Botulism toxemia following laparoscopic appendectomy.

We describe a case of botulism infection in a patient who had undergone laparoscopic appendectomy, an occurrence not previously described in the literature. This case exemplifies the need for coordination between clinical and public health personnel to ensure the immediate recognition and treatment of suspected botulism cases.

Significant effect of size on the in vivo biodistribution of gold composite nanodevices in mouse tumor models.

There is growing interest in developing tissue-specific multifunctional drug delivery systems with the ability to diagnose or treat several diseases. One class of such agents, composite nanodevices (CNDs), is multifunctional nanomaterials with several potential medical uses, including cancer imaging and therapy. Nanosized metal-dendrimer CNDs consist of poly(amidoamine) dendrimers (in various sizes, surface substituents, and net charges) and inorganic nanoparticles, properties of both of which can be individually modified and optimized.

Tetrathiomolybdate blocks bFGF- but not VEGF-induced incipient angiogenesis in vitro.

Background: Angiogenesis is a multi-step process which involves endothelial cell sprouting from existing blood vessels, followed by migration, proliferation, alignment and tube formation. Tetrathiomolybdate (TM) is a multi-hit antiangiogenic agent with actions against multiple angiogenic pathways. These inhibitory effects of TM are attributed to its potent copper level-reducing property.

Combination tetrathiomolybdate and radiation therapy in a mouse model of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Objective: To assess the effect of combining tetrathiomolybdate therapy and radiation treatment (RT) on tumor growth in the mouse head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) model.

Design: One million HNSCC cells were injected subcutaneously into the flanks of C3H/HeJ mice and the tumors grown to an average of 301 mm3 (day 0). Mice were randomized into 4 groups: (a) no therapy, (b) tetrathiomolybdate alone, (c) RT alone, or (d) tetrathiomolybdate + RT.