Systematic review of optical coherence tomography usage in the diagnosis and management of basal cell carcinoma

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a noninvasive imaging tool used in vivo in real time for diagnosis, treatment delineation and monitoring of basal cell carcinoma (BCC). Features of BCC on OCT have been widely described and reviewed. However, the diagnostic accuracy of OCT in these various applications is unclear. We systematically reviewed the literature to assess the accuracy of OCT in diagnosis and management of BCC using the Embase and Medline databases. In total 179 unique references were identified in the initial search, of which 22 studies with 556 histologically proven BCCs were eligible. Assessment of the quality of eligible studies was undertaken using the STROBE criteria. Data extraction and quality assessment were performed independently by the two authors. This systematic review provides an overview of the clinical applications of OCT in the diagnosis and management of BCC. OCT has been suggested to be useful in the diagnosis, treatment planning and treatment monitoring of BCC. As the technology improves and its utility increases, further studies with good methodological quality will be needed to implement OCT into daily practice.     

The Presence of Portal Vein Thrombosis Alters the Classic Enhancement Associated with Diagnosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Digestive Diseases and Sciences - To determine whether the presence of portal vein thrombosis (PVT) where venous flow within the liver may be altered may delay the diagnosis of HCC and be...     

Anxiety sensitivity as a mediator of the association between asthma and smoking

Objective: Despite its negative effects, smoking is more common among individuals with asthma compared to those without. Anxiety sensitivity (fear of arousal-related sensations) is associated with both smoking and asthma; however, no research, to date, has examined the interplay between these three factors. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to evaluate the mediating role of anxiety sensitivity in the association between asthma diagnosis and smoking status. Methods: The current study was a secondary analysis of data from three existing datasets of non-smokers and smokers with and without asthma (n?=?433; 56.3% female, M_age?=?34.01 years, SD?=?13.9). Participants provided information on their asthma diagnosis status and smoking status and completed self-report measures. Results: As hypothesized, after controlling for gender, race and age, there was a significant indirect effect of asthma diagnosis on smoking status through anxiety sensitivity (95% CI?=?0.07–0.48). Conclusions: These results indicate that the association between asthma diagnosis and smoking status appears to be driven, in part, by anxiety sensitivity and suggest that anxiety sensitivity may serve as an important target for prevention and intervention efforts for smokers with asthma.     

Characterization of Malignant Portal Vein Thrombosis with Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasonography

We prospectively evaluated the effectiveness of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) for differentiation of benign versus malignant portal vein thrombosis (PVT). We studied a total of 43 patients with chronic liver disease, hepatocellular carcinoma-suggestive nodules and confirmed PVT, in whom the nature of the PVT was confirmed by follow-up imaging (US, computed tomography and/or magnetic resonance imaging) performed up to 6 mo after CEUS. PVT was assessed by US, Doppler US and CEUS with respect to vessel wall disruption and/or invasion, color Doppler vascularization, pulsed Doppler vascularization pattern and CEUS enhancement and vascularization pattern, and thrombi were classified as benign or malignant based on these findings. Follow-up studies revealed malignant PVT in 22 of the 43 patients (51%) and benign PVT in 21 patients (49%). CEUS findings were consistent with follow-up studies in 41 of the 43 patients (95%), with κ?=?0.903 (p < 0.0001), sensitivity?=?91% and specificity?=?100%, indicating that CEUS can be confidently used to differentiate benign from malignant portal vein thrombosis in the setting of chronic liver disease.     

Remote photobiomodulation: an emerging strategy for neuroprotection

<正>Photobiomodulation (PBM)-the irradiation of cells or tissues with low-intensity red to near-infrared light-is emerging as an effective means of enhancing cell and tissue resilience and repair. As reviewed elsewhere (Gordon et al., 2019), the intracellular effects of     

Non alcoholic fatty liver disease and risk of incident diabetes in subjects who are not obese

Background and aims

It is not known whether non alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a risk factor for diabetes in non obese, non centrally-obese subjects. Our aim was to investigate relationships between fatty liver, insulin resistance and a biomarker score for liver fibrosis with incident diabetes at follow up, in subjects who were neither obese nor centrally-obese.

2‐deoxy D‐glucose treatment does not elicit a hair growth response in alopecia areata

2‐deoxy D‐glucose (2DG) was tested for efficacy in treating alopecia areata using the C3H/HeJ skin graft model. 2DG has proven to be efficacious in treatment of various mouse models of autoimmunity with minimal serious side effects noted. This agent has been shown to normalize abnormally activated T‐cell populations while also preventing cell surface expression of NKG2D; key factors defining alopecia areata disease progression. Daily oral ingestion of 2DG via drinking water to mice with patchy or diffuse alopecia areata for 16 weeks failed to prevent expansion of alopecia or cause regrowth of hair in treated mice. Histologically, there were no differences between treated and control groups. These results indicate that, while 2DG is effective for some autoimmune diseases, it was not efficacious for the cell‐mediated autoimmune mouse disease, alopecia areata.