Value of sentinel lymph node procedure in endometrial cancer

In cancer research, regional lymph node status is a major prognostic factor and a decision criterion for adjuvant therapy. The sentinel node procedure, which has emerged to reduce morbidity of extensive lymphadenectomy, remains a major step in the surgical management of various cancers. Sentinel node procedure has become a standard technique for the determination of the nodal stage of the disease in patients with melanoma, vulvar cancer and in breast cancer. In endometrial cancer, the sentinel node biopsy is still at the stage of feasibility. In this article, we review the technical aspects, results, clinical implications and limitations of sentinel node procedure in endometrial cancers.     

Inhibition of bone turnover by milk intake in postmenopausal women

Increased postmenopausal bone turnover leads to bone loss and fragility fracture risk. In the absence of osteoporosis, risk preventive measures, particularly those modifying nutritional lifestyle, are appropriate. We tested the hypothesis that milk supplementation affects bone turnover related to biochemical markers in a direction that, in the long term, may be expected to reduce postmenopausal bone loss. Thirty healthy postmenopausal women aged 59.3 (SD 3.3) years were enrolled in a prospective crossover trial of 16 weeks. After a 4-week period of adaptation with diet providing 600 mg calcium plus 300 mg ingested as 250 ml semi-skimmed milk, participants were maintained during 6 weeks under the same 600 mg calcium diet and randomized to receive either 500 ml semi-skimmed milk, thus providing a total of 1200 mg calcium, or no milk supplement. In the next 6 weeks they were switched to the alternative regimen. At the end of the each period, i.e. after 4, 10 and 16 weeks, blood and urinary samples were collected. The changes in blood variables between the periods of 6 weeks without and with milk supplementation were: for parathyroid hormone, -3.2 pg/ml (P=0.0054); for crosslinked telopeptide of type I collagen, -624 pg/ml (P<0.0001); for propeptide of type I procollagen, -5.5 ng/ml (P=0.0092); for osteocalcin, -2.8 ng/ml (P=0.0014). In conclusion, a 6-week period of milk supplementation induced a decrease in several biochemical variables compatible with diminished bone turnover mediated by reduction in parathyroid hormone secretion. This nutritional approach to postmenopausal alteration in bone metabolism may be a valuable measure in the primary prevention of osteoporosis.     

Clinical Evidence of the Benefits of Phytonutrients in Human Healthcare

Phytonutrients comprise many different chemicals, including carotenoids, indoles, glucosinolates, organosulfur compounds, phytosterols, polyphenols, and saponins. This review focuses on the human healthcare benefits of seven phytochemical families and highlights the significant potential contribution of phytonutrients in the prevention and management of pathologies and symptoms in the field of family health. The structure and function of these phytochemical families and their dietary sources are presented, along with an overview of their potential activities across different health and therapeutic targets. This evaluation has enabled complementary effects of the different families of phytonutrients in the same area of health to be recognized.     

A simple and highly effective method for the stable transduction of uncultured porcine hepatocytes using lentiviral vector

Gene therapy is an attractive approach for the treatment of a wide spectrum of liver diseases. Lentiviral vectors allow the stable integration of transgenes into the genome of nondividing differentiated cells including hepatocytes and could provide long-lasting expression of a therapeutic gene. To develop such approaches, preclinical studies in large animal models such as pigs are necessary to evaluate the feasibility and safety of stable lentiviral integration and long-term vector expression. In addition, effective lentivector-mediated gene transfer onto porcine hepatocytes could advance in cell-based therapies for acute liver failure. To investigate this issue, porcine hepatocytes were transduced in suspension immediately after their isolation in University of Wisconsin (UW) solution containing vitamin E. Up to 80% of hepatocytes stably expressed a GFP transgene after a single exposure to lentiviral vector coding for GFP under the control of either liver-specific or ubiquitous promoters. Moreover, porcine hepatocytes cryopreserved in UW solution containing fetal bovine serum, dimethyl sulfoxide, and vitamin E remained highly transducible with lentiviral vector after thawing. When thawed, transduced in suspension, and immediately transplanted into the spleen of immunodeficient mice, ex vivo lentivirally transgene marked xenogeneic hepatocytes were detected in murine liver. We demonstrated that porcine hepatocytes are highly susceptible to lentiviral vector and describe an easy methodology to efficiently, rapidly, and stably introduce transgenes into uncultured porcine hepatocytes.     

Apports et indications de l’IRM pelvienne dynamique

Dynamic pelvic MRI holds an increasingly important role in assessing pre and post treatment of pelvic floor disorders. It allows a simultaneous analysis of support structures of the pelvic floor and the three compartments, and also of the pelvic peritoneal compartment. Its performance is required for complex clinical situations, suspicion of multicompartmental impairments, severe urinary and anal incontinences, and prolapses. According to many medical teams, it is a required part of any preoperative assessment of prolapse, particularly for its ability to distinguish enterocele and rectocele in case of clinical posterior vaginal prolapse. Finally, it must be done in case of after surgery recurrence.     

In vivo comparison of two through-plane MR velocity mapping methods: Fast fourier encoding and phase mapping

Magnetic resonance imaging maps of velocity were acquired with a 1.5-T system in 10 subjects in a plane perpendicular to the main pulmonary artery. Velocity images were successively acquired with a method developed from Fourier-encoding velocity imaging (FEVI) principles with eight gradient steps and one excitation, and with two-point phase-subtraction mapping. Reconstruction in FEVI was implemented by zero-filling interpolation around the eight gradient steps and then around the four central steps. The methods were compared by using estimates of noise in velocity measurements based on the difference between the experimental map and a smooth fitted map. For the same acquisition time, FEVI with four encoding steps was more precise in velocity measurements than phase mapping. Precision was further increased by the use of eight encoding steps, but acquisition time was doubled.     

Comparison of radioiodinated TOC,TOCA and Mtr-TOCA: the effect of carbohydration on the pharmacokinetics

Although somatostatin-based peptide receptor imaging (sst-PRI) and peptide receptor radiotherapy (sst-PRRT) of human endocrine tumours and their metastases has become a valuable method, the experience with radiohalogenated sst-directed peptides has so far been disappointing. To extend the broad spectrum of radiohalogens with suitable radionuclide properties for sst-PRI and PRRT, new strategies in ligand development are required. The major drawbacks to be overcome include fast hepatic uptake, high abdominal background activity and low tumour uptake. Recently we introduced radiolabelled glycated octreotides as a new series of sst-binding radiotracers with excellent physicochemical characteristics. In this study we compared [(125)I]Tyr(3)-octreotide ([(125)I]TOC, ( 1)), [(125)I]Tyr(3)-octreotate ([(125)I]TOCA, ( 2)) and a carbohydrated octreotide derivative, maltotriose-[(125)I]Tyr(3)-octreotate ([(125)I]Mtr-TOCA, ( 3)) to evaluate the effect of single C-terminal oxidation and simultaneous N-terminal carbohydration. The biodistribution was compared in nude mice bearing AR42J tumour xenografts. Compared with ( 1), activity uptake of ( 2) and ( 3) at 1 h was decreased in intestine [36% ( 2), 72% ( 3)], liver [62% ( 2), 79% ( 3)] and kidney [34% ( 2), 41% ( 3)], respectively. Blood clearance was fast for all compounds investigated. Using ( 1) as reference, tumour uptake of ( 2) and ( 3) was 3.8- and 4.3-fold higher at 1 h p.i. At 1 h the tumour-to-blood ratio of ( 3) was 28.2+/-7.3, and the tumour-to-muscle ratio, 147+/-48. Specificity of tumour uptake was demonstrated in AR42J tumour-bearing mice by pretreatment with 0.8 mg TOC/kg 5 min prior to injection of ( 3). In cells transfected with sst1-sst5, the binding profile of I-Mtr-TOCA revealed a very high affinity and selectivity for sst2. In a first scintigraphic [(123)I]Mtr-TOCA study of a patient with a carcinoid of the small intestine with known peritoneal carcinomatosis and a solitary liver metastasis, all tumour tissues, including the liver metastasis, were well defined and clearly visible as soon as 30 min p.i. Based on these encouraging findings we conclude that carbohydration is a powerful strategy for the development of new radiolabelled sst-binding peptides and may represent a general method to improve pharmacokinetics of other peptide radioligands. [(123)I]Mtr-TOCA is a very promising new candidate for sst-directed PRI.