Accuracy of Lipoarabinomannan and Xpert MTB/RIF Testing in Cerebrospinal Fluid To Diagnose Tuberculous Meningitis in an Autopsy Cohort of HIV-Infected Adults.

Point-of-care tests for tuberculous meningitis (TBM) are needed. We studied the diagnostic accuracy of the lipoarabinomannan (LAM) lateral flow assay (LFA), LAM enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and Xpert MTB/RIF in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in an autopsy cohort of Ugandan HIV-infected adults. We obtained written informed consent postmortem from the next of kin.

Long-term remission of locally recurrent oropharyngeal cancer after docetaxel-based chemotherapy plus cetuximab.

Background: In recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma ineligible for resection or irradiation, treatment aims primarily at symptom control and quality of life enhancement with an expected outcome of 6-12 months.

Methods: In 2005, a male patient, born in 1944, with a second local recurrence of human papillomavirus negative tonsil cancer was enrolled in the EXTREME trial, and randomized to platinum/5-fluorouracil/cetuximab arm resulting in partial remission with progression-free survival of 12 months. The second-line systemic therapy comprised 5 cycles of 3-weekly docetaxel/cisplatin/5-fluorouracil regimen plus weekly cetuximab.

Is Urinary Lipoarabinomannan the Result of Renal Tuberculosis? Assessment of the Renal Histology in an Autopsy Cohort of Ugandan HIV-Infected Adults.

Objective: The detection of urinary lipoarabinomannan (LAM), a mycobacterial cell wall component, is used to diagnose tuberculosis (TB). How LAM enters the urine is not known. To investigate if urinary LAM-positivity is the result of renal TB infection we correlated the outcomes of urinary LAM-antigen testing to renal histology in an autopsy cohort of hospitalized, Ugandan, HIV-infected adults.

PPARα gene expression correlates with severity and histological treatment response in patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.

Background & Aims: Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) have been implicated in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) pathogenesis, mainly based on animal data. Gene expression data in NASH patients are scarce. We studied liver PPARα, β/δ, and γ expression in a large cohort of obese patients assessed for presence of NAFLD at baseline and 1 year follow-up.

Practice of percutaneous needle autopsy; a descriptive study reporting experiences from Uganda.

Background: Percutaneous needle autopsy can overcome a number of barriers that limit the use of complete autopsies. We performed blind-and ultrasound guided needle autopsies in HIV-infected adults in Uganda. In this study we describe in detail the methods we used, the ability of both procedures to obtain sufficient tissue for further examination and the learning curve of the operators over time.