Tedium vitae in stroke survivors: a comparative cross-sectional study

Objectives: Suicide is best studied by deconstructing the psychological experiences preceding suicidal death. We assessed the characteristics of tedium vitae (feeling tired of life) after first ever stroke in Nigerian survivors.

Methods: Using the Schedule for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry, tedium vitae was assessed in 130 stroke survivors attending rehabilitation in a large Nigerian university hospital. Global cognitive and executive dysfunctions were evaluated, respectively, using the Mini Mental State Examination and the modi?ed Indiana University Token test. All participants had their index stroke 3 to 24 months before recruitment into the study. We also examined a comparative group of 130 age, gender, and education matched apparently normal persons who were unrelated to the stroke survivors. Associations were explored using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses.

Results: Tedium vitae was experienced by 16 (12.3%) stroke survivors compared with 5 (3.9%) in the comparative group (O. R = 3.5, 95% C. I = 1.3–9.9, p = 0.018). Among stroke survivors, those who were retired were more likely to experience tedium vitae (56.2%, p = 0.045). In analyses adjusting for the effect of systemic hypertension, cognitive dysfunction, retirement and marital separation, there was a 3.5-fold increase in the odds of experiencing tedium vitae after surviving a stroke (O. R = 3.5, 95% C. I = 1.1–11.6, p = 0.042).

Conclusions: Tedium vitae is a common suicidal experience after stroke and may be among the earliest perceptible pointer to impending poststroke suicide. It is easy to assess and may be less costly to obtain an adequate sample size in studies aiming to understand the phenomenon of suicide in the stroke population.     

Genetic and epigenetic alterations of the EGFR and mutually independent association with BRCA1, MGMT,and RASSF1A methylations in Vietnamese lung adenocarcinomas

Genetic and epigenetic alterations importantly contribute to the pathogenesis of lung cancer. In the study, we measured the frequency and distribution of molecular abnormalities of EGFR as well as the aberrant promoter methylations of BRCA1, MGMT, MLH1, and RASSF1A in Vietnamese lung adenocarcinomas. We investigated the association between genetic and epigenetic alteration, and between each abnormality with clinicopathologic parameters. Somatic EGFR mutation that was found in 49/139 (35.3%) lung adenocarcinomas showed a significant association with young age, female gender, and non-smokers. EGFR overexpression was identified in 82 tumors (59.0%) and statistical relationships with EGFR or BRCA1 methylation but not EGFR mutation. In addition, EGFR, BRCA1, MGMT, MLH1, and RASSF1A methylations were found in 33 (23.7%), 41 (29.5%), 46 (33.1%), 28 (20.1%), and 41 (29.5%) cases of a total of 139 lung adenocarcinomas, respectively. The RASSF1A methylation was found to be linked to the smoking habit. Methylations in MGMT and RASSF1A were also found to correlate with metastasis status. Furthermore, the distribution of EGFR mutation and that of BRCA1, MGMT or RASSF1A methylation were significantly exclusive in lung adenocarcinomas. The main finding of our study demonstrate that epigenetic abnormalities might play a critical role for the lung tumorigenesis in patients with smoking history and metastasis, and partly affect the predictive value of EGFR mutations through blocking expression due to promoter EGFR hypermethylation. Mutually exclusive distribution of genetic and epigenetic alterations reflects differently biological characteristics in the etiology of lung adenocarcinomas.     

Paradox of complex diversity: Challenges in the diagnosis and management of bacterial keratitis

Bacterial keratitis continues to be one of the leading causes of corneal blindness in the developed as well as the developing world, despite swift progress since the dawn of the “anti-biotic era”. Although, we have expeditiously developed our understanding about the different causative organisms and associated pathology leading to keratitis, extensive gaps in knowledge continue to dampen the efforts required for early and accurate diagnosis, and management in these patients, resulting in poor clinical outcomes. The ability of the causative bacteria to subdue the therapeutic challenge stems from their large genome encoding complex regulatory networks, variety of unique virulence factors, and rapid secretion of tissue damaging proteases and toxins.In this review article, we provide an overview of the established diagnostic techniques and therapeutics for keratitis caused by various bacteria. We extensively report the recent in-roads through novel tools for accurately diagnosing mono- and poly-bacterial corneal infections. Furthermore, we outline the recent progress by our groups and others in understanding the sub-cellular genomic changes that lead to antibiotic resistance in these organisms. Finally, we discuss in detail, the novel therapies and drug delivery systems in development for the efficacious management of bacterial keratitis.     

A Minimum Of 100 Tumor Cells in a Single Biopsy Sample Is Required to Assess Programmed Cell Death Ligand 1 Expression in Predicting Patient Response to Nivolumab Treatment in Nonsquamous Non–Small Cell Lung Carcinoma

IntroductionProgrammed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression is a predictive biomarker for patient response to nivolumab in nonsquamous NSCLC. However, the number of biopsy samples and tumor cells (TCs) required to assess PD-L1 expression remains unclear.MethodsA total of 222 biopsy samples from 80 patients with nonsquamous NSCLC treated with nivolumab were collected. Number of TCs and PD-L1 score were compared among the sample containing the largest number of TCs (Max-TC), the sample containing the smallest number of TCs (Min-TC), and the total samples from each patient. The impact of the number of samples and TCs on the prediction of patient response to nivolumab with use of PD-L1 scores was evaluated.ResultsThere was a mismatch in PD-L1 scores less than 1% and those of at least 1% between Max-TC and the total samples in one patient (1%) and between Max-TC and Min-TC in six patients (8%). The optimal number of TCs to match PD-L1 expression less than 1% versus at least 1% between Max-TC and Min-TC was 100 (sensitivity = 0.676 and 1 – specificity = 0.333). PD-L1 expression of at least 1% in Min-TCs containing at least 100 TCs was associated with longer progression-free survival (median 7.6 versus 1.8 months [p < 0.01]) and overall survival (median not reached versus 9.9 months [p = 0.04]) compared with PD-L1 expression less than 1%. However, there were no differences in progression-free survival (median 3.9 versus 2.3 months [p = 0.37]) or overall survival (median 9.7 versus 7.6 months [p = 0.60]) between PD-L1 expression of at least 1% and PD-L1expression less than 1% in Min-TCs containing fewer than 100 TCs.ConclusionSingle biopsy samples containing at least 100 TCs are required to evaluate PD-L1 expression for predicting patient response to nivolumab.     

2005 - 2014年中国老年人肺癌发病的时间趋势分析

目的 分析2005 - 2014年我国老年人肺癌发病的时间趋势，为我国肺癌的防控工作提供依据。方法 根据2008 - 2017年《中国肿瘤登记年报》中肺癌的相关数据，分析2005 - 2014年我国老年人肺癌的发病情况，并通过年度变化百分比（annual percentage change，APC）分析其时间变化趋势。结果 2005 - 2014年我国老年人肺癌的发病率呈上升趋势（APC = 0.71%，P＜0.05），其中农村老年人肺癌的发病率从198.9/105上升至250.7/105，上升趋势更明显（APC = 2.81%，P＜0.05），尤以农村老年女性肺癌发病率的上升趋势最为明显（APC = 5.26%，P＜0.05）。2005 - 2014年中国老年人肺癌的发病在60～64岁和65～69岁组呈上升趋势（APC分别为2.83%和2.04%，均P＜0.05），而在农村地区，老年人所有年龄组的肺癌发病率都呈明显上升趋势（APC分别为3.49%，3.86%，1.66%，2.31%，3.49%及6.37%，均P＜0.05）。结论 2005 - 2014年我国老年人肺癌发病上升趋势明显，以农村老年女性最为突出，国家应针对高危人群及早开展筛查等工作，降低我国老年人肺癌的流行水平。     

Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy Versus Metastasectomy in Patients With Pulmonary Metastases From Soft Tissue Sarcoma

The lung is the preferred site of metastasis from soft tissue sarcoma (STS). This systematic review aims to evaluate the outcomes of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) and metastasectomy (MTS) for the treatment of lung metastases from STS. A systematic review was carried out according to the PRISMA protocol. PubMed, Medline, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Ovid and Web of Knowledge databases were searched for English-language articles to December 2018 using a predefined strategy. Retrieved studies were independently screened and rated for relevance. Data were extracted by two researchers. In total, there were 1306 patients with STS: 1104 underwent MTS and 202 had SBRT. The mean age ranged from 40 to 55.8 years in the MTS group and from 47.9 to 64 years in the SBRT group. The cumulative death rate was 72% (95% confidence interval 59–85%) in the MTS group and 56% (38–74%) in the SBRT group. The cumulative mean overall survival time was 46.7 months (36.4–57.0%) in the MTS group and 47.6 months (33.7–61.5%) in the SBRT group. The cumulative rate of patients alive with disease was 5% (2–9%) in the MTS group and 15% (6–36%) in the SBRT group. Finally, the cumulative rate of patients alive without disease in the two groups was 19% (9–29%) and 20% (10–50%), respectively. Our study showed that local treatment of pulmonary metastases from STS with SBRT, compared with surgery, was associated with a lower cumulative overall death rate and similar overall survival time and survival rates without disease. By contrast, SBRT was associated with a higher survival rate with disease than MTS. Large randomised trials are necessary to confirm these findings and to establish whether SBRT may be a reliable option for early stage disease.     

常规器械经脐单孔腹腔镜手术在妇科良性疾病中的临床应用

目的:探讨经脐单孔腹腔镜手术(LESS)在妇科良性疾病中的临床价值。方法:选择2018年1月-2019年4月在我院妇科行经脐单孔腹腔镜手术的68例患者为研究组,同期同病种行传统多孔腹腔镜手术的70例患者为对照组,比较2组的术中出血量、术后最高体温、术后肛门排气时间、术后下床活动时间、术后住院时间、术后24 h疼痛视觉模拟评分(VAS)、体象量表BIS评分和切口美观满意度CS评分、手术时间及围手术期并发症的指标。结果:2组患者手术均顺利完成,术中不需要辅助操作,未中转开腹。术中、术后均未出现严重的手术并发症。2组患者在术中出血量、术后最高体温、术后排气时间、术后下床活动时间、术后住院时间差异无统计学意义(P>0.05);手术时间、术后24 h VAS评分、体象量表BIS评分和切口美观满意度CS评分比较差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。结论:常规器械经脐单孔腹腔镜不需要特殊的器械和设备,符合卫生经济学特点;具有良好的美容效果,以及标本取出方便的优势,LESS应用于妇科良性疾病是安全可行的。