Successful Alectinib Treatment for Carcinoma of Unknown Primary with Fusion Gene: A Case Report.

Gene alteration in anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) is rare, and the efficacy of ALK inhibitors in the treatment of carcinoma of unknown primary (CUP) with alteration remains unclear. The patient was a 56-year-old woman who presented with cervical lymph node swelling. Computed tomography revealed paraaortic, perigastric, and cervical lymph node swelling; ascites; a liver lesion; and a left adrenal mass.

Extracellular Vesicles Derived From Canine Mesenchymal Stromal Cells in Serum Free Culture Medium Have Anti-inflammatory Effect on Microglial Cells.

Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) have been used as cell sources for treating dogs with naturally-occurring diseases. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from MSCs are now recognized as pivotal to modulating the immune response and supporting tissue repair. Manufacture of MSC-EVs for clinical application mandates removal of the xeno-proteins, including fetal bovine serum.

Three-Dimensional Live Imaging of Bovine Preimplantation Embryos: A New Method for IVF Embryo Evaluation.

Conception rates for transferred bovine embryos are lower than those for artificial insemination. Embryo transfer (ET) is widely used in cattle but many of the transferred embryos fail to develop, thus, a more effective method for selecting bovine embryos suitable for ET is required. To evaluate the developmental potential of bovine preimplantation embryos (2-cell stage embryos and blastocysts), we have used the non-invasive method of optical coherence tomography (OCT) to obtain live images.

A higher De Ritis ratio (AST/ALT) is a risk factor for progression in high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.

Background: High-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) is thought to be associated with a higher risk of recurrence and progression. A recent study revealed that a high De Ritis ratio was a risk factor in some solid malignancies. This study examined the importance of the De Ritis ratio as a prognostic marker in high-risk NMIBC.

Myocardial Histopathology in Patients With Obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.

Background: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is characterized by multiple pathological features including myocyte hypertrophy, myocyte disarray, and interstitial fibrosis.

Objectives: This study sought to correlate myocardial histopathology with clinical characteristics of patients with obstructive HCM and post-operative outcomes following septal myectomy.

Methods: The authors reviewed the pathological findings of the myocardial specimens from 1,836 patients with obstructive HCM who underwent septal myectomy from 2000 to 2016.

Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) with therapeutic and biomedical applications: a patent review.

: Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) are a recent group of nano porous materials with exceptional physical properties, such as large surface areas, high pore volumes, low densities and well-defined pores. This type of material has been used frequently for biomedical and therapeutic applications, such as drug delivery systems and theranostic materials.: In this review, the authors searched for patents filed in the last 10 years, found in different databases, related to the therapeutic or biomedical application of MOFs for use in different health fields.

One-Pot Reductive Alkylation of 2,4-Dihydroxy Quinolines and Pyridines.

A one-pot, Hantzsch ester-mediated Knoevenagel condensation-reduction reaction has been developed for alkylation of a wide range of substituted 2,4-quinoline diols and 2,4-pyridine diols with aldehydes. The process is operationally simple to perform, scalable, and provides highly useful C-3 alkylated quinoline and pyridine diols in yields of 58-92%. The alkylation products can be converted to 2,4-dihaloquinoline and pyridine substrates for further functionalization.

The anti-angiogenic agent lenvatinib induces tumor vessel normalization and enhances radiosensitivity in hepatocellular tumors.

The evaluation of angiogenesis inhibitors requires the analysis of the precise structure and function of tumor vessels. The anti-angiogenic agents lenvatinib and sorafenib are multi-target tyrosine kinase inhibitors that have been approved for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the different effects on tumor vasculature between lenvatinib and sorafenib are not well understood.

The impact of damage-associated molecules released from canine tumor cells on gene expression in macrophages.

Dying or damaged cells that are not completely eradicated by the immune system release their intracellular components in the extracellular space. Aberrant exposure of the damage-associated molecules to the immune system is often associated with inflammation and cancer pathogenesis. Thus, elucidating the role of damage-associated molecules in inducing sterile immune responses is crucial.

Predictors of Use and Outcomes of Mechanical Valve Replacement in the United States (2008-2017).

Background Contemporary nationwide data on the use, predictors, and outcomes of mechanical valve replacement in patients less than 70 years of age are limited. Methods and Results We identified hospitalizations for aortic valve replacement (AVR) or mitral valve replacement (MVR) in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample between January 1, 2008, and December 31, 2017. The study's end points included predictors of mechanical valve replacement and risk-adjusted in-hospital mortality.

Pulmonary amyloidosis complicated with pulmonary hemosiderosis, diagnosed with bronchoscopy.

We describe a case of an 82-year-old Japanese woman with pulmonary amyloidosis and hemosiderosis associated with multiple myeloma. She had a background of end-stage renal failure of unknown etiology and had been on maintenance dialysis for 2 years. She complained of exertional dyspnea for four months.

Characteristics of Japanese elderly patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Previous nationwide Japanese data suggested that pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) predominantly affects young women. However, the number of elderly patients diagnosed with PAH has been increasing in western countries. There have been no reports on elderly PAH patients in Asian countries.

A case of multiple squamous papillomas in the trachea treated by rigid bronchoscopy.

Tracheal papilloma is a rare benign lung tumour. It often recurs and sometimes transforms into a malignant tumour. While historically radical resection has been the primary treatment, endobronchial resection, a less invasive procedure to manage the airway using a flexible and rigid bronchoscope, was effectively used in our patient.

Early escitalopram administration as a preemptive treatment strategy against spasticity after contusive spinal cord injury in rats.

In the majority of spinal cord injury (SCI) patients, spasticity develops in the subacute phase and chronically persists with muscle hypertonia. Among various pathological conditions underlying spasticity, upregulated expression of 5-HT receptors (5-HTR) on the spinal motor neurons due to 5-HT denervation is considered one of crucial factors for hyperexcitability of the spinal circuit. As a 5-HT signal modulator, selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are ordinarily prescribed for diseases associated with 5-HT in the CNS, and are known for their ability to increase 5-HT levels as well as to desensitize 5-HTR.

Impact of Body Mass Index on Outcome of Septal Myectomy for Obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.

Background: Obesity is highly prevalent in patients with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). In this study, we investigated the impact of body mass index (BMI) in patients undergoing septal myectomy (SM) for obstructive HCM.

Methods: We reviewed 2746 patients who underwent transaortic SM for obstructive HCM from February 1993 through September 2018.

Usability of a Digital Registry to Promote Secondary Prevention for Peripheral Artery Disease Patients.

Objective: To evaluate usability of a quality improvement tool that promotes guideline-based care for patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD).

Patients And Methods: The study was conducted from July 19, 2018, to August 21, 2019. We compared the usability of a PAD cohort knowledge solution (CKS) with standard management supported by an electronic health record (EHR).

Early Right Ventricular Reverse Remodeling Predicts Survival After Isolated Tricuspid Valve Surgery.

Background: There are limited data on the impact of isolated tricuspid valve (TV) surgery on recovery of right ventricular (RV) function and RV reverse remodeling.

Methods: Among 223 patients who had isolated TV procedures between 2001 and 2017, 60 (27%) underwent TV repair and 163 (73%) received TV replacement. Indication for surgery was functional tricuspid valve regurgitation in 64%, lead induced in 18%, and primary leaflet dysfunction in 18%.

Dmrt2 promotes transition of endochondral bone formation by linking Sox9 and Runx2.

Endochondral bone formation is fundamental for skeletal development. During this process, chondrocytes undergo multiple steps of differentiation and coordinated transition from a proliferating to a hypertrophic stage, which is critical to advance skeletal development. Here, we identified the transcription factor Dmrt2 (double-sex and mab-3 related transcription factor 2) as a Sox9-inducible gene that promotes chondrocyte hypertrophy in pre-hypertrophic chondrocytes.

A Correlation Analysis Between Metabolism-related Genes and Treatment Response to S-1 as First-line Chemotherapy for Metastatic Breast Cancer: The SELECT BC-EURECA Study.

Introduction: The previous randomized phase 3 trial (SELECT BC) showed that S-1 as a first-line chemotherapy for metastatic breast cancer (MBC) is non-inferior to taxane with respect to overall survival. This study aimed to identify the usefulness of metabolism-related genes as predictive biomarkers for the response to S-1 compared with taxane using tumor tissue samples from the previous trial.   PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this SELECT BC-EURECA study, 147 patients with human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2)-negative MBC who received either S-1 or taxane were evaluated.