Publications by authors named "Pons L"

Background: Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-low has emerged as a potential new entity in breast cancer (BC). Data on this subset are limited, and prognostic results are controversial, evidencing the need of further data in a BC real-world cohort.

Methods: Patients with HER2-negative stage I-III BC diagnosed between 2006 and 2016 were retrospectively reviewed in a single cohort from the Catalan Institute of Oncology Badalona.

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  • Interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) include over 200 types, with a growing focus on fibrosing lung diseases due to new therapies, but less common ILDs also need attention because of their poor prognosis.
  • This review provides an updated overview of rare ILDs, including idiopathic interstitial pneumonias, genetic disorders like Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome, and conditions associated with lymphoid tissue proliferation, such as follicular bronchiolitis.
  • Despite their rarity, improved recognition of imaging and pathology is enhancing our understanding, but these ILDs still pose diagnostic challenges and lack established treatments, highlighting the need for more research.
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Botulinum neurotoxin A (BoNT/A) is a highly potent proteolytic toxin specific for neurons with numerous clinical and cosmetic uses. After uptake at the synapse, the protein is proposed to translocate from synaptic vesicles to the cytosol through a self-formed channel. Surprisingly, we found that after intoxication proteolysis of a fluorescent reporter occurs in the neuron soma first and then centrifugally in neurites.

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Microcephalic osteodysplastic primordial dwarfism type I (MOPDI) is a very rare and severe autosomal recessive disorder characterized by marked intrauterine growth retardation, skeletal dysplasia, microcephaly and brain malformations. MOPDI is caused by biallelic mutations in RNU4ATAC, a non-coding gene involved in U12-type splicing of 1% of the introns in the genome, which are recognized by their specific splicing consensus sequences. Here, we describe a unique observation of immunodeficiency in twin sisters with mild MOPDI, who harbor a novel n.

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Generation and subsequently accessibility of secondary findings (SF) in diagnostic practice is a subject of debate around the world and particularly in Europe. The French FIND study has been set up to assess patient/parent expectations regarding SF from exome sequencing (ES) and to collect their real-life experience until 1 year after the delivery of results. 340 patients who had ES for undiagnosed developmental disorders were included in this multicenter mixed study (quantitative N = 340; qualitative N = 26).

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Precision, personalized, or individualized medicine in pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (PitNETs) has become a major topic in the last few years. It is based on the use of biomarkers that predictively segregate patients and give answers to clinically relevant questions that help us in the individualization of their management. It allows us to make early diagnosis, predict response to medical treatments, predict surgical outcomes and investigate new targets for therapeutic molecules.

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  • A short version of the acute octreotide test (sAOT) was re-evaluated to predict responses to somatostatin receptor ligands (SRLs) in acromegaly patients, utilizing ultra-sensitive growth hormone (GH) assays.
  • In a study of 47 patients, the results showed that 30 were responders and 17 were non-responders, with specific GH levels serving as predictive cutoffs for treatment responses.
  • The study found that patients with E-cadherin-positive tumors had lower GH levels and higher somatostatin receptor 2 (SSTR2) scores, indicating that sAOT can aid in clinical treatment decisions based on tumor characteristics.
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Prostate cancer prognostication largely relies on visual assessment of a few thinly sectioned biopsy specimens under a microscope to assign a Gleason grade group (GG). Unfortunately, the assigned GG is not always associated with a patient's outcome in part because of the limited sampling of spatially heterogeneous tumors achieved by 2-dimensional histopathology. In this study, open-top light-sheet microscopy was used to obtain 3-dimensional pathology data sets that were assessed by 4 human readers.

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  • Rearrangements in the 22q11.2 region, particularly deletions and duplications, lead to various congenital disorders with overlapping symptoms.
  • This study presents a rare case of a 6-year-old child with a 22q11.2 triplication and compares their clinical and neurocognitive characteristics to those with deletions and duplications.
  • The findings suggest that the 22q11.2 region is crucial for social skills and attention, with different rearrangements potentially influencing the risk or protection against psychotic symptoms and sociability levels.
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  • The study explores natural plant ingredients, bakuchiol (BAK) and Vigna aconitifolia extract (VAE), as enhancements to the retinoid retinal (RAL) for anti-aging benefits, with fewer side effects.
  • Methods included gene expression profiling, assessing skin irritation, and a clinical study to test a cosmetic formulation combining these ingredients with others like niacinamide and melatonin.
  • Results showed that the tri-retinoid complex (3RC) significantly improved skin characteristics, such as firmness and elasticity, while reducing wrinkles, with 100% of participants seeing a decrease in crow's feet after 28 days of use.
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  • - The study focuses on determining how the time between completing neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) and undergoing total mesorectal excision (TME) affects outcomes in patients with extraperitoneal locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC), hypothesizing that longer intervals might increase pathologic complete response (pCR) rates without raising surgical risks.
  • - Researchers analyzed data from 1,506 LARC patients across six centers, categorizing them into groups based on whether the interval between NAT and surgery was short (≤8 weeks), intermediate (>8 and ≤12 weeks), or long (>12 weeks), with a median follow-up of 33 months.
  • - Results showed that the overall pCR rate was 17.
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  • Monogenic obesity leads to severe obesity from a young age, often linked with feeding issues and hormonal imbalances.
  • A case report details an 11-month-old boy with extreme obesity and hyperphagia, who developed serious health problems like sleep apnea and insulin resistance shortly after birth.
  • Genetic testing revealed a rare variant in the leptin receptor gene, which likely disrupted protein function, contributing to the child's condition, and he sadly passed away at 27 months without effective treatment options.
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Neoadjuvant treatment (NAT) is one of the most widely used options for HER2+ and triple negative (TN) early breast cancer (BC). Since around half of the patients treated with NAT do not achieve a pathologically complete response (pCR), biomarkers to predict resistance are urgently needed. The correlation of clinicopathological factors with pCR was studied in 150 patients (HER2 = 81; TN = 69) and pre- and post-NAT differences in tumour biomarkers were compared.

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Rift Valley Fever virus (RVFV) and Toscana virus (TOSV) are two pathogenic arthropod-borne viruses responsible for zoonotic infections in both humans and animals; as such, they represent a growing threat to public and veterinary health. Interferon-induced transmembrane (IFITM) proteins are broad inhibitors of a large panel of viruses belonging to various families and genera. However, little is known on the interplay between RVFV, TOSV, and the IFITM proteins derived from their naturally infected host species.

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Pain after surgery remains a significant healthcare challenge. Here, abobotulinumtoxinA (aboBoNT-A, DYSPORT) was assessed in a post-surgical pain model in pigs. Full-skin-muscle incision and retraction surgery on the lower back was followed by intradermal injections of either aboBoNT-A (100, 200, or 400 U/pig), vehicle (saline), or wound infiltration of extended-release bupivacaine.

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Adverse experiences superseding a child's capacity to sustain regulation of emotion and adaptive function are theorized to constitute "toxic stressors" when they induce a deleterious biological response within an individual. We ascertained presumptive parameters of toxic stress among 164 low-income infants and toddlers (ages 4-48 months) from 132 families enrolled in Early Head Start (EHS). We randomized a subset of these families into a pilot intervention arm of parenting education (the Incredible Years, TIY), which supplemented the EHS curriculum.

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Digital counting methods were developed to decrease the high intra- and inter-observer variability of immunohistochemical markers such as Ki67, with most presenting a good correlation coefficient (CC). Since Ki67 is one of the major contributors to Oncotype DX, it is conceivable that Ki67 expression and the recurrence score (RS) obtained by the multigene panel are positively correlated. We decided first to test to what extent conventional and digital Ki67 quantification methods correlate in daily practice and, second, to determine which of these methods correlates better with the prognostic capacity of the Oncotype DX test.

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Complete digital pathology transformation for primary histopathological diagnosis is a challenging yet rewarding endeavor. Its advantages are clear with more efficient workflows, but there are many technical and functional difficulties to be faced. The Catalan Health Institute (ICS) has started its DigiPatICS project, aiming to deploy digital pathology in an integrative, holistic, and comprehensive way within a network of 8 hospitals, over 168 pathologists, and over 1 million slides each year.

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  • The TCF4 gene is linked to neurodevelopment and can lead to Pitt-Hopkins syndrome when altered, which causes severe intellectual disability and facial abnormalities.
  • Researchers identified structural variations in the TCF4 gene in three patients with a milder phenotype than typical for Pitt-Hopkins syndrome.
  • These variations resulted in decreased expression of long TCF4 isoforms and an increase in shorter isoforms, indicating a potential correlation between the extent of TCF4 disruption and the severity of symptoms.
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Olive mill wastes represent an important environmental problem. Their high phenol, lipid, and organic acid concentrations turn them into phytotoxic materials. Specifically, wet olive pomace (WOP) is the waste generated in the two-phase continuous extraction process.

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Background: Sensory processing atypicalities are frequent in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD). Different domains of sensory processing appear to be differentially altered in these disorders. In this study, we explored the sensory profile of two clinical cohorts, in comparison with a sample of typically developing children.

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Donohue syndrome (leprechaunism; OMIM *246200) is a rare and often lethal autosomal recessive disease caused by mutations in the gene. We report the case of a 29-year-old pregnant woman, primigravida, who was referred at 33 weeks of gestation for severe intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). Ultrasound examination found severe IUGR associated with an obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), confirmed postnatally.

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  • NCKAP1/NAP1 is crucial for neuronal development and impacts cytoskeletal dynamics in the brain; disruptions can lead to conditions like autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability.
  • This research analyzes genetic data from 21 individuals with harmful NCKAP1 variants, reporting a correlation with neurodevelopmental disorders such as ASD, language delays, and motor skill issues.
  • Findings indicate that NCKAP1 is highly expressed in brain development stages, particularly in excitatory neurons, and its loss-of-function may hinder neuronal migration, linking it to ASD and associated delays.
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PIGC (OMIM 601730) encodes the PIGC protein, which is part of an enzyme complex involved in the biosynthesis of the glycosylphosphatidylinositol protein anchor. The other proteins in the complex include PIGA, PIGH, PIGQ, PIGY, PIGP and DPM2. Homozygous and compound heterozygous mutations in PIGC have recently been described to cause severe global developmental delay, intellectual disability, and seizures in two unrelated families, without indication of another system involvement or dysmorphism.

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