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     

Chronic delta hepatitis in haemophiliacs

The seroepidemiological profile of HBV and HDV was investigated in 640 male haemophiliacs. Twenty-seven of forty-four HBsAg carriers were anti-HDV-IgG positive, 22 were also anti-HDV-IgM positive. A markedly lower prevalence of HDV infection was found in patients with anti-HBc in the absence of HBsAg and anti-HBs (6/41). Repeated detection of anti-HDV-IgM in 5/41 individuals of this group indicates that circulating HBsAg is not an absolute prerequisite for chronic HDV infection. Overall, chronically active HDV infection was detected more frequently in quiescent than in active chronic HBV infections. Anti-HDV-IgM was not detected in the absence of anti-HDV-IgG antibodies. Anti-HDV-IgG may disappear after resolution of HDV infection, as indicated by the low prevalence (1/42) in such individuals with past HBV infection as well as by loss of anti-HDV-IgG observed in two patients.     

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.