Antibiotic resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoea and treatment outcomes of gonococcal urethritis suspected patients in two large hospitals in Bhutan, 2015.

Introduction: Gonorrhea is a major sexually transmitted infection (STI) globally with increasing trends. Despite limited data, gonorrhea remains an important public health problem in Bhutan.

Methods: A descriptive study was carried out in two Bhutanese hospitals; Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital and Phuentsholing General Hospital in 2015.

Mechanisms of tumor resistance to small-molecule vascular disrupting agents: treatment and rationale of combination therapy.

Small-molecule vascular disrupting agents (VDAs) target the established tumor blood vessels, resulting in rapidly and selectively widespread ischemia and necrosis of central tumor; meanwhile, blood flow in normal tissues is relatively unaffected. Although VDAs therapy is considered an important option for treatment, its use is still limited. The tumor cells at the periphery are less sensitive to vascular shutdown than those at the center, and subsequently avoid a nutrient-deprived environment.

A review of current treatment of lumbar posterior ring apophysis fracture with lumbar disc herniation.

Purpose: Lumbar posterior ring apophysis fracture (PRAF) is an uncommon disorder frequently accompanied by lumbar disc herniation (LDH). Over the years, there have constantly been published studies concerning this disorder. Due to its rarity, there is lack of an agreed treatment strategy, and lots of different opinions exist, including the choice of decompressive modalities, whether removal of apophyseal fragments or/and disc material, and the necessity of additional spinal fusion.

Cancer stem cells in osteosarcoma: recent progress and perspective.

Background: To review the current progress in osteosarcoma stem cells, including isolation and identification, special cell surface markers, relationship between drug-resistance and metastasis, and the involving signal pathways.

Methods: A review of the literature encompassing osteosarcoma stem cells was performed.

Results: Although the cancer stem cells hypothesis was first proposed about 50 years ago, it is only in the last 10 years that advances in stem cell biology have provided increasing experimental evidence supporting this hypothesis.