Microneedles with Tunable Dissolution Rate.

Dissolvable microneedle (MN) patches have been widely investigated for transdermal drug delivery. The dissolution rate of MN controls the status of drug release from the MN, which in turn determines drug absorption through skin. However, no systematic approaches have been reported to tune the dissolution profile of dissolvable MN matrices.

Clinical Penetrance of Hereditary Hemochromatosis-Related End-Organ Damage of C282Y Homozygosity, A Newfoundland Experience.

Introduction: Hereditary hemochromatosis is an autosomal recessive disorder of iron absorption, leading to organ dysfunction. C282Y gene homozygosity is implicated in 80%-95% of cases of hereditary hemochromatosis. The clinical penetrance of this genotype remains unclear.

Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron-derived outer membrane vesicles promote regulatory dendritic cell responses in health but not in inflammatory bowel disease.

Background: Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron (Bt) is a prominent member of the human intestinal microbiota that, like all gram-negative bacteria, naturally generates nanosized outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) which bud off from the cell surface. Importantly, OMVs can cross the intestinal epithelial barrier to mediate microbe-host cell crosstalk involving both epithelial and immune cells to help maintain intestinal homeostasis. Here, we have examined the interaction between Bt OMVs and blood or colonic mucosa-derived dendritic cells (DC) from healthy individuals and patients with Crohn's disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC).

Deficient Resident Memory T Cell and CD8 T Cell Response to Commensals in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Background And Aims: The intestinal microbiota is closely associated with resident memory lymphocytes in mucosal tissue. We sought to understand how acquired cellular and humoral immunity to the microbiota differ in health versus inflammatory bowel disease [IBD].

Methods: Resident memory T cells [Trm] in colonic biopsies and local antibody responses to intraepithelial microbes were analysed.

Laparoscopic and endoscopic cooperative surgery (LECS) to overcome the limitations of endoscopic resection for colorectal tumors.

 We developed a laparoscopy endoscopy cooperative surgery (LECS) to overcome the limitations of endoscopic resection for colorectal tumors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of LECS, which combines endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) and laparoscopic partial colectomy.  We performed LECS for 17 colorectal tumors in 17 patients (male:female 10:7; mean age, 66.

Eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorder in coeliac disease: a case report and review.

Eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorder is a rare disorder characterised by eosinophilic infiltration of the gastrointestinal tract. There are various gastrointestinal manifestations with eosinophilic ascites being the most unusual and rare presentation. Diagnosis requires high index of suspicion and exclusion of various disorders associated with peripheral eosinophilia.

Oncogenic pathway combinations predict clinical prognosis in gastric cancer.

Many solid cancers are known to exhibit a high degree of heterogeneity in their deregulation of different oncogenic pathways. We sought to identify major oncogenic pathways in gastric cancer (GC) with significant relationships to patient survival. Using gene expression signatures, we devised an in silico strategy to map patterns of oncogenic pathway activation in 301 primary gastric cancers, the second highest cause of global cancer mortality.

Recurrent giant fibrovascular polyp of the esophagus.

Giant fibrovascular polyps of the esophagus and hypopharynx are rare benign esophageal tumors. They arise most commonly in the upper esophagus and may, rarely, originate in the hypopharynx. They can vary significantly in size.

Clinical validation of a customized multiple signature microarray for breast cancer.

Purpose: Current histopathologic systems for classifying breast tumors require evaluation of multiple variables and are often associated with significant interobserver variability. Recent studies suggest that gene expression profiles may represent a promising alternative for clinical cancer classification. Here, we investigated the use of a customized microarray as a potential tool for clinical practice.

Amplification and overexpression of PPFIA1, a putative 11q13 invasion suppressor gene, in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Chromosomal amplifications of the 11q13 genomic region are frequent in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). To identify novel 11q13 amplification targets, we integrated high-resolution array-based comparative genomic hybridization and Affymetrix gene-expression profiling of eight HNSCC cell lines. We found that PPFIA1 was the highest upregulated gene in the 11q13 amplicon of HNSCC cell lines when compared with HNSCC lines without 11q13 amplification and confirmed the upregulation of PPFIA1 in primary HNSCCs by real-time PCR.

Significance of tumour volume measurements in tongue cancer: a novel role in staging.

Background: Tongue cancers are staged by the American Joint Committee on Cancer and the Union Internationale Contre le Cancer TNM staging systems. Cancer, however, evolves in a 3-D plane. Hence, using the largest tumour diameter will not reflect total cancer volume.

Unusual recurrence after chemoirradiation and surgery for squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue.

Locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue represents a significant therapeutic challenge. Novel methods using systemic chemotherapy with concurrent radiotherapy have been used to improve loco-regional response in patients who historically have poor prognosis. The simultaneous use of both modalities enhances planned local treatment by radiosensitization and potentially eradicates micrometastatic disease.

Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC)--multi-modality treatment and impact on survival.

Introduction: Head and neck cancers remain one of the top twenty cancers in Singapore for the past decade. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the commonest histology. Our aim was to obtain local figures on treatment modalities and survival outcomes.

Extracranial non-vestibular head and neck schwannomas: a ten-year experience.

Introduction: We present a series of head and neck extracranial non-vestibular schwannomas treated during a ten-year period, assessing epidemiology, presenting signs and symptoms, location, nerve of origin, diagnostic modalities, treatment and clinical outcome.

Materials And Methods: Clinical records of all patients with head and neck schwannomas treated at our department from April 1995 to July 2005 were retrospectively reviewed.

Results: There was female predominance (67%).

An isothermal primer extension method for whole genome amplification of fresh and degraded DNA: applications in comparative genomic hybridization, genotyping and mutation screening.

We describe a protocol that uses a bioinformatically optimized primer in an isothermal whole genome amplification (WGA) reaction. Overnight incubation at 37 degrees C efficiently generates several hundred- to several thousand-fold increases in input DNA. The amplified product retains reasonably faithful quantitative representation of unamplified whole genomic DNA (gDNA).

Non-neoplastic cystic and cystic-like lesions of the pancreas: may mimic pancreatic cystic neoplasms.

Background: Cystic lesions of the pancreas consist of a broad range of pathological entities. With the exception of the pancreatic pseudocyst, these are usually caused by pancreatic cystic neoplasms. Non-neoplastic pancreatic cystic and cystic-like lesions are extremely rare.

An isothermal method for whole genome amplification of fresh and degraded DNA for comparative genomic hybridization, genotyping and mutation detection.

Molecular genotyping has important biomedical and forensic applications. However, limiting amounts of human biological material often yield genomic DNA (gDNA) in insufficient quantity and of poor quality for a reliable analysis. This motivated the development of an efficient whole genome amplification method with quantitatively unbiased representation usable on fresh and degraded gDNA.

Intrahepatic biliary cystadenoma presenting with obstructive jaundice.

Biliary cystadenoma (BCA) is a rare neoplasm of the bile duct with malignant potential. We report a case of intrahepatic BCA with an unusual presentation of obstructive jaundice. Computed tomography scan of the abdomen revealed a dilated common bile duct and intrahepatic ducts with internal septa.

A combined comparative genomic hybridization and expression microarray analysis of gastric cancer reveals novel molecular subtypes.

Comparative genomic hybridization (CGH), microsatellite instability (MSI) assays, and expression microarrays were used to molecularly subclassify a common set of gastric tumor samples. We identified a number of novel genomic aberrations associated with gastric cancer and discovered that gastric tumors could be grouped by their expression profiles into three broad classes: "tumorigenic," "reactive," and "gastric-like." Patients with gastric-like tumors exhibited a significantly better overall survival than patients belonging to the other two classes (P < 0.