Effect of ferric carboxymaltose on calculated plasma volume status and clinical congestion: a FAIR-HF substudy.

Aims: Iron deficiency worsens symptoms, quality of life, and exercise capacity in chronic heart failure (CHF) and might do so by promoting fluid retention. We assessed whether iron repletion improved congestion in CHF and appraised the prognostic utility of calculated plasma volume status (PVS), a novel index of congestion, in the FAIR-HF data set.

Methods And Results: In FAIR-HF, 459 iron deficient CHF patients were randomized to intravenous ferric carboxymaltose (FCM) or saline and assessed at 4, 12, and 24 weeks.

SPOP and FOXA1 mutations are associated with PSA recurrence in ERG wt tumors, and SPOP downregulation with ERG-rearranged prostate cancer.

Background: ERG fusion-related prostate cancer (PrCa) is the most prevalent oncogenic driver subclass. SPOP, FOXA1, and IDH1 mutations are other three main oncogenic driver subclasses in non-ETS-fusion PrCa. ERG protein levels seem to be increased in SPOP-mutated cases, and different studies reported that SPOP mutations and ERG fusions are mutually exclusive.

Pemphigus-like hypereosinophilic syndrome with FIP1L1-PDGFRA fusion gene: A challenging and uncommon clinical presentation.

Hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES) is often associated with cutaneous manifestations, mostly pruritic lesions, urticaria and angioedema. Mucosal lesions are rarely seen in HES but, when present, are usually the first manifestation of the disease. The clinical presentation may be heterogeneous, including erosions, aphthae or ulcers, and can be easily confused with other mucocutaneous disorders.

Strong cytoplasmic ETV1 expression has a negative impact on prostate cancer outcome.

Overexpression of ETS genes is involved in prostate cancer (PrCa), but there is little information on the non-ERG components of this family. We have investigated ETV1, ETV4, and ETV5 overexpression, with or without PTEN loss, and their association with grade group (GG), pathological stage, focality, and PSA recurrence in PrCa. ETS gene expression was analyzed by qPCR in 104 cases.

MRI predicts intracranial hemorrhage in patients who receive long-term oral anticoagulation.

Objective: We tested the hypothesis that the risk of intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) in patients with cardioembolic ischemic stroke who are treated with oral anticoagulants (OAs) can be predicted by evaluating surrogate markers of hemorrhagic-prone cerebral angiopathies using a baseline MRI.

Methods: Patients were participants in a multicenter and prospective observational study. They were older than 64 years, had a recent cardioembolic ischemic stroke, and were new users of OAs.

Characterization of the pattern of food consumption in severely obese patients prior to bariatric surgery.

Introduction: severe obesity is increasing rapidly in several countries, as well as the number of bariatric surgeries performed. However, the pattern of food consumption of the population is not well defined. Objectives: the aim of the present study was to describe the food consumption pattern (comparing men and women) of severely obese patient candidates to bariatric surgery and to determine the promoting and protecting factors.

PET/TC imaging with somatostatin analogues for assessment of neuroendocrine tumors, initial experience.

PET with somatostatin analogues (SSA PET/CT) enables the detection of cells with overexpression of somatostatin receptors, especially subtypes 2 and 5; this detection is variable depending on the type of molecule used. This is the basis for its use in the study of neuroendocrine tumours (NETs), which are characterized by an overexpression of these receptors in more than 80% of the subtypes. This PET is now being used in our country supported by the good results published by other groups, that were superior to those of other imaging techniques.

Association Between Norepinephrine Levels and Abnormal Iron Status in Patients With Chronic Heart Failure: Is Iron Deficiency More Than a Comorbidity?

Background Mechanisms underlying iron homeostasis dysregulation in patients with chronic heart failure remain unsettled. In cardiomyocyte models, norepinephrine may lead to intracellular iron depletion, but the potential association between catecholamines (sympathetic activation markers) and iron metabolism biomarkers in chronic heart failure is unknown. Methods and Results In this cross-sectional analysis, we studied the association between plasma norepinephrine levels and serum iron status biomarkers indicating iron storage (ferritin), iron transport (transferrin saturation), and iron demand (soluble transferrin receptor) in a prospective cohort of 742 chronic heart failure patients (mean age, 72±11 years; 56% male).

Effectiveness and Safety of Rituximab in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Case Series Describing the Experience of 2 Centers.

Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease that affects multiple organs and systems. B cells have a critical role in the pathogenesis of SLE. Rituximab (RTX) is a drug composed of chimeric monoclonal antibodies against the CD20 protein, producing a depletion of B lymphocytes.

Hysteroscopic septum resection and reproductive medicine: A SWOT analysis.

Hysteroscopic septum resection in women with unfavourable reproductive and clinical outcomes has become common practice worldwide to improve reproductive results. No clear evidence on the possible advantages and drawbacks of this procedure has been published. In this opinion paper, based on a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis, the different aspects of this strategy are evaluated.

Prediction error connectivity: A new method for EEG state analysis.

Several models have been proposed to explain brain regional and interregional communication, the majority of them using methods that tap the frequency domain, like spectral coherence. Considering brain interareal communication as binary interactions, we describe a novel method devised to predict dynamics and thus highlight abrupt changes marked by unpredictability. Based on a variable-order Markov model algorithm developed in-house for data compression, the prediction error connectivity (PEC) estimates network transitions by calculating error matrices (EMs).

Primary cutaneous vs secondary cutaneous follicular lymphomas: A comparative study focused on BCL2, CD10, and t(14;18) expression.

Background: Primary cutaneous follicular center-cell lymphoma (PCFCL) is one of the most common types of cutaneous B-cell lymphoma. Differences in immunohistochemical expression of BCL2 and CD10 antigens along with the presence of t(14:18) translocation in neoplastic cells have been postulated as relevant clues in differentiating PCFCL from cutaneous lesions secondary to a systemic follicular lymphoma (SCFL). The aim of this study is to evaluate the significance and usefulness of these parameters in a large series of patients.

Displaced Cartilage Within Lymph Node Parenchyma Is a Novel Biopsy Site Change in Resected Mediastinal Lymph Nodes Following EBUS-TBNA.

Biopsy site changes in mediastinal lymph nodes (LNs) attributable to prior endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) have not been studied in a systematic manner. Twenty-four contributors from 14 institutions in 5 countries collaborated via social media (Twitter) to retrospectively review consecutive cases of resected mediastinal LNs from patients with prior EBUS-TBNA. Resected LNs were reexamined by submitting pathologists for changes attributable to EBUS-TBNA.

Molecular analysis of peripheral lung adenocarcinoma in brush cytology obtained by EBUS plus fluoroscopy-guided bronchoscopy.

Background: More than 60% of patients with lung cancer are diagnosed at advanced stages. The introduction of targeted therapies requires molecular diagnosis to guide treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of performing mutational analysis with brushing specimens obtained by radial-miniprobe endobronchial ultrasound (R-EBUS) plus fluoroscopy-guided bronchoscopy in patients with peripheral pulmonary adenocarcinoma.

Micronuclei frequency in urothelial cells of bladder cancer patients, as a biomarker of prognosis.

It has been suggested that the frequency of micronuclei (MN) in defoliated urothelial cells could be used as a biomarker for both the potential risk of bladder cancer (BC) and its progression. To prove this we have carried out a large study evaluating the MN frequency in a group of 383 hospital patients submitted to cystoscopy. From them, 77 were negative in their first cystoscopy, and were considered as a reference group; 79 were positive and were classified as patients with tumor; and 227 with previous bladder cancer submitted to follow-up monitoring were negative and classified as BC patients without tumor.

Pancreatic cancer and autoimmune diseases: An association sustained by computational and epidemiological case-control approaches.

Deciphering the underlying genetic basis behind pancreatic cancer (PC) and its associated multimorbidities will enhance our knowledge toward PC control. The study investigated the common genetic background of PC and different morbidities through a computational approach and further evaluated the less explored association between PC and autoimmune diseases (AIDs) through an epidemiological analysis. Gene-disease associations (GDAs) of 26 morbidities of interest and PC were obtained using the DisGeNET public discovery platform.

Diagnostic Accuracy of Non-melanocytic Pink Flat Skin Lesions on the Legs: Dermoscopic and Reflectance Confocal Microscopy Evaluation.

Pink flat skin lesions on the legs in elderly people represent a diagnostic challenge due to the paucity of clinical and dermoscopic evidence. A prospective study of 114 pink flat lesions on the legs of 85 elderly patients was performed to describe the utility of reflectance confocal microscopy in this clinical context. Evaluation of clinical, dermoscopic and confocal parameters and calculation of diagnostic accuracy/sensitivity/specificity for non-melanoma skin cancer diagnosis of each technique were carried out.

Inflammatory myopathy and autoimmune hepatitis in a patient with a flare of systemic lupus erythematosus: An exceptional association.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease with a wide clinical expression, and musculoskeletal manifestations are the most frequent manifestations of the disease. Digestive manifestations, however, are less prevalent, appearing in only 2%-30% of the patients. Among these cases, the association of SLE with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is considered to be rare, with only a few cases documented in the medical literature.

Dermoscopic features of idiopathic facial aseptic granuloma.

Idiopathic facial aseptic granuloma is a recently described condition with defined clinical features, natural history, and underlying histopathologic findings. Several reports have recently described the potential diagnostic usefulness of ultrasound findings in idiopathic facial aseptic granuloma. We describe herein the dermoscopic features of idiopathic facial aseptic granuloma.

Periadnexal Nerve Hyperplasia: A Reactive Histopathological Feature and an Incidental Finding After Surgical Excision and Scar Formation.

Cutaneous nerve hyperplasia is characterized by the presence of increased and hypertrophic myelinated and unmyelinated nerve fibers in the dermis. We report a case of periadnexal nerve hyperplasia as an asymptomatic and infrequent reactive histopathological change, with no associated risk of malignancy that can be seen in scars, in patients with no syndromic stigmata.