CARMN-NOTCH2 fusion transcript drives high NOTCH2 expression in glomus tumors of the upper digestive tract.

Glomus tumors (GTs) are perivascular tumors mostly occurring in the distal extremities. Rare cases arise in the digestive tract and may be misdiagnosed with neuroendocrine or gastrointestinal stromal tumors. We aimed to specify the features of GT of the upper digestive tract.

Carotid plaque as a predictor of dementia in older adults: the Three-City Study.

Background: The contribution of carotid atherosclerosis to incident dementia remains unclear. We examined the association between carotid plaques (CP) and common carotid intima media thickness (CCA-IMT) with incident dementia and its subtypes, and their added value for dementia risk prediction.

Methods: At baseline, 6025 dementia-free subjects aged 65-86 years underwent bilateral carotid ultrasonography measures of CP and plaque-free CCA-IMT.

Unique case of malignant transformation of a vestibular schwannoma after fractionated radiotherapy.

Objective: Malignant transformation of vestibular schwannoma is considered a rare clinical entity. Radiotherapy, as a treatment option for vestibular schwannoma, is regarded as a potential risk factor for secondary malignancy. Recently, radiotherapy with dose fractionation has been proposed, intended to diminish the risk of radiation-induced neuropathy.

Spontaneous osteodural defects of the temporal bone: diagnosis and management of 12 cases.

Objectives: The objectives of the study were to describe the clinical presentation, diagnostic process, surgical treatment, and outcome of patients with spontaneous dural defect of temporal bone and to explore the possible contribution of idiopathic intracranial hypertension.

Methods: Medical records of consecutive patients with spontaneous defects of the temporal bone were reviewed. Clinical presentation, diagnostic process, exploration of benign intracranial hypertension, surgical management, and outcome of patients are presented.

Characterization of focal liver lesions with SonoVue-enhanced sonography: international multicenter-study in comparison to CT and MRI.

Aim: To evaluate in a multicenter study whether the sonographic characterization of focal liver lesions can be improved using SonoVue-enhancement; and to compare this method with computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Methods: One hundred and thirty four patients with one focal liver lesion detected in baseline ultrasound (US) were examined with conventional US, contrast-enhanced US (n = 134), contrast-enhanced CT (n = 115) and/or dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (n = 70). The lesions were classified as malignant, benign or indeterminate and the type of lesion was determined.

Behavior under impact of two polyvinyl acetate-polyethylene (PVA-PE) polymers and one elastomer--application to custom-made mouthguards.

A drop tower was used to identify the mechanical behaviors of two polyvinyl acetate-polyethylene (PVA-PE) polymers and one elastomer used to fabricate custom-made mouthguards. The samples were in the form of either small cubes (edge length: 20 mm) or large cubes (edge length: 30 mm). Force and strain were recorded as functions of time, enabling a stress-strain analysis to be performed.

Corticosteroid binding globulin gene polymorphism influences cortisol driven fat distribution in obese women.

Hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis has been reported to influence fat mass distribution in obesity. We investigated the hypothesis that corticosteroid-binding globulin (CBG) polymorphism could influence obesity, metabolic, or hypothalamo-pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis activity parameters. In 44 obese pre-menopausal women, a microsatellite located within the CBG gene was analyzed, providing three genotypes: 86/86 (n = 29), 86/90 (n = 14), and 90/90 (n = 1).

Hepatitis C virus genetic variability in 52 human immunodeficiency virus-coinfected patients.

The aim of this study was to examine whether hepatitis C virus (HCV) pretreatment quasispecies complexity was linked to virological response or other clinical and biological parameters, in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-coinfected patients undergoing anti-HCV treatment. In addition, HCV quasispecies composition is described longitudinally in these patients before, during, and after treatment. The 52 HIV-coinfected patients were included in a randomized therapeutic trial.

Lipid peroxidation as pathway of aluminium cytotoxicity in human skin fibroblast cultures: prevention by superoxide dismutase+catalase and vitamins E and C.

Lipid peroxidation is one of the main manifestations of oxidative damage and has been found to play an important role in the toxicity and carcinogenicity of many xenobiotics. In the present study, we investigated the possible induction of lipid peroxidation by aluminium in human foreskin fibroblast cultures by assaying the malondialdehyde (MDA) produced inside the cells. The MDA-thiobarbituric acid (TBA) adduct was assayed by HPLC using fluorometric quantification after extraction in n-butanol.

Mortality of elderly subjects with self-reported asthma in a French cohort, 1991-1996.

The objective of this study is to describe the mortality of subjects with self-reported asthma aged 65 and over and to determine risk factors. PAQUID (Personnes Agées QUID) is a prospective cohort of 3777 elderly people, living at home in the South-west of France. The study of subjects with self-reported asthma started at 3 year follow-up by using three epidemiological questions: 'Did you have an attack of wheezing that made you feel short of breath in the last 12 past months?', 'Have you ever had asthma?', 'Did you have at least one asthma attack in the previous 12 months?'.

Amphetamine-induced conditioned activity is insensitive to perturbations known to affect pavlovian conditioned responses in rats.

Psychostimulant-induced conditioned activity is characterized by the presence of a hyperactivity in drug-free rats exposed to an environment previously paired with the effects of a psychostimulant. This phenomenon is thought to result from a Pavlovian conditioning process. This hypothesis predicts that conditioned activity will be sensitive to perturbations known to affect classical conditioned responses.