Heparanase 1 Upregulation Promotes Tumor Progression and Is a Predictor of Low Survival for Oral Cancer.

Oral cavity cancer is still an important public health problem throughout the world. Oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs) can be quite aggressive and metastatic, with a low survival rate and poor prognosis. However, this is usually related to the clinical stage and histological grade, and molecular prognostic markers for clinical practice are yet to be defined.

Reproductive outcomes of infertile women undergoing "see and treat" office hysteroscopy: a retrospective observational study.

Introduction: This study aimed to assess the feasibility and efficacy of office hysteroscopy to diagnose and treat the specific uterine pathologies frequently diagnosed and thought to be associated with female infertility.

Material And Methods: Using office hysteroscopy, we examined the uterine cavity in women with primary or secondary infertility and evaluated the reproductive outcomes of those affected by one or more pathologies, including cervico-isthmic adhesions, intrauterine polyps and intrauterine adhesions. Additional patient characteristics considered were age and parity, uterine pathology, pain during hysteroscopy, and outcomes including spontaneous pregnancies achieved and time between treatment and pregnancy.

The role of cervical color Doppler ultrasound in the diagnosis of brain death.

Purpose: Brain death (BD) is defined as the irreversible destruction of all brain functions. It is usually diagnosed through a clinical examination, but in certain circumstances, ancillary examinations (such as digital subtraction angiography (DSA), transcranial color Doppler (TCD), computed tomography angiography (CTA), magnetic resonance angiography (MRA), or radionuclide scanning) are required as confirmatory tests. In many countries, cervical color Doppler sonography (CCD) is not recognized as a valid test.

Analysis of histological findings obtained combining US/mp-MRI fusion-guided biopsies with systematic US biopsies: mp-MRI role in prostate cancer detection and false negative.

Aims And Objectives: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of mp-MRI correlating US/mp-MRI fusion-guided biopsy with systematic random US-guided biopsy in prostate cancer diagnosis.

Materials And Methods: 137 suspected prostatic abnormalities were identified on mp-MRI (1.5T) in 96 patients and classified according to PI-RADS score v2.

Otorrhagia and Nosebleed as first signs of Intravascular Absorption Syndrome During Hysteroscopy: From Bench to Bedside.

Hysteroscopic surgery is indicated for the treatment of several intrauterine diseases. The surgeon needs to be aware of, and know how to prevent, possible complications related to these procedures. In the case of operative hysteroscopy, the systemic effects of low-viscosity fluid uptake must be considered in order to prevent the complications in the patient.

Historical, morphological and clinical overview of placental site trophoblastic tumors: from bench to bedside.

Introduction: Placental site trophoblastic tumor (PSTT) is a form of gestational trophoblastic disease that originates from the implantation of an intermediate trophoblast. It was described for the first time by Von F. Marchand in 1895 as belonging to chorioepithelioma sui generis, a pathological condition with many variations and a progressive degree of malignancy.

Dienogest as preoperative treatment of submucous myomas for hysteroscopic surgery: a prospective, randomized study.

The aim of this single-center, prospective, randomized, parallel-group study was to compare Dienogest and Danazol as endometrial preparation in patients who have to undergo hysteroscopic surgery for submucous myomas. We enrolled 80 consecutive eligible patients, in reproductive age, affected by submucous myomas. Pre- and posttreatment characterization of endometrium was performed by hysteroscopic visual observation and histologic confirmation.

Hashimoto thyroiditis onset after laparoscopic removal of struma ovarii: an overview to unravel a rare and intriguing finding.

Struma ovarii is an uncommon type of ovarian tumor derived by germinal cells, characterized by the predominance of thyroid tissue (> 50%); 90-95% of these formations are benign and mainly affect the left ovary, while in 6% of the cases struma ovarii is bilateral. The malignant transformation is a rare condition that often occurs after 50 years. In most instances, diagnosis of malignant struma ovarii is made postoperatively during histological analysis.

Dopaminergic modulation of cortical plasticity in Alzheimer's disease patients.

In animal models of Alzheimer's disease (AD), mechanisms of cortical plasticity such as long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD) are impaired. In AD patients, LTP-like cortical plasticity is abolished, whereas LTD seems to be preserved. Dopaminergic transmission has been hypothesized as a new player in ruling mechanisms of cortical plasticity in AD.

Developmental and clinical overview of lithopaidion.

Lithopaidion, or stone child, is generally a single rare asymptomatic formation that evolves from an undiagnosed and untreated advanced abdominal pregnancy. The dead fetus is retained in the maternal abdominal cavity, which causes calcification. In this paper, we review the literature on the epidemiology, etiopathogenesis and clinical features of lithopaidion and report a unique case of lithokelyphos in a patient with an ectopic fallopian pregnancy.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and robotic practice in chronic stroke: the dimension of timing.

Background: Combining tDCS with robotic therapy is a new and promising form of neurorehabilitation after stroke, however the effectiveness of this approach is likely to be influenced by the relative timing of the brain stimulation and the therapy.

Objective: To measure the kinematic and neurophysiological effects of delivering tDCS before, during and after a single session of robotic motor practice (wrist extension).

Methods: We used a within-subjects repeated-measurement design in 12 chronic (>6 months) stroke survivors.

Levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine device in the treatment of abnormal uterine bleeding: a 6- and 12-month morphological and clinical follow-up.

Background: Abnormal uterine bleeding is defined as any alteration in the pattern or volume of menstrual blood flow, and it is preferably treated using hysterectomy, endometrial destruction or the levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system (Mirena(®) ). Recently, it has been demonstrated that studies of Mirena(®) were generally small and consequently imprecise.

Aims: Our study was aimed at assessing the effects of a slow-release levonorgestrel (20 μg/day) intrauterine device in fertile and postmenopausal women experiencing abnormal uterine bleeding that did not respond to traditional medical management.

FMRI resting slow fluctuations correlate with the activity of fast cortico-cortical physiological connections.

Recording of slow spontaneous fluctuations at rest using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) allows distinct long-range cortical networks to be identified. The neuronal basis of connectivity as assessed by resting-state fMRI still needs to be fully clarified, considering that these signals are an indirect measure of neuronal activity, reflecting slow local variations in de-oxyhaemoglobin concentration. Here, we combined fMRI with multifocal transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), a technique that allows the investigation of the causal neurophysiological interactions occurring in specific cortico-cortical connections.

Inter-hemispheric coupling changes associate with motor improvements after robotic stroke rehabilitation.

Purpose: In the chronic phase of stroke brain plasticity plays a crucial role for further motor control improvements. This study aims to assess the brain plastic reorganizations and their association with clinical progresses induced by a robot-aided rehabilitation program in chronic stroke patients.

Methods: 7 stroke patients with an upper limb motor impairment in chronic phase underwent a multi-modal evaluation before starting and at the end of a 12-week upper-limb neurorehabilitation program.

Cerebrospinal fluid levels of Aβ42 relationship with cholinergic cortical activity in Alzheimer's disease patients.

The dysfunction of cholinergic neurons is a typical hallmark in Alzheimer's disease (AD). In animal models of AD, fragments of amyloid beta protein (Aβ) and Tau protein are thought to interfere with central cholinergic transmission, specifically with synthesis and release of acetylcholine. Thus, we aimed to investigate whether the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of Aβ42 and Tau proteins in AD patients could influence physiological central cholinergic activity.

θ-burst stimulation of the left hemisphere accelerates recovery of hemispatial neglect.

Objective: Cortico-cortical circuits originating from the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) of the intact left hemisphere (LH) may become hyperexcitable in patients with hemispatial neglect due to a right hemispheric (RH) stroke.

Methods: In the current randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled study, we investigated safety and efficacy of continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS) in 10 sessions over 2 weeks applied over the intact PPC of the LH in subacute ischemic stroke patients. Severity of neglect was assessed through the standardized Behavioral Inattention Test (BIT).

Reversal of TMS-induced motor twitch by training is associated with a reduction in excitability of the antagonist muscle.

Background: A single session of isolated repetitive movements of the thumb can alter the response to transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), such that the related muscle twitch measured post-training occurs in the trained direction. This response is attributed to transient excitability changes in primary motor cortex (M1) that form the early part of learning. We investigated; (1) whether this phenomenon might occur for movements at the wrist, and (2) how specific TMS activation patterns of opposing muscles underlie the practice-induced change in direction.

The influence of planned kinds of delivery on pregnant women's emotional state.

Objective: To evaluate if labour induction and elective caesarean section could influence anxiety and depression in pregnant women.

Methods: One hundred and sixteen consecutive pregnant women with uncomplicated singleton pregnancy at term, scheduled for these two obstetric procedures were enrolled. An anonymous questionnaire with two self-rating instruments STAI and HAM-A for anxiety and HAM-D for depression was administered.

Asymmetry of parietal interhemispheric connections in humans.

Visuospatial abilities are preferentially mediated by the right hemisphere. Although this asymmetry of function is thought to be due to an unbalanced interaction between cerebral hemispheres, the underlying neurophysiological substrate is still largely unknown. Here, using a method of trifocal transcranial magnetic stimulation, we show that the right, but not left, human posterior parietal cortex exerts a strong inhibitory activity over the contralateral homologous area by a short-latency connection.

Long-term effects on cortical excitability and motor recovery induced by repeated muscle vibration in chronic stroke patients.

Background: Muscle vibration modifies corticomotor excitability in healthy subjects and reduces muscle tonus in stroke patients.

Objective: This study examined whether repeated muscle vibration (rMV) applied over the flexor carpi radialis (FCR) and biceps brachii (BB) can induce long-lasting changes, using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), in patients with chronic stroke.

Methods: Thirty hemiparetic patients who offered at least minimal wrist and elbow isometric voluntary contractions were randomly assigned to either an experimental group, which received rMV in addition to physiotherapy (rMV + PT), or a control group that underwent PT alone.