Percutaneous radiofrequency ablation of hepatocellular carcinomas abutting the right posterior diaphragm: factors associated with tumor recurrence and overall survival.

Background: Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of subphrenic hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) using ultrasound (US) guidance presents a challenge.

Purpose: To evaluate local tumor progression (LTP) and overall survival (OS) after RFA of right posterior subphrenic HCCs, and to identify the risk factors for LTP and OS after RFA.

Material And Methods: We screened patients who underwent US-guided RFA for a single HCC <3 cm in the right posterior subphrenic area.

Prognosis prediction and immunotherapy optimisation for cryptogenic new-onset refractory status epilepticus.

Background: Cryptogenic new-onset refractory status epilepticus (cNORSE) currently lacks comprehensive knowledge regarding its clinical dynamics, prognostic factors and treatment guidance. Here we present the longitudinal clinical profiles, predictive factors for outcomes and the optimal duration of immunotherapy in patients with cNORSE.

Methods: This retrospective secondary endpoint analysis investigated patients with cNORSE identified from a prospective autoimmune encephalitis cohort at a national referral centre in Korea.

Clonal hematopoiesis in LGI1-antibody encephalitis.

Objective: Leucine-rich glioma-inactivated 1 (LGI1)-antibody encephalitis (LGI1e), the major form of autoimmune encephalitis (AE) presented with memory loss and faciobrachial dystonic seizure, commonly develops in aged population. Hematologic aging is often accompanied by clonal hematopoiesis (CH), a phenomenon in which specific mutations accumulate, potentially leading to autoimmune disorders or malignancies. Our research aimed to investigate the connection between clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) and LGI1e.

Eosinophilic meningoencephalitis successfully treated with glucocorticoids and intravenous immunoglobulin: a case report.

Eosinophilic meningoencephalitis is a rare inflammatory condition of the central nervous system. As a limited number of cases has been reported, debate remains on the optimal treatment. We present a case of idiopathic eosinophilic meningoencephalitis successfully treated with glucocorticoids and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG).

The Dysregulated IL-23/TH17 Axis in Endometriosis Pathophysiology.

Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory disease in which endometrial-like tissue grows ectopically, resulting in pelvic pain and infertility. IL-23 is a key contributor in the development and differentiation of TH17 cells, driving TH17 cells toward a pathogenic profile. In a variety of inflammatory and autoimmune disorders, TH17 cells secrete proinflammatory cytokines, including IL-17, contributing to disease pathophysiology.

Malignancy Risk of Follicular Neoplasm (Bethesda IV) With Variable Cutoffs of Tumor Size: A Systemic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Context: The decision on diagnostic lobectomy for follicular neoplasms (FN) is challenging.

Objective: This meta-analysis investigates whether an appropriate size cutoff exists for recommending surgery for thyroid nodules diagnosed as FN by fine needle aspiration.

Methods: The Ovid-Medline, EMBASE, Cochrane, and KoreaMed databases were searched for studies reporting the malignancy rate of FN/suspicious for FN (FN/SFN) according to tumor size, using search terms "fine needle aspiration," "follicular neoplasm," "lobectomy," "surgery," and "thyroidectomy.

Combined Transarterial Chemoembolization and Radiofrequency Ablation for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Infeasible for Ultrasound-Guided Percutaneous Radiofrequency Ablation: A Comparative Study with General Ultrasound-Guided Radiofrequency Ablation Outcomes.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic outcomes of transarterial chemoembolization combined with radiofrequency ablation (TACE + RFA) for hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) measuring ≤3 cm infeasible for ultrasound (US)-guided percutaneous RFA.

Methods: Twenty-four patients who underwent fluoroscopy-guided TACE + RFA for single HCC between January 2012 and December 2016 were screened. To evaluate the TACE + RFA outcomes compared with those of US-guided RFA, 371 patients who underwent US-guided RFA during the same period were screened.

Preoperative assessment of microvascular invasion risk using gadoxetate-enhanced MRI for predicting outcomes after liver transplantation for single hepatocellular carcinoma within the Milan criteria.

Objective: To compare therapeutic outcomes after liver transplantation (LT) between hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) with low and high risk for microvascular invasion (MVI) within the Milan criteria evaluated preoperatively.

Methods: Eighty patients with a single HCC who underwent LT as the initial therapy between 2008 and 2017 were included from two tertiary referral medical centers in a HBV-predominant population. A preoperative MVI-risk model was used to identify low- and high-risk patients.

Treatment Outcomes of Percutaneous Radiofrequency Ablation for Hepatocellular Carcinomas: Effects of the Electrode Type and Placement Method.

Objective: To investigate the association among the electrode placement method, electrode type, and local tumor progression (LTP) following percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for small hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) and to assess the risk factors for LTP.

Materials And Methods: In this retrospective study, we enrolled 211 patients, including 150 males and 61 females, who had undergone ultrasound-guided RFA for a single HCC < 3 cm. Patients were divided into four combination groups of the electrode type and placement method: 1) tumor-puncturing with an internally cooled tip (ICT), 2) tumor-puncturing with an internally cooled wet tip (ICWT), 3) no-touch with ICT, and 4) no-touch with ICWT.

Rescue therapy for local tumor progression after radiofrequency ablation of small hepatocellular carcinoma: a comparison between repeated ablation and transcatheter arterial chemoembolization.

Objective: To compare the therapeutic outcomes of repeated radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) as rescue therapy for the treatment of local tumor progression (LTP) after initial RFA for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: This retrospective study evaluated 44 patients who had LTP as initial tumor recurrence after RFA and underwent repeated RFA ( = 23) or TACE ( = 21) for local disease control. Local disease control and overall survival rates were evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier method.

Risk Group Stratification for Recurrence-Free Survival and Early Tumor Recurrence after Radiofrequency Ablation for Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Purpose: Although the prognosis after radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) may vary according to different risk levels, there is no standardized follow-up protocol according to each patient's risk. This study aimed to stratify patients according to their risk of recurrence-free survival (RFS) and early (≤2 years) tumor recurrence (ETR) after RFA for HCC based on predictive models and nomograms and to compare the survival times of the risk groups derived from the models.

Methods: Patients who underwent RFA for a single HCC (≤3 cm) between January 2012 and March 2014 ( = 152) were retrospectively reviewed.

Estrogen mediates inflammatory role of mast cells in endometriosis pathophysiology.

Endometriosis is an estrogen dependent, chronic inflammatory disease characterized by the growth of endometrial lining outside of the uterus. Mast cells have emerged as key players in regulating not only allergic responses but also other mechanisms such as angiogenesis, fibrosis, and pain. The influence of estrogen on mast cell function has also been recognized as a potential factor driving disease pathophysiology in number of allergic and chronic inflammatory conditions.

Isolation and characterization of uterine leukocytes collected using a uterine swab technique.

Problem: Leukocytes from the maternal-fetal interface are a valuable tool to study local changes in immune function during pregnancy; however, sampling can be challenging due to inadequate tissue availability and the invasive nature of placental bed biopsy. Here, we aim to purify and characterize leukocytes from paired peripheral and uterine blood samples to assess whether a less invasive method of uterine blood collection could yield a population of enriched uterine leukocytes suitable for ex vivo and in vitro analyses.

Method Of Study: Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and uterine blood mononuclear cells (UBMC) expressed from surgical gauze post C-section were isolated, and immunophenotypic information was acquired by multi-parameter flow cytometry.

Percutaneous radiofrequency ablation of solitary hepatic metastases from colorectal cancer: risk factors of local tumor progression-free survival and overall survival.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate local tumor progression-free survival (LTPFS) and overall survival (OS) after percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for solitary colorectal liver metastases (CLM) <3 cm and to identify the risk factors associated with poor LTPFS and OS after percutaneous RFA.

Methods: This study screened 219 patients who underwent percutaneous RFA for CLM between January 2013 and November 2020. Of these, 92 patients with a single CLM <3 cm were included.

Corrigendum: Nuclear Progesterone Receptor Expressed by the Cortical Thymic Epithelial Cells Dictates Thymus Involution in Murine Pregnancy.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2022.

Endometrial Epithelial ARID1A Is Required for Uterine Immune Homeostasis during Early Pregnancy.

A growing body of work suggests epigenetic dysregulation contributes to endometriosis pathophysiology and female infertility. The chromatin remodeling complex subunit AT-rich interaction domain 1A (ARID1A) must be properly expressed to maintain normal uterine function. Endometrial epithelial ARID1A is indispensable for pregnancy establishment in mice through regulation of endometrial gland function; however, ARID1A expression is decreased in infertile women with endometriosis.

Fetal-placental antigens and the maternal immune system: Reproductive immunology comes of age.

Reproductive physiology and immunology as scientific disciplines each have rich, largely independent histories. The physicians and philosophers of ancient Greece made remarkable observations and inferences to explain regeneration as well as illness and immunity. The scientific enlightenment of the renaissance and the technological advances of the past century have led to the explosion of knowledge that we are experiencing today.

Nuclear Progesterone Receptor Expressed by the Cortical Thymic Epithelial Cells Dictates Thymus Involution in Murine Pregnancy.

Progesterone is a gonadal pro-gestational hormone that is absolutely necessary for the success of pregnancy. Most notable actions of progesterone are observed in the female reproductive organs, the uterus and the ovary. Acting through the nuclear progesterone receptor (PGR), progesterone prepares the endometrium for implantation of the embryo.

Rim-arterial enhancing primary hepatic tumors with other targetoid appearance show early recurrence after radiofrequency ablation.

Objectives: To evaluate early (≤ 2 years) local tumor progression (LTP), intrahepatic distant metastasis (IDR), and extrahepatic metastasis (EM) of primary hepatic malignant tumors with arterial rim enhancement (RE) after RFA in comparison with non-RE tumors.

Methods: Three hundred forty-nine patients who underwent RFA for primary hepatic malignant tumors between January 2009 and December 2016 were included. The patients' tumors were classified into non-RE, RE only (RO), and RE plus other targetoid appearances (REoT).

Comparison of ablation performance between dual internally cooled wet tip and conventional dual internally cooled tip radiofrequency electrodes: an experimental study in bovine liver.

Objective: To evaluate the performance of dual internally cooled wet tip (ICWT) radiofrequency electrodes in comparison to dual internally cooled tip (ICT) electrodes.

Methods: Twenty ablation zones were created for each type of electrodes. Planned procedure time was 6 min.

Integrins mediate placental extracellular vesicle trafficking to lung and liver in vivo.

Membrane-bound extracellular vesicles (EVs) mediate intercellular communication in all organisms, and those produced by placental mammals have become increasingly recognized as significant mediators of fetal-maternal communication. Here, we aimed to identify maternal cells targeted by placental EVs and elucidate the mechanisms by which they traffic to these cells. Exogenously administered pregnancy-associated EVs traffic specifically to the lung; further, placental EVs associate with lung interstitial macrophages and liver Kupffer cells in an integrin-dependent manner.

Laparoscopic radiofrequency ablation of subcapsular hepatocellular carcinomas: risk factors related to a technical failure.

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the risk factors related to a technical failure after laparoscopic radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for subcapsular hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs).

Materials And Methods: A total of 110 patients with 114 HCCs who underwent laparoscopic RFA for HCCs (new HCC [n = 85] and local tumor progression [LTP] [n = 29]) between January 2013 and December 2018 were included. We evaluated the incidence of technical failure on immediate post-RFA CT images.

Exploring the Origin and Antigenic Specificity of Maternal Regulatory T Cells in Pregnancy.

Successful pregnancy outcome is partially determined by the suppression of reactive effector T cells by maternal regulatory T cells (T) at the maternal-fetal interface. While a large area of research has focused on the regulation of peripherally-induced T (pT) distribution and differentiation using transgenic mouse models and human samples, studies focusing on the role of T derived from the thymus (tT), and the potential role of central tolerance in maternal-fetal tolerance is less explored. The genome of the fetus is composed of both the tissue-specific and paternally-inherited antigens, and a break in maternal immune tolerance to either antigen may result in adverse pregnancy outcomes.