DcR1 expression in endometrial carcinomas.

The tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is a member of the TNF family, which mediates apoptosis by the extrinsic pathway. Up-regulation of decoy receptors, DcR1 and DcR2, may result in diminished binding of TRAIL to their functional receptors. DcR1 expression was assessed in normal endometrial tissue (NE) and endometrial carcinoma (EC) samples by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

[Clinical significance of unilateral tonsillar enlargement].

Introduction: Asymptomatic unilateral tonsillar enlargement is usually treated with systematic tonsillectomy under suspicion of malignancy. Due to the fact that most of the cases are benign pathologies, we set out to study the clinical signs that would help us in the diagnosis in order to avoid unnecessary tonsillectomies.

Material And Methods: We reviewed 267 tonsillectomies performed from 1996 to 2006 and 30 of these were indicated because of asymmetry.

[First-bite syndrome].

First-bite syndrome consists of the appearance of pain in the parotid at the beginning of mastication, due to damage to the cervical sympathetic chain or the sympathetic plexus innervating the parotid gland. Clinical presentation in a patient who has undergone surgery of the parapharyngeal space suggests the diagnosis. We report here the case of a patient who presented first-bite syndrome after being operated on for a cervical sympathetic chain schwannoma.

[Pharyngocutaneous fistula following total laryngectomy. A case-control study of risk factors implicated in its onset].

Introduction And Objectives: Pharyngocutaneous fistula is the most frequent complication after total laryngectomy. Risk factors involved in its appearance have been studied by many authors without conclusive results. Our main objective is to identify the risk factors involved in the onset of fistulae at our institution.

CK2beta is expressed in endometrial carcinoma and has a role in apoptosis resistance and cell proliferation.

Protein kinase CK2 (CK2) is a serine/threonine kinase that participates in important cellular processes. We have recently demonstrated that CK2 plays a role in resistance to TRAIL/Fas-induced apoptosis in endometrial carcinoma (EC) by regulating FLIP. Here, we assessed the immunohistochemical expression of CK2beta in EC and checked its role in cell proliferation and anchorage-independent cell growth.

Nuclear factor-kappaB activation is associated with somatic and germ line RET mutations in medullary thyroid carcinoma.

The nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) family of transcription factors regulates a wide variety of cellular processes including cell growth, differentiation, and apoptosis. NF-kappaB has been shown to be activated through several signaling pathways that involve growth factor receptors. The aim of the study was to assess the immunohistochemical expression of members of the NF-kappaB family and the putative targets of NF-kappaB in a series of medullary thyroid carcinomas (MTCs), in correlation with RET mutational status.

Promoter hypermethylation and reduced expression of RASSF1A are frequent molecular alterations of endometrial carcinoma.

Alterations in the regulation of the RAS-MAPK pathway are frequent in endometrial carcinoma. RASSF1A is a tumor-suppressor gene that can regulate this pathway negatively. RASSF1A has been found to be inactivated by promoter methylation in some human tumors.

[The silent sinus syndrome].

The silent sinus syndrome is a very infrequent pathology. It is described as an enophthalmos secondary to collapse and opacification of maxillary sinus without presenting sinus or nasal symptoms. Osteomeatal complex obstruction is the triggering physiopathologic factor.

Caloric and rotatory chair test results in patients with Ménière's disease.

Objectives: To determine whether an association exists between the parameters of the caloric and rotatory chair tests in patients with unilateral Ménière's disease.

Methods: Patients with unilateral Ménière's disease (n = 100) were subjected to the caloric and the rotatory chair test (sinusoidal harmonic acceleration and impulsive tests) on the same day. Canal paresis and directional preponderance were assessed in the caloric test, and different variables were measured in the rotatory chair test based on the existence of abnormal parameters in the vestibulo-ocular reflex at two or three consecutive frequencies of those tested and on the time constant of the vestibulo-ocular reflex.

Mutation analysis of the SDHD gene in four kindreds with familial paraganglioma: description of one novel germline mutation.

The familial paraganglioma syndrome is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by the presence of carotid body paragangliomas and, less frequently, paragangliomas of the glomus jugulare, glomus vagale, and adrenal pheochromocytomas. Germline mutations of the genes for succinate dehydrogenase subunits D, B, or C (SDHD, SDHB, SDHC) have been identified in some kindreds with familial paraganglioma. In this study, we report the clinicopathologic features of four different kindreds with familial paraganglioma, which were screened for germline mutations in the SDHD gene.