The emergence of DNAM-1 as the facilitator of NK cell-mediated killing in ovarian cancer.

Introduction: Ovarian cancer (OC) is the sixth most common malignancy in women and the poor 5-year survival emphasises the need for novel therapies. NK cells play an important role in the control of malignant disease but the nature of tumour-infiltrating and peripheral NK cells in OC remains unclear.

Methods: Using flow cytometric analysis, we studied the phenotype and function of NK cells in blood, primary tumour and metastatic tissue in 80 women with OC.

The chromatin landscape of high-grade serous ovarian cancer metastasis identifies regulatory drivers in post-chemotherapy residual tumour cells.

Disease recurrence following chemotherapy is a major clinical challenge in ovarian cancer (OC), but little is known regarding how the tumour epigenome regulates transcriptional programs underpinning chemoresistance. We determine the single cell chromatin accessibility landscape of omental OC metastasis from treatment-naïve and neoadjuvant chemotherapy-treated patients and define the chromatin accessibility profiles of epithelial, fibroblast, myeloid and lymphoid cells. Epithelial tumour cells display open chromatin regions enriched with motifs for the oncogenic transcription factors MEIS and PBX.

The Performance of HE4 Alone and in Combination with CA125 for the Detection of Ovarian Cancer in an Enriched Primary Care Population.

Human epididymis 4 (HE4) is a promising ovarian cancer biomarker, but it has not been evaluated in primary care. In this prospective observational study, we investigated the diagnostic accuracy of HE4 alone and in combination with CA125 for the detection of ovarian cancer in symptomatic women attending primary care. General practitioner (GP)-requested CA125 samples were tested for HE4 at a large teaching hospital in Manchester, and cancer outcomes were tracked for 12 months.

Clinical Significance of Venous Anomalies in Syndromic Craniosynostosis.

Background: The pattern of cranial venous drainage in syndromic craniosynostosis is unpredictable and not adequately understood. Collateral channels substitute for stenotic venous sinuses and pose potential risk for surgical intervention. The purpose of this study was to analyze the patterns of venous drainage in patients with syndromic craniosynostosis and their influence on operative planning and morbidity.

Endovascular treatment of a large ruptured middle cerebral artery bifurcation aneurysm in a 5-week-old infant: case report.

Ruptured intracranial aneurysms are extremely rare in infants. The optimal treatment strategy is not well established. Both microsurgical and endovascular techniques and strategies have been tried, and in the literature there is a significant variability in outcome.

Malignant carotid body tumor presenting with myelopathy: case report.

Malignant carotid body tumors are rare, with spread of the tumor mostly noted in regional lymph nodes. Vertebral metastases are an exceedingly rare presentation, only reported in isolated case reports, and present a diagnostic and management challenge. A case of widespread vertebral metastasis, presenting with myelopathy, from a carotid body tumor is discussed in this paper, along with management strategies.

Minimizing Radiation Exposure in Evaluation of Pediatric Head Trauma: Use of Rapid MR Imaging.

Background And Purpose: With >473,000 annual emergency department visits for children with traumatic brain injuries in the United States, the risk of ionizing radiation exposure during CT examinations is a real concern. The purpose of this study was to assess the validity of rapid MR imaging to replace CT in the follow-up imaging of patients with head trauma.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective review of 103 pediatric patients who underwent initial head CT and subsequent follow-up rapid MR imaging between January 2010 and July 2013 was performed.

Involvement of mTOR signaling pathways in regulating growth and dissemination of metastatic brain tumors via EMT.

Background: Metastatic dissemination to the brain may involve a process termed epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), which results in a migratory, invasive and proliferative cell phenotype. Recent studies suggest that Mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR, that exists in two multi-protein complexes (mTORC1 and mTORC2), may regulate EMT, in addition to controlling cell growth, survival, metabolism and motility. However, the role of mTOR in brain metastases remains elusive.

Cerebrospinal fluid leaks and encephaloceles of temporal bone origin: nuances to diagnosis and management.

Objective: Temporal bone encephalocele has become less common as the incidence of chronic mastoid infection and surgery for this condition has decreased. As a result, the diagnosis is often delayed, and the encephalocele is often an incidental finding. This situation can result in serious neurologic complications with patients presenting with cerebrospinal fluid leak and meningitis.

Postpartum ovarian vein thrombosis in a 29-year-old woman with ulcerative colitis.

A 29-year-old woman with known ulcerative colitis developed a right-sided abdominal pain a day after preterm vaginal delivery at 30 weeks. She did not have any nausea, vomiting and had normal bowel movements. The observations were within normal limits and white cell counts were marginally elevated with a normal C reactive protein.

Modern endovascular treatments of occlusive pediatric acute ischemic strokes: case series and review of the literature.

Purpose: Literature on the endovascular treatment of occlusive acute ischemic stroke (AIS) in the pediatric population remains nebulous. Clinical trials evaluating the role of systemic and intra-arterial thrombolysis, and mechanical thrombectomy have been strictly isolated to the adult population and largely unknown in their safety and efficacy in the pediatric group.

Methods: The authors present a review of the literature and their own two cases of occlusive acute ischemic stroke in children younger than the age of 10 years who were treated with modern endovascular devices, specifically with stent retrievers, and discuss their clinical and technical considerations as well as their limitations.

Hemorrhagic ganglioglioma of the posterior fossa: case report.

Gangliogliomas are rare tumors of the central nervous system that are usually found in the supratentorial compartment, although cases throughout the nervous system have been described. They are generally low-grade malignancies that are amenable to cure by surgical resection. Most manifest as seizures, though, based on location, they can present with focal neurological deficits.

Targeting cancer stem cells in glioblastoma multiforme using mTOR inhibitors and the differentiating agent all-trans retinoic acid.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most aggressive primary brain tumor, portends a poor prognosis despite current treatment modalities. Recurrence of tumor growth is attributed to the presence of treatment-resistant cancer stem cells (CSCs). The targeting of these CSCs is therefore essential in the treatment of this disease.

Deconstructing mTOR complexes in regulation of Glioblastoma Multiforme and its stem cells.

Atypical serine-threonine kinase, mTOR (mechanistic target of Rapamycin; originally coined "mammalian TOR"), exists in two distinct multi-protein complexes termed mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) and 2 (mTORC2), that senses and integrates a variety of environmental signals to control organism growth and homeostasis via non-overlapping signaling pathways. mTOR belongs to the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3-K)-related kinase family, and an aberrant activation of mTORC1 is a potential contributing factor in uncontrolled cell growth, proliferation, and survival of tumor cells via specific effects on cap-dependent translation initiation, as well as in a more sustained manner via advancing ribosome biogenesis. It is thereby shown to be deregulated in numerous pathological conditions including cancer, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and neurodegeneration.

Abnormal venous drainage in syndromic craniosynostosis and the role of CT venography.

Objective: Venous hypertension is emerging as a significant contributor to intracranial pressure in children with syndromic craniosysnostosis. This is associated with jugular foramen stenosis or atresia and with the development of collateral emissary veins. We demonstrate how computed tomography venography can document the prevalence of these emissary veins and how their visualisation plays an important role in operative planning.

Initial results from a randomized trial of cervical visual screening in rural south India.

The impact of a single round of screening of visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) on cervical cancer incidence and mortality was investigated in a cluster randomized trial in south India. Women 30-59 years of age in 113 clusters in Dindigul District were randomized to VIA screening (57 clusters, 48,225 women) by nurses and to a control group (56 clusters, 30,167 women). 30,577 eligible women were screened between May 2000 and April 2003; 2,939 (9.

AgNORs in squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck.

The number of AgNORs per nucleus correlates with cellular proliferation and independently with malignant change. AgNOR number was studied in 200 cases of squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck, the count increased with increasing grade and the size became smaller and irregular with increasing grade of carcinoma. This study seems to suggest that this method has utility in grading of squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck.

Cerivastatin modulates antiatherogenic properties of high-density lipoproteins in patients with coronary heart disease and hyperlipidemia.

The effects of cerivastatin on antiatherogenic properties of high-density lipoproteins were studied in patients with coronary heart disease and hyperlipidemia. Apart from hypolipidemic effects, cerivastatin changed the phospholipid composition of high-density lipoproteins and improved their cholesterol-acceptor properties. This effect was most pronounced in the serum from patients with low content of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol.