Purpose: Measuring serum and cerebrospinal fluid human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is essential for the diagnosis of intracranial germ cell tumors. There are three types of hCG-related markers in clinical use: hCGβ, intact hCG, and total hCG. The best marker for the diagnosis of intracranial germ cell tumors, especially germinoma, is currently unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the usefulness of these hCG-related markers.
Methods: We investigated 19 serum samples obtained from 6 patients with histologically diagnosed germinoma treated in our institute. Serum hCGβ, intact hCG, and total hCG values were measured before, during, and after treatment. Samples with hCG values above the lower limits were considered positive.
Results: The positivity rates of serum hCGβ, intact hCG, and total hCG were 6% (1/17), 47% (7/15), and 42% (8/19), respectively, with the latter two having significantly higher positivity rates than hCGβ (p = 0.041). Both intact and total hCGs showed similar values. The median values of hCGβ, intact hCG, and total hCG before treatment were 0.1 ng/mL, 4.6 mIU/mL, and 4.5 mIU/mL, respectively.
Conclusion: Serum intact and total hCGs have higher detection rates than hCGβ in patients with germinoma using available commercial measurement tools.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00381-023-05856-w | DOI Listing |
Biophys J
January 2025
Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027. Electronic address:
Membrane fusion is central to fundamental cellular processes such as exocytosis, when an intracellular machinery fuses membrane-enclosed vesicles to the plasma membrane for contents release. The core machinery components are the SNARE proteins. SNARE complexation pulls the membranes together, but the fusion mechanism remains unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiophys J
January 2025
Theoretical Physics of Living Matter, Institute of Biological Information Processing and Institute for Advanced Simulation, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany. Electronic address:
Translocation across barriers and through constrictions is a mechanism that is often used in vivo for transporting material between compartments. A specific example is apicomplexan parasites invading host cells through the tight junction that acts as a pore, and a similar barrier crossing is involved in drug delivery using lipid vesicles penetrating intact skin. Here, we use triangulated membranes and energy minimization to study the translocation of vesicles through pores with fixed radii.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Urol
January 2025
Department of Urology, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children's Health, Nan Li Shi Lu Street No.56, Beijing, 100045, China.
Background: To analyze the clinical characteristics, complications and patients satisfaction of MIP hypospadias variant.
Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed for 31 patients with MIP admitted to our hospital from January 2008 to February 2023. All enrolled patients underwent telephone follow-up and a survey was conducted on the satisfaction of patients and their families.
Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol
January 2025
Hatay Mustafa Kemal University Otorhinolaryngology Department, Hatay, Turkey.
Purpose: Tympanoplasty is a surgical procedure performed to cure middle ear infections and restore normal middle ear function. It is one of the most common procedures in otological surgery. Since Wullstein described tympanoplasty, the microscope has been a widely used surgical tool in otological surgery.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMethods Cell Biol
January 2025
Department of Radiation Oncology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States. Electronic address:
Glioblastomas (GBMs) are the most common and aggressive brain tumors, with a poor prognosis. Effective preclinical models are crucial to investigate GBM biology and develop novel treatments. Syngeneic models, which consist in injecting murine GBM cells into mice with a similar genetic background, offer reproducibility, cost-effectiveness, and an intact immune system, making them ideal for immunotherapy research.
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