Role of Urodynamic Studies in Management of Benign Prostatic Obstruction: A Guide for Interventional Radiologists

Urodynamic testing is the most accurate representation of bladder outlet obstruction physiology. As prostate artery embolization becomes an increasingly common therapy for benign prostatic obstruction, knowledge of urodynamic assessment and reports can assist the interventional radiologist in selecting appropriate patients. This review summarizes the role of urodynamic studies in the management of benign prostatic obstruction, including patient selection, interpretation of urodynamic studies, and their potential to predict patient outcomes.     

Evaluating the Predictivity of Virtual Screening for Abl Kinase Inhibitors to Hinder Drug Resistance

Virtual screening methods are now widely used in early stages of drug discovery, aiming to rank potential inhibitors. However, any practical ligand set (of active or inactive compounds) chosen for deriving new virtual screening approaches cannot fully represent all relevant chemical space for potential new compounds. In this study, we have taken a retrospective approach to evaluate virtual screening methods for the leukemia target kinase ABL1 and its drug‐resistant mutant ABL1‐T315I. ‘Dual active’ inhibitors against both targets were grouped together with inactive ligands chosen from different decoy sets and tested with virtual screening approaches with and without explicit use of target structures (docking). We show how various scoring functions and choice of inactive ligand sets influence overall and early enrichment of the libraries. Although ligand‐based methods, for example principal component analyses of chemical properties, can distinguish some decoy sets from active compounds, the addition of target structural information via docking improves enrichment, and explicit consideration of multiple target conformations (i.e. types I and II) achieves best enrichment of active versus inactive ligands, even without assuming knowledge of the binding mode. We believe that this study can be extended to other therapeutically important kinases in prospective virtual screening studies.     

An unusual presentation of early congenital syphilis with annular configuration of blisters resembling “string‐of‐pearls”

Skin lesions in early congenital syphilis can show considerable variability. A 35‐day‐old infant presented with rhinitis, desquamation of palms and soles, pseudoparalysis of the right upper limb, and annular lesions with peripheral blistering over the chest and abdomen, resembling a “string‐of‐pearls.” A diagnosis of congenital syphilis was made on the basis of radiologic evaluation and reactive Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) in both mother and child. We report this case to highlight the unusual presentation of congenital syphilis with annular configuration of blisters, mimicking a “string‐of‐pearls."     

Primary cutaneous osteosarcoma of the scalp in an immunosuppressed individual: A case report and review of the literature

We report a case of a 76-year-old man presenting with a 12-month history of a solitary lesion on his scalp. The histopathology was consistent with a grade 2/3 osteosarcoma extending to the subcutis. Full-body imaging excluded any involvement of the underlying bony tissue or solid organ malignancy, thus a diagnosis of primary cutaneous osteosarcoma (PCO) was made. Given the exceedingly rare nature of PCO, we discuss the clinico-pathological features of this case and those previously reported in the literature.     

Interesting case of dual tachycardia in a patient with surgical closure of atrial septal defect

A 34‐year‐old gentleman, who had undergone pericardial patch closure of ostium secundum atrial septal defect (ASD) at 8 years of age, was evaluated for shortness of breath. Electrocardiogram revealed typical atrial flutter with varying atrioventricular conduction. Echocardiogram showed no residual ASD or pulmonary hypertension and good biventricular function. He was taken for an electrophysiological study with the intention of radiofrequency ablation of the typical flutter.     

Pneumatization of Mastoid Air Cells,Temporal Bone,Ethmoid and Sphenoid Sinuses. Any Correlation?

The aim of this study is to assess the pneumatization of the paranasal sinuses (PNS) and other parts of temporal bone such as mastoid air cells and to investigate if there was any association between the aeration of these structures among the three major ethnic groups in Malaysia (Malay, Chinese, Indian) as this would be representative of Asia. A retrospective review of 150 computed tomography (CT) scans of PNS and temporal bones was done and analysed. The pneumatization of each area was obtained and compared using statistical analysis. Patients with a history of previous medical or surgical problems in the intended areas were excluded from the study. The pneumatization of the mastoid air cells and other temporal bone parts were noted to be symmetrical in more than 75 %. There was a positive correlation between the pneumatization of mastoid air cells and that of the sphenoid sinus. The prevalence of Agger nasi, Haller’s and Onodi cells was observed to be significantly higher in the Chinese group. Preoperative assessment of the temporal bone and PNS with CT scan may be helpful in the evaluation of their anatomical landmark and decrease the possibility of surgical complications related to 3D structures.