Water-Tween 40/Imwitor 308-isopropyl myristate microemulsions as delivery systems for ketoprofen: small-angle X-ray scattering study

Small-angle X-ray scattering technique has been used to study the structural properties of the quaternary microemulsion Tween 40/Imwitor 308/isopropyl myristate/water and of five-component system obtained by the addition of the drug ketoprofen to the original quaternary system. The results enlighten the structuration of the studied systems and represent new complementary findings to the previous study [Podlogar, F., Bester-Rogac, M., Gasperlin, M., 2005. The effect of internal structure of selected water-Tween 40 (R)-Imwitor 308 (R)-IPM microemulsions on ketoprofene release. Int. J. Pharm. 302, 68-77] on the correlation between the structuration of these systems and the release rates of the ketoprofen. The present results indicate that in the samples with the moderate to high concentration of water where the latter is a continuous phase the addition of smaller amounts of the ketoprofen does not change their inner structuration significantly. The quaternary sample containing 46.2wt.% of water seems to be very near the composition where the transition from the bicontinuous to the lamellar structure of the microemulsion occurs. In the samples containing from 46.2 to 62.7wt.% of water the swelling of lamellar phases with constant thickness of double-layer can be characterized. At approximately the latter composition another noticeable transition in the inner structuration of the microemulsion has been observed. Interestingly, all these changes in the inner structuration of the studied systems did not affect the trend of the drug release rates in this regime of water concentrations.     

Radiotherapy of stage IEA primary breast lymphoma: case report

A 47-year-old woman was referred for the treatment to our Hospital because of a palpable nodule in the upper medial quadrant of her right breast. After tumor excision, pathohistological examination showed a follicular center cell lymphoma grade 2, B-cell type (CD20+, bc16+, CD10+, bcl2+). The final diagnosis was stage IEA primary extranodal non-Hodgkin s breast lymphoma. The involved breast was irradiated isocentrically with two opposite 6-megavolt (MeV) photon beams delivered from the linear accelerator (tangential fields) using asymmetric collimator opening. Radiation volume, inclinations of the medial and lateral field, and the part of the underlying chest wall and lung parenchyma were determined during the radiotherapy simulation process. The total irradiation dose was 44 Gy delivered in single daily doses of 2 Grays (Gy). After breast photon irradiation, a boost to the tumor bed was performed by a direct 12 MeV electron beam, with a total dose of 6 Gy delivered over three days. Since primary non-Hodgkin lymphoma of the breast is rather rare, there has been no uniform approach to its treatment. The advantage of applying the asymmetric collimator jaw opening in breast radiotherapy is the instant reduction of the dose at margin fields, resulting in both the protection of neighboring lung parenchyma and the good coverage of planned target volume.     

Vaginal aplasia associated with anatomically and functionally normal uterus

Maldevelopment of the vagina is usually combined with aplasia/hypoplasia of the uterus. Complete vaginal aplasia with a normally developed uterus and cervix is an extremely rare form of developmental failure. The accepted treatment for this kind of maldevelopment is hysterectomy plus creation of a neovagina. We present the case of 12-year-old girl with isolated complete vaginal aplasia. After the creation of a vagina during a first procedure and lysis of pericervical adhesions with implantation of skin graft in a second she now has regular menstrual bleeding.     

Differences in the quantity of elastic fibres and collagen type I and type III in endopelvic fascia between women with stress urinary incontinence and controls

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether differences in the quantity of elastic fibres, collagen type I and collagen type III in the endopelvic fascia occur with female stress urinary incontinence (SUI). A total of 54 patients participated in the study. They were divided into two groups (continent and incontinent) that were comparable with respect to age and parity. All patients underwent gynaecologic surgical procedures and biopsies from the endopelvic fascia were obtained. Histological slides were stained with haematoxylin and eosin and Masson trichrome or Weigert's techniques and immunohistochemistry for either collagen type I or type III were performed. The elastic fibres constituted 3.81+/-0.6% and 5.93+/-0.92% of the cross-sectional area of the endopelvic fascia in incontinent and control groups of patients, respectively. Collagen type I and type III were not significantly reduced in patients with SUI. Our results suggest that the quantity of elastic and collagen fibres in the endopelvic fascia does not play a significant role in continence.     

Nef increases the synthesis of and transports cholesterol to lipid rafts and HIV-1 progeny virions

HIV buds from lipid rafts and requires cholesterol for its egress from and entry into cells. Viral accessory protein Nef plays a major role in this process. In this study, it not only increased the biosynthesis of lipid rafts and viral particles with newly synthesized cholesterol, but also enriched them. Furthermore, via the consensus cholesterol recognition motif at its C terminus, Nef bound cholesterol. When this sequence was mutated, Nef became unable to transport newly synthesized cholesterol into lipid rafts and viral particles. Interestingly, although its levels in lipid rafts were not affected, this mutant Nef protein was poorly incorporated into viral particles, and viral infectivity decreased dramatically. Thus, Nef also transports newly synthesized cholesterol to the site of viral budding. As such, it provides essential building blocks for the formation of viruses that replicate optimally in the host.