Efficacy of high intensity laser therapy in knee osteoarthritis: a double-blind controlled randomized study

Clinical Rheumatology - The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of high intensity laser therapy on pain, functionality, flexion range of motion (FROM), and ultrasonographic...     

Total oxidative/anti-oxidative status and relation to bone mineral density in osteoporosis

The aim of this study was to evaluate the total antioxidant status (TAS), total oxidative status (TOS) and oxidative stress index (OSI) in patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis. We also investigate the relation between bone mineral density and oxidative/antioxidative parameters. Thirty-nine patients with osteoporosis and 26 healthy controls were included in the study. Plasma TAS, TOS levels were determined by using a novel automated methods. Plasma TOS and OSI value were significantly higher, and plasma TAS level was lower in patients than in healthy controls (P < 0.001 for all). There was a significant negative correlation between OSI and BMD in lumbar and femoral neck region (r = −0.63, P < 0.001; r = 0.40, P = 0.018). The results of this study indicated that increased osteoclastic activity and decreased osteoblastic activity may be associated with an imbalance between oxidant and antioxidant status in postmenopausal osteoporosis. Therefore, supplementation of antioxidant-enriched diet to the therapy might shed light on the development of novel therapeutic strategies for osteoporosis.     

CHOP‐mediated hepcidin suppression modulates hepatic iron load

The liver is the central regulator of iron metabolism and accordingly, chronic liver diseases often lead to systemic iron overload due to diminished expression of the iron‐regulatory hormone hepcidin. To study the largely unknown regulation of iron metabolism in the context of hepatic disease, we used two established models of chronic liver injury, ie repeated carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) or thioacetamide (TAA) injections. To determine the impact of CCAAT/enhancer‐binding protein (C/EBP)‐homologous protein (CHOP) on hepcidin production, the effect of a single TAA injection was determined in wild‐type and CHOP knockout mice. Furthermore, CHOP and hepcidin expression was assessed in control subjects and patients with alcoholic liver disease. Both chronic injury models developed a distinct iron overload in macrophages. TAA‐, but not CCl₄‐ injected mice displayed additional iron accumulation in hepatocytes, resulting in a significant hepatic and systemic iron overload which was due to suppressed hepcidin levels. C/EBPα signalling, a known hepcidin inducer, was markedly inhibited in TAA mice, due to lower C/EBPα levels and overexpression of CHOP, a C/EBPα inhibitor. A single TAA injection resulted in a long‐lasting (> 6 days) suppression of hepcidin levels and CHOP knockouts (compared to wild‐types) displayed significantly attenuated hepcidin down‐regulation in response to acute TAA administration. CHOP mRNA levels increased 5‐fold in alcoholic liver disease patients versus controls (p < 0.005) and negatively correlated with hepcidin expression. Our results establish CHOP as an important regulator of hepatic hepcidin expression in chronic liver disease. The differences in iron metabolism between the two widely used fibrosis models likely reflect the differential regulation of hepcidin expression in human liver disease. Copyright © 2013 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effect of Halofuginone in the amelioration of radiation induced-lung fibrosis

The lung is one of the most sensitive organs to ionizing radiation, and damage to normal lung tissue remains a major dose limiting factor for patients receiving radiation to the thorax. Radiation induced lung injury (RILI) which is also named as “radiation pneumonpathy” is a continuous process and regarded as the result of an abnormal healing response. It has been shown that transforming growth factor β-1 (TGF-β1) plays an integral role in the radiation induced lung fibrosis formation by promoting the chemoattraction of fibroblasts and their conversion to myofibroblasts. Halofuginone is a, low molecular weight plant derived alkaloid, isolated from the Dichroa febrifuga plant that exhibits antifibrotic activity and inhibition of type I collagen synthesis. Halofuginone has been shown to protect against radiation induced soft tissue fibrosis by virtue of inhibiting various members of TFG-β signaling pathway. By the light of these findings, we hypothesize that Halofuginone may be able to ameliorate the radiation induced lung fibrosis.     

Contribution of DOG1 expression to the diagnosis of gastrointestinal stromal tumors

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) are the most common mesenchymal tumors of the gastrointestinal tract, and the majority contain KIT or PDGFRA-activating mutations. However, up to 10% of GISTs are c-kit-negative. Antibodies with increased sensitivity and specificity for the detection of c-kit-negative GIST cases may be of value, especially because some of these cases may also benefit from tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy.     

Single-Center Study of 72 Patients with Severe Combined Immunodeficiency: Clinical and Laboratory Features and Outcomes

Journal of Clinical Immunology - Severe combined immunodeficiency is an inborn error of immunity characterized by impairments in the numbers and functions of T and B lymphocytes due to various...     

Sarcopenia is associated with increased severe postoperative complications after colon cancer surgery

IntroductionStudies have shown that sarcopenia is associated with poor outcomes in patients with gastrointestinal cancer undergoing surgery. We aimed to investigate the relationship between postoperative complications of sarcopenic patients who had been operated on for colon cancer and the effects on short-term mortality.Material and methodsIn this study, patients who had undergone colon cancer surgery between January 2013 and December 2018 were collected retrospectively. Sarcopenia was diagnosed by the skeletal muscle index (SMI) derived from a preoperative computed tomography scan. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to determine whether sarcopenia is associated with postoperative major complications (POMC).ResultsThe study included 160 patients with a mean age of 62.4 ±12.6 years. Clavien-Dindo grade 1–2 (minor) complications were not significantly different between the groups (p = 0.896). However, grade ≥ 3 (major) complications were detected in 13 (17.8%) patients in the sarcopenic group (SG) and in 5 patients in the non-sarcopenic group (NSG) (5.7%) (p = 0.016). Length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay was longer in SG (p = 0.002) and there was no difference between 1-month and 6-month mortality rates (p = 0.273 and p = 0.402, respectively). According to univariate analyses, sarcopenia and age over 65 years were related to POMC. In multivariate analyses, sarcopenia (odds ratio = 3.039; 95% confidence interval 1.008–9.174; p = 0.048) and advanced age (odds ratio = 3.246; 95% confidence interval 1.078–9.803; p = 0.036) were found to be independent risk factors for POMC.ConclusionsThis study showed that while sarcopenia is a risk factor for POMC, sarcopenia also prolongs the duration of ICU stay. Also sarcopenia has no effect on short-term mortality.     

Prostatic adenocarcinoma metastasis in the thyroid gland

Metastasis from prostate to thyroid gland is very uncommon. Here we report a 77-year-old man who was admitted to the hospital because of a nodular goiter. A fine-needle aspiration biopsy of the nodule showed metastatic prostatic adenocarcinoma. This is the second case of a metastatic prostate carcinoma to the thyroid gland.