Solitary ulcerated plaque on the face - an unusual presentation of cutaneous plasmacytosis?

Cutaneous and systemic plasmacytosis is a rare disorder characterized by cutaneous polyclonal plasma cell infiltration frequently associated with polyclonal hypergammaglobulinemia and lymphadenopathy. We report a case of a 67-year-old woman with an inflammatory ulcerated plaque in the left masseter region. A skin biopsy showed dense perivascular infiltrate of mature plasma cells in the dermis without atypia and immunoglobulin light chain restriction.

Risk of First Onset Stroke in SSRI-Exposed Adult Subjects: Survival Analysis and Examination of Age and Time Effects.

Objective: Exposure to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) has been shown to increase the risk of stroke. In this study, we investigated age and time effects on the risk of first onset stroke in SSRI-exposed (SSRIEXP) adult subjects.

Methods: We analyzed an 8-year cohort from the National Health Insurance Research Database, Taiwan.

Effects of Kinesio tape in individuals with lateral epicondylitis: A deceptive crossover trial.

Objectives: To determine the true and immediate effect of applying Kinesio tape (KT) on the pain intensity, pain-free grip strength, maximal grip strength, and electromyographic activity with facilitatory KT, inhibitory KT, sham KT, and untaped condition in patients with lateral epicondylitis (LE) who were ignorant about KT.

Design: Deceptive crossover trial.

Participants: Thirty-three patients with unilateral chronic LE who were ignorant about KT, 30 of them were successfully deceived in this study.

Increased risk of herpes zoster in patients with psoriasis: A population-based retrospective cohort study.

Objectives: The risk of herpes zoster (HZ) between patients with psoriasis receiving and not receiving systemic therapy has received increasing attention. This study investigated the association of psoriasis with the risk of HZ.

Methods: We conducted a population-based retrospective cohort study by using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database.

Distinct Tertiary Lymphoid Structure Associations and Their Prognostic Relevance in HER2 Positive and Negative Breast Cancers.

Background: The presence of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) is associated with favorable prognosis. Recent evidence suggested that not only their density, but also the spatial organization as tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS), play a key role in determining patient survival.

Materials And Methods: In a cohort of 248 breast cancers, the clinicopathologic association and prognostic role of TLS was examined.

Expression and Clinical Significance of Herpes Virus Entry Mediator (HVEM) in Breast Cancer.

Background: Immune checkpoint blockades are currently actively investigated in invasive breast cancers. Given the complexity of immune regulation, multiple inhibitory molecules within the immune checkpoint framework would be involved in tumor immune escape. Evaluation of the components within the framework is a prerequisite for not only identification of additional treatment targets and optimization of immunotherapeutic strategies but also understanding the prognostic value of these molecules.

Atypical aspirates of the breast: a dilemma in current cytology practice.

Aims: The probabilistic approach is widely adopted for breast fine needle aspiration cytology. However, a definite cytological diagnosis is not always possible for C3 (atypia) cases, which poses a management dilemma as this represents a mixed category of benign and malignant cases. It would be beneficial to be able to predict malignancy based on specific cytological features in C3 aspirates.

PD-L1 expression and tumor infiltrating PD-1+ lymphocytes associated with outcome in HER2+ breast cancer patients.

Purpose: Clinical trials showing programmed death (PD)-1-PD-ligand 1 (L1) axis as a promising therapeutic target in melanoma and non-small cell lung cancers have made the pathway a focus of recent attention. However, the data regarding PD-L1/PD-1 in breast cancer are inconsistent. Given the heterogeneity of breast cancers, the clinical relevance of PD-L1 and PD-1 tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) may vary according to subtypes of breast cancer.

Clinical and Imaging Findings of Temporomandibular Joint Synovial Chondromatosis: An Analysis of 10 Cases and Literature Review.

Purpose: This study investigated clinical and imaging features of synovial chondromatosis (SC) of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) for use in clinical applications.

Materials And Methods: We analyzed clinical data from 10 patients with SC of the TMJ in our hospital from 2011 to 2015. We also reviewed and analyzed relevant literature included in the National Center for Biotechnology Information database in the past decade using the search terms "synovial chondromatosis" and "temporomandibular joint.

Role of quantitative intravoxel incoherent motion parameters in the preoperative diagnosis of nodal metastasis in patients with rectal carcinoma.

Purpose: To evaluate the diagnostic value of intravoxel incoherent motion imaging (IVIM) in differentiating metastatic and nonmetastatic lymph nodes in patients with rectal carcinoma.

Materials And Methods: In all, 68 patients with histologically proven rectal carcinoma underwent an IVIM sequence (b = 0, 25, 50, 75, 100, 150, 200, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200, 1500, and 2000 s/mm(2) ) on a 3.0T MRI scanner.

Doublecortin-like kinase 1 expression associates with breast cancer with neuroendocrine differentiation.

Doublecortin-like kinase 1 (DCLK1), a microtubule associated kinase, has recently been proposed to be a putative marker for stemness and adverse prognosis in gastrointestinal cancers. However, it is not clear whether the protein also plays similar roles in breast cancer. Here, the expression of DCLK1 was analyzed in a large cohort of invasive breast cancers (IBC) by immunohistochemistry.

Prostate cancer in Asia: A collaborative report.

The incidence of prostate cancer (PCa) within Asian population used to be much lower than in the Western population; however, in recent years the incidence and mortality rate of PCa in some Asian countries have grown rapidly. This collaborative report summarized the latest epidemiology information, risk factors, and racial differences in PCa diagnosis, current status and new trends in surgery management and novel agents for castration-resistant prostate cancer. We believe such information would be helpful in clinical decision making for urologists and oncologists, health-care ministries and medical researchers.

Study on osteogenesis promoted by low sound pressure level infrasound in vivo and some underlying mechanisms.

To clarify the effects of low sound pressure level (LSPL) infrasound on local bone turnover and explore its underlying mechanisms, femoral defected rats were stabilized with a single-side external fixator. After exposure to LSPL infrasound for 30min twice everyday for 6 weeks, the pertinent features of bone healing were assessed by radiography, peripheral quantitative computerized tomography (pQCT), histology and immunofluorescence assay. Infrasound group showed a more consecutive and smoother process of fracture healing and modeling in radiographs and histomorphology.

A novel design of the multilobed latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flap to achieve primary donor-site closure in the reconstruction of large defects.

Background: The main drawback of the latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flap for large defect repairs is the relatively small skin paddle size that can be raised to allow primary closure of the donor site. In this article, the authors describe a novel design of the flap using multiple separate skin paddles, with each paddle nourished by independent perforators, to repair very large defects while maintaining primary donor-site closure.

Methods: After the size of the defect was calculated, its total area was split into two or three skin paddles and marked on the back skin so that the largest width of each paddle did not exceed 8 cm.

Risk factors associated with brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity among peritoneal dialysis patients in Macao.

Background: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality among peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients in Macao. Increased arterial stiffness determined by pulse wave velocity (PWV) has been established as an independent predictor of cardiovascular mortality in end-stage renal disease patients. The present study aims to investigate the relationship between arterial stiffness and its associated risk factors in chronic PD patients.

Prevalence and risk factors associated with peripheral artery disease in elderly patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis.

Background: Rapid growth of the elderly peritoneal dialysis (PD) population is posing a special challenge for renal teams. Peripheral artery disease (PAD) has been reported to be an independent predictor of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in hemodialysis patients. However, the prevalence and associated risk factors for PAD in elderly PD patients have not yet been fully investigated.

[Delusional parasitosis associated with dialysis treated with aripiprazole].

We report the case of a 75-year-old Chinese lady that presented delusional parasitosis with visual hallucinations four months after starting peritoneal dialysis. This psychosis is characterized by the persistent and unshakable belief of being infested with small living organisms, although there is no medical evidence for this. The patient had no previous history of psychiatric disorders, presented diminished visual acuity due to cataracts and macular degeneration, did not show cognitive deterioration, and was medicated with erythropoietin.

Early detection of central airway lung cancer in smokers with silicosis.

Background: Smokers with silicosis are at increased risk of lung cancer.

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of using autofluorescence bronchoscopy after sputum examination for early detection of large airway lung cancer and factors associated with the presence of cancerous and pre-cancerous lesions among smokers with silicosis.

Methods: Subjects at the pneumoconiosis clinic were recruited if they fulfilled the following criteria: 1) age ≥40 years, 2) smoking history of ≥20 pack-years and 3) confirmed diagnosis of silicosis.

Distribution of human papillomavirus genotypes among cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and invasive cancers in Macao.

Macao is a densely populated city situated in East Asia where a relatively high prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) types 52 and 58 has been reported in women with invasive cervical cancer. To provide data for a population-specific estimation on the impact of HPV vaccines, paraffin-embedded tissues collected from women with invasive cervical cancer or cervical intrapeitheilal neoplasia grade 2 or 3 confirmed histologically were examined for HPV using the INNO-LiPa kit. Of the 35 HPV-positive patients with invasive cancer, one HPV type was detected in 68.

A randomized trial comparing conventional swan-neck straight-tip catheters to straight-tip catheters with an artificial subcutaneous swan neck.

Objective: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of inserting a straight-tip Tenckhoff catheter configured with a subcutaneous artificial swan neck.

Design: Clinical outcomes of conventional swan-neck straight-tip catheters and Tenckhoff straight-tip catheters implanted with an artificial subcutaneous swan neck were compared in a prospective randomized controlled trial in a single-center setting.

Patients And Methods: Patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis catheter insertion were randomized to receive either a double-cuff straight-tip Tenckhoff catheter with an artificial subcutaneous swan-neck (TC) or a conventional double-cuff straight-tip swan-neck catheter (SN).

Clinical results of radical prostatectomy for patients with prostate cancer in Macau.

Background: Incidence of prostate cancer has been increasing in recent decades. In the year 2005, prostate cancer became the second most common cancer in males in Macau. The purpose of this report was to review and summarize the clinical features and prognosis of the 54 patients undergoing radical prostatectomy in Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR), China.

[Compulsory treatments in Macao: the first five years].

Aims: To characterize compulsory treatments done in Macao in the five years after its implementation in 1999.

Method: A descriptive and retrospective study was done consulting the clinical files of persons that did compulsory treatments in Macao in the five years after its implementation.

Results: The court always confirmed the requests for compulsory admissions, 24 patients were admitted and 14 cases (58.