Characterization of Plasma Cell-Free DNA Integrity Using Droplet-Based Digital PCR: Toward the Development of Circulating Tumor DNA-Dedicated Assays.

Cellular-cell free-DNA (ccfDNA) is being explored as a diagnostic and prognostic tool for various diseases including cancer. Beyond the evaluation of the ccfDNA mutational status, its fragmentation has been investigated as a potential cancer biomarker in several studies. However, probably due to a lack of standardized procedures dedicated to preanalytical and analytical processing of plasma samples, contradictory results have been published.

[Disclosure of an Alzheimer's disease diagnosis].

The disclosure of the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease is a necessity and a right for patients and their family. If forms part of a diagnosis procedure which gives an origin and an explanation to the impairments. The disclosure ensures patients become engaged in their care and enables them to maintain some form of hope regarding their remaining capacities.

Comparison of the accuracy of AASLD and LI-RADS criteria for the non-invasive diagnosis of HCC smaller than 3 cm.

Background & Aims: Non-invasive imaging is crucial for the early diagnosis and successful treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Terminology and criteria for interpreting and reporting imaging results must be standardized to optimize diagnosis. The aim of this study was to prospectively compare the diagnostic accuracy of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) and the 2014 version of Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (LI-RADS®) criteria for the non-invasive diagnosis of small HCC, and to evaluate the diagnostic value of ancillary features used in the LI-RADS criteria.

[Dimensions of personality, attachment style and early maladaptive schemas in alcohol-dependent patients: Are there gender-specific differences?].

Aim: Literature reports particularities in certain psychological dimensions, such as personality traits, early maladaptive schemas and attachment styles among patients dependent on alcohol. Several international studies have also emphasized significant gender differences in psychological profiles. However, in France, only a few studies have dealt with this subject.

Neurodevelopmental and environmental hypotheses of negative symptoms of schizophrenia.

The negative symptoms of schizophrenia, avolition, alogia, apathy and impaired or nonexistent social functioning, are strongly correlated with the progressive course and long-term prognosis of the disease, undermining the patient's ability to integrate socially, interpersonal skills and quality of life. At a time when new drug strategies are being developed, a better understanding of the etiology and pathogenesis underpinning the occurrence of negative symptoms constitutes an essential prerequisite for real therapeutic advances. Approaching this vulnerability from the neurodevelopmental perspective is especially pertinent with regard to the experimental studies conducted in animals.