Cabozantinib in Patients with Advanced and Progressing Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Background: Cabozantinib inhibits tyrosine kinases, including vascular endothelial growth factor receptors 1, 2, and 3, MET, and AXL, which are implicated in the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma and the development of resistance to sorafenib, the standard initial treatment for advanced disease. This randomized, double-blind, phase 3 trial evaluated cabozantinib as compared with placebo in previously treated patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.

Methods: A total of 707 patients were randomly assigned in a 2:1 ratio to receive cabozantinib (60 mg once daily) or matching placebo.

Methylmercury complexes: Selection of thermodynamic properties and application to the modelling of a column experiment.

Complexation with methyl groups produces the most toxic form of mercury, especially because of its capacity to bioconcentrate in living tissues. Understanding and integrating methylation and demethylation processes is of the utmost interest in providing geochemical models relevant for environmental assessment. In a first step, we investigated methylation at equilibrium, by selecting the thermodynamic properties of different complexes that form in the chemical system Hg-SO-S-Cl-C-HO.

O(2)-evolving chlorite dismutase as a tool for studying O(2)-utilizing enzymes.

The direct interrogation of fleeting intermediates by rapid-mixing kinetic methods has significantly advanced our understanding of enzymes that utilize dioxygen. The gas's modest aqueous solubility (<2 mM at 1 atm) presents a technical challenge to this approach, because it limits the rate of formation and extent of accumulation of intermediates. This challenge can be overcome by use of the heme enzyme chlorite dismutase (Cld) for the rapid, in situ generation of O(2) at concentrations far exceeding 2 mM.

The influence of therapeutic alliance and insight on medication adherence in schizophrenia.

Background: Poor adherence is one of the leading problems affecting the effectiveness of treatment in schizophrenia. It is an identified factor for relapse and hospitalizations with major social and economic consequences. Various determinants of poor adherence have been identified but few studies investigate the role of therapeutic alliance on medication adherence in routine mental healthcare.

Long-term alpha interferon treatment is effective on anaemia and significantly reduces iron overload in congenital dyserythropoiesis type I.

Interferon has been shown to be an effective treatment of congenital dyserythropoiesis type I (CDA-I), but the optimal dose and the feasibility of this treatment remains to be determined. Here, in a 9-yr follow-up of a single patient, we show that interferon remains active during such a long period. The optimal dose of conventional alpha interferon could be evaluated at 2 million units twice a week.

Laparoscopic repair of incisional hernia: a retrospective study of 159 patients.

Background: In this long-term retrospective study, a laparoscopic technique was used for incisional hernia repair.

Methods: Over a 6-year period, we performed laparoscopic repairs with prosthetic mesh in 159 patients suffering from incisional hernia. Morbidity factors were noted and operative data were collected.

Cauda equina tumors: a French multicenter retrospective review of 231 adult cases and review of the literature.

Large series of cauda equina tumors in adults are seldom reported. This French series retrospectively reviews 231 cases collected for the congress of the Societe Francaise de Neurochirurgie in 1996. The authors first analyze this series and then discuss the pertinent literature.

[Maxillary pre-implant rehabilitation: a study of 55 cases using autologous bone graft augmentation].

Preprosthetic rehabilitation of the maxillary bone is sometimes difficult due to severe bone resorption in the posterolateral regions. The sinus lift with autogenous bony graft has given us satisfactory results since 1990 but requires a rigorous protocol before and during surgery to assure a lasting anchorage to the prosthesis. We describe morbidity and technical choices of this intervention in a series of 55 patients.

alpha-Interferon therapy for congenital dyserythropoiesis type I.

We report the case of a 28-year-old female followed for congenital dyserythropoiesis type I which required repeated transfusions. Alpha-2a interferon treatment was started because of post-transfusion chronic viral hepatitis type C. Following this treatment, haemoglobin level increased and reached normal value during the 24 weeks of interferon treatment.

[The shortening of the ascending ramus of the mandible in a case of Class III malocclusion with open bite].

With reference to a case reported here, the authors emphasize the importance of reducing the length of the ramus of the jaw in rather exceptional forms of gaps between the upper and lower jaws with an increase in the posterior height of the face. This procedure provides more stable results and the patient's gums are no longer revealed when smiling.

[The role of condylectomy in the treatment of mandibular laterognathism in children].

In 7 cases of mandibular laterognathia caused by condylar hypertrophy, the authors specify the clinical and teleradiological features in adolescents. They emphasize the inadequacy of lateral teleradiography and of its measurements, and the need for three-dimensional investigation. In adolescents, secondary deformations, either spontaneous or therapeutic, are rare, and the treatment preferred is condylectomy based on the study of casts.

[Metastatic localization in the buccal cavity. Case report and literature review].

Metastatic tumors of oral cavity are uncommon. Mandibular localisation is the most frequent. Microscopic diagnosis and other metastatic localisations help the diagnosis we are reporting on.

[Visceral leishmaniasis associated with Hodgkin's disease: diagnostic difficulties].

A case of Hodgkin's disease associated from the start with visceral leishmaniasis in the absence of antitumoral treatment shows that leishmaniasis is a severe opportunistic infection in endemic areas and can be masked by the tumoral syndrome of an underlying pathology. Conversely, patients with visceral leishmaniasis must be investigated for a cause of immunosuppression with, in particular, biopsy of accessible lymph nodes. The exceptionally favourable course of this particular case deserved to be high-lighted.

[Cancellous mandibular autografts and titanium mesh].

Pure cancellous bone transplants constitute an alternative to the usual cortico-cancellous grafts used in certain cases for restoring interrupting substance loss (ISL) in the mandible. The greater number of surviving transplant cells, the rapid revascularization and more complete osteogenesis that are achieved cause indications for this type of graft to be particularly well adapted for cases where local repair conditions are precarious, such as bullet wound related sequelae. Indications for their utilization also extend to patient who have had benign tumors excised.

[Melanotic neuroectodermal tumor of childhood or melanotic progonoma. Apropos of a case which recurred as an osteogenic tumor].

We are yielding a case of recurring melanotic neuroectodermal tumor of infancy situated in the premaxilla, with a very quick evolution, haemorrhage, and which has precociously recurred after surgical removal. This tumor is studied on the paraclinical (CT scan, M.I.

Myocardial infarction with normal coronary arteries complicated by rupture of the left ventricular free wall.

We report the case of a 73-year-old woman successfully treated for a subacute rupture of the ventricular free wall which occurred on the fourth day after a postero-lateral myocardial infarction. Angiography performed prior to surgical repair revealed the presence of normal coronary arteries. The pathogenetic mechanism of such a happening remains uncertain, but the role of abrupt recanalization must be considered.

Screening of the Philadelphia variant of galactokinase in racially unmixed black Africans: first results.

In previous reports, it was emphasized that the gene GALKA of galactokinase was the predominant allele in white populations and that another allele, GALKP, which reduces red blood cell activity (RBC GALK), was common in black people. In a group of black Americans living in Philadelphia, the frequency of GALKA was found to be very close to values expected from independent estimation of white admixture. The authors have suggested that the ancestors of these blacks might have been virtually all GALKP homozygous.

[Trap-door fractures of the orbit floor. Apropos of 8 cases].

Trapdoor fractures of the floor of the orbit were first described in 1965 by Soll and Poley. The authors discuss the pathology and pathogenic theories for these lesions and present 8 cases. The diagnosis is essentially clinical and is frequently supported by computed tomography when it is performed rapidly.

[Course of central body temperature in the laminar airflow operating room in various anesthesia procedures].

The oesophageal body temperature of 130 patients was measured pre- and intraoperatively. 92% (n = 116) of the operations (implantation or replacement of hip prostheses) were performed in an operating room having a laminar air flow system with horizontal air flow. 9% (n = 14) of the operations (laparotomies) were performed in a room of identical design without an air circulation system.