Radiotherapy dosing in intracranial ependymoma using the national cancer database.

Purpose: To determine the dose-dependent effect of adjuvant radiotherapy on survival for pediatric intracranial ependymomas and explore patient and disease characteristics that experience survival benefit from higher doses.

Methods: Data was accessed from the National Cancer Database. Inclusion criteria was comprised of a diagnosis of non-metastatic intracranial ependymoma, World Health Organization (WHO) grade 2 or 3, surgical resection, adjuvant radiotherapy between 4500-6300 cGy, and non-missing survivorship data.

Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Adjuvant Radiation Dose for Pediatric Patients (≤22 years) with Nonmetastatic Intracranial Ependymomas.

Purpose: Ependymomas are the third most common brain tumors in children. Standard of care is surgery followed by adjuvant radiation therapy. Controversy in the literature still exists over optimal radiation therapy dose.

Evidence for peripheral and central actions of codeine to dysregulate swallowing in the anesthetized cat.

Systemic administration of opioids has been associated with aspiration and swallow dysfunction in humans. We speculated that systemic administration of codeine would induce dysfunctional swallowing and that this effect would have a peripheral component. Experiments were conducted in spontaneously breathing, anesthetized cats.

The Use of Proton and Carbon Ion Radiation Therapy for Sarcomas.

The unique physical and biological characteristics of proton and carbon ions allow for improved sparing of normal tissues, decreased integral dose to the body, and increased biological effect through high linear energy transfer. These properties are particularly useful for sarcomas given their histology, wide array of locations, and age of diagnosis. This review summarizes the literature and describes the clinical situations in which these heavy particles have advantages for treating sarcomas.

The influence of CO on spatiotemporal features of mechanically induced cough in anesthetized cats.

Effective cough requires a significant increase in lung volume used to produce the shear forces on the airway to clear aspirated material. This increase in tidal volume during cough, along with an increase in tidal frequency during bouts of paroxysmal cough produces profound hyperventilation and thus reduces arterial CO. While there are several reports in the literature regarding the effects of hypercapnia, hyperoxia, and hypoxia on cough, there is little research quantifying the effects of hypocapnia on the cough reflex.

The Antibody Dependant Neurite Outgrowth Modulation Response Involvement in Spinal Cord Injury.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) represents a major medical challenge. At present, there is still no cure to treat it efficiently and enable functional recovery below the injury site. Previously, we demonstrated that inflammation determines the fate of the physiopathology.

One Year of Clinic-Wide Cherenkov Imaging for Discovery of Quality Improvement Opportunities in Radiation Therapy.

Purpose: Cherenkov imaging is clinically available as a radiation therapy treatment verification tool. The aim of this work was to discover the benefits of always-on Cherenkov imaging as a novel incident detection and quality improvement system through review of all imaging at our center.

Methods And Materials: Multicamera Cherenkov imaging systems were permanently installed in 3 treatment bunkers, imaging continuously over a year.

Sirt3 Pharmacologically Promotes Insulin Sensitivity through PI3/AKT/mTOR and Their Downstream Pathway in Adipocytes.

Sirtuin-3 (Sirt3) is a major mitochondrial deacetylase enzyme that regulates multiple metabolic pathways, and its expression is decreased in diabetes type 1 and type 2 diabetes. This study aimed to elucidate Sirt3's molecular mechanism in regulating insulin sensitivity in adipocytes that can contribute to the effort of targeting Sirt3 for the treatment of obesity and type 2 diabetes. We found that the Sirt3 activator honokiol (HNK) induced adipogenesis compared to the control, in contrast to Sirt3 inhibitor, 3-TYP.

Importance of Cobalt-60 Dose Rate and Biologically Effective Dose on Local Control for Intracranial Meningiomas Treated With Stereotactic Radiosurgery.

Background: Radiosurgery dose rate and biologically effective dose (BED) are associated with outcomes after stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for functional neurosurgical conditions and some benign tumors. It is not known if these factors affect the efficacy of SRS for meningioma.

Objective: To determine the association between cobalt-60 dose rate and BED on outcomes in patients with meningioma treated with SRS.

The role of neuronal excitation and inhibition in the pre-Bötzinger complex on the cough reflex in the cat.

Brainstem respiratory neuronal network significantly contributes to cough motor pattern generation. Neuronal populations in the pre-Bötzinger complex (PreBötC) represent a substantial component for respiratory rhythmogenesis. We studied the role of PreBötC neuronal excitation and inhibition on mechanically induced tracheobronchial cough in 15 spontaneously breathing, pentobarbital anesthetized adult cats (35 mg/kg, iv initially).

Surfaceome Proteomic of Glioblastoma Revealed Potential Targets for Immunotherapy.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and devastating malignant brain tumor in adults. The mortality rate is very high despite different treatments. New therapeutic targets are therefore highly needed.

Differential effects of acute cerebellectomy on cough in spontaneously breathing cats.

The role of the cerebellum in controlling the cough motor pattern is not well understood. We hypothesized that cerebellectomy would disinhibit motor drive to respiratory muscles during cough. Cough was induced by mechanical stimulation of the tracheobronchial airways in anesthetized, spontaneously breathing adult cats (8 male, 1 female), and electromyograms (EMGs) were recorded from upper airway, chest wall, and abdominal respiratory muscles.

The Role of Proprotein Convertases in the Regulation of the Function of Immune Cells in the Oncoimmune Response.

Proprotein convertases (PC) are a family of 9 serine proteases involved in the processing of cellular pro-proteins. They trigger the activation, inactivation or functional changes of many hormones, neuropeptides, growth factors and receptors. Therefore, these enzymes are essential for cellular homeostasis in health and disease.

Intra-Arterial, but Not Intrathecal, Baclofen and Codeine Attenuates Cough in the Cat.

Centrally-acting antitussive drugs are thought to act solely in the brainstem. However, the role of the spinal cord in the mechanism of action of these drugs is unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine if antitussive drugs act in the spinal cord to reduce the magnitude of tracheobronchial (TB) cough-related expiratory activity.

Therapeutic anti-glioma effect of the combined action of PCSK inhibitor with the anti-tumoral factors secreted by Poly (I:C)-stimulated macrophages.

Macrophages plasticity is a key feature in cancer progression. Neoplastic cells can alter their immune functions and orient them into a pro-tumoral phenotype. In this context, we developed a new therapeutic strategy to switch macrophages phenotype and reactivate their anti-tumoral functions.

Hydroxyl functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes modulate immune responses without increasing 2009 pandemic influenza A/H1N1 virus titers in infected mice.

Growing use of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have garnered concerns regarding their association with adverse health effects. Few studies have probed how CNTs affect a host's susceptibility to pathogens, particularly respiratory viruses. We reported that exposure of lung cells and mice to pristine single-walled CNTs (SWCNTs) leads to significantly increased influenza virus H1N1 strain A/Mexico/4108/2009 (IAV) titers in concert with repressed antiviral immune responses.

The Role of a Proprotein Convertase Inhibitor in Reactivation of Tumor-Associated Macrophages and Inhibition of Glioma Growth.

Tumors are characterized by the presence of malignant and non-malignant cells, such as immune cells including macrophages, which are preponderant. Macrophages impact the efficacy of chemotherapy and may lead to drug resistance. In this context and based on our previous work, we investigated the ability to reactivate macrophages by using a proprotein convertases inhibitor.

Endothelial cells derived from patients' induced pluripotent stem cells for sustained factor VIII delivery and the treatment of hemophilia A.

Hemophilia A (HA) is a bleeding disorder characterized by spontaneous and prolonged hemorrhage. The disease is caused by mutations in the coagulation factor 8 gene (F8) leading to factor VIII (FVIII) deficiency. Since FVIII is primarily produced in endothelial cells (ECs) in a non-diseased human being, ECs hold great potential for development as a cell therapy for HA.

Compressive fatigue and endurance of juvenile bovine articular cartilage explants.

Articular cartilage is an enduring tissue. For most individuals, articular cartilage facilitates a lifetime of pain-free ambulation, supporting millions of loading cycles from activities of daily living. Although early studies into osteoarthritis focused on the role of mechanical fatigue in articular cartilage degeneration, much is still unknown regarding its strength and endurance characteristics.

Potential long-term treatment of hemophilia A by neonatal co-transplantation of cord blood-derived endothelial colony-forming cells and placental mesenchymal stromal cells.

Background: Hemophilia A (HA) is an X-linked recessive disorder caused by mutations in the Factor VIII (FVIII) gene leading to deficient blood coagulation. As a monogenic disorder, HA is an ideal target for cell-based gene therapy, but successful treatment has been hampered by insufficient engraftment of potential therapeutic cells.

Methods: In this study, we sought to determine whether co-transplantation of endothelial colony-forming cells (ECFCs) and placenta-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (PMSCs) can achieve long-term engraftment and FVIII expression.

Enhancing Retention of Human Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells with Prosurvival Factors Promotes Angiogenesis in a Mouse Model of Limb Ischemia.

Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) offer great promise in the treatment of ischemic injuries, including stroke, heart infarction, and limb ischemia. However, poor cell survival after transplantation remains a major obstacle to achieve effective MSC therapies. To improve cell survival and retention, we transplanted human bone marrow MSCs with or without a specific prosurvival factor (PSF) cocktail consisting of IGF1, Bcl-X, a caspase inhibitor, a mitochondrial pathway inhibitor, and Matrigel into the limbs of immune deficient mice, after induction of hindlimb ischemia.

Neurons in the dorsomedial medulla contribute to swallow pattern generation: Evidence of inspiratory activity during swallow.

Active contraction of the diaphragm and other inspiratory pump muscles during swallow create a negative thoracic pressure to improve the movement of the bolus (food/liquid) into the esophagus. We tested the hypothesis that dorsomedial medullary inspiratory neurons, including the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS, pre-motor to the phrenic) would be active during swallow induced by oral water infusion. We recorded neurons in the NTS and medial reticular formation in anesthetized spontaneously breathing cats, and induced swallow by injection of water into the oropharynx.