Primary prophylaxis for venous thromboembolism in ambulatory cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.

Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) often complicates the clinical course of cancer. The risk is further increased by chemotherapy, but the trade-off between safety and efficacy of primary thromboprophylaxis in cancer patients treated with chemotherapy is uncertain. This is the third update of a review first published in February 2012.

Primary prophylaxis for venous thromboembolism in ambulatory cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.

Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) often complicates the clinical course of cancer. The risk is further increased by chemotherapy, but the trade-off between safety and efficacy of primary thromboprophylaxis in cancer patients treated with chemotherapy is uncertain. This is the second update of a review first published in February 2012.

Overexpression of PY1289-HER3 in sporadic pulmonary carcinoid from patients bearing gene variants.

The present study aimed to investigate the expression of human epidermal growth factor receptors (HERs) (HER1/HER2/HER3/HER4) and their phosphorylated forms (p-HER1/p-HER2/p-HER3/p-HER4) in pulmonary carcinoids (PCs). HER and p-HER protein expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry on tissue microarrays in 37 specimens of sporadic PCs, 29 typical carcinoids (TCs) and 8 atypical carcinoids (ACs). When compared with the ACs, the TCs did not exhibit any differences in terms of HER/p-HER expression.

Cohort study of electronic cigarette use: effectiveness and safety at 24 months.

Objective: To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of e-cigarettes, by comparing users of only e-cigarettes, smokers of only tobacco cigarettes and dual users.

Design: Prospective cohort study. We update previous 12-month findings and report the results of the 24-month follow-up.

Translating epithelial mesenchymal transition markers into the clinic: Novel insights from proteomics.

The growing understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) may represent a potential source of clinical markers. Despite EMT drivers have not yet emerged as candidate markers in the clinical setting, their association with established clinical markers may improve their specificity and sensitivity. Mass spectrometry-based platforms allow analyzing multiple samples for the expression of EMT candidate markers, and may help to diagnose diseases or monitor treatment efficiently.

Electronic Cigarettes Efficacy and Safety at 12 Months: Cohort Study.

Objective: To evaluate the safety and efficacy as a tool of smoking cessation of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), directly comparing users of e-cigarettes only, smokers of tobacco cigarettes only, and smokers of both.

Design: Prospective cohort study. Final results are expected in 2019, but given the urgency of data to support policies on electronic smoking, we report the results of the 12-month follow-up.

Dementia in patients with atrial fibrillation and the value of the Hachinski ischemic score.

Aim: To assess the prevalence of vascular dementia, mixed dementia and Alzheimer's disease in patients with atrial fibrillation, and to evaluate the accuracy of the Hachinski ischemic score for these subtypes of dementia.

Methods: A nested case-control study was carried out. A total of 103 of 784 consecutive patients evaluated for cognitive status at the Ambulatory Geriatric Clinic had a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation.

A unique four-hub protein cluster associates to glioblastoma progression.

Gliomas are the most frequent brain tumors. Among them, glioblastomas are malignant and largely resistant to available treatments. Histopathology is the gold standard for classification and grading of brain tumors.

Epigenetic heredity of human height.

Genome-wide SNP analyses have identified genomic variants associated with adult human height. However, these only explain a fraction of human height variation, suggesting that significant information might have been systematically missed by SNP sequencing analysis. A candidate for such non-SNP-linked information is DNA methylation.

Thymic epithelial tumors express vascular endothelial growth factors and their receptors as potential targets of antiangiogenic therapy: a tissue micro array-based multicenter study.

Objectives: Tumor angiogenesis is an essential and complex process necessary for the growth of all tumors which represents a potential therapeutic target. Angiogenesis inhibitors targeting vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) or their receptor tyrosine kinases have been approved by the FDA. In thymic epithelial tumors (TET), targeted therapies have been sporadically applied due to their rarity.

Calcium sensing receptor expression in ovine amniotic fluid mesenchymal stem cells and the potential role of R-568 during osteogenic differentiation.

Amniotic fluid-derived stem (AFS) cells have been identified as a promising source for cell therapy applications in bone traumatic and degenerative damage. Calcium Sensing Receptor (CaSR), a G protein-coupled receptor able to bind calcium ions, plays a physiological role in regulating bone metabolism. It is expressed in different kinds of cells, as well as in some stem cells.

Distinctive gene expression profiles in Balb/3T3 cells exposed to low dose cobalt nanoparticles, microparticles and ions: potential nanotoxicological relevance.

Size-dependent characteristics of novel engineered nanomaterials might result in unforeseen biological responses and toxicity. To address this issue, we used cDNA microarray analysis (13443 genes) coupled with bioinformatics and functional gene annotation studies to investigate the transcriptional profiles of Balb/3T3 cells exposed to a low dose (1 μM) of cobalt nanoparticles (CoNP), microparticles (CoMP) and ions (Co2+). CoNP, CoMP and Co2+ affected 124, 91 and 80 genes, respectively.

mTrop1/Epcam knockout mice develop congenital tufting enteropathy through dysregulation of intestinal E-cadherin/β-catenin.

Congenital tufting enteropathy (CTE) is a life-threatening hereditary disease that is characterized by enteric mucosa tufting degeneration and early onset, severe diarrhea. Loss-of-function mutations of the human EPCAM gene (TROP1, TACSTD1) have been indicated as the cause of CTE. However, loss of mTrop1/Epcam in mice appeared to lead to death in utero, due to placental malformation.

Treatment for superficial thrombophlebitis of the leg.

Background: The optimal treatment of superficial thrombophlebitis (ST) of the legs remains poorly defined. While improving or relieving the local painful symptoms, treatment should aim at preventing venous thromboembolism (VTE), which might complicate the natural history of ST. This is an update of a review first published in 2007.

Primary prophylaxis for venous thromboembolism in ambulatory cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.

Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) often complicates the clinical course of cancer disease. The risk is further increased by chemotherapy but the safety and efficacy of primary thromboprophylaxis in cancer patients treated with chemotherapy is uncertain.

Objectives: To assess the efficacy and safety of primary thromboprophylaxis in ambulatory cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.

Thrombophilia and outcomes of assisted reproduction technologies: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Thrombophilia has been associated with pregnancy complications and recurrent miscarriage. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the controversial association between thrombophilia and failures of assisted reproduction technology (ART). A systematic search of the literature for studies reporting on thrombophilia in women undergoing ART up to April 2011 yielded 33 studies (23 evaluating anti-phospholipid antibodies, 5 inherited thrombophilia, and 5 both) involving 6092 patients.

Obesity, poor muscle strength, and venous thromboembolism in older persons: the InCHIANTI study.

Background: Both obesity and the decline in muscle strength, which often occur with aging, are accompanied by functional and metabolic changes that may affect the risk of thrombosis. This study evaluated whether obesity and poor muscle strength are associated with venous thromboembolism (VTE).

Methods: Objectively confirmed VTEs were assessed at baseline and more than a 6-year follow-up in 1,045 participants more than or equal to 60 years enrolled in the InCHIANTI study.

Accuracy of diagnostic tests for clinically suspected upper extremity deep vein thrombosis: a systematic review.

Background: The best available test for the diagnosis of upper extremity deep venous thrombosis (UEDVT) is contrast venography. The aim of this systematic review was to assess whether the diagnostic accuracy of other tests for clinically suspected UEDVT is high enough to justify their use in clinical practise and to evaluate if any test can replace venography.

Methods: MEDLINE and EMBASE databases were searched from inception to June 2009.

Capsular warning syndrome mimicking a jacksonian sensory march.

A 57-year-old man, operated eight years before for a left frontal falx meningioma, presented with short lasting, stereotyped episodes of paresthesias ascending from the right foot to the hand. A diagnosis of somatosensory seizures with jacksonian march was made. The patient was given antiepilectics but 5 days later, a few hours after another paresthesic episodes, he developed right hemiplegia, hemianesthesia and dysartria due to an infarct of left capsular posterior limb.

A bicistronic CYCLIN D1-TROP2 mRNA chimera demonstrates a novel oncogenic mechanism in human cancer.

A chimeric CYCLIN D1-TROP2 mRNA was isolated from human ovarian and mammary cancer cells. The CYCLIN D1-TROP2 mRNA was shown to be a potent oncogene as it transforms naïve, primary cells in vitro and induces aggressive tumor growth in vivo in cooperation with activated RAS. Silencing of the chimeric mRNA inhibits the growth of breast cancer cells.

Signal transduction events induced by extracellular guanosine 5' triphosphate in excitable cells.

A better understanding of the physiological effects of guanosine-based purines should help clarify the complex subject of purinergic signalling. We studied the effect of extracellular guanosine 5' triphosphate (GTP) on the differentiation of two excitable cell lines that both have specific binding sites for GTP: PC12 rat pheochromocytoma cells and C2C12 mouse skeletal muscle cells. PC12 cells can be differentiated into fully functional sympathetic-like neurons with 50-100 ng ml⁻¹ of nerve growth factor, whereas serum starvation causes C2C12 cells to differentiate into myotubes showing functional excitation-contraction coupling, with the expression of myosin heavy chain proteins.

A selective representation of the meaning of actions in the auditory mirror system.

Mirror neurons in the monkey's premotor cortex respond during both execution and observation of actions and are thought to be critical for understanding others' actions. Human studies have shown premotor cortex activation while viewing actions, hearing their sounds, listening to or reading action-related sentences, and have compared execution and observation of similar actions. However, we still lack direct evidence in humans of the most striking and theoretically relevant feature of mirror neurons, i.

Extracellular guanosine-5'-triphosphate modulates myogenesis via intermediate Ca(2+)-activated K+ currents in C2C12 mouse cells.

In this study we investigated the role of extracellular 5'-guanosine-triphosphate (GTP) on early phases of skeletal muscle differentiation using the widely used C2C12 mouse cells as a myogenic model. We show that extracellular GTP binding to specific sites activates a metabotropic cascade that leads to a transient intracellular Ca2+ mobilization, consequent activation of the intermediate Ca(2+)-activated K+ channels (IK(Ca)), and hyperpolarization of the plasma membrane. We further show that in differentiating C2C12 myoblasts GTP induces a proliferative boost, and increases the number of cells positive for the myosin heavy chain (MyHC) proteins.