IA-PACS-CFS: a double-blinded, randomized, sham-controlled, exploratory trial of immunoadsorption in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) including patients with post-acute COVID-19 CFS (PACS-CFS).

Background: Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a severely debilitating condition which markedly restricts activity and function of affected people. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic ME/CFS related to post-acute COVID-19 syndrome (PACS) can be diagnosed in a subset of patients presenting with persistent fatigue 6 months after a mostly mild SARS-CoV-2 infection by fulfillment of the Canadian Consensus Criteria (CCC 2003). Induction of autoimmunity after viral infection is a mechanism under intensive investigation.

Comparative analysis of albumin quotient and total CSF protein in immune-mediated neuropathies: a multicenter study on diagnostic implications.

Introduction: Blood-cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) barrier dysfunction is pivotal for diagnosing immune-mediated neuropathies, especially in spinal nerve root inflammation. Typically, either total CSF protein or the CSF to serum albumin ratio (Q) is measured. Total CSF protein measurements have limitations, notably its fixed reference value regardless of age, in contrast to the age-dependent reference for Q.

Fighting Post-COVID and ME/CFS - development of curative therapies.

The sequela of COVID-19 include a broad spectrum of symptoms that fall under the umbrella term post-COVID-19 condition or syndrome (PCS). Immune dysregulation, autoimmunity, endothelial dysfunction, viral persistence, and viral reactivation have been identified as potential mechanisms. However, there is heterogeneity in expression of biomarkers, and it is unknown yet whether these distinguish different clinical subgroups of PCS.

Modern Interdisciplinary and Interhospital Acute Stroke Therapy-What Patients Think About It and What They Really Understand.

Background: Access to reperfusion therapies in patients with large vessel occluding acute ischemic stroke demands process reorganization and optimization. Neurovascular networks are being built up to provide 24/7 endovascular stroke therapy service. In times of an increasingly complex stroke rescue chain little is known about patients' and their relatives' treatment awareness.

Mitoserate beim primären Melanom: Interobserver- und Intraobserver-Reproduzierbarkeit am HE-Schnitt und in der Immunhistologie.

Hintergrund: Die Melanomklassifikation wurde 2009 durch die AJCC revidiert. Für die Klassifizierung primärer Melanome wurde als dritte Größe neben Tumordicke und Ulzeration die Angabe der Mitoserate neu eingeführt. Gemäß der AJCC-2009-Klassifikation des Melanoms führt der Nachweis nur einer oder mehrerer dermaler Tumormitosen bei Melanomen ≤ 1,0 mm Tumordicke zu einer Umgruppierung des Tumors von T1a nach T1b.

Mitotic rate in primary melanoma: interobserver and intraobserver reliability, analyzed using H&E sections and immunohistochemistry.

Background: In 2009, the AJCC issued a revised melanoma staging system. In addition to tumor thickness and ulceration, the mitotic rate was introduced as the third major prognostic parameter for the classification of primary cutaneous melanoma. Given that, according to the 2009 AJCC classification, the detection of one or more dermal tumor mitoses leads to an upstaging - from stage Ia to Ib - of melanomas with a tumor thickness of ≤ 1.

Transporter pharmacogenetics: transporter polymorphisms affect normal physiology, diseases, and pharmacotherapy.

Drug transporters mediate the movement of endobiotics and xenobiotics across biological membranes in multiple organs and in most tissues. As such, they are involved in physiology, development of disease, drug pharmacokinetics, and ultimately the clinical response to a myriad of medications. Genetic variants in transporters cause population-specific differences in drug transport and are responsible for considerable inter-individual variation in physiology and pharmacotherapy.

Histopathological diagnostics of malignant melanoma in accordance with the recent AJCC classification 2009: Review of the literature and recommendations for general practice.

Background: TNM classifications are the basis for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in oncology. Histopathological reports have to enable a proper indexing of tumor specific findings into recent classifications.

Methods: A systematic review of the literature was performed to identify reports dealing with the assessment of mitotic rate and the processing and evaluation of sentinel node biopsies in malignant melanoma.

Expression of OATP family members in hormone-related cancers: potential markers of progression.

The organic anion transporting polypeptide (OATP) family of transporters has been implicated in prostate cancer disease progression probably by transporting hormones or drugs. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the expression, frequency, and relevance of OATPs as a biomarker in hormone-dependent cancers. We completed a study examining SLCO1B3, SLCO1B1 and SLCO2B1 mRNA expression in 381 primary, independent patient samples representing 21 cancers and normal tissues.

Stromal-epithelial interactions are responsible for prostate tumor progression through an androgen-related mechanism.

While several hypotheses have been put forward to explain how prostate tumors become resistant to androgen deprivation therapy, the mechanism by which prostate tumors have increased androgen concentrations as compared to the serum has been poorly explored. Using a stromal/epithelial cell co-culture model, Mizokami et al. have demonstrated how prostate-, bone- and prostate tumor-derived stromal cells participate with tumor-derived epithelial cells (i.

A porous photocurable elastomer for cell encapsulation and culture.

Encapsulating cells within a polymer matrix creates a three-dimensional (3D) scaffold that may more accurately represent the native microenvironment and cell organization. Here we report a porous scaffold prepared from a photocurable elastomer, poly(glycerolco-sebacate)-acrylate (PGSA). The scaffold porosity, swelling, mass loss, toxicity and mechanical properties, suggest that porous PGSA could be used to support the growth and differentiation of encapsulated cells.

Structural model of the mAb 806-EGFR complex using computational docking followed by computational and experimental mutagenesis.

In this work, we combined computational protein-protein docking with computational and experimental mutagenesis to predict the structure of the complex formed by monoclonal antibody 806 (mAb 806) and the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). We docked mAb 806, an antitumor antibody, to its epitope of EGFR residues 287-302. Potential mAb 806-EGFR orientations were generated, and computational mutagenesis was used to filter them according to their agreement with experimental mutagenesis data.

Examination of tumorigenesis of precursor lesions in bladder cancer by in situ hybridization.

Through examinations using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) of chromosomes 1 and 9, we tried to obtain more information on dysplasia and carcinoma in situ (Cis) in relation to the oncogenesis of bladder cancer. 63 paraffin sections (dysplasia grades I-III and Cis) were evaluated, and 8 negative sections functioned as a control group. For FISH, DNA samples of CEP 1 and 9 (alpha satellites) were chosen.

["Masquerade foreign body" of the conjunctiva].

Case Report: An eight months old child presented with a "red eye" and a corneal erosion since a week. The parents reported on a "hair" which was invisible most of the time but appeared intermittently at the lid margin. The medical history was otherwise unremarkable.

Absence of c-KIT and members of the epidermal growth factor receptor family in refractory germ cell cancer.

Background: Germ cell tumors (GCTs) in adolescent and young males are very sensitive to cisplatin-based chemotherapy. However, 10-20% of the patients cannot be cured by currently available therapeutic options. Once a tumor does not respond to cisplatin, current therapeutic modalities offer only a chance for short palliation.

[Massive Gorham-Stout osteolysis of the temporal bone and the craniocervical transition].

Massive osteolysis Gorham-Stout is a rare, benign but locally aggressive angiomatosis which results in destruction and resorption of bone. The etiology and pathogenesis are undefined. The occurrence of the disease in the skull base is uncommon.

Multifocal soft-tissue metastases of gastric leiomyosarcoma.

Distant soft-tissue metastases in gastric leiomyosarcoma (LMS) are extremely rare. In a 65-year-old woman, a large, low-grade LMS originating from the stomach wall was treated by partial gastrectomy. Eight years later, the patient developed multifocal, soft-tissue, high-grade LMS.

Urinary bladder biopsies in spinal cord injured patients.

Study Design: A series of 94 urinary bladder biopsies in spinal cord injured (SCI) patients were histopathologically and statistically analysed.

Objectives: The following hypotheses were examined: (1) The number of clinical bladder infections per year in each patient does not influence the histopathological type of inflammation of the urinary bladder; (2) The duration of the spinal cord lesion does not have a strong effect on the type of inflammation; (3) The different neurological levels (upper and lower motor neuron lesions) do not relate to a specific histopathology.

Settings: All patients received their treatment at the Swiss Paraplegic Centre in Nottwil, near Lucerne (Switzerland).

Glial lesion of the infratemporal fossa presenting as a soft tissue middle ear mass - rudimentary encephalocele or neural crest remnant?

We report about ectopic glial tissue of the skull base and the parapharyngeal space presenting as a soft tissue mass in the middle ear. An 11-year-old boy presented with bilateral conductive hearing loss since early childhood. The history included previously removed lesions consistent with ectopic neuroglial tissue of the tongue and the parapharyngeal space soon after birth, as well as surgery for cleft palate.

[Angiosarcoma of the frontal sinus. Case report and review of the literature].

Angiosarcomas are very rare but highly malignant soft tissue tumors derived from the vascular endothelium. The tumor is most commonly found in the skin. The cancer is known to cause early and widespread metastases leading to a very poor prognosis of less than 24 months.

Correlation of imaging techniques to histopathology in patients with diabetic foot syndrome and clinical suspicion of chronic osteomyelitis. The role of high-resolution ultrasound.

Objective: To investigate the role of ultrasound in the diagnosis of osteomyelitis in the diabetic foot compared with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), bone scintigraphy (BS), and plain film radiography (PFR).

Research Design And Methods: We investigated 19 consecutive diabetic patients (2 women, 17 men, age 60.7 +/- 9.