Optic nerve involvement in patients with Lyme neuroborreliosis: an electrophysiological study.

Purpose: The aim of this neurophysiological study was to retrospectively analyze visual evoked potentials (VEPs) acquired during an examination for diagnosing optic nerve involvement in patients with Lyme neuroborreliosis (LNB). Attention was focused on LNB patients with peripheral facial palsy (PFP) and optic nerve involvement.

Methods: A total of 241 Czech patients were classified as having probable/definite LNB (193/48); of these, 57 were younger than 40 years, with a median age of 26.

Choroidal neovascularization in a patient after resolution of multiple evanescent white dot syndrome: A case report.

Choroidal neovascularization (CNV) is a rare complication of the Multiple Evanescent White Dot Syndrome (MEWDS). It can develop after resolving of the disease when there is already no evident inflammatory activity. Therefore, a long-term follow-up of such patients is important.

Oral Ibandronate Therapy in Three Patients with Osteogenesis Imperfecta.

Introduction: Treatment with orally administered ibandronate is an effective way to increase bone mineral density (BMD) and reduce fracture rate in post-menopausal women and in men with osteoporosis. There are only very few reports concerning ibandronate therapy in children and adolescents, and in patients with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), as bisphosphonates are not registered for therapeutic use in pediatrics.

Case Report: We present three patients with OI, where once-monthly oral ibandronate increased spinal BMD after two and four years, respectively, of therapy without any occurrence of new fractures and no adverse reactions.

Cardiac device-related infective endocarditis in the Czech Republic: Prospective data from the ESC EORP EURO-ENDO registry.

Aim: Understanding cardiac electronic device infective endocarditis epidemiology is essential for the management of this serious complication. Only monocentric and limited data have been published regarding patients in the Czech republic so far. The aim of this study was to describe the current profile, microbiology and clinical characteristics of this population.

Erratum: Filip, S.; et al. Therapeutic Apheresis, Circulating PLD, and Mucocutaneous Toxicity: Our Clinical Experience through Four Years. 2020, , 940.

The following correction has been made to this paper [...

Therapeutic Apheresis, Circulating PLD, and Mucocutaneous Toxicity: Our Clinical Experience through Four Years.

Cancer treatment has been greatly improved by the combined use of targeted therapies and novel biotechnological methods. Regarding the former, pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) has a preferential accumulation within cancer tumors, thus having lower toxicity on healthy cells. PLD has been implemented in the targeted treatment of sarcoma, ovarian, breast, and lung cancer.

Worm-like appearance of Listeria monocytogenes brain abscess: presentation of three cases.

Brain abscess caused by Listeria monocytogenes (LM) is a rare, yet serious condition with high mortality if not recognized and treated timely. We present a series of three cases of LM brain abscesses and describe their characteristic radiological appearances which can be considered very typical. LM abscesses frequently present as markedly irregular formations, revealing characteristic worm-like tubular pattern of chaotic curvilinear arrangement.

Invasive Infections - A New Threat to Hematological-Oncological Patients.

Background: (formerly , now proposed as ) is a filamentous yeast-like fungus that has recently been described as an emerging pathogen mostly in patients with acute leukemia.

Methods: This is a retrospective study of patients diagnosed with proven and probable infection at the University Hospital, Hradec Králové, Czechia between March 2005 and December 2017. Previous cases were identified from the literature and FungiScope database.

Effects of Viscosupplementation on Quality of Knee Joint Arthrokinematic Motion Analyzed by Vibroarthrography.

Objective: To evaluate the influence of viscosupplementation on osteoarthritic knee arthrokinematics analyzed by VAG. It is considered that intra-articular hyaluronic acid injection may improve the function of synovial joints by recovery of friction-reducing properties of articular environment.

Design: Thirty-five patients with knee osteoarthritis (grade II according to the Kellgren-Lawrence system) and 50 asymptomatic subjects were enrolled in the study.

Visual evoked and event-related brain potentials in HIV-infected adults: a longitudinal study over 2.5 years.

Purpose: The aim of this neurophysiological study was to monitor changes in the visual and cognitive function of HIV-infected patients treated with combination antiretroviral therapy.

Methods: Eleven adult Czech HIV+ patients, with a mean age of 35 years and CD4 cell count ≥ 230 × 10 cells/L of blood at the time of enrollment, underwent four to six examinations over the course of 2.5 years to evaluate pattern-reversal and motion-onset visual evoked potentials (P-VEPs and M-VEPs), visually driven oddball event-related potentials (ERPs) and Montreal Cognitive Assessments.

Oxaliplatin and irinotecan induce heterogenous changes in the EMT markers of metastasizing colorectal carcinoma cells.

In patients with advanced colorectal cancer (CRC), surgery is complemented with systemic therapy - chemotherapy and radiochemotherapy. Although the patients' overall survival has been significantly improved, tumor resistance is still a frequent cause of chemotherapy failure. Several factors contribute to chemoresistance of tumor cells including changes related with epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT).

Directed reprogramming of comprehensively characterized dental pulp stem cells extracted from natal tooth.

The aim of this study was to extensively characterise natal dental pulp stem cells (nDPSC) and assess their efficiency to generate human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC). A number of distinguishing features prompted us to choose nDPSC over normal adult DPSC, in that they differed in cell surface marker expression and initial doubling time. In addition, nDPSC expressed 17 out of 52 pluripotency genes we analysed, and the level of expression was comparable to human embryonic stem cells (hESC).

Rationale for the Combination of Dendritic Cell-Based Vaccination Approaches With Chemotherapy Agents.

Owing to their central role in the initiation and regulation of antitumor immunity, dendritic cells (DCs) have been widely tested for use in cancer immunotherapy. Despite several encouraging clinical applications, existing DC-based immunotherapy efforts have yielded inconsistent results. Recent work has identified strategies that may allow for more potent DC-based vaccines, such as the combination with antitumor agents that have the potential to synergistically enhance DC functions.

Pattern- and motion-related visual evoked potentials in HIV-infected adults.

Purpose: The goal of the current study was to explore visual function in virally suppressed HIV patients undergoing combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) by using pattern-reversal and motion-onset visual evoked potentials (VEPs).

Methods: The pattern-reversal and motion-onset VEPs were recorded in 20 adult HIV+ patients with a mean age of 38 years and CD4 cell counts ≥230 × 10 cells/L of blood.

Results: Nine out of 20 patients displayed VEP abnormalities.

Burosumab: A new drug to treat hypophosphatemic rickets.

Burosumab (KRN23) is a fully human monoclonal IgG1 antibody that binds excess fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) and has been successfully tested in clinical trials in children with X-linked hypophosphatemic rickets. A report enclosed in this letter gives a brief review of current knowledge on burosumab therapy.

Testing for ROS1 in non-small cell lung cancer: a review with recommendations.

Rearrangements of the ROS1 gene occur in 1-2 % of non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs). Crizotinib, a highly effective inhibitor of ROS1 kinase activity, is now FDA-approved for the treatment of patients with advanced ROS1-positive NSCLC. Consequently, focus on ROS1 testing is growing.

Contribution of in vitro comparison of colorectal carcinoma cells from primary and metastatic lesions to elucidation of mechanisms of tumor progression and response to anticancer therapy.

Colorectal cancer has been a leading cause of cancer-related morbidity and mortality. For the research and individualization of therapy, primary cell lines of the colorectal cancer appear to be still an invaluable tool. We evaluated the differences in metastatic potential between four isolated primary colon cancer cells and cells derived from their lymph node metastasis.

Clinical manifestations of infective endocarditis in relation to infectious agents: An 8-year retrospective study.

Aim: To compare clinical complications and outcomes of infective endocarditis (IE) episodes caused by Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and other most frequent aetiological agents (streptococci, enterococci, coagulase-negative staphylococci, and culture-negative IE).

Methods: A total of 117 IE episodes assessed by all internal medicine services of a major teaching institution in the Czech Republic over an eight-year period were identified.

Circulating Serum MicroRNA-130a as a Novel Putative Marker of Extramedullary Myeloma.

Poor outcome of extramedullary disease in multiple myeloma patients and lack of outcome predictors prompt continued search for new markers of the disease. In this report, we show circulating microRNA distinguishing multiple myeloma patients with extramedullary disease from myeloma patients without such manifestation and from healthy donors. MicroRNA-130a was identified by TaqMan Low Density Arrays and verified by quantitative PCR on 144 serum samples (59 multiple myeloma, 55 myeloma with extramedullary disease, 30 healthy donors) in test and validation cohorts as being down-regulated in myeloma patients with extramedullary disease.

Minimal requirements for the molecular testing of lung cancer.

From the aspect of the contemporary pathologic diagnostics of lung cancer, it is a key issue of the tissue obtained since small biopsies and cytology still play a major role. In the non-small cell lung cancer era, cytology considered equal to biopsy. However, in recent years it is unable to provide quality diagnosis and must be replaced by biopsy.

Molecular testing in lung cancer in the era of precision medicine.

The clinical expectations how pathologists should submit lung cancer diagnosis have changed dramatically. Until mid 90-ties a clear separation between small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) and non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) was mostly sufficient. With the invention of antiangiogenic treatment a differentiation between squamous and non-squamous NSCLC was requested.

Risk Score based on microRNA expression signature is independent prognostic classifier of glioblastoma patients.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most malignant primary brain tumor. The prognosis of GBM patients varies considerably and the histopathological examination is not sufficient for individual risk estimation. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, non-coding RNAs that function as post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression and were repeatedly proved to play important roles in pathogenesis of GBM.

Carcinoma embolization in coronary artery causing myocardial infarction: diagnosis from coronary thromboaspirate.

A unique case of myocardial infarction due to coronary artery tumor embolism from colonic adenocarcinoma is described. A 79-year-old man with a history of rectal carcinoma with lung metastases 15 years and 9 years before, respectively, was subjected to primary percutaneous coronary intervention for myocardial infarction with aspiration of a thrombus from the occluded artery. The retrieved material contained fragments of adenocarcinoma tissue.

Broncho-pleural fistula following vacuum-assisted closure therapy.

We report a case of bronchopleural-cutaneous fistula following long-term vacuum-assisted closure therapy to manage a sternal dehiscence after coronary artery bypass surgery.