Single-Center Comparison of Overall Survival and Toxicities in Patients with Infiltrative Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treated with Yttrium-90 Radioembolization or Drug-Eluting Embolic Transarterial Chemoembolization

Purpose

To compare overall survival and toxicities after yttrium-90 (⁹⁰Y) radioembolization and chemoembolization with drug-eluting embolics (DEE) in patients with infiltrative hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Laparoscopic Colonic Resection for Rectosigmoid Colonic Tumours: A Retrospective Analysis and Comparison with Open Resection

Laparoscopic approach for treatment of colorectal malignancy is gaining acceptance gradually; however the benefits of laparoscopic surgery in colonic and rectal tumours is still open to debate. This study aims at a retrospective analysis of operative and short term outcome of patients with rectosigmoid tumours. A retrospective analysis of operative, postoperative and short-term outcome of 62 patients who underwent laparoscopic colorectal resection for cancer of rectosigmoid region were compared with a same number of parameters-matched patients who underwent open colorectal resection. Blood transfusion requirement was significantly more in the open group compared to the laparoscopy group (38.7% versus 6.4%, p = 0.001). ICU stay was less in the laparoscopy group (p = <0.05) and they were started on oral liquid diet earlier (p = 0.013). The number of the lymph nodes retrieved, positive distal margin and radial involvement were similar in both groups. The hospital stay was significantly shorter in laparoscopy group (8.4 versus 13.8 days, p < 0.05). Radical operation for rectosigmoid tumors is technically feasible with laparoscopic surgery. Laparoscopic approach is associated with less blood loss, transfusion and significantly less ICU stay. Laparoscopic group recovers early and needs less hospital stay     

Gastric carcinoma after peptic ulcer surgery

Gastric carcinoma following surgery for benign peptic ulcer disease is being increasingly reported. The authors have reviewed their experience at Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center and Mount Sinai Hospital from 1970 to 1980 and found 319 cases of gastric carcinoma, 16 of whom had undergone previous surgical procedures for peptic ulcer disease, with an incidence of 5 per cent of gastric stump carcinoma. The average time interval for the development of gastric stump carcinoma was 17.4 years, ranging from 5 to 49 years. The average survival after the diagnosis was 4.6 months, making the prognosis uniformly poor, probably due to delayed diagnosis. Treatment modalities consisted of major and minor surgical procedures, medical therapy, and no treatment in some instances. It is recommended that all patients who undergo operations for peptic ulcers have careful long-term follow-up. Vague gastrointestinal symptoms occurring in these patients, especially 10 years or more after surgery, require endoscopy and biopsies of the gastric stump to exclude gastric stump carcinoma.     

Effect of gamma-interferon on collagen synthesis by normal and fibrotic human lung fibroblasts.

Increased lung collagen and increased collagen synthesis by lung fibroblasts is well recognized in pulmonary fibrosis. gamma-Interferon has been shown to inhibit collagen synthesis by fibroblasts. To understand its effect on lung fibroblasts we compared how this lymphokine affects the growth and collagen synthesis of normal and fibrotic human lung fibroblasts. The results showed that gamma-IFN inhibited DNA synthesis in all fibroblast strains examined. Both collagen production and type 1 mRNA levels were reduced in three normal and two fibrotic cell strains exposed to gamma-IFN, while they were not affected in one strain from fibrotic lung. Even though an occasional cell was unaffected by the gamma-IFN, collagen mRNA level was reduced in most cells and it remained reduced for 48 h after removing the gamma-IFN. These results show that gamma-IFN inhibits the growth of fibroblast cultures derived from normal and fibrotic human lungs and suppresses collagen synthesis in most of these cells.     

Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Potential of Natural Colouring Pigment Derived from Bixa orellana L. Seed Aril

Natural colourants with bio-potential are of great commercial demands as we are moving away from the hazardous and toxic chemical dyes. Bixa orellana L. a representative of Bixaceae is rich in bixin and nor-bixin pigments which could be explored for various applications. In the present study, extraction and characterization of bixin and its associated pigment from the aril of the B. orellana L. seeds were performed using various spectroscopic techniques. Spectroscopic analysis and Gas chromatographic profiling of the pigment were performed to understand the present pigments. Toxicity was evaluated through in silico method. The major component, bixin and nor-bixin were proved to be non-toxic, non-carcinogenic and non-mutagenic through in silico methods. The pigment was found to be a potent antioxidant as well as bactericidal against opportunistic bacteria. It was found that bixin extract was a potential antioxidant and bactericidal agent. Hence it could be used for imparting bactericidal potential for cellulosic materials like papers or textiles in biomedical applications.

     

Therapeutic plasma exchange for exogenous insulin antibody syndrome in combined variable immunodeficiency: a case report

A 32-year-old male with type I diabetes presented with profound hypoglycemia due to exogenous insulin antibody syndrome in the setting of newly-diagnosed common variable immunodeficiency. Immunomodulatory therapy was not initially effective, but after the initiation of plasma exchange hypoglycemia resolved, and glucose lability improved.     

Neuroprotection with glatiramer acetate: evidence from the PreCISe trial

The phase III, multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled PreCISe trial assessed glatiramer acetate (GA) effects in patients with clinically isolated syndromes (CIS) suggestive of multiple sclerosis (MS). To assess the neuroprotective effect of GA in a subset of patients in the PreCISe trial, we used proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to measure N-acetylaspartate (NAA), a marker of neuronal integrity, in a large central volume of brain. Thirty-four CIS patients randomized to GA 20 mg/day (n = 19) SC or placebo (n = 15) were included. Patients who relapsed (developed clinically definite MS [CDMS]) were removed from the substudy. NAA/creatine (NAA/Cr) ratios were compared between GA-treated and placebo-treated patients. Twenty patients with CIS had not converted to CDMS and were still in the double-blind phase of the trial at 12 months of follow-up. Paired changes in NAA/Cr differed significantly in patients treated with GA (+0.14, n = 11) compared with patients receiving placebo (?0.33, n = 9, p = 0.03) at 12 months, consistent with a neuroprotective effect of GA in vivo. Patients with CIS who received GA showed improvement in brain neuroaxonal integrity, as indicated by increased NAA/Cr, relative to comparable patients treated with placebo, who showed a decline in NAA/Cr consistent with findings from natural history studies.     

Sensitization to cocaine after a single intra-cerebral injection of orphanin FQ/nociceptin

Orphanin FQ/nociceptin (OFQ/N) has been shown to modulate mesolimbic dopaminergic neurotransmission. Repeated administration of OFQ/N into the ventral tegmental area results in a sensitized locomotor response to subsequent peripheral cocaine administration. The aim of the present study was to examine the potential for OFQ/N to produce a sensitized locomotor response to cocaine after a single intra-VTA administration and to determine if this effect of OFQ/N extrapolates to other points along the mesolimbic or nigrostriatal dopaminergic axes. Bilateral administration of OFQ/N (30 microg/side) into the VTA on day 1 to male Sprague--Dawley rats resulted in an enhanced locomotor response to cocaine (10 mg/kg i.p) administered on day 2. However, OFQ/N (3, 10 and 30 microg per side) administered on day 2, 5 mins prior to the administration of cocaine (10 mg/kg i.p), in animals treated with aCSF or OFQ/N on day 1, similarly blocked the action of cocaine, suggesting that the sensitized response was not due to tolerance to the effect of endogenously released OFQ/N. The administration of OFQ/N into the substantia nigra or nucleus accumbens failed to produce a significant sensitized response to a cocaine challenge 24 h later. A significant increase in cocaine stimulated locomotor response on day 2 was observed after injection of OFQ/N into the striatum on day 1. These results demonstrate the ability of a single intra-VTA or intra-striatal administration of OFQ/N to produce increases in the sensitivity to cocaine and may indicate a role for endogenous OFQ/N systems in regulating responses to psychostimulant drugs.     

Simultaneous assessment of cardiac perfusion and function using 5-dimensional imaging with Tc-99m teboroxime

BACKGROUND: Dynamic single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) acquisition and reconstruction of early poststress technetium 99m teboroxime washout images has been shown to be useful in the detection of coronary disease. Assessment of poststress regional wall motion may offer additional use in assessing coronary disease. Our goal was to investigate the feasibility of simultaneously imaging myocardial ischemia and transient poststress akinesis using gated-dynamic SPECT. METHODS AND RESULTS: A gated-dynamic mathematical cardiac torso (MCAT) phantom was developed to model both teboroxime kinetics and cardiac regional wall motion. A lesion was simulated as having delayed poststress teboroxime washout together with a transient poststress wall motion abnormality. Gated projection data were created to represent a 3-headed SPECT system undergoing a total rotation of 480 degrees . The dynamic expectation-maximization reconstruction algorithm with postsmoothing across gating intervals by Wiener filtering, and the ordered-subset expectation maximization reconstruction algorithm with 3-point smoothing across gating intervals were compared. Compared with the ordered-subset expectation maximization with 3-point smoothing, the dynamic expectation-maximization algorithm with Wiener filtering was able to produce visually higher-quality images and more accurate left ventricular ejection fraction estimates. CONCLUSION: From simulations, we conclude that changing cardiac function and tracer localization possibly can be assessed by using a gated-dynamic acquisition protocol combined with a 5-dimensional reconstruction strategy.