Can radiomics improve the prediction of metastatic relapse of myxoid/round cell liposarcomas?

European Radiology - The strongest adverse prognostic factor in myxoid/round cell liposarcomas (MRC-LPS) is the presence of a round cell component above 5% within the tumor bulk. Its identification...     

Rimonabant as an adjunct therapy in overweight/obese patients with type 2 diabetes: reply

Thank you for forwarding the letter of the distinguished colleagues,Andre Scheen and Luc Van Gaal, and the opportunity     

Antioxidant and glutathione-related enzymatic activities in rat sciatic nerve

The present work tries to establish the antioxidant capacity of the peripheral nervous tissue of the rat, in terms of the enzymatic activities present in this tissue that either prevent the formation of activated species as the semiquinone radical (DT-diaphorase), protect against activated oxygen species (superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase), conjugate natural toxic products or xenobiotics (glutathione S-transferases, especially the activity conjugating 4-hydroxy-nonenal), or complete the glutathione system metabolism (glutathione disulfide reductase, γ-glutamyl transpeptidase). All the activities studied are lower in this tissue than they are in liver, except for γ-glutamyl transpeptidase. The relevance of the results obtained and its possible relationship with different neuropathies is discussed. It is concluded that the peripheral nervous tissue is by far less protected than the liver against oxidative damage.     

Why is coronary heart disease of uraemic patients so frequent and so devastating?

On September 6, 2001, Professor Fernando Valderrabano (Hospital Gregorio Mara?on, Madrid) died at the age of 59 years. He was a leading figure in Spanish nephrology, a full professor of Medicine/Nephrology at the University Complutense of Madrid, and an outstanding scientist who published more than 300 articles in medical journals. He was a very intelligent and cultured person, and a man of great style who enjoyed a wide range of hobbies and interests in addition to his medical work. All his colleagues and friends mourn his passing.     

Early experience with a novel plaque excision system for the treatment of complex coronary lesions.

The use of directional coronary atherectomy (DCA) in current practice has been limited. The SilverHawk System is a newly developed plaque excision device that aims to overcome the drawbacks of prior DCA platforms. The device was evaluated in a porcine coronary model and in a series of patients. Procedural variables along with outcomes were reviewed. Quantitative angiography (QCA) was performed and excised tissue fragments were weighed and examined histologically. In porcine cases, pretreatment MLD increased from 0.51 +/- 0.26 to 2.36 +/- 0.59 mm postdebulking and 19.9 +/- 7.6 mg of tissue was retrieved. In human cases, pretreatment MLD increased from 0.8 +/- 0.4 to 2.2 +/- 0.5 mm postdebulking and 15.2 +/- 7.8 mg of tissue was retrieved without complications. These data show that the SilverHawk System may offer significant utility in treating a wide variety of complex coronary lesions.     

Marked increase of asymmetric dimethylarginine in patients with incipient primary chronic renal disease.

In patients with uremia, increased blood concentrations of the endogenous nitric oxide synthase inhibitor asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) have been linked to the severity of atherosclerosis and to excess cardiovascular mortality. The ADMA levels and several traditional cardiovascular risk factors were assessed in 44 untreated nonsmoking patients with confirmed primary chronic renal disease at different stages of renal disease. True GFR was assessed by means of the inulin-clearance technique. For comparison, nonsmoking subjects matched with respect to age, gender, and body-mass index were examined. Mean plasma ADMA concentration was markedly higher (P < 0.0001) in all patients combined (4.2 +/- 0.9 micromol/L) than in control subjects (n = 16; age 45 +/- 10 yr; serum creatinine 1.0 +/- 0.1 mg/dl; ADMA 1.4 +/- 0.7 micromol/L). However, mean ADMA levels were similar in patients with normal renal function (n = 16; age 41 +/- 9 yr; serum creatinine 1.1 +/- 0.1 mg/dl; GFR 120 +/- 14 ml x min(-1) x 1.73 m2; ADMA 4.0 +/- 0.7 micromol/L), in patients with moderate renal failure (n = 15; 47 +/- 7 yr; 1.8 +/- 0.3 mg/dl; 65 +/- 10 ml x min(-1) x 1.73 m2; 3.8 +/- 0.6 micromol/L) and in patients with advanced renal failure (n = 13; 46 +/- 9 yr; 4.2 +/- 0.9 mg/dl; 25 +/- 4 ml x min(-1) x 1.73 m2; 4.7 +/- 1.2 micromol/L). Furthermore, ADMA levels were increased to the same extent in normotensive (n = 17; 4.0 +/- 0.8 micromol/L) and in hypertensive (n = 27; 4.2 +/- 0.9 micromol/L) patients. In contrast to ADMA, mean total plasma homocysteine concentration were similar in control subjects (10.6 +/- 2.9 micromol/L) and in patients with normal GFR (11.0 +/- 2.9 micromol/L), but were significantly higher in patients with moderate renal failure (17.7 +/- 4.1 micromol/L) and particularly in patients with advanced renal failure (28.2 +/- 10.6 micromol/L). Finally, mean total serum cholesterol concentrations were comparable in the control group and in the three groups of patients with renal disease. In contrast to several traditional cardiovascular risk factors, markedly increased blood concentrations of ADMA, a putative biochemical marker of atherosclerosis, are present even in nonsmoking patients without diabetes with incipient primary renal disease. Thus, the early increase of ADMA levels may be of relevance for the excess cardiovascular morbidity and mortality due to arterio- and atherosclerotic complications in patients with renal disease.