Treatment Response of Sacrococcygeal Chordoma to Palliative Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy: A Case Report.

Chordomas are rare and locally aggressive tumours that arise from embryonic remnants of the notochord, with a predilection for the skull base, mobile spine, and sacrum. Sacral or sacrococcygeal chordomas can be particularly difficult to manage because of their large size at presentation and involvement of adjacent organs and neural structures. Although the recommended definitive therapy for such tumours is either en bloc resection with or without adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) or definitive fractionated RT with charged particle therapy, older and/or less-fit patients may not necessarily be accepting of said approaches due to the potential morbidities and challenging logistic requirements.

Tectoridin Stimulates the Activity of Human Dermal Papilla Cells and Promotes Hair Shaft Elongation in Mouse Vibrissae Hair Follicle Culture.

To search hair growth-promoting herbal extract, a screening platform of having HEK293T fibroblast being transfected with pTOPFLASH DNA construct was developed over a thousand of herbal extracts and phytochemicals were screened. One of the hits was ethanolic extract of Rhizoma Belamcandae, the rhizome of (L.) DC.

A Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial to Compare the Use of Conventional Dark-Ink Tattoo and Ultraviolet-Ink Tattoo for Patients Undergoing Breast Radiation Therapy.

Purpose: Permanent tattoo marks used in radiation therapy remain for the duration of treatment and essentially for the rest of the patient's life. This study compared the initial positioning setup errors and body image perception between patients with ultraviolet (UV) and conventional dark ink tattoos.

Methods And Materials: Thirty-four patients from February 2018 to March 2019, who underwent radiation therapy (RT) to the breast or chest wall for ductal carcinoma in situ or breast cancer were prospectively recruited and randomized (1:1) to receive either conventional dark ink or UV ink tattoos.

Protects PC12 Cells against 6-OHDA-Induced Neurotoxicity through Antioxidant and Antiapoptotic Effects.

(AR) is a dietary mushroom in the family whose pharmacological activity and medicinal value have rarely been reported. In this study, the antioxidant capacity and neuroprotective effects of AR were investigated. The aqueous extract of AR was confirmed to contain phenolic compounds, polysaccharides, and triterpenes.

Insulin-induced hypoglycaemia suppresses pulsatile luteinising hormone secretion and arcuate Kiss1 cell activation in female mice.

Stress suppresses pulsatile luteinising hormone (LH) secretion in a variety of species, although the mechanism underlying this inhibition of reproductive function remains unclear. Metabolic stress, particularly hypoglycaemia, is a clinically-relevant stress type that is modelled with bolus insulin injection (insulin-induced hypoglycaemia). The present study utilised ovariectomised C57BL/6 mice to test the hypothesis that acute hypoglycaemia suppresses pulsatile LH secretion via central mechanisms.

Letrozole treatment of pubertal female mice results in activational effects on reproduction, metabolism and the gut microbiome.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine disorder in reproductive-aged women that is comprised of two out of the following three features: hyperandrogenism, oligo- or amenorrhea, or polycystic ovaries. In addition to infertility, many women with PCOS have metabolic dysregulation that increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Changes in the gut microbiome are associated with PCOS and gut microbes may be involved in the pathology of this disorder.

Progressive expression of PPARGC1α is associated with hair miniaturization in androgenetic alopecia.

Current opinion views androgens as the pathogenic driver in the miniaturization of hair follicles of androgenetic alopecia by interfering with the dermal papilla. This cannot be the sole cause and therefore it is important for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes to identify additional pathways. Comparative full transcriptome profile analysis of the hair bulb region of normal and miniaturized hair follicles from vertex and occipital region in males with and without androgenetic alopecia revealed that next to the androgen receptor as well the retinoid receptor and particularly the PPAR pathway is involved in progressive hair miniaturization.

Microbiome in the hair follicle of androgenetic alopecia patients.

Androgenetic alopecia is the most common form of hair loss in males. It is a multifactorial condition involving genetic predisposition and hormonal changes. The role of microflora during hair loss remains to be understood.

Exposure to a Healthy Gut Microbiome Protects Against Reproductive and Metabolic Dysregulation in a PCOS Mouse Model.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine disorder affecting ∼10% to 15% of reproductive-aged women worldwide. Diagnosis requires two of the following: hyperandrogenism, oligo-ovulation or anovulation, and polycystic ovaries. In addition to reproductive dysfunction, many women with PCOS display metabolic abnormalities associated with hyperandrogenism.

Letrozole treatment of adult female mice results in a similar reproductive phenotype but distinct changes in metabolism and the gut microbiome compared to pubertal mice.

Background: A majority of women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have metabolic dysfunction that results in an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. We previously developed a pubertal mouse model using the aromatase inhibitor, letrozole, which recapitulates many of the reproductive and metabolic features of PCOS. To further our understanding of the effects of androgen excess, we compared the effects of letrozole treatment initiated in puberty versus adulthood on reproductive and metabolic phenotypes as well as on the gut microbiome.

Aging in hair follicle stem cells and niche microenvironment.

Hair graying and hair loss are prominent and common characteristics of the elderly population. In some individuals these processes can significantly impact their quality of life, leading to depression, anxiety and other serious mental health problems. Accordingly, there has been much interest in understanding the complex physiological changes within the hair follicle in the aging individual.

Differential Expression between Human Dermal Papilla Cells from Balding and Non-Balding Scalps Reveals New Candidate Genes for Androgenetic Alopecia.

Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is a common heritable and androgen-dependent hair loss condition in men. Twelve genetic risk loci are known to date, but it is unclear which genes at these loci are relevant for AGA. Dermal papilla cells (DPCs) located in the hair bulb are the main site of androgen activity in the hair follicle.

Mercury vapor inhalation from Chinese red (Cinnabar).

Introduction: Acute inhalation of mercury fumes or vapors is a rare but frequently fatal cause of acute lung injury. This report describes a rare cause of mercury inhalation from Chinese red.

Case Report: An 87-year-old male inhaled the vapors from heating Chinese red (Cinnabar, mercury sulphide) intended to treat his foot ulceration.