Distinct neural substrates for semantic knowledge and naming in the temporoparietal network

Patients with anterior temporal lobe (ATL) lesions show semantic and lexical retrieval deficits, and the differential role of this area in the 2 processes is debated. Functional neuroimaging in healthy individuals has not clarified the matter because semantic and lexical processes usually occur simultaneously and automatically. Furthermore, the ATL is a region challenging for functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) due to susceptibility artifacts, especially at high fields. In this study, we established an optimized ATL-sensitive fMRI acquisition protocol at 4 T and applied an event-related paradigm to study the identification (i.e., association of semantic biographical information) of celebrities, with and without the ability to retrieve their proper names. While semantic processing reliably activated the ATL, only more posterior areas in the left temporal and temporal-parietal junction were significantly modulated by covert lexical retrieval. These results suggest that within a temporoparietal network, the ATL is relatively more important for semantic processing, and posterior language regions are relatively more important for lexical retrieval.     

Primary breast cancer of the vulva: a case report

The occurrence of primary breast cancer of the vulva is extremely rare (24 cases described in the English-language literature). We report a case of a primary breast carcinoma of the vulva. An 82-year-old woman presented with a nodule of the left labia minor, which was excised. The histologic examination revealed the presence of adenocarcinoma of mammary origin, positive for common breast markers and for estrogen and progesterone receptors. The study for orthotopic breast carcinoma was negative, as well as the study for metastatic disease. The diagnosis of primary breast carcinoma was established. Our patient was then submitted to pelvic and inguinal radiotherapy as well as an aromatase inhibitor (letrozole), and she remained completely asymptomatic. Because of the rarity of this condition, guidelines for therapy are unavailable. The management suggested in the literature is that of primary orthotopic breast neoplasm of a similar stage.     

Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging of the thoracic lymphatic system

Several radiographic diagnostic techniques are currently available to assess the potential involvement of mediastinal lymph nodes in thoracic oncology. In particular, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging have been repeatedly validated; these techniques allow adequate imaging with a reasonable accuracy. The morphologic information provided by these techniques is crucial to stage lung cancer and plan treatment. These techniques are also extremely useful to evaluate other disorders and differentiate malignancy from benign disease.     

Pharmacogenetics of Osteoporosis: What is the Evidence?

The early genetic prediction of personal drug therapy outcome, both in terms of identification of poor responders or nonresponders, as well as of subjects at risk of developing adverse reactions, and its translation into the clinical practice are the main challenges of personalized medicine. The application of pharmacogenetic predictive tests will be very useful mostly in cases of chronic disorders, as in metabolic bone diseases, that require long-term treatments and for whom exist effective differently acting drugs to be alternatively chosen. Pharmacogenetic tests, prior to drug administration, would hypothetically grant the optimization of drug therapy, based on patient's genotype, to ensure maximum efficacy with minimal adverse effects. This review aims to offer an overview on the principal findings in the field of pharmacogenetics of osteoporosis, and it will discuss future perspectives and possible clinical applications of pharmacogenetic tests for antiresorptive drugs.     

Fertility Preservation Methods in Breast Cancer

Thanks to the recent advances in reproductive medicine, more and more young women with breast cancer may be offered the possibility of preserving their fertility. Fertility can be endangered by chemotherapy, by treatment duration and by patient's age at diagnosis. The currently available means to preserve a young woman's fertility are pharmacological protection with gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogues during chemotherapy, and ovarian tissue or oocyte/embryo freezing before treatment. New future venues, including in vitro maturation, will improve the feasibility and efficacy of the fertility preservation methods in breast cancer patients.     

Exercise Speeds Cutaneous Wound Healing in High-Fat Diet-Induced Obese Mice

PURPOSE: Obesity has been shown to impair cutaneous wound healing, which is associated with increased wound inflammation. Exercise is known to decrease obesity-associated inflammation and has been shown to speed cutaneous wound healing in aged mice. Therefore, we investigated whether treadmill exercise could speed cutaneous wound healing in obese, high-fat diet-fed mice. METHODS: We fed female C57Bl/6J mice a high-fat diet (45% calories from fat) for 16 wk to induce a state of obesity and insulin resistance. Mice then ran on a treadmill for 3 d before excisional wounding. On day 4, mice were wounded 1 h after exercise. Mice then exercised for 5 d after wounding, and healing was assessed by photoplanimetry for 10 d. RESULTS: As described previously, obesity impaired wound healing, with significantly larger wound sizes measured from days 3 to day 10 after wounding (P < 0.05). Exercise did not improve healing in lean mice fed a normal chow diet. However, wound size was significantly smaller in exercised obese mice compared with their lean counterparts (P < 0.05 at day 1, day 4, and day 5 after wound). Surprisingly, we were unable to detect any differences in gene or protein expression of proinflammatory cytokines interleukin-1β and tumor necrosis factor-α or the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-10 in the wounds. Likewise, there were no differences in gene expression of chemokines monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and keratinocyte chemoattractant or of growth factor platelet-derived growth factor in wounds of exercise and sedentary mice. CONCLUSION: This suggests an effect of exercise independent of alterations in inflammation. Future work should focus on early events after wounding, including exercise effects on hemostasis and myofibroblast function.     

Short and long term variation in ultraviolet radiation and multiple sclerosis

We examined the role of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) in persons diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in four different populations, Italians, Danish, White and African Americans. We tested whether variation in UVR as determined by seasons (short term variation) and solar cycles (long term variation) is related to MS birth month and to survival as measured by lifespan. Cases were selected from three Italian MS Case Registries (2,737); from the United States National Center for Health Statistics (56,020); and from the Danish Multiple Sclerosis registry (15,900). Chi-square tests were used to study the pattern of month of birth distribution in patients with MS comparing with general population data. T-tests were employed to study solar cycles association with lifespan. A surplus of births was observed in June for White Americans. A decrease of births in October and November, though not significant after multiple testing correction, was observed in the three populations. In White American with MS overall, males and females, we found that solar cycle is associated with lifespan. We found that season and solar cycles have some role in MS susceptibility and life duration. However, this is an exploratory analysis and further work is needed to discern the association.