Asymptomatic pancreatic perivascular epithelial cell tumor (PEComa) in a male patient: report and literature review.

Context: Perivascular epithelial cell tumors (PEComas) are a family of rare mesenchymal neoplasms which share cellular, immunohistochemical and ultrastructural characteristics but are found in different visceral and soft tissue sites. PEComas of the pancreas are extremely rare neoplasms.

Case Report: We describe a 49-year-old male who was incidentally diagnosed with a pancreatic mass.

Cannabidiol improves brain and liver function in a fulminant hepatic failure-induced model of hepatic encephalopathy in mice.

Background And Purpose: Hepatic encephalopathy is a neuropsychiatric disorder of complex pathogenesis caused by acute or chronic liver failure. We investigated the effects of cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive constituent of Cannabis sativa with anti-inflammatory properties that activates the 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor 5-HT(1A) , on brain and liver functions in a model of hepatic encephalopathy associated with fulminant hepatic failure induced in mice by thioacetamide.

Experimental Approach: Female Sabra mice were injected with either saline or thioacetamide and were treated with either vehicle or cannabidiol.

A costly covenant: ritual circumcision and urinary tract infection.

Background: Ritual circumcision in neonates may cause a urinary tract infection within 2 weeks of the procedure.

Objectives: To evaluate the prevalence of urinary tract infection among Jewish male circumcised neonates < or = 28 days old) evaluated for fever in the emergency room.

Methods: All available medical records of neonates presenting to the pediatric emergency room for evaluation of fever over a 10 year period were reviewed.

Reconstructing neural circuits using transplanted neural stem cells in the injured spinal cord.

Traumatic spinal cord injury is one of the most common causes of disability in young adults. Restoring independent ambulation in such patients is considered one of the biggest challenges in regenerative medicine because repair of spinal cord injury involves the complex processes of axonal regeneration, remyelination, and formation of new synaptic connections. In this issue of the JCI, Abematsu et al.

Critical appraisal of canakinumab in the treatment of adults and children with cryopyrin-associated periodic syndrome (CAPS).

The cryopyrin-associated syndromes (CAPS) include three autosomal-dominant syndromes, that are caused by a mutation in the NLRP3 gene on chromosome 1, encoding the cryopyrin protein. These syndromes, familial cold autoinflammatory syndrome, Muckle-Wells syndrome and neonatal-onset multisystem inflammatory disease, are characterized by urticaria-like rash, fever, central nervous system inflammation, an arthropathy and a risk of the development of amyloidosis in a respectively escalating degree of severity between the various syndromes. Recently the role of cryopyrin in the regulation of interleukin (IL)-1 production and activation was described and anti IL-1 therapies were found to be very effective in treating these syndromes.

[Vibrio vulnificus infection outside of the fish ponds in northern Israel: acquisition in the "Einot Tzukim" springs near the Dead Sea].

Vibrio vulnificus is a Gram-negative bacterium that may cause severe skin and systemic infection after exposure of open wounds to contaminated water, especially in patients with underlying disease such as immune-deficiency, iron overload or end stage liver or renal disease. The V. vulnificus infection has been reported in Israel almost exclusively after exposure to Tilapia fish cultivated in fresh water fish ponds in northern Israel.

Covert processing of facial expressions by people with Williams syndrome.

Although individuals with Williams Syndrome (WS) are empathic and sociable and perform relatively well on face recognition tasks, they perform poorly on tasks of facial expression recognition. The current study sought to investigate this seeming inconsistency. Participants were tested on a Garner-type matching paradigm in which identities and expressions were manipulated simultaneously as the relevant or irrelevant dimensions.

Capsaicin affects brain function in a model of hepatic encephalopathy associated with fulminant hepatic failure in mice.

Background And Purpose: Hepatic encephalopathy is a neuropsychiatric syndrome caused by liver failure. In view of the effects of cannabinoids in a thioacetamide-induced model of hepatic encephalopathy and liver disease and the beneficial effect of capsaicin (a TRPV1 agonist) in liver disease, we assumed that capsaicin may also affect hepatic encephalopathy.

Experimental Approach: Fulminant hepatic failure was induced in mice by thioacetamide and 24 h later, the animals were injected with one of the following compound(s): 2-arachidonoylglycerol (CB(1), CB(2) and TRPV1 receptor agonist); HU308 (CB(2) receptor agonist), SR141716A (CB(1) receptor antagonist); SR141716A+2-arachidonoylglycerol; SR144528 (CB(2) receptor antagonist); capsaicin; and capsazepine (TRPV1 receptor agonist and antagonist respectively).

Q fever endocarditis; not always expected.

Q fever endocarditis is a chronic disease with protean manifestations. The clinical and serological manifestations of nine patients diagnosed as having Q fever endocarditis during a 19-year period are reviewed. Four patients (44%) required valve replacement due to congestive heart failure.

Cannabinoids and capsaicin improve liver function following thioacetamide-induced acute injury in mice.

Objectives: We have shown the beneficial effects of cannabinoids in a murine model of hepatic encephalopathy following thioacetamide and now report their effects on the liver injury.

Methods: Fulminant hepatic failure (FHF) was induced by administration of 200 mg/kg thioacetamide to wild-type (WT) and CB2 Knockout (KO) mice. Twenty-four hours later, mice were injected with 2-arachidonoylglycerol (CB1, CB2, and TRPV1 agonist), HU308 (CB2 agonist), SR141716 A (CB1 receptor blocker), SR141716 A+2-AG, and SR144528 (CB2 receptor blocker), capsaicin and capsazepine (TRPV1 agonist and antagonist receptors).

Lithium-associated hyperparathyroidism: report of four cases and review of the literature.

Context: Lithium-associated hyperparathyroidism (LAH) was first described in 1973 but many issues remain in question regarding the pathophysiology as well as the appropriate management of this condition.

Objective: Report of four new cases and review of the literature.

Results: We describe two males and two females, treated for more than 10 years with lithium due to bipolar disorder, who developed LAH.

A week-by-week analysis of the low-risk criteria for serious bacterial infection in febrile neonates.

Objective: To examine the reliability of "low-risk" criteria (LRC) to exclude serious bacterial infection (SBI) in febrile neonates (< or =28 days), according to age in weeks.

Design: Epidemiological and clinical data and final diagnosis of all febrile neonates presenting to the emergency room from June 1997 to May 2006 were reviewed. Neonates who fulfilled specific LRC for the presence of SBI were classified as LRC+.

Incidence and significance of a positive troponin test in bacteremic patients without acute coronary syndrome.

Background: Since the introduction of troponin for the diagnosis of myocardial infarction, several studies have shown additional conditions in which troponin is elevated, including sepsis. The objective of this study was to determine the incidence of an elevated troponin in patients with bacteremia and its significance.

Methods: This was a prospective, noninterventional study.

2-Arachidonoylglycerol, an endogenous cannabinoid receptor agonist, in various rat tissues during the evolution of experimental cholestatic liver disease.

Background/aim: Changes in tissue levels of 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), an endocannabinoid, during the evolution of bile duct ligation (BDL) may indicate that endocannabinoids have a role in the hemodynamic changes that occur in this condition.

Methods: 2-AG levels, in various organs and vascular beds of BDL rats, 2 and 4 weeks post surgery, were determined. Untouched and sham-operated (SO) rats were used as controls.

Cytomegalovirus-associated protein-losing gastropathy in childhood.

Menetrier's disease is an uncommon disease in childhood, characterized by gastric hypertrophy and hypoalbuminemia secondary to protein loss through the gastric mucosa. This paper describes a series report of protein-losing gastropathy associated with cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in children and reviews the literature. We reviewed the medical records of eight children with diagnosis of Menetrier's disease or protein-losing gastropathy with evidence of acute CMV infection.

Musculoskeletal injuries in terrorist attacks--a comparison between the injuries sustained and those related to motor vehicle accidents, based on a national registry database.

Terror-related injuries are becoming more prevalent. The predominant mechanism of damage is related to blast effects. These include penetrating injury due to material in the explosives and blunt trauma due to objects falling after detonation.

Long-term functional outcome of penetrating sciatic nerve injury.

Background: Penetrating sciatic nerve injuries resulting from gunshot wounds (GSW) or blast injuries are rare. The role of operative treatment of these injuries remains obscure, and to date, specific outcome measures after this type of injury are still missing.

Methods: We retrospectively studied 29 patients with penetrating sciatic nerve injuries mostly resulting from GSW or blast, during the years 1990 to 2002, and compared those who where treated operatively versus nonoperatively, with minimal follow-up period of 2 years.

The expression level of ligands for natural killer cell receptors predicts response to bacillus Calmette-Guerin therapy: a pilot study.

Purpose: Up to 90% of patients with high grade superficial bladder tumors experience tumor recurrence and up to 50% have progression despite bacillus Calmette-Guerin treatment. Natural killer cells have a major role in the mechanism of the response to bacillus Calmette-Guerin but the exact mechanisms are still elusive. The recently discovered natural cytotoxicity receptors are linked to the host response to viral infection and to cancer.

Fetal effects of primary and non-primary cytomegalovirus infection in pregnancy: are we close to prevention?

Seroconversion to cytomegalovirus occurs in 1-4% of pregnant women, most of whom are seropositive prior to pregnancy. In 0.2-2.

Glucocorticoid resistance following herpes simplex-1 infection: role of hippocampal glucocorticoid receptors.

Herpes simplex-1 (HSV-1) is a sporadic cause of viral encephalitis. We have previously demonstrated that corneal HSV inoculation markedly activates the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. This activation depends on host derived brain interleukine-1 and was resistant to pretreatment with dexamethasone (dex), possibly because immune factors such as pro-inflammatory cytokines can modify the binding capacity of glucocorticoids in the hippocampus.

Vascular complications of supracondylar humeral fractures in children.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the vascular complications of 24 children with supracondylar humeral fractures treated in two affiliated hospitals and to propose a management plan. Exploration and repair of the brachial artery were undertaken in 11 of the 24 cases in which the pulse did not resume following reduction of the fracture. The repaired vessels were found to be patent on follow-up.

Genomic-scale analysis of psoriatic skin reveals differentially expressed insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-7 after phototherapy.

Background: Phototherapy is an effective therapy for psoriasis. The molecular mechanisms underlying its efficacy are not yet understood.

Objectives: To compare the expression profiles of psoriatic epidermis in patients before and after undergoing phototherapy with the purpose of expounding the molecular mechanisms underlying the efficacy of this therapeutic modality.

Treatment of new-onset type 1 diabetes with peptide DiaPep277 is safe and associated with preserved beta-cell function: extension of a randomized, double-blind, phase II trial.

Background: Treatment with DiaPep277, a peptide derived from HSP60, has been shown to preserve beta-cell function in non-obese diabetic mouse (NOD) mice and in a trial with newly diagnosed human patients with type 1 diabetes treated over a 10-month period. This article extends the clinical trial observations to a total of 20 months of treatment to determine the safety and the effects of repeated doses of DiaPep277 on endogenous insulin secretion, metabolic control, and exogenous insulin requirements.

Methods: Thirty-five male patients (aged 16-58) with a basal C-peptide greater than 0.

Computerized navigation for the internal fixation of femoral neck fractures.

Background: Accurate placement of cannulated screws is essential to ensure secure fixation of femoral neck fractures. We compared computerized navigation and conventional fluoroscopy with regard to the accuracy of screw placement for the fixation of femoral neck fractures.

Methods: We retrospectively compared two groups of twenty consecutive patients with a femoral neck fracture who underwent internal fixation with three cannulated screws.