Navigating through the coordination preferences of heavy alkaline earth metals: Laying the foundations for Ra- and Ba-based targeted alpha therapy and theranostics of cancer.

The clinical success of [Ra]RaCl (Xofigo®) for the palliative treatment of bone metastases in patients with prostate cancer has highlighted the therapeutic potential of α-particle emission. Expanding the applicability of radium-223 in Targeted Alpha Therapy of non-osseous tumors is followed up with significant interest, as it holds the potential to unveil novel treatment options in the comprehensive management of cancer. Moreover, the use of barium radionuclides, like barium-131 and -135m, is still unfamiliar in nuclear medicine applications, although they can be considered as radium-223 surrogates for imaging purposes.

A Multimodal Ensemble Driven by Multiobjective Optimisation to Predict Overall Survival in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer.

Lung cancer accounts for more deaths worldwide than any other cancer disease. In order to provide patients with the most effective treatment for these aggressive tumours, multimodal learning is emerging as a new and promising field of research that aims to extract complementary information from the data of different modalities for prognostic and predictive purposes. This knowledge could be used to optimise current treatments and maximise their effectiveness.

Kounis Syndrome Associated With Takotsubo Syndrome in an Adolescent With Peutz-Jeghers Syndrome.

We describe the case of a 15-year-old female patient with Peutz-Jeghers syndrome who presented with vomiting and abdominal pain secondary to ileoileal invagination. Initial analgesic treatment was not effective, and subsequent tramadol infusion resulted in clinical manifestations compatible with Kounis and Takotsubo syndromes. However, the patient had an excellent recovery.

Tissue Doppler Imaging and strain rate of the left atrial lateral wall: age related variations and comparison with parameters of diastolic function.

Background: Strain Rate Imaging (SRI) is one of the most used techniques to study left atrial (LA) and diastolic function. Its availability in low-income countries is diminished since it requires additional expensive software, among other limitations. In contrast, Tissue Doppler Imaging (TDI) is widely available and easy to use.

Tissue Doppler imaging of the atrial lateral wall: Correlation with atrial strain rate and parameters of diastolic function.

Objective: To evaluate the velocity profile of the lateral wall of the left atrium (LA) using pulsed-wave color tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) on line and its correlation with two-dimensional strain rate imaging (SRI) by speckle tracking, of equal segments and phases, and other parameters of diastolic function in a population of individuals without known cardiovascular disease.

Materials And Methods: A total of 91 adults aged 18-74 years, without cardiovascular history, hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia or obesity, were evaluated. A Doppler echocardiogram was performed.

A simple rule to personalize standard dual therapy across all genotypes in naive chronic hepatitis C patients: the TT4 randomized trial.

Background: Rapid and early virological responses to peginterferon-alpha and ribavirin are predictive of sustained virological response (SVR) in hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. We aimed at finding a simple rule to determine the shortest duration of dual therapy for all HCV genotypes, obtained by multiplying time to Initial Viral Response, IVR (first undetectable HCV-RNA) by 4 (Tailored Therapy-4, or TT4).

Method: 267 naïve HCV-infected patients with compensated liver disease were randomized (2:1) to the TT4 (n=180) or current standard-of-care (SoC, n=87) and received peginterferon-alpha plus ribavirin.

Severe drug induced acute hepatitis associated with use of St John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) during treatment with pegylated interferon α.

A 61-year-old woman with chronic hepatitis C received peginterferon α 180 μg/week, and obtained undetectable qualitative hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA (lower limit of detection 50 IU/ml) after 8 weeks of treatment. Shortly thereafter aminotransferase values greatly increased (>20 × upper limit of normal) and did not decline after treatment suspension. The patient admitted taking St John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) for depressed mood, recommended by a friend, during the preceding 6 weeks.

Peginterferon alpha-2a and ribavirin versus peginterferon alpha-2a monotherapy in early virological responders and peginterferon alpha-2a and ribavirin versus peginterferon alpha-2a, ribavirin and amantadine triple therapy in early virological nonresponders: the SMIEC II trial in naïve patients with chronic hepatitis C.

Objective: The objective of this study was to compare the efficacy of anti-hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) treatment schedules on the basis of an early virological response (EVR), defined as undetectable serum HCV-RNA (<50 IU/ml) after a 12-week induction course of peginterferon alpha-2a (PEG-IFN) 180 mcg/week.

Methods: A total of 210 interferon-naïve patients (69% male; median age, 42 years) with histologically proven chronic hepatitis C infection (genotype 1: 62%) received PEG-IFN 180 mcg/week for 12 weeks. Patients with EVR (58%) were randomized to continue PEG-IFN monotherapy (n=64) or to add ribavirin (RBV), 800 mg/day (n=57), for 36 additional weeks.