Survey of phototherapy practice by dermatologists in Australia

A postal survey was sent to all dermatologists in Australia to determine current phototherapy practices. Questionnaires were returned by 158 (57%) of 277 dermatologists, of whom 112 (71%) provided phototherapy. Large variations existed in attitudes and practice, including indications, contraindications, dosage schedules, equipment maintenance, response to adverse events, and follow-up arrangements. Cumulative ultraviolet (UV) doses for psoralen and UVA (PUVA) were not calculated by 21%, while 30% did not calculate cumulative doses for UVB. Written informed consent was not obtained by 32%. Phototherapist dermatologists reported 25 patients developing melanoma following PUVA. Only 30% of Australian dermatologists organize regular follow up of patients after phototherapy. Australians have the highest rates of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers in the world, because of their ancestry and high solar exposure. This makes it inappropriate for Australian dermatologists to rely entirely on foreign safety data when assessing the risks and benefits of phototherapy in Australian patients. There is a need for standardized Australian guidelines that can be prospectively assessed to ensure phototherapy is used to maximize efficacy and minimize risks in Australian patients, given their unique ancestral mix and outdoor lifestyle.     

Can active lateral canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo mimic a false-positive head thrust test?

We present a patient with positive head thrust test (HTT) and video-oculography (VOG) findings suggestive of active lateral semicircular canal (LSCC) benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). This patient was seen in a tertiary vestibular clinic for episodic vertigo. He exhibited robust corrective refixation saccades on HTT to the right and evidence of active contralateral LSCC BPPV on positional testing. Treatment of the LSCC BPPV led to immediate resolution of vertigo and near-normalization of the HTT on follow-up testing. The pathophysiologic basis and clinical implications of LSCC BPPV mimicking a false-positive HTT are discussed in detail.     

Receptor binding and growth-promoting activity of insulin-like growth factor-I in a bovine mammary epithelial cell line (MAC-T3).

Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) has been known to be mitogenic to a variety of cell types, although a growth-regulatory role for IGF-I on bovine mammary epithelial cells has not been fully investigated. In the present study, we examined the receptor binding of IGF-I and its effect on growth in a bovine mammary epithelial cell line (MAC-T3). Specific receptors for IGF-I were detected on cultured bovine mammary epithelial cells. Competitive binding revealed that half-maximal inhibition of 125I-labelled IGF-I binding by IGF-I was approximately 3 micrograms/l. Dissociation rate constant of the IGF-I receptor was 3.10 +/- 0.06 nmol/l (S.E.M.) with a receptor site concentration of 366 +/- 8 fmol/mg protein for the average of three experiments. IGF-I exerted a positive mitogenic effect on MAC-T3 cells according to both direct DNA assay and thymidine incorporation assay. Moreover, the mitogenic effect of IGF-I on MAC-T3 cells was enhanced by the addition of fetal calf serum in the culture media. The present results suggest that the bovine mammary epithelial cell line (MAC-T3) provides a useful model system with which to study the biological actions of insulin-like growth factors on the bovine mammary secretory tissue in vitro.     

Conduite à tenir devant une réactivation ou une infection à virus respiratoire syncytial,herpèsvirus 6 et adénovirus après allogreffe de cellules souches hématopoïétiques

In the attempt to harmonize clinical practices between different French transplantation centers, the French Society of Bone Marrow Transplantation and Cell Therapy (SFGM-TC) set up the third annual series of workshops which brought together practitioners from all member centers and took place in October 2012 in Lille. Here we report our results and recommendations regarding the management of virus respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), human herpes virus 6 (HHV6) or adenovirus allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation.     

A density functional theory study on silver and bis-silver complexes with lighter tetrylene: are silver and bis-silver carbenes candidates for SARS-CoV-2 inhibition? Insight from molecular docking simulation

Ribavirin and remdesivir have been preclinically reported as potential drugs for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection, while light silver tetrylene complexes (NHE_Ph–AgCl and (NHE_Ph–AgCl)₂ with E = C, Si, and Ge) have gained significant interest due to their promising applicability on the cytological scale. Firstly, the structures and bonding states of silver–tetrylene complexes (NHE–Ag) and bis-silver–tetrylene complexes (NHE–Ag-bis) were investigated using density functional theory (DFT) at the BP86 level with the def2-SVP and def2-TZVPP basis sets. Secondly, the inhibitory capabilities of the carbene complexes (NHC–Ag and NHC–Ag-bis) and the two potential drugs (ribavirin and remdesivir) on human-protein ACE2 and SARS-CoV-2 protease PDB6LU7 were evaluated using molecular docking simulation. The carbene ligand NHC bonds in a head-on configuration with AgCl and (AgCl)₂, whereas, the other NHE (E = Si and Ge) tetrylene ligands bond in a side-on mode to the metal fragments. The bond dissociation energy (BDE) of the NHE–Ag bond in the complex families follows the order of NHC–Ag > NHSi–Ag > NHGe–Ag and NHSi–Ag-bis > NHGe–Ag-bis > NHC–Ag-bis. The natural bond orbital analysis implies that the [NHE_Ph→AgCl] and [(NHE_Ph)₂→(AgCl)₂] donations are derived mainly from the σ- and π-contributions of the ligands. The docking results indicate that both the ACE2 and PDB6LU7 proteins are strongly inhibited by silver–carbene NHC–Ag, bis-silver–carbene NHC–Ag-bis, ribavirin, and remdesivir with the docking score energy values varying from −17.5 to −16.5 kcal mol⁻¹ and −16.9 to −16.6 kcal mol⁻¹, respectively. The root-mean-square deviation values were recorded to be less than 2 Å in all the calculated systems. Thus, the present study suggests that silver–carbene NHC–Ag and bis-silver–carbene NHC–Ag-bis complexes are potential candidates to inhibit ACE2 and PDB6LU7, and thus potentially conducive to prevent infection caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Simultaneous inhibition of silver–carbene complexes to ACE2 and PDB6LU7 is conducive for the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection: a virtual prediction.