Wait Times and Survival in Lung Cancer Patients across the Province of Quebec,Canada

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide, with a five-year survival of 22% in Canada. Guidelines recommend rapid evaluation of patients with suspected lung cancer, but the impact on survival remains unclear. We reviewed medical records of all patients with newly diagnosed lung cancer in four hospital networks across the province of Quebec, Canada, between 1 February and 30 April 2017. Patients were followed for 3 years. Wait times for diagnosis and treatment were collected, and survival analysis using a Cox regression model was conducted. We included 1309 patients, of whom 39% had stage IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Median wait times were, in general, significantly shorter in patients with stage III–IV NSCLC or SCLC. Surgery was associated with delays compared to other types of treatments. Median survival was 12.9 (11.1–15.7) months. The multivariate survival model included age, female sex, performance status, histology and stage, treatment, and the time interval between diagnosis and treatment. Longer wait times had a slightly protective to neutral effect on survival, but this was not significant in the stage I–II NSCLC subgroup. Wait times for the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer were generally within targets. The shorter wait times observed for advanced NSCLC and SCLC might indicate a tendency for clinicians to act quicker on sicker patients. This study did not demonstrate the detrimental effect of longer wait times on survival.     

Sulfemodin 8-O-beta-D-glucoside,a new sulfated anthraquinone glycoside,and antioxidant phenolic compounds from Rheum emodi

A sulfated emodin glucoside, emodin 8-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-6-O-sulfate (1), was isolated from the roots of Rheum emodi in an investigation of the active constituents of this Nepalese medicinal plant, and its structure was determined by spectroscopic and chemical methods. Additionally, two rare auronols, carpusin (2) and maesopsin (3), besides other anthraquinones and phenolics, were isolated and identified. Compounds 2 and 3 showed significant antioxidant activity in the DPPH assay, while chrysophanol, physcion, and emodin and their 8-O-glucosides were found to be inactive.     

New non-glycosidic diterpenes from the leaves of Stevia rebaudiana

Six new labdane-type, non-glycosidic diterpenes, sterebins I-N (1-6), were isolated from the leaves of Stevia rebaudiana. Their structures, analogous to those of the previously described sterebins A-H, were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic and chemical studies.     

Midbrain syndrome with eye movement disorder: dramatic improvement after cranioplasty

BACKGROUND Patients with skull defects sometimes develop neurological deficits, which have been grouped under “the syndrome of the trephined”. The deficits are usually nonspecific or nonlocalizing, such as apathy or diffuse headaches. We report, to our knowledge, a first case of severe midbrain syndrome associated with a skull defect. Cranioplasty dramatically resolved the patient's symptoms. A midbrain syndrome represents the main manifestation of the syndrome of the trephined and can be corrected by cranioplasty. CLINICAL PRESENTATION A 38-year-old man with head trauma and epidural hematoma initially had normal eye motility. He developed a skull defect after infection following cranioplasty. He presented with onset of neurological symptoms one year after head trauma with a skull defect, a small divergent and vertical strabismus, elevation deficit of both eyes, headaches and fatigue. Over several months he developed severe bilateral deficit of adduction, elevation, depression and convergence. He had neuropsychological deficits, fatigue, headaches and impaired coordination. Neuroimaging and lumbar puncture did not show evidence of increased intracranial pressure or hydrocephalus. INTERVENTION Cranioplasty using Palacos was performed one-and-a-half years after trauma. Immediately after surgery, the patient noted remarkable improvement in his symptoms. Headaches and fatigue disappeared within two days. Two weeks after cranioplasty the patient had orthotropia and virtually normal ocular motility. Neurological symptoms completely disappeared. Recovery remained sustained for over 5 years after cranioplasty. CONCLUSION To our knowledge, this represents the first case of the syndrome of the trephined in which the neurological deficits map primarily to the brainstem and show rapid improvement following cranioplasty. We show that cranioplasty in patients with large skull defects is indicated for more then cosmetic reasons and should be considered even after longer periods following a trauma.     

Methylphenidate affects strategic choice behavior in normal adult humans

The time course of serum concentration and performance on a concurrent probability matching task were evaluated in normal adults receiving 0.15 or 0.3 mg/kg of methylphenidate. The behavioral task, an arcade-like problem-solving game, revealed that drug-treated subjects improved their performance upon repeated testings during pharmacokinetic evaluation at a lower rate than did non-treated controls over the same time span. However, drug-treated subjects failed to adopt the adaptive problem-solving strategies selected by controls.     

Rapp-Hodgkin ectodermal dysplasia

Rapp-Hodgkin ectodermal dysplasia is an autosomal dominant condition characterized by distinctive craniofacies, cleft lip or palate, dental hypoplasia with caries, dystrophic nails, and decreased to absent sweat glands and hair follicles. We report the third family to be described, and distinguish the condition from similar syndromes.     

Fetal stroke and cerebrovascular disease: Advances in understanding from lenticulostriate and venous imaging,alloimmune thrombocytopaenia and monochorionic twins

Fetal stroke is an important cause of cerebral palsy but is difficult to diagnose unless imaging is undertaken in pregnancies at risk because of known maternal or fetal disorders. Fetal ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging may show haemorrhage or ischaemic lesions including multicystic encephalomalacia and focal porencephaly. Serial imaging has shown the development of malformations including schizencephaly and polymicrogyra after ischaemic and haemorrhagic stroke. Recognised causes of haemorrhagic fetal stroke include alloimmune and autoimmune thrombocytopaenia, maternal and fetal clotting disorders and trauma but these are relatively rare. It is likely that a significant proportion of periventricular and intraventricular haemorrhages are of venous origin. Recent evidence highlights the importance of arterial endothelial dysfunction, rather than thrombocytopaenia, in the intraparenchymal haemorrhage of alloimmune thrombocytopaenia. In the context of placental anastomoses, monochorionic diamniotic twins are at risk of twin twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), or partial forms including Twin Oligohydramnios Polyhydramnios Sequence (TOPS), differences in estimated weight (selective Intrauterine growth Retardation; sIUGR), or in fetal haemoglobin (Twin Anaemia Polycythaemia Sequence; TAPS). There is a very wide range of ischaemic and haemorrhagic injury in a focal as well as a global distribution. Acute twin twin transfusion may account for intraventricular haemorrhage in recipients and periventricular leukomalacia in donors but there are additional risk factors for focal embolism and cerebrovascular disease. The recipient has circulatory overload, with effects on systemic and pulmonary circulations which probably lead to systemic and pulmonary hypertension and even right ventricular outflow tract obstruction as well as the polycythaemia which is a risk factor for thrombosis and vasculopathy. The donor is hypovolaemic and has a reticulocytosis in response to the anaemia while maternal hypertension and diabetes may influence stroke risk. Understanding of the mechanisms, including the role of vasculopathy, in well studied conditions such as alloimmune thrombocytopaenia and monochorionic diamniotic twinning may lead to reduction of the burden of antenatally sustained cerebral palsy.     

The role of PLC beta 1 in the control of oocyte meiosis during folliculogenesis

The dynamics of the subcellular distribution of PLCbeta1 was investigated during meiosis competence acquisition and meiosis resumption in relation to oocyte diameter and to nonsurrounded-nucleolus or surrounded-nucleolus chromatin configurations. Oocytes collected after both in vivo and in vitro folliculogenesis were studied. In both conditions, at the beginning of the process, most oocytes exhibited a nuclear PLCbeta 1 associated with a nonsurrounded-nucleolus chromatin configuration. Then at the final stage of the process, the factors shifted mainly toward a cytoplasmic PLCbeta1 and a surrounded-nucleolus chromatin configuration, typical of a preovulatory fertilizable oocyte. Additionally, only germinal vesicle oocytes with a diameter > 75 microm, and exhibiting cytoplasmic PLC beta1 distribution and surrounded-nucleolus chromatin configuration, resumed meiosis. Our findings demonstrate a strong correlation between oocyte diameter, chromatin configuration, and PLCbeta1 localization. Thus, PLCbeta1 localization appears to be a key factor determining the progressive acquisition of meiotic competence and final resumption of meiosis.