Role of brachytherapy in the management of desmoid tumors

From 1977 to 1982, fourteen patients with desmoid tumors underwent surgery and brachytherapy. Surgery ranged from biopsy to complete or partial excision of the tumor. Most of these patients had locally advanced tumor or positive margins. A high recurrence rate is expected in such a group if treated by surgery alone. In twelve out of fourteen patients the treatment was considered curative when all disease sites could be encompassed. In the remaining two patients the treatment was considered palliative because the tumor encroaching on to the spinal cord was left untreated. Ten out of twelve curatively treated patients have remained free of recurrence at a minimum of 2 year follow-up. Five of them were followed from 4-6 years. In the palliatively treated group, one patient is alive with active disease at 18 months. Three patients developed complications with wound healing. This experience suggests that surgery and brachytherapy treatment for desmoid tumor results in higher local control than expected from surgery alone in this selected group of patients.     

Fertility outcomes following bariatric surgery

Obesity impacts human health in more than one way. The influence of obesity on human reproduction and fertility has been extensively examined. Bariatric surgery (BS) has been used as an effective tool to achieve long-term weight loss in both sexes. BS improves hormonal profiling, increasing the odds of spontaneous pregnancy and success rates following assisted reproductive techniques in infertile females. For obese males, BS does improve sexual function and hormonal profile; however, conflicting reports discuss reduced sperm parameters following BS. Although the benefits of BS in the fertility field are acknowledged, many areas call for further research, like choosing the safest surgical techniques, determining the optimal timing to get pregnant, and resolving the uncertainty of sperm parameters.     

Vaginal microbes confounders and implications on women's health

The vagina has diverse vaginal microbes (Vm). A disturbance in the delicate balance maintained in Vm is linked to women's obstetrical and reproductive tract problems. Vaginal microbes play an essential role in protecting the health of the female reproductive tract by alleviating gynecological infection. However, Vm profiling has many confounders that need to be addressed during sampling, including age, race, pregnancy, medical illness, and smoking. Vm profiling improves reproduction odds, may serve as a marker for genital malignancies and have a therapeutic application in menopausal women and women with cervical cancers.     

Sex differences in neurodevelopmental trajectories in children with different levels of autistic traits

Aim

Little is known about early manifestations of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in females, including those who may be overlooked by the current diagnostic criteria. We longitudinally explored sex differences in the trajectories of cognitive and motor functions and adaptive behaviors in children with different levels of autistic traits.

Methods

The participants were 824 children from the Hamamatsu Birth Cohort for Mothers and Children (HBC Study), Japan, who were classified into three autistic trait groups—low, moderate, and high—based on the Social Responsiveness Scale–Second Edition. Cognitive and motor functions were measured at seven time-points from 0.5 to 3.5 years of age using the Mullen Scales of Early Learning. Adaptive behaviors were measured at five time-points from 2.7 to 9 years of age using the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales–Second Edition. Trajectories were depicted using latent growth curve modeling.

Results

Sex-specific trajectories were observed in the high-autistic-trait group, with only males showing a temporary decline in expressive language around the age of 2 years and a slight improvement thereafter. They also showed a slight improvement around 3 years in the adaptive behavior communication domain but a gradual downward trend later. Females in the high-autistic-trait group showed no distinct manifestation before the age of 3 years but showed a downward trend after 3.5 years in the adaptive behavior communication domain.

Conclusion

Females and males with higher autistic traits than their same-sex peers, independent of clinical diagnosis, may have different phenotypes in certain neurodevelopmental domains during infancy and early childhood.