Inferior oblique sparing brachytherapy plaque placement for juxtafoveal peripapillary choroidal melanoma.

Plaque brachytherapy has been used in the management of small to medium-sized choroidal melanomas for the past few decades. As the inferior oblique muscle lies in close relation to the macula, the placement procedure of plaques often involves sacrificing the inferior oblique muscle, especially in cases of macular or perimacular choroidal melanomas. In this study, we have described a simple maneuver to preserve the inferior oblique muscle.

Risk Factors for Post-Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG) Atrial Fibrillation and the Role of Aspirin and Beta Blockers in its Prevention.

Atrial fibrillation/flutter (AF) is the most common arrhythmia following coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and it increases morbidity and mortality associated with this procedure. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the predictability of this arrhythmia using previously identified risk factors and to assess the efficacy of recommended prophylactic beta blocker (BB) therapy in the prevention of post CABG AF. We performed a retrospective chart analysis of consecutive patients undergoing elective CABG during 1 year period.

Integrative continuum: accelerating therapeutic advances in rare autoimmune diseases.

Autoimmune diseases are chronic, life threatening, and of burgeoning public health concern. They rank among the 10 most common causes of death in women, and some have incidence rates surpassing those of heart disease and cancer. Emerging information regarding molecular and cellular mechanisms affords opportunities for the discovery of novel therapeutic strategies or the repurposing of FDA-approved pharmacologic agents.

Ortner's syndrome: case series and literature review.

Unlabelled: More than a century ago, Ortner described a case of cardiovocal syndrome wherein he attributed a case of left vocal fold immobility to compression of the recurrent laryngeal nerve by a dilated left atrium in a patient with mitral valve stenosis. Since then, the term Ortner's syndrome has come to encompass any nonmalignant, cardiac, intrathoracic process that results in embarrassment of either recurrent laryngeal nerve-usually by stretching, pulling, or compression; and causes vocal fold paralysis. Not surprisingly, the left recurrent laryngeal nerve, with its longer course around the aortic arch, is more frequently involved than the right nerve, which passes around the subclavian artery.

Sentinel lymph node biopsy for papillary thyroid cancer: 12 years of experience at a single institution.

Background: The purpose of this study was to report our experience with sentinel lymph node dissection (SLND) for papillary thyroid carcinoma, to evaluate the feasibility and safety of the procedure, and to examine its potential utility as a guide for central neck dissection.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective chart review of patients undergoing total thyroidectomy from January 1998 thru January 2010 was conducted. Intratumoral injection of blue dye was used to identify the SLN.

Right atrial paraganglioma: a rare primary cardiac neoplasm as a cause of chest pain.

A 37-year-old man presented with chest pain, fever, and tachycardia. Electrocardiography revealed no ST-T wave changes, and cardiac markers were normal. Computed tomography of the chest showed a 7-cm mass in the right atrium.

Brain glucose metabolism in hypothyroidism: a positron emission tomography study before and after thyroid hormone replacement therapy.

Context: Hypothyroidism is frequently associated with subtle behavioral and psychiatric symptoms. The consequences of inadequate thyroid hormone availability to brain metabolism are poorly understood.

Objective: This study assessed the relationships between neuropsychiatric symptoms and changes in relative regional cerebral glucose metabolism in hypothyroid patients undergoing thyroid hormone replacement therapy.

Verbal memory retrieval deficits associated with untreated hypothyroidism.

The effects of inadequate thyroid hormone availability to the brain on adult cognitive function are poorly understood. This study assessed the effects of hypothyroidism on cognitive function using a standard neuropsychological battery in 14 patients suffering from untreated hypothyroidism and complaining of subjective cognitive difficulties in comparison with 10 age-matched healthy comparison subjects. Significant differences between groups were limited to verbal memory retrieval as measured by the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT).

Memory improvement with treatment of hypothyroidism.

The consequences of inadequate thyroid hormone availability to the brain and treatment effects of levothyroxine on cognitive function are still poorly understood. This study prospectively assessed the effects of thyroid replacement therapy on cognitive function in patients suffering from biochemical evidenced, untreated hypothyroidism. Significant effects between the untreated hypothyroid group and control group were limited to verbal memory retrieval.

Elevated serum parathyroid hormone concentration in eucalcemic patients after parathyroidectomy for primary hyperparathyroidism and its relationship to vitamin D profile.

Elevation of serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) level in eucalcemic patients after parathyroidectomy for primary hyperparathyroidism has been described in up to 40% of patients, but little is known about its etiology or clinical significance. To better understand the cause of this phenomenon, we studied 49 patients without renal dysfunction or osteomalacia who underwent parathyroidectomy for primary hyperparathyroidism. Patients were categorized into 2 groups based on their serum PTH and calcium levels after parathyroidectomy: (1) elevated PTH with eucalcemia (n = 21), (2) normal PTH with eucalcemia (n = 28).

Signaling pathways involved in induction of GADD45 gene expression and apoptosis by troglitazone in human MCF-7 breast carcinoma cells.

We previously reported that the PPARgamma agonist troglitazone (TRO) inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis in human MCF-7 breast carcinoma cells. To understand the mechanisms of antiproliferative and pro-apoptotic effects of TRO, we screened a limited DNA array containing 23 genes involved in regulating either the cell cycle and/or apoptosis. Four of the 23 genes screened exhibited regulation by TRO, with growth arrest and DNA damage-inducible gene 45 (GADD45) being the most strongly upregulated.

Expression of minichromosome maintenance proteins in vascular smooth muscle cells is ERK/MAPK dependent.

Proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) represents a key event for the pathogenesis of postangioplasty restenosis. Minichromosome maintenance proteins (MCM) form essential components of the prereplicative complex at DNA replication origins and are regulated by E2F. The present studies were designed to investigate the signal transduction pathways controlling the expression of MCM6 and MCM7 in VSMC in response to mitogenic stimuli.

Regulation of the growth arrest and DNA damage-inducible gene 45 (GADD45) by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma in vascular smooth muscle cells.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) gamma is activated by thiazolidinediones (TZDs), widely used as insulin-sensitizing agents for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. TZDs have been shown to induce apoptosis in a variety of mammalian cells. In vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), proliferation and apoptosis may be competing processes during the formation of restenotic and atherosclerotic lesions.

A parathyroid hormone-related protein-secreting metastatic epithelioid leiomyosarcoma. A case report and review of the literature.

A diagnosis of parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTH-rP)-secreting metastatic uterine epithelioid leiomyosarcoma was made in a 61-year-old woman with humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy. A primary uterine tumor had been removed 10 years previously, which had been associated with a short history of hypercalcemia. The original uterine tumor was diagnosed as a smooth muscle tumor of uncertain malignant potential.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma inhibits expression of minichromosome maintenance proteins in vascular smooth muscle cells.

Using a cDNA array consisting only of cell cycle genes, we found that a novel nonthiazolidinedione partial peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) agonist (nTZDpa) inhibited expression of minichromosome maintenance (MCM) proteins 6 and 7 in vascular smooth muscle cells. MCM proteins are required for the initiation and elongation stages of DNA replication and are regulated by the transcription factor E2F. Mitogen-induced MCM6 and MCM7 mRNA expression was potently inhibited by nTZDpa and to a lesser degree by the full PPARgamma agonist, rosiglitazone.

Rapamycin inhibits E2F-dependent expression of minichromosome maintenance proteins in vascular smooth muscle cells.

Rapamycin inhibits vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferation and rapamycin-eluting stents represent a novel therapeutic strategy for preventing postangioplasty restenosis. The precise molecular mechanism, for rapamycin-mediated inhibition of VSMC cell cycle progression and DNA replication remain to be elucidated. Minichromosome maintenance proteins (MCM) are essential regulators of DNA replication and the objective of this study was to examine the effect of rapamycin on their expression in rat aortic VSMC.

Vitamin D-mediated hypercalcemia in lymphoma: evidence for hormone production by tumor-adjacent macrophages.

Nearly one-half of all hypercalcemic patients with lymphoma present with inappropriately elevated circulating concentrations of the active vitamin D metabolite 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)2D3). However, the cellular source of the vitamin D hormone in lymphomas remains unclear. To address this, we report the case of a 75-year-old man with hypercalcemia associated with raised circulating concentrations of 1,25(OH)2D3 and suppressed parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels.

Atorvastatin inhibits expression of minichromosome maintenance proteins in vascular smooth muscle cells.

3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors have been reported to inhibit vascular smooth muscle cell growth, a key event in the pathogenesis of proliferative vascular diseases. The mechanism by which HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors exert their antiproliferative activity is not fully understood, especially their effect on DNA replication. We therefore investigated the effects of atorvastatin on minichromosome maintenance (MCM) protein 6 and 7 expression in vascular smooth muscle cells, two proteins essential for initiation of DNA replication.

Virilization in bilateral macronodular adrenal hyperplasia controlled by luteinizing hormone.

We report a case of a virilized 59-yr-old woman with elevated serum testosterone levels and bilateral macronodular adrenal hyperplasia. The patient underwent laparoscopic right adrenalectomy, after which the elevated testosterone level transiently normalized. The immediate postoperative depression of the testosterone level suggested that the process was driven by gonadotropins that were suppressed by the stress of surgery.

Simultaneous occurrence of medullary and papillary carcinoma of the thyroid gland identified by fine needle aspiration. A case report.

Background: Fine needle aspiration (FNA) diagnosis of simultaneous medullary and papillary thyroid carcinoma in independent thyroid lobes is exceedingly rare.

Case: A 36-year-old female presented with a one-month history of dysphagia. Thyroid ultrasound revealed a multinodular goiter.

Troglitazone inhibits growth of MCF-7 breast carcinoma cells by targeting G1 cell cycle regulators.

Peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) is a member of the nuclear receptor superfamily. Ligand activation of PPARgamma has been shown to cause growth arrest in several human tumor cell types, but the underlying molecular mechanism has not been elucidated. We report here that the PPARgamma ligand troglitazone (TRO) inhibited MCF-7 cell proliferation by blocking events critical for G1 --> S progression.

Long-term management and outcome of parathyroidectomy for sporadic primary multiple-gland disease.

Hypothesis: For a specific subset of patients with sporadic primary multiple-gland parathyroid disease, subtotal parathyroidectomy results in long-term normocalcemia in the majority of patients, with a minimal complication rate.

Design: Retrospective analysis of outcomes in patients undergoing parathyroidectomy performed by a single surgeon (A.E.

Apigenin inhibits growth and induces G2/M arrest by modulating cyclin-CDK regulators and ERK MAP kinase activation in breast carcinoma cells.

We have previously reported that apigenin inhibits the growth of thyroid cancer cells by attenuating epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R) tyrosine phosphorylation and phosphorylation of ERK mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase. In this study, we assessed the growth inhibitory effect of apigenin on MCF-7 breast carcinoma cells that express two key cell cycle regulators, wild-type p53 and the retinoblastoma tumor suppressor protein (Rb), and MDA-MB-468 breast carcinoma cells that are mutant for p53 and Rb negative. We found that apigenin potently inhibited growth of both MCF-7 and MDA-MB-468 breast carcinoma cells.

Amyloid goiter in a case of systemic amyloidosis secondary to ankylosing spondylitis.

Infiltrative diseases of the thyroid include systemic sclerosis, hemochromatosis, sarcoidosis, chondrocalcinosis and amyloidosis. Only rarely does thyroid amyloidosis result in clinically palpable goiter. Classically, amyloidosis is associated with tuberculosis, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple myeloma or inflammatory bowel disease.