermediate-risk papillary thyroid carcinoma patients not receiving radioactive iodine.

The purpose of this study was to determine the natural temporal trends of serial thyroglobulin (Tg) among low/intermediate-risk PTC patients not receiving radioactive iodine (RAI) using TSH-stimulated Tg (Stim-Tg) and unstimulated highly sensitive Tg (u-hsTg). We prospectively analyzed serial Stim-Tg measurements after total thyroidectomy ± therapeutic central neck dissection among 121 consecutive low/intermediate-risk PTC patients who did not receive RAI, of whom 104 also had serial u-hsTg measurements available. Median follow-up was 6.

Immunohistochemical Subcellular Localization of Protein Biomarkers Distinguishes Benign from Malignant Thyroid Nodules: Potential for Fine-Needle Aspiration Biopsy Clinical Application.

Background: It is of critical clinical importance to select accurately for surgery thyroid nodules at risk for malignancy and avoid surgery on those that are benign. Using alterations in subcellular localization for seven putative biomarker proteins (identified by proteomics), this study aimed to define a specific combination of proteins in surgical tissues that could distinguish benign from malignant nodules to assist in future surgical selection by fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB).

Methods: Immunohistochemical subcellular localization (IHC) analyses of seven proteins were retrospectively performed on surgical tissues (115 benign nodules and 114 papillary-based thyroid carcinomas [TC]), and a risk model biomarker panel was developed and validated.

Prediction of recurrence-free survival using a protein expression-based risk classifier for head and neck cancer.

Loco-regional recurrence in 50% of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) patients poses major challenge for oncologists. Lack of biomarkers that can predict disease aggressiveness and recurrence risk makes the scenario more dismal. On the basis of our earlier global proteomic analyses we identified five differentially expressed proteins in OSCC.

Nuclear Ep-ICD expression is a predictor of poor prognosis in "low risk" prostate adenocarcinomas.

Introduction: Molecular markers for predicting prostate cancer (PCa) that would have poor prognosis are urgently needed for a more personalized treatment for patients. Regulated intramembrane proteolysis of Epithelial cell adhesion molecule results in shedding of the extracellular domain (EpEx) and release of its intracellular domain (Ep-ICD) which triggers oncogenic signaling and might correlate to tumor aggressiveness. This study aimed to explore the potential of Ep-ICD and EpEx to identify PCa that have poor prognosis.

Prognostic significance of cytoplasmic S100A2 overexpression in oral cancer patients.

Background: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) patients are at high risk of loco-regional recurrence and 5-year survival rates are about 50%. Identification of patients at high risk of recurrence will enable rigorous personalized post-treatment management. Most novel biomarkers have failed translation for clinical use because of their limited successful validation in external patient cohorts.

Erratum.

[This corrects the article on p. 166 in vol. 4, PMID: 25215193.

Nuclear Ep-ICD accumulation predicts aggressive clinical course in early stage breast cancer patients.

Background: Regulated intramembrane proteolysis of Epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) results in release of its intracellular domain (Ep-ICD) which triggers oncogenic signalling. The clinical significance of Ep-ICD in breast cancer remains to be determined. Herein, we examined the expression of nuclear and cytoplasmic Ep-ICD, and membranous extracellular domain of EpCAM (EpEx) in breast cancer patients, to determine its potential utility in predicting aggressive clinical course of the disease.

Assessment of the genotype MTBDRplus assay for rifampin and isoniazid resistance detection on sputum samples in Cote d'Ivoire.

We conducted an evaluation study on the GenoType MTBDRplus assay's ability to detect mutations conferring resistance to rifampin and isoniazid directly from sputum taken from 120 smear positive pulmonary patients from tuberculosis (TB) centers in Cote d'Ivoire. The sputum was decontaminated by N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NALC) and comparatively analyzed with the MTBDRplus assay version 2.0 and the mycobacterial growth indicator tube (MGIT) 960 automated drug susceptibility testing (MGIT-DST).

Use of rapid molecular test for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis detection among relapse cases in Cote d'Ivoire.

Unlabelled: Tuberculosis is explicitly recognized as a major global public health problem. In Côte d'Ivoire, relapse cases represent 66.5% of patients eligible for retreatment according to the National Tuberculosis Control Program.

S100A7 overexpression is a predictive marker for high risk of malignant transformation in oral dysplasia.

Early detection of oral lesions (OLs) at high risk of cancer development is of utmost importance for intervention. There is an urgent unmet clinical need for biomarkers that allow identification of high-risk OLs. Recently, we identified and verified a panel of five candidate protein biomarkers namely S100A7, prothymosin alpha, 14-3-3ζ, 14-3-3σ and heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein K using proteomics to distinguish OLs with dysplasia and oral cancers from normal oral tissues.

Transglutaminase 2 overexpression in tumor stroma identifies invasive ductal carcinomas of breast at high risk of recurrence.

Introduction: Molecular markers for predicting breast cancer patients at high risk of recurrence are urgently needed for more effective disease management. The impact of alterations in extracellular matrix components on tumor aggressiveness is under intense investigation. Overexpression of Transglutaminase 2 (TG2), a multifunctional enzyme, in cancer cells impacts epithelial mesenchymal transition, growth, invasion and interactions with tumor microenvironment.

Biotinidase is a novel marker for papillary thyroid cancer aggressiveness.

Biotinidase was identified in secretome analysis of thyroid cancer cell lines using proteomics. The goal of the current study was to analyze the expression of biotinidase in thyroid cancer tissues and fine needle aspiration (FNA) samples to evaluate its diagnostic and prognostic potential in thyroid cancer. Immunohistochemical analysis of biotinidase was carried out in 129 papillary thyroid cancer (PTC, 34 benign thyroid tissues and 43 FNA samples and correlated with patients' prognosis.

Manganese amendment and Pleurotus ostreatus treatment to convert tomato pomace for inclusion in poultry feed.

If freshly dried tomato pomace could be fed to poultry, its naturally occurring alpha-tocopherol would retard lipid oxidation during further processing, long-term frozen storage, and heating of poultry meat; however, the high fiber content in this agricultural by-product adversely affects its use. Experiments were conducted to investigate the chemical composition and in vitro true digestibility of amended (without and with 487 micromol of manganese/g) tomato pomace substrate after treatment with the white-rot fungus Pleurotus ostreatus. In treated pomace without manganese, protein content was improved by 3.

Assessment of selected antioxidants in tomato pomace subsequent to treatment with the edible oyster mushroom, Pleurotus ostreatus, under solid-state fermentation.

Tomato pomace, delignified by the edible oyster mushroom, Pleurotus ostreatus, could be used as a poultry feed ingredient to provide alpha-tocopherol for retardation of lipid oxidation in postmortem meat if the antioxidant were retained in pomace after fungal fermentation. Experiments were conducted to investigate changes in the content of alpha-tocopherol, lycopene, and beta-carotene in tomato pomace after sterilization and treatment with P. ostreatus from 0 to 104 days.

Inhibition of cytokine production and cytokine-stimulated T-cell activation by FK506 (tacrolimus)1.

Insofar as it exerted its immunosuppressive effect by inhibiting cytokine expression, we assessed the effect of FK506 (Tacrolimus) on cytokine-stimulated T-cell activation. Human T cells, treated with FK506, or controls were stimulated with the mitogens PHA + PMA, Con A, and the "CD3-bypass" stimulation regimen, PMA + ionomycin. T-cell proliferation was quantitated by measuring the uptake of tritiated thymidine, and mRNA expression was assessed by RT-PCR.

Vaginal calculi in a young woman.

A case of a large vaginal stone in a 26-year-old woman is presented. Vaginal stones are relatively rare. Various causes can lead to vaginal stone formation.

Pretreatment with glucocorticoids enhances T-cell effector function: possible implication for immune rebound accompanying glucocorticoid withdrawal.

Glucocorticoids (GCs) exert their immunosuppressive/antiproliferative effects largely through inhibition of cytokine expression, and paradoxically upregulate the expression of (proinflammatory) cytokine receptors on select nonlymphoid cells. Clinically, withdrawal of GCs was frequently associated with worsening of the outcome of heightened immunity disorders, thereby implicating enhanced cytokine and cytokine receptor expression as a possible consequence of acute/short-term GCs withdrawal. In view of the significance of this complication of GC therapy, we addressed the effect of GC withdrawal on cytokine receptor expression and subsequent T-cell effector function, using the proliferation of human T cells as biological readout.