Human papillomavirus type-specific 18-month risk of high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia in women with a normal or borderline/mildly dyskaryotic smear.

Introduction: High-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) DNA testing is an increasingly used instrument in cervical cancer prevention along cervical cytology. The inclusion of hrHPV testing in cervical screening requires efficient management as many hrHPV infections are transient. We investigated the potential value of hrHPV genotyping in normal and borderline/mildly dyskaryotic (BMD) smears.

Apical aneurysm in a patient with apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (AHC) is a variant of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) in which the hypertrophy predominantly involves the left ventricular apex. The typical features of AHC include giant negative T waves in the precordial ECG leads, a spade-like configuration of the left ventricle at end-systole, the absence of an outflow tract pressure gradient, and mild symptoms. We present a patient with AHC, evidence of prior myocardial infarction with aneurysm of the apical region, and myocardial ischemia on radionuclide scanning despite angiographically normal coronary arteries.

Caseous calcification of the mitral valve ring.

Mitral annular calcification (MAC) is found in 10% of patients older than 50 years of age, and represents deposition of calcium between the basal infero-lateral ventricular wall and the posterior leaflet of the mitral valve. Caseous calcification, formed from a mixture of calcium, cholesterol and fatty acids, is an uncommon variant found on echocardiography in 0.6% of patients with MAC.

The clomiphene citrate challenge test versus the exogenous follicle-stimulating hormone ovarian reserve test as a single test for identification of low responders and hyperresponders to in vitro fertilization.

Objective: This study was designed to compare the exogenous FSH ovarian reserve test (EFORT) versus the clomiphene citrate challenge test (CCCT), basal FSH, and basal inhibin B, with respect to their ability to predict poor and/or hyperresponders in an IVF population.

Design: Prospective randomized controlled trial.

Setting: Fertility center of a university hospital.

Intraaortic balloon pump insertion through the subclavian artery. Subclavian artery insertion of IABP.

The intraaortic balloon pump (IABP) is frequently used in the management of cardiac failure in the setting of myocardial infarction or as a bridge for coronary revascularisation surgery. The IABP is usually inserted through the femoral artery. Occasionally severe aorto-iliac occlusive disease prevents the retrograde passage of the balloon, in which case an anterograde route, usually through the ascending aorta is used.

Prognostic relevance of response evaluation using [18F]-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography in patients with locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

Purpose: The objective of this study was to determine the accuracy of (early) response measurements using [18F]-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography (18FDG PET) with respect to survival of patients with stage IIIA-N2 non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) undergoing induction chemotherapy (IC), with a comparative analysis of PET methods.

Patients And Methods: In a prospective multicenter study, PET was performed in patients before IC and after one and three cycles. Computed tomography (CT) was performed before and after IC.

Intramural hematoma of the descending thoracic aorta.

Aortic intramural hematoma (AIH) is part of the acute aortic syndrome together with aortic dissection and penetrating aortic ulcer. AIH represents up to 12% of acute aortic syndrome cases and has a clinical presentation indistinguishable from that of classic aortic dissection. A patient with AIH is presented and the diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic implications of the disease are discussed.

R561C missense mutation in the SMARCAL1 gene associated with mild Schimke immuno-osseous dysplasia.

Autosomal-recessive Schimke immuno-osseous dysplasia (SIOD) characterized by spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia, focal-segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), T-cell immunodeficiency and facial dysmorphism is caused by defects in the SMARCAL1 gene. The gene product is involved in the transcriptional regulation of other genes. A 12-year-old boy of consanginous Turkish descent developed disproportionate short stature from spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia at the age of 6 and nephrotic syndrome at the age of 10 years.

Blood pressure, white matter lesions and medial temporal lobe atrophy: closing the gap between vascular pathology and Alzheimer's disease?

Background: Vascular factors are recognized as important risk factors for Alzheimer's disease, although it is unknown whether these factors directly lead to the typical degenerative pathology such as medial temporal lobe atrophy. We set out to investigate the relation between blood pressure and medial temporal lobe atrophy in patients with senile and presenile Alzheimer's disease with or without white matter lesions.

Methods: We determined the relation between blood pressure and pulse pressure and medial temporal lobe atrophy on MRI in 159 patients with Alzheimer's disease, stratified on white matter lesions and age at onset of dementia.

Risk-group definition by recursive partitioning analysis of patients with squamous cell head and neck carcinoma treated with surgery and postoperative radiotherapy.

Background: The objective of this study was to define different prognostic groups with regard to locoregional control (LRC) derived from recursive partitioning analysis (RPA).

Methods: Eight hundred one patients with squamous cell head and neck carcinoma underwent with primary surgery and received postoperative radiotherapy. For the definition of prognostic groups, the method of classification and regression trees was performed, including a large number of well known prognostic factors.

A function for the macrophage F4/80 molecule in tolerance induction.

The F4/80 monoclonal antibody has been used widely as a marker for mouse macrophages. The antigen (Ag) recognized by the antibody has been characterized as a member of the epidermal growth factor (EGF)-transmembrane 7 (TM7) family, although the function of the molecule has remained elusive. A recent study provides evidence for a role of the F4/80 molecule in the induction of immunological tolerance.

A systematic review of the risk factors for cervical artery dissection.

Background And Purpose: Cervical artery dissection (CAD) is a recognized cause of ischemic stroke among young and middle-aged individuals. The pathogenesis of dissections is unknown, although numerous constitutional and environmental risk factors have been postulated. To better understand the quality and nature of the research on the pathogenesis of CAD, we performed a systematic review of its risk factors.

Generation and molecular characterization of head and neck squamous cell lines of fanconi anemia patients.

Patients with Fanconi anemia (FA) are prone to develop malignancies at an early age. Besides hematologic malignancies, squamous cell carcinomas in the anogenital region and head and neck are also frequently found in these patients. The aim of this study was to generate a panel of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cell lines and xenografts of FA HNSCC, and to characterize these cell lines in comparison with a panel of seven cell lines from patients with sporadic HNSCC.

Intraperitoneal serous adenocarcinoma: a critical appraisal of three hypotheses on its cause.

Objective: Serous ovarian, Fallopian tube, and peritoneal adenocarcinomas are remarkably similar, both in their morphology, as well as in their clinical behavior. Despite extensive clinical and fundamental research, controversy still exists on the origin of serous female adnexal tumors. Difficulties in identification of site of origin at late stage the of disease at detection, when ovary, Fallopian tube, and the abdominal cavity are usually all involved, in addition to their macroscopic and microscopic resemblance, are major causes of this debate.

Presumptive lymph node organizers are differentially represented in developing mesenteric and peripheral nodes.

During murine embryogenesis, the formation of Peyer's patches (PPs) is initiated by CD45(+)CD4(+)CD3(-) lymphoid tissue inducers that trigger adhesion molecule expression and specific chemokine production from an organizing stromal cell population through ligation of the lymphotoxin-beta receptor. However, the steps involved in the development of lymph nodes (LNs) are less clear than those of PPs, and the characteristics of the organizing cells within the LN anlagen have yet to be documented. In this study, we show for the first time that the early anlage is bordered by an endothelial layer that retains a mixed lymphatic and blood vascular phenotype up to embryonic day 16.

On the flow dependency of the electrical conductivity of blood.

Experiments presented in the literature show that the electrical conductivity of flowing blood depends on flow velocity. The aim of this study is to extend the Maxwell-Fricke theory, developed for a dilute suspension of ellipsoidal particles in an electrolyte, to explain this flow dependency of the conductivity of blood for stationary laminar flow in a rigid cylindrical tube. Furthermore, these theoretical results are compared to earlier published measurement results.

Chronic diseases and depression: the modifying role of psychosocial resources.

Psychosocial coping resources have been found to protect against depressive symptoms in people with and without chronic diseases. It has not been established, however, whether these resources have the same effects across patients with different diseases. Therefore, the aim of the study was to estimate the direct and buffer effects of psychosocial resources on depression, and to examine whether these effects are different for various chronic diseases.

Secondary deformities of the shoulder in infants with an obstetrical brachial plexus lesions considered for neurosurgical treatment.

Object: The authors performed a prospective study in which magnetic resonance (MR) imaging was conducted in 26 consecutive infants (mean age 5.6 months, range 2.7-14.

Raloxifene reduces procarboxypeptidase U, an antifibrinolytic marker. A 2-year randomized, placebo-controlled study in healthy early postmenopausal women.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the long-term effects of two dosages of raloxifene with oral hormone therapy (HT; conjugated equine estrogens combined with medroxyprogesterone acetate) on procarboxypeptidase U.

Design: In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 2-year study, 95 healthy, nonhysterectomized, early postmenopausal women received either daily raloxifene 60 mg (n = 24), raloxifene 150 mg (n = 23), HT (conjugated equine estrogens 0.625 mg + medroxyprogesterone acetate 2.

Health status and voice outcome after treatment for T1a glottic carcinoma.

Radiotherapy as well as endoscopic laser surgery as the most widely used treatment modalities for T1a glottic carcinoma cause minor morbidity and negligible mortality and result in more or less comparable, excellent cure and larynx preservation rates. Therefore, other outcome measures such as voice-related problems and health status are important factors in the choice of treatment for T1a glottic cancer. The present study focuses on voice-related problems in the daily life of patients treated by radiotherapy or endoscopic laser surgery for T1a glottic cancer.