Synovial sarcoma disease characteristics and primary tumor sites differ between patient age groups: a report of the Cooperative Weichteilsarkom Studiengruppe (CWS).

Background: Older age is associated with worse outcome in synovial sarcoma (SS) patients. Differences in disease presentation among distinct age groups, however, are currently unknown.

Methods: SS patients < 21 years registered in consecutive CWS trials over the period of 1981-2018 were evaluated.

Tumors diagnosed as cerebellar glioblastoma comprise distinct molecular entities.

In this multi-institutional study we compiled a retrospective cohort of 86 posterior fossa tumors having received the diagnosis of cerebellar glioblastoma (cGBM). All tumors were reviewed histologically and subjected to array-based methylation analysis followed by algorithm-based classification into distinct methylation classes (MCs). The single MC containing the largest proportion of 25 tumors diagnosed as cGBM was MC anaplastic astrocytoma with piloid features representing a recently-described molecular tumor entity not yet included in the WHO Classification of Tumours of the Central Nervous System (WHO classification).

Bronchoalveolar lavage cytokines are of minor value to diagnose complications following lung transplantation.

Early diagnosis and treatment of acute cellular rejection (ACR) may improve long-term outcome for lung transplant recipients (LTRs). Cytokines have become valuable diagnostic tools in many medical fields. The role of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cytokines is of unknown value to diagnose ACR and distinguish rejection from infection.

Outcome of Beveled versus Vertical IncisionTechnique after Reconstructive or Aesthetic Facial Surgery.

Background: We suggest that the degree of scar improvement with a beveled incision technique with an angle of about 20 degrees to the skin can be translated for various reconstructions on the face and can be verified by a validated clinical assessment scale and histology.

Methods: A total of 5 patients (2 men and 3 women) with a mean age of 68 years (range 54-84 years) undergoing elective surgeries on the face for tumor excision or cosmetic procedures were included. The beveled incision technique was compared with the conventional vertical incision (control group).

The reproducibility of psychiatric evaluations of work disability: two reliability and agreement studies.

Background: Expert psychiatrists conducting work disability evaluations often disagree on work capacity (WC) when assessing the same patient. More structured and standardised evaluations focusing on function could improve agreement. The RELY studies aimed to establish the inter-rater reproducibility (reliability and agreement) of 'functional evaluations' in patients with mental disorders applying for disability benefits and to compare the effect of limited versus intensive expert training on reproducibility.

Effect of allopurinol in addition to hypothermia treatment in neonates for hypoxic-ischemic brain injury on neurocognitive outcome (ALBINO): study protocol of a blinded randomized placebo-controlled parallel group multicenter trial for superiority (phase III).

Background: Perinatal asphyxia and resulting hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy is a major cause of death and long-term disability in term born neonates. Up to 20,000 infants each year are affected by HIE in Europe and even more in regions with lower level of perinatal care. The only established therapy to improve outcome in these infants is therapeutic hypothermia.

MiRNAs Are Involved in Tall Cell Morphology in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma.

Unlabelled: Five percent of papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTC) show an adverse clinical outcome (ACO). The tall cell variant of papillary thyroid carcinomas (TCV) is a good predictor of an ACO, however, the identification of tall-cells is subjective. Micro RNAs are short non-coding ribonucleic acids (miRNA).

Ciclopirox olamine promotes the angiogenic response of endothelial cells and mesenchymal stem cells.

Background: Prolyl hydroxylase inhibitors (PHIs) are promising compounds to promote angiogenesis by stabilizing hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), a master regulator of angiogenesis. Increased HIF-1α presence induces expression of proangiogenic genes such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).

Objective: We investigated the pharmacological induction of hypoxia via the PHI ciclopirox olamine (CPX) as angiogenesis strategy on human dermal microvascular endothelial cell (hd-mvEC) spheroids directly and indirectly via activating human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs).

The role of oesophageal physiological testing in the assessment of noncardiac chest pain.

Oesophageal physiology testing plays an important role in the diagnosis of noncardiac chest pain (NCCP) after cardiac, structural and mucosal abnormalities have been ruled out. Endoscopy can establish the presence of structural causes of chest pain such as cancer, oesophageal webs and diverticula. Even if macroscopically normal, eosinophilic oesophagitis is a common cause of chest pain and needs to be ruled out with an adequate biopsy regimen.

Pearls and Myths in the Evaluation of Patients with Suspected Acute Pulmonary Embolism.

Significant improvement has been achieved in diagnostic accuracy, validation of probability scores, and standardized treatment algorithms for patients with suspected acute pulmonary embolism. These developments have provided the tools for a safe and cost-effective management for most of these patients. In our experience, however, the presence of medical myths and ongoing controversies seem to hinder the implementation of these tools in everyday clinical practice.

Cetuximab monotherapy and cetuximab plus capecitabine as first-line treatment in older patients with RAS- and BRAF wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer. Results of the multicenter phase II trial SAKK 41/10.

Introduction: While the anti-VEGF antibody bevacizumab was studied repeatedly as part of low-intensity regimens in less fit elderly patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), anti-EGFR antibodies as upfront treatment modality have been scarcely investigated.

Material And Methods: In SAKK 41/10, the benefit of cetuximab, either alone or in combination with capecitabine, was evaluated in vulnerable elderly patients with RAS/BRAF-wild-type mCRC.

Results And Discussion: The trial was stopped prematurely due to slow accrual after the inclusion of 24 patients (11 in the monotherapy arm, 13 in the combination arm).

Estimating the incidence of norovirus acute gastroenteritis among US and European international travelers to areas of moderate to high risk of traveler's diarrhea: a prospective cohort study protocol.

Background: Acute gastroenteritis (AGE) is the leading cause of illness among returning travelers seeking medical care. Multiple types of enteric pathogens can cause travel-acquired AGE and, while bacterial pathogens have a predominant role, the importance of viruses, such as norovirus, is increasingly recognized. There is a lack of information on travel-acquired norovirus incidence among symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals irrespective of healthcare-seeking behavior.

Localized synovial sarcoma of the foot or ankle: A series of 32 Cooperative Weichteilsarkom Study Group patients.

Background: Synovial sarcoma of the foot/ankle is rare. Mutilating surgery is often discussed.

Methods: Patients registered from 1981 to 2013 were analyzed.

Non-specific complaints at emergency department presentation result in unclear diagnoses and lengthened hospitalization: a prospective observational study.

Background: Up to 20% of patients admitted to an emergency department present with non-specific complaints. Retrospective studies suggest an increased risk of misdiagnosis and hospital admission for these patients, but prospective comparisons of the outcomes of emergency patients with non-specific complaints versus specific complaints are lacking.

Methods: All consecutive patients ≥18 years of age admitted to any internal medicine ward at Bern University Hospital via the emergency department from August 15th 2015 to December 7th 2015 were prospectively included and followed up upon.

Embryonic bone morphogenetic protein and nodal induce invasion in melanocytes and melanoma cells.

Despite recent progress in melanoma therapy via inhibition of activated oncogenes or immune stimulation, most stage IV melanoma patients still have limited survival times. Existing therapeutic approaches eventually fail to prevent further invasion and metastasis, which is driven by a morphological process termed epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). We previously demonstrated that inhibition of EMT in melanoma cells via antagonizing the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-pathway abrogated EMT and neural crest migration of melanoma cells in chick embryos.

The German version of the Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite (EPIC): translation, validation and minimal important difference estimation.

Background: No official German translation exists for the 50-item Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite (EPIC), and no minimal important difference (MID) has been established yet. The aim of the study was to translate and validate a German version of the EPIC with cultural adaptation to the different German speaking countries and to establish the MID.

Methods: We translated and culturally adapted the EPIC into German.

Creating a multi-center rare disease consortium - the Consortium of Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Disease Researchers (CEGIR).

 Eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders (EGIDs) affect various segments of the gastrointestinal tract. Since these disorders are rare, collaboration is essential to enroll subjects in clinical studies and study the broader population. The Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network (RDCRN), a program of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), funded the Consortium of Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Disease Researchers (CEGIR) in 2014 to advance the field of EGIDs.

Lymphotoxin expression in human and murine renal allografts.

The kidney is the most frequently transplanted solid organ. Recruitment of inflammatory cells, ranging from diffuse to nodular accumulations with defined microarchitecture, is a hallmark of acute and chronic renal allograft injury. Lymphotoxins (LTs) mediate the communication of lymphocytes and stromal cells and play a pivotal role in chronic inflammation and formation of lymphoid tissue.

Clinical-radiological scoring system for enhanced diagnosis of acute appendicitis.

Introduction: Acute appendicitis is the most common surgical condition in industrialized countries. However, diagnosis in borderline cases is often cumbersome and requires follow-up examinations, and/or a Computed Tomography examination. Therefore, our aim was to develop a combined clinical and sonographic score to enhance prediction of acute appendicitis.

Selection bias in clinical stroke trials depending on ability to consent.

Background: Clinical trials are the hallmark of evidence-based medicine, but recruitment is often challenging, especially in stroke trials investigating patients not being able to give informed consent. In some nations, ethics committees will not approve of inclusion in a clinical study via consent of a legal representative. The ethical dilemma of including or excluding those patients has not been properly addressed, as there is little data on the effect of stroke characteristics on the ability to give informed consent.

Analysis of skeletal muscle microcirculation in a porcine polytrauma model with haemorrhagic shock.

Polytraumatised patients with haemorrhagic shock are prone to develop systemic complications, such as SIRS (systemic inflammatory response syndrome), ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome) and MOF (multiple organ failure). The pathomechanism of severe complications following trauma is multifactorial, and it is believed that microcirculatory dysfunction plays an important role. The aim of this study was to determine the changes in the microcirculation in musculature over time during shock and subsequent resuscitation in a porcine model of haemorrhagic shock and polytrauma.

Plasma and bronchoalveolar lavage samples in acute lung allograft rejection: the potential role of cytokines as diagnostic markers.

The role of differential cytology patterns in peripheral blood and bronchoalveolar lavage samples is increasingly investigated as a potential adjunct to diagnose acute and chronic allograft dysfunction after lung transplantation. While these profiles might facilitate the diagnosis of acute cellular rejection, low sensitivity and specificity of these patterns limit direct translation in a clinical setting. In this context, the identification of other biomarkers is needed.

Skin Manifestations of Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) with its two main subtypes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis is not restricted to the gastrointestinal tract. Indeed, so-called extraintestinal manifestations (EIMs) are frequent and considerably affect morbidity and mortality. The prevalence of EIMs ranges from 6 to 47%.

Biomechanical Modeling of Pterygium Radiation Surgery: A Retrospective Case Study.

Pterygium is a vascularized, invasive transformation on the anterior corneal surface that can be treated by Strontium-/Yttrium90 beta irradiation. Finite element modeling was used to analyze the biomechanical effects governing the treatment, and to help understand clinically observed changes in corneal astigmatism. Results suggested that irradiation-induced pulling forces on the anterior corneal surface can cause astigmatism, as well as central corneal flattening.