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.

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.

Needle autopsy to establish the cause of death in HIV-infected hospitalized adults in Uganda: a comparison to complete autopsy.

Introduction: Minimal invasive but accurate methods to establish the cause of death in HIV-infected patients are needed. We studied the agreement in cause of death between blind and ultrasound-guided needle autopsy and complete autopsy in HIV-infected patients in Uganda.

Methods: We subsequently performed a blind and ultrasound-guided needle autopsy followed by a complete autopsy in HIV-infected adults who died during hospitalization.

Prothrombotic factors in histologically proven nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.

Unlabelled: An independent role of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in the development of cardiovascular disease has been suggested, probably mediated through increased levels of prothrombotic factors. Therefore, we examined whether NAFLD is linked to a prothrombotic state, independently of metabolic risk factors in a large single-center cohort of overweight/obese patients. Patients presenting to the obesity clinic underwent a detailed metabolic and liver assessment, including an extensive panel of coagulation factors.

Increased intrahepatic resistance in severe steatosis: endothelial dysfunction, vasoconstrictor overproduction and altered microvascular architecture.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease can progress to steatohepatitis and fibrosis, and is also associated with impaired liver regeneration. The pathophysiology remains elusive. We recently showed that severe steatosis is associated with an increase in portal pressure, suggesting liver flow impairment.

Noninvasive assessment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in obese or overweight patients.

Background & Aims: Reliable noninvasive tools are needed for staging nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Published scoring systems have not been validated in prospective assessments of unselected patients. We aimed to identify factors that predicted development of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in a large group of overweight or obese patients and compared these with established factors.

An autopsy study describing causes of death and comparing clinico-pathological findings among hospitalized patients in Kampala, Uganda.

Background: Information on causes of death in HIV-infected patients in Sub-Saharan Africa is mainly derived from observational cohort and verbal autopsy studies. Autopsy is the gold standard to ascertain cause of death. We conducted an autopsy study to describe and compare the clinical and autopsy causes of death and contributory findings in hospitalized HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected patients in Uganda.

Fine tuning of the Van Nuys prognostic index (VNPI) 2003 by integrating the genomic grade index (GGI): new tools for ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is considered a heterogeneous premalignant condition of the breast with a certain probability for progressing to malignancy. There is no standard of care. The updated Van Nuys Prognostic Index (VNPI) 2003 is a clinical tool in treatment decision making.

Old focus of cysticercosis in a senegalese village revisited after half a century.

The objective of this epidemiological study was to determine whether cysticercosis and especially neurocysticercosis is endemic in Soutou village about half a century after the 1962 outbreak. This study was carried out from September 2009 to February 2010. It involved a questionnaire administration, serology, treatment, coproscopy and neuro-imaging.

Noncirrhotic human nonalcoholic fatty liver disease induces portal hypertension in relation to the histological degree of steatosis.

Introduction: We earlier showed in an animal model that steatosis, in the absence of fibrosis or inflammation, induces a significant rise in portal pressure. The relevance of these findings for human pathology is unknown till date.

Aims: To study portal pressure in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease patients and to identify factors possibly related to steatosis-induced changes in liver haemodynamics.

Autopsy causes of death in HIV-positive individuals in sub-Saharan Africa and correlation with clinical diagnoses.

Despite the persistently high HIV-related mortality in sub-Saharan Africa, limited information on the causes of death is available. Pathological autopsies are the gold standard to establish causes of death. In this review we describe the autopsy series performed among HIV-infected individuals in sub-Saharan Africa over the last two decades.

Bovine papillomavirus DNA can be detected in keratinocytes of equine sarcoid tumors.

Bovine papillomavirus (BPV)-1 and -2 is linked to equine sarcoids, a commonly observed skin tumor in horses that is of considerable veterinary importance. Previous studies using in situ hybridization have detected BPV DNA only in fibroblasts and not in keratinocytes of sarcoids. In contrast, normal equine skin latently infected with BPV shows a dysplastic epithelium without dermal changes, similar to lesions induced by other papillomavirus types infecting the epithelium.

Clinical potential of intravenous neural stem cell delivery for treatment of neuroinflammatory disease in mice?

While neural stem cells (NSCs) are widely expected to become a therapeutic agent for treatment of severe injuries to the central nervous system (CNS), currently there are only few detailed preclinical studies linking cell fate with experimental outcome. In this study, we aimed to validate whether IV administration of allogeneic NSC can improve experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a well-established animal model for human multiple sclerosis (MS). For this, we cultured adherently growing luciferase-expressing NSCs (NSC-Luc), which displayed a uniform morphology and expression profile of membrane and intracellular markers, and which displayed an in vitro differentiation potential into neurons and astrocytes.

Porcine cysticercosis and risk factors in the gambia and senegal.

During a stratified cross-sectional survey, 1705 pigs were sampled from 279 randomly selected households, 63 randomly selected communities and villages, from four study areas in The Gambia and Senegal during the period October 2007 to January 2008. Porcine cysticercosis prevalence detected by tongue inspection at animal level per study area ranged from 0.1% to 1.

Array-based DNA methylation profiling for breast cancer subtype discrimination.

Background: Abnormal DNA methylation is well established for breast cancer and contributes to its progression by silencing tumor suppressor genes. DNA methylation profiling platforms might provide an alternative approach to expression microarrays for accurate breast tumor subtyping. We sought to determine whether the distinction of the inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) phenotype from the non-IBC phenotype by transcriptomics could be sustained by methylomics.

Is there a role for mammary stem cells in inflammatory breast carcinoma?: a review of evidence from cell line, animal model, and human tissue sample experiments.

Stem cells are pluripotent cells, with a large replicative potential, which perform normal physiological functions such as tissue renewal and damage repair. However, because of their long lifespan and high replicative potential, stem cells are ideal targets to accumulate multiple mutations. Therefore, they can be regarded as being responsible for the initiation of tumor formation.

Prognostic value of a biologic classification of non-small-cell lung cancer into the growth patterns along with other clinical, pathological and immunohistochemical factors.

Objectives: Classification of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) into growth patterns is based on the following question: What does the tumour do with normal lung parenchyma? There are only three possible ways according to which a tumour can behave: (1) preservation of lung tissue and use of its microenvironment for further growth, (2) destruction of lung tissue and formation of new microenvironment for continued expansion and (3) preservation of lung tissue and formation of new microenvironment (modulation). The aim of the current study is to test the prognostic value of growth-pattern classification along with other clinical, pathological and immunohistochemical factors.

Methods: Clinicopathological factors of 239 patients operated for NSCLC were retrospectively reviewed.

Tumor infiltrating lymphocytes: an intriguing player in the survival of colorectal cancer patients.

Background: There is growing evidence that both local and systemic inflammatory responses play an important role in the progression of a variety of solid tumors. Colorectal cancer results from the cumulative effect of sequential genetic alterations, leading to the expression of tumor associated antigens possibly inducing a cellular anti-tumor immune response. It is well recognized that cytotoxic lymphocytes constitute one of the most important effector mechanisms of anti-tumor-immunity.

Detection of HPV and the role of p16INK4A overexpression as a surrogate marker for the presence of functional HPV oncoprotein E7 in colorectal cancer.

Background: Based on the well-recognized etiological role of human papillomavirus (HPV) in cervical, anogenital and oropharyngeal carcinogenesis, a potential role of HPV in colorectal carcinogenesis has been suggested. For that reason, the aim of the present study was to investigate the presence of HPV DNA in colorectal carcinomas (CRC) and to study overexpression of p16INK4A as a marker for the presence of an active HPV oncoprotein E7. These findings were correlated with clinical and pathological prognostic factors of CRC.

Quantitative methylation profiling in tumor and matched morphologically normal tissues from breast cancer patients.

Background: In the present study, we determined the gene hypermethylation profiles of normal tissues adjacent to invasive breast carcinomas and investigated whether these are associated with the gene hypermethylation profiles of the corresponding primary breast tumors.

Methods: A quantitative methylation-specific PCR assay was used to analyze the DNA methylation status of 6 genes (DAPK, TWIST, HIN-1, RASSF1A, RARbeta2 and APC) in 9 normal breast tissue samples from unaffected women and in 56 paired cancerous and normal tissue samples from breast cancer patients.

Results: Normal tissue adjacent to breast cancer displayed statistically significant differences to unrelated normal breast tissues regarding the aberrant methylation of the RASSF1A (P = 0.

Atypical presentation of an atypical carcinoid.

Carcinoids are malignant neuroendocrine tumors consisting of a spectrum of neoplasms from low-grade typical carcinoid to high-grade small cell carcinoma. Primary neuroendocrine lesions in the mediastinum, especially the thymic region, are rare. Therefore, presently no uniform criteria are available for diagnosis, staging, risk assessment, and treatment.

Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis induces non-fibrosis-related portal hypertension associated with splanchnic vasodilation and signs of a hyperdynamic circulation in vitro and in vivo in a rat model.

Introduction: Steatosis, without fibrosis, may lead to changes in liver blood flow, which are poorly understood, and to date have not been correlated to portal pressure and related haemodynamics.

Aims: To study the temporal relation between progressive steatosis, portal pressure, systemic haemodynamics, vascular responsiveness, mesenteric and portal blood flow in methionine-choline-deficient diet (MCDD)-fed rats.

Methods: Male Wistar rats fed the MCDD were examined at week (w) 0-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8, respectively, including systemic haemodynamics and portal pressure.