What Impact Does Venous Thromboembolism and Bleeding Have on Cancer Patients’ Quality of Life?

Background

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is common in cancer patients and its treatment is associated with a high risk of recurrent VTE (rVTE) and bleeding.

Peripheral blood leukocyte telomere length is associated with age but not renal function: A cross-sectional follow-up study

Objectives

We aimed to evaluate the relationship between baseline renal function and changes in telomere length in Han Chinese.

Methods

The telomere restriction fragment (TRF) length of leukocytes in the peripheral blood was measured in healthy volunteers recruited in 2014. The estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was calculated based on serum creatinine (Scr) and serum cystatin C (CysC)-eGFRcys and eGFRScr-cys through the Cockcroft-Gault formula (eGFRC-G) or the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI / eGFRCKD-EPI) equation. The correlation between telomere length changes over time and renal function was analyzed.

Results

Leukocyte TRF lengths were negatively correlated to age (r = -0.393, p < 0.001) and serum CysC (r = -0.180, p < 0.01), while positively associated with eGFRCKD-EPI, eGFRC-G, eGFRcys, and eGFRScr-cys (r = 0.182, 0.122, 0.290, and 0.254 respectively, p < 0.01). The 3-year change of telomere length was 46 bp/years. When adjusted for age, the associations between telomere length changes and baseline, subsequent TRF lengths, and serum CysC were no longer present. No association was observed between TRF length changes and renal function.

Conclusion

The rate of telomere length changes was affected by age and baseline telomere length. The telomere length changes might be important markers for aging.

     

A rapid diagnosis of anaerobic infection in the oro-maxillary region by gas-liquid chromatography

The relationship between volatile fatty acids (VFAs) in pus and infecting bacterial species was examined in order to establish a rapid identification system for anaerobic microorganisms in purulent inflammation in the oro-maxillary region. VFAs were detected by the direct injection of pus into gas-liquid chromatography (GLC). Bacterial examination was carried out by anaerobic culture using blood agar plates. The bacterial identification was carried out mainly according to the VPI manual. Analysis of the direct VFA patterns of each sample resulted in 5 groups. The following bacterial species were the main isolates in each group: Streptococcus intermedius in Group A, Peptostreptococcus micros in Group B, Fusobacterium nucleatum in Group C, Bacteroides gingivalis in Group D, and Peptostreptococcus anaerobius in Group E. The profile of VFAs produced in the PYG culture medium of the above isolated bacteria was compared with the direct VFA patterns. Agreement ratios between direct and PYG VFA patterns were as follows: Group A, 47.1%; Groups B and C, 45.0%; Group D, 87.5%; and Group E, 62.9%. The acetic acid concentration was more than 14 x 10(-4) meq/ml in Group B, the butyric acid concentration was more than 7 x 10(-4) meq/ml in Group C, and the iso-caproic acid concentration was more than 14 x 10(-4) meq/ml in Group E. In these cases, it was found that the agreement ratios between the direct and PYG FVA pattern were high. In Group D, irrespective of the concentration of iso-valeric acid detected, the agreement ratio was very high. The antibiotic susceptibility of the isolates was studied. Efficiency rates of ABPC, PIPC, CCL, CEZ, CMZ, SBT/CPZ, JM, CLDM, MINO and GM were relatively low and resistant rates were high for the gram-negative rods.     

Angiolipoma of the tongue: report of a case

Angiolipoma is a rare variety of lipoma in the maxillofacial region. Only eight cases have been documented so far. A case in which an angiolipoma occurred within the tongue of a 49-year-old man is described here. The difference from earlier cases occurring in the tongue is noted. Close follow-up has, as yet, revealed no recurrence.     

A controlled study of the association of various dental anomalies with hypodontia of permanent teeth

Although hypodontia, or oligodontia, is one of the most common human dental anomalies observed, there have been few studies on the association of other anomalies occurring with it. The present investigation of 1032 patient records found that 65.7% of patients with hypodontia showed ankylosis of primary molars compared to only 1.5% of control children (P less than 0.001). In addition, taurodontism of the mandibular first permanent molar was observed in 34.3% of hypodontia cases compared to 7.1% in the controls (P less than 0.001). Other dental anomalies significantly associated with hypodontia include enamel hypoplasia (11.9%, P less than 0.01) and conical incisors (8.9%, P less than 0.01). In contrast, there were significantly more impacted teeth in control children compared to the hypodontia group. The results indicate that for patients with missing permanent teeth, clinicians should be alert to the possibility of these associated anomalies and their accompanying clinical implications.     

Antimicrobial action of natural substances on oral bacteria

The antimicrobial action of natural substances was investigated in vitro against oral bacteria including Streptococcus sp., Actinomyces sp., Actinobacillus sp., Bacteroides sp., Capnocytophaga sp., Eikenella sp., Fusobacterium sp. and Propionibacterium sp. Among the natural substances tested, hinokitiol was the most inhibitory to oral bacteria. Cinnamon bark oil, papua-mace extracts, and clove bud oil in spice extracts were also inhibitory against many oral bacteria. Egg white lysozyme exhibited antimicrobial action against the periodontitis associated bacteria.     

Expression of epithelial and nervous-system-related antigens on pleomorphic adenoma of the salivary glands--an analysis of 20 cases

The expression of cytokeratin (40-52 kD), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), vimentin, neuron-specific enolase (NSE), S-100 protein, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) were investigated in 20 cases of pleomorphic adenoma of the salivary glands and 10 cases of normal salivary glands, in order to analyze and correlate the antigens' expressions with the probably histogenetic mechanisms of the various histopathological differentiations in pleomorphic adenoma of the salivary glands and their probably original cells in normal salivary glands. Immunohistochemistry has provided some evidence for the relationship of the tumor cells to normal salivary glands: In the normal glands, the acinic cells exhibited cytokeratin, CEA and focal, predominantly nuclear S-100 protein staining. In both normal glands and pleomorphic adenomas, the duct-lining cells were immunoreactive for cytokeratin, CEA and had both cytoplasmic and nuclear S-100 positivity; The myoepithelial cells of the normal glands as well as the periduct cells, epithelial nests/cords, squamous metaplasia and the stellate/spindle/cartilaginous cells in the myxomatous-chondroid areas of the pleomorphic adenoma contain immunoreactive vimentin, NSE, S-100 proteins and GFAP, and lesser amounts cytokeratin (40-52 kD)/CEA. The varicosities of the terminal axon may lie directly on the basal membrane, or penetrate the basal membrane and lie in direct contact with the effector cells (duct-acinar-myoepithelial cells) of the salivary glands. The peripheral neurons and axons of the autonomic nervous system were identified by vimentin, NSE, S-100 proteins and GFAP. The combination of epithelial cytokeratin and nervous system-related vimentin, NSE, S-100 and GFAP immunostaining in myoepithelium of the normal glands and in all component elements (particularly the periduct cells) of pleomorphic adenoma reflects pleomorphic adenoma of the salivary glands is an epithelial tumor, the probably original cells or the probably histogenetic mechanisms of the various histopathological differentiations is correlated not only with "duct-acinar-myoepithelial cells" but also with the neuroectoderm in the normal salivary glands."