Diet and the microbiome as mediators of prostate cancer risk, progression, and therapy response.

Complex relationships between the human microbiome and cancer are increasingly recognized for cancer sites that harbor commensal microbial communities such as the gut, genitourinary tract, and skin. For organ sites that likely do not contain commensal microbiota, there is still a substantial capacity for the human-associated microbiota to influence disease etiology across the cancer spectrum. We propose such a relationship for prostate cancer, the most commonly diagnosed cancer in males in the United States.

Imperforate nasopharynx in a cat successfully treated with an extended palatoplasty.

Case Summary: A female intact domestic shorthair kitten was evaluated at 8 months of age for bilateral mucopurulent nasal discharge, stertor, open-mouth breathing and difficulty eating. Imperforate nasopharynx (INP) was diagnosed on oronasal examination under anesthesia. An extended palatoplasty was performed and resulted in resolution of the clinical signs.

Recalibrating Perceptions and Attitudes Toward Nebulizers versus Inhalers for Maintenance Therapy in COPD: Past as Prologue.

Aerosol therapy administered via handheld inhaler or nebulizer device has long been standard for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), both for maintenance therapy and for management of acute exacerbations. Of the 2 options for drug delivery, inhaler devices are the most widely used for ambulatory patients with COPD as they are small, portable, and convenient and offer an array of medication options. They are, however, prone to suboptimal inhalation technique and use errors, which decrease the amount of medication delivered, compromise efficacy, and adversely affect clinical outcomes.

Alterations in the microenvironment of junctional epidermolysis bullosa keratinocytes: a gene expression study.

Integrin α6β4 subunits and type XVII collagen are critical transmembrane proteins involved in cell-matrix adhesion in skin, while laminin 332 serves as their ligand in the basement membrane zone (BMZ). Those proteins contribute to the composition of hemidesmosomes (HDs) and pathogenic variants in their corresponding genes cause junctional epidermolysis bullosa (JEB). Although the genotype-phenotype relationships in JEB have been extensively studied, the pathogenetic changes of extracellular matrix (ECM) and cell-matrix adhesion resulting from gene mutations remain unclear.