[Prostatic brachytherapy indications and technique].

Prostate cancer is an important health problem, mainly in elderly men. It is the second cause of death among men in USA ant the third at the "Registro del Cáncer de Tarragona", behind both the lung and colorectal cancer. About the 58% of the newly diagnosed cancers are localized, therefore, they have to be treated with curative intention.

Selective c-Jun overexpression is associated with ionizing radiation-induced apoptosis in the developing cerebellum of the rat.

Immunohistochemistry to Bcl-2, Bax, c-Myc, c-Fos, Fos-related, c-Jun, Jun B and Jun D was used to study the involvement of these factors in ionizing radiation-induced apoptosis in the cerebellum of the developing rat. Selective c-Jun overexpression was observed during the whole process of radiation-induced cell death. Furthermore, c-Jun overexpression was restricted to apoptotic cells, as shown by double labeling with the method of in situ labeling of nuclear DNA fragmentation and c-Jun immunohistochemistry.

Cell death induced by gamma irradiation of developing skeletal muscle.

Newborn Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to a single dose of 2 Gy gamma rays and killed from 6 h to 5 d later. Increased numbers of dying cells, characterised by their extreme chromatin condensation and often nuclear fragmentation were seen in skeletal muscle 6 h after irradiation. Dying cells decreased to nearly normal values 48 h later.

Amoeboid microglial response following X-ray-induced apoptosis in the neonatal rat brain.

The phagocytic response following X-ray-induced apoptosis in the neonatal rat brain was examined by immunohistochemistry with the antibodies OX-6 and OX-42 which recognize MHC class II antigens and the CR3 complement receptor, respectively. Few OX-6-immunoreactive cells were observed in control rats, and in rats irradiated at postnatal day 2 and examined during the first 2 postnatal weeks. However, a transient increase in the number of OX-42-immunoreactive amoeboid microglia, containing large numbers of apoptotic cells, occurred at 6, 24 and 48 h after irradiation when compared with age-matched controls.

Evidence of internucleosomal DNA fragmentation and identification of dying cells in X-ray-induced cell death in the developing brain.

Newborn Sprague-Dawley rats received a single dose of 2 Gy X-rays and were killed 6 hr later. Dying cells were characterized by extreme chromatin condensation and nuclear fragmentation. Dying cells were distributed in the primary and secondary germinal zones and in other brain regions.