The gut microbiome composition associates with bipolar disorder and illness severity.

The gut microbiome is emerging as an important factor in regulating mental health yet it remains unclear what the target should be for psychiatric treatment. We aimed to elucidate the complement of the gut-microbiome community for individuals with bipolar disorder relative to controls; and test for relationships with burden of disease measures. We compared the stool microbiome from individuals with bipolar disorder (n = 115) and control subjects (n = 64) using 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequence analysis.

Acute rhabdomyolysis as a complication of interferon treatment for stage IIIc melanoma.

Background: Interferon alfa-2b is a treatment option for select patients with stage 3 melanoma.

Objective: To highlight the potential complication of acute rhabdomyolysis from interferon alfa-2b in this patient population.

Methods: We present a case of a 63-year-old female with stage IIIc melanoma who developed acute rhabdomyolysis after completing 2 of 4 weeks of induction with high-dose interferon alfa-2b.

A phase II study of biweekly pemetrexed and gemcitabine in patients with metastatic breast cancer.

Purpose: Pemetrexed (PEM) is a novel folate antimetabolite which inhibits thymidylate synthase, dihydrofolate reductase and glycinamide ribonucleotide formyl transferase. This phase II study was designed to assess the efficacy of Gemcitabine (GEM) and PEM given in a novel schedule in metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients.

Methods: Eligible patients had MBC and received one prior chemotherapy regimen for metastatic disease; Performance status (PS) 0-2; measurable disease (RECIST criteria).