Highlights of the EANM Congress 2011: Birmingham,UK

The EANM Congress 2011 took place in Birmingham between the 15th and 19th October 2011 under the presidency of Professor Werner Langsteger. The attendance was reassuringly high, in line with other EANM congresses, despite the current ‘Eurozone Crisis’. Participants from 87 countries came along, met old friends and made new ones. They were presented with a massive programme of 1,480 abstracts, symposia, and CME, scientific, plenary and featured sessions. The industry made a substantial contribution to the success of the congress with 109 hardware, software and radiopharmaceutical companies demonstrating the latest technology and innovations in the field. A feature in this year’s congress was the emphasis on the role of the young generation. The highlight lecture was presented and this article was compiled by three young EANM members chosen from the young investigator project of the EANM. They review the most highly rated presentations in clinical and preclinical imaging in oncology, neuroendocrine tumours, cardiology, paediatrics and neurology, and provide an update on radionuclide therapy, physics, instrumentation, innovative tracers and techniques.     

Perinatally discovered complete tubular colonic duplication associated with anal atresia

Complete tubular colonic duplication (CTCD) is exceedingly rare. The association of CTCD with an anorectal malformation is unusual. This malformation may be found unexpectedly at laparotomy. We present 3 cases of surgically proven neonate CTCD discovered at laparotomy for anal atresia. We reviewed the mode of clinical presentation, the imaging, and laparotomy findings. Our series illustrates that this rare disease presents perinatally in association with anal atresia, with or without other associated anomalies.     

Contamination fongique de l’alimentation des patients d’onco-hématologie

ObjectiveThe aim of our study was to evaluate the level of fungal contamination of food served to patients in the hematology unit of Farhat Hached hospital, Sousse (Tunisia).MethodsWe analyzed 159 food served to 90 patients during the post-chemotherapy aplasia period.ResultsThe overall rate of fungal contamination was 66.6%. Fruits and green salads’ contamination was very high (90 and 100%, respectively). Aspergillus species were the most frequent (48.4%) followed by Candida (25.1%), Penicillium (22%), Rhizopus (17.6%) and Cladosporium (17%). The presence of Aspergillus on fruits (66.6%) represents a real source of contamination by inhalation of spores and the presence of Candida (25.1%) in any type of food is a source of gastrointestinal colonization.ConclusionThe diet of neutropenic patients should be submitted to a strict surveillance to reduce the risk of fungal infections of food.     

Covalent Organic Framework (C6N6) as a Drug Delivery Platform for Fluorouracil to Treat Cancerous Cells: A DFT Study

Continuous studies are being carried out to explore new methods and carrier surfaces for target drug delivery. Herein, we report the covalent triazine framework C₆N₆ as a drug delivery carrier for fluorouracil (FU) and nitrosourea (NU) anti-cancer drugs. FU and NU are physiosorbed on C₆N₆ with adsorption energies of −28.14 kcal/mol and −27.54 kcal/mol, respectively. The outcomes of the non-covalent index (NCI) and quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) analyses reveal that the FU@C₆N₆ and NU@C₆N₆ complexes were stabilized through van der Waals interactions. Natural bond order (NBO) and electron density difference (EDD) analyses show an appreciable charge transfer from the drug and carrier. The FU@C₆N₆ complex had a higher charge transfer (−0.16 e⁻) compared to the NU@C₆N₆ complex (−0.02 e⁻). Frontier molecular orbital (FMO) analysis reveals that the adsorption of FU on C₆N₆ caused a more pronounced decrease in the HOMO-LUMO gap (E_H-L) compared to that of NU. The results of the FMO analysis are consistent with the NBO and EDD analyses. The drug release mechanism was studied through dipole moments and pH effects. The highest decrease in adsorption energy was observed for the FU@C₆N₆ complex in an acidic medium, which indicates that FU can easily be off-loaded from the carrier (C₆N₆) to a target site because the cancerous cells have a low pH compared to a normal cell. Thus, it may be concluded that C₆N₆ possesses the therapeutic potential to act as a nanocarrier for FU to treat cancer. Furthermore, the current study will also provide motivation to the scientific community to explore new surfaces for drug delivery applications.     

Involvement of Cholinergic and Adrenergic Receptors in Pathogenesis and Inflammatory Response Induced by Alpha-Neurotoxin Bot III of Scorpion Venom

Bot III neurotoxin is the most lethal α neurotoxin purified from Buthus occitanus tunetanus scorpion venom. This toxin binds to the voltage-gated sodium channel of excitable cells and blocks its inactivation, inducing an increased release of neurotransmitters (acetylcholine and catecholamines). This study aims to elucidate the involvement of cholinergic and adrenergic receptors in pathogenesis and inflammatory response triggered by this toxin. Injection of Bot III to animals induces an increase of peroxidase activities, an imbalance of oxidative status, tissue damages in lung parenchyma, and myocardium correlated with metabolic disorders. The pretreatment with nicotine (nicotinic receptor agonist) or atropine (muscarinic receptor antagonist) protected the animals from almost all disorders caused by Bot III toxin, especially the immunological alterations. Bisoprolol administration (selective β1 adrenergic receptor antagonist) was also efficient in the protection of animals, mainly on tissue damage. Propranolol (non-selective adrenergic receptor antagonist) showed less effect. These results suggest that both cholinergic and adrenergic receptors are activated in the cardiopulmonary manifestations induced by Bot III. Indeed, the muscarinic receptor appears to be more involved than the nicotinic one, and the β1 adrenergic receptor seems to dominate the β2 receptor. These results showed also that the activation of nicotinic receptor leads to a significant protection of animals against Bot III toxin effect. These findings supply a supplementary data leading to better understanding of the mechanism triggered by scorpionic neurotoxins and suggest the use of drugs targeting these receptors, especially the nicotinic one in order to counteract the inflammatory response observed in scorpion envenomation.     

Acute myocardial infarction in elderly patients

Background: Age is the most important determinant of outcome for patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) and ischemic heart disease is the leading cause of death among elderly patients. Aim: To determine the epidemiologic particularities, the clinical presentation, and the treatment of Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) in patients over 65 years. Methods: One hundred patients >65 years of age with myocardial infarction were hospitalized in intensive care of cardiologic unit of Military Hospital of Tunis between 2000 and 2008. Clinical characteristics, reperfusion therapy and outcomes of in-hospital period and for one year follow-up were seen for every patient. Results: The mean age of our population was 77 years. Sex-ratio was 3/1.Our population was divided into tow groups; patients aged between 65 and 75 years (48 patients) and those aged more than 75 years (52 patients). Only 44 % of our patients had arrived at the hospital within the first 12 hours. STEMI was found in 65 % of our patients. At admission, 40 % had congestive heart failure (3 Killip II), 10 % were in cardiogenic shock. Urgent reperfusion therapy was given to 58 % of our patients; 33% received a thrombolytic therapy and 25 % were allocated to primary PCI. During in-hospital period, 40 % have developed congestive heart failure, 20 % have had a cardiogenic shock and 12 % were died. All these events were more frequent in patients aged over 75 years and reperfusion therapy was associated with best outcome. Conclusion: In our study invasive treatment such as fibrinolysis and PCI was associated to better outcome in acute period and at 12 months of follow up in elderly patients treated for AMI.     

Cell-free probiotic supernatant (CFS) treatment alleviates indomethacin-induced enterocolopathy in BALB/c mice by down-modulating inflammatory response and oxidative stress: potential alternative targeted treatment

Inflammopharmacology - Probiotics and their metabolites appear to be a promising approach that targets both the intestinal inflammation and dysbiosis in bowel diseases. In this context, the...