Methylation profiling of benign and malignant breast lesions and its application to cytopathology.

Methylation of tumor suppressor genes has been implicated in breast cancer development. However, methylation profiles of different breast lesions, subtypes of carcinoma in particular, have not been examined in detail. In this study, we use methylation-specific PCR (MSP) to generate gene methylation profiles of different breast lesions and to test the clinical utility of such profiles. We examined the methylation status of three genes, RARbeta2, RASSF1A, and cyclin D2, on 102 samples of breast tissue, from benign (n = 36), to in situ carcinoma (n = 21), to invasive carcinoma (n = 45). We found that almost all cases of invasive carcinoma (96%) contained at least one methylated gene from our panel, whereas gene methylation was less common among benign lesions (42%) and in situ carcinoma (76%). Of the three genes, cyclin D2 methylation was most specific for malignancy because only 1 of 35 benign cases was methylated at this gene (1 case was not informative). The major histologic subtypes of invasive carcinoma show similar methylation profiles in the genes examined. We next performed MSP analysis on archival breast fine-needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy samples and corresponding surgical biopsy specimens and found a high concordance between the two types of specimens. We then analyzed 17 breast FNA biopsy samples with an indeterminate diagnosis. In this setting, MSP had a high specificity (100%) and modest sensitivity (67%) for identifying malignancy.     

Incremental Value of Three‐Dimensional Echocardiography over the Two‐Dimensional Technique in the Assessment of Combined Sinus of Valsalva Rupture into the Right Ventricle and Adjacent Perimembranous Ventricular Septal Defect

We describe the incremental value of live/real time three‐dimensional (3D) echocardiography over the 2D technique in the assessment of ruptured right sinus of Valsalva into the right ventricle associated with an adjacent perimembranous ventricular septal defect in an elderly patient.     

Simultaneous transcatheter pulmonary and tricuspid valve‐in‐valve implantation for the treatment of failing pulmonary and tricuspid bioprostheses

We report a case of a patient with a history of bioprosthetic pulmonary and tricuspid valve replacement who developed significant stenosis and regurgitation of the bioprosthetic valves. Due to multiple comorbidities, he was deemed high risk for redo‐valve replacement surgery. He subsequently underwent percutaneous transcatheter pulmonary and tricuspid valve‐in‐valve procedure at the same setting. This is the first of such that is reported in the literature. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Protein-lipid interactions in food systems: a review

Proteins and lipids, both individually or as complexes, play important functional roles in foods. Since the 1970s food scientists have devoted attention to the nature of these interactions and particularly to their effects on functional characteristics of protein-based foods. Previously, most of the published work was devoted to the biochemical aspects of protein-lipid interactions in biological systems. This article reviews the protein-lipid interactions of both naturally occurring protein-lipid complexes and protein-lipid complexes formed by induced interactions in foods and food products. The physicochemical characteristics of known protein-lipid complexes, the nature of binding which results in formation of these complexes and the effect of the interactions on food functionality are reviewed.     

Comparison of nickel patch test reactivity in phases of the menstrual cycle

BACKGROUND: In earlier studies, it has been shown that severity of some diseases varies with menstrual cycle. Severity of skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis, lupus erythematosus, infections due to herpes virus, urticaria and acne were also reported to increase in the premenstrual phase. Effect of estradiol on the cellular immune system was investigated and it was found to depress the cellular immune response. In our study, we investigated whether nickel patch test reactivity was different during phases of the menstrual cycle and whether there was an increase in sensitivity to nickel during the premenstrual cycle in nickel-sensitive women. METHODS: The study consisted of 30 women who had a history of nickel sensitivity. Finn Chamber nickel patch test was applied to all 30 women by dividing them into two groups of 15 and applying the test first on days 7-10 and then on days 20-24 of the menstrual cycle or vice versa. RESULTS: The reactions of both the groups on days 20-24 were more severe than those on days 7-10 even though the results were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Estrogens not only impair the skin barrier but also have a negative impact on the immune system. Estradiol has been proved to suppress cellular immunity. In a few studies conducted to date, the relationship between phases of the menstrual cycle and the severity of patch test reactivity has been examined with equivocal results. In our study, we observed that the presence of reactions due to nickel sensitivity was independent of the phases of the menstrual cycle. Nevertheless, we would like to point out the fact that the reactions seen in the second phase of the menstrual cycle were more severe than those seen in the first phase.