Abciximab and left ventricular thrombus formation in early period of acute myocardial infarction treated with successful primary stenting

Background Left ventricular (LV) thrombus related to acute myocardial infarction (AMI) has been rarely diagnosed since primary stenting has become the routine treatment. The salvage of myocardium at risk is considered as a reason for low frequency of this complication. The impact of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors on LV thrombus formation remains unknown. This study investigated the relationship between abciximab treatment and presence of LV thrombus in the first few days after primary stenting. Methods and results A total of 3,078 patients with AMI, who underwent successful primary stenting, were retrospectively analyzed. There were 1,614 patients, who received abciximab and 1,414 treated without it. All patients received aspirin and clopidogrel. LV thrombus was diagnosed by two-dimensional echocardiography within 3–5 days after invasive treatment. This complication appeared equally frequently in both the abciximab and no-abciximab group (2.9% vs. 2.1%, respectively). According to results of multiple log-regression analysis, both groups did not differ in predictors of thrombus formation, such as infarct size and degree of LV dysfunction. Treatment with abciximab was not proved to be an independent predictor of LV thrombus absence. Conclusion Abciximab does not have a direct influence on LV thrombus formation in the early period of AMI.     

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer significantly reduces number of yielded lymph nodes by axillary dissection

Background

CD44 has been reported to be involved with tumor growth and metastasis and has also been implicated as a CSC marker in head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC). However, the prognostic value of CD44 still remains controversial; hence, we investigated the correlation between CD44 and the clinicopathological features of HNSCC by meta-analysis.

Methods

A comprehensive search was performed using PubMed, ISI web of Science and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) up to April 2013. Only studies with immunohistochemical staining of HNSCC were considered. Data on TNM classification, tumor grade, disease free survival and 3- or 5-year overall survival rate were extracted.

Results

Thirty studies with 2102 patients met the inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis. Fifteen studies used anti-pan-CD44 antibody, 9 used anti-CD44-v6 antibody, 2 used anti-CD44-v3 and 2 used anti-CD44s antibody, 1 used anti-CD44-v9, and 1 used anti-CD44-v6,-v3 and -v4-5 simultaneously. The total percentage of CD44 expression was 57.8%, with 49.3% in oral cancer patients, 66.4% in pharynx and 54.7% in larynx cancer patients expressing CD44. No significant correlation between clinical features and CD44 expression was revealed for oral cancer patients, but CD44 was shown to be associated with advanced T categories (larynx: RR?=?1.33, 95% CI 1.01-1.76; larynx & pharynx RR?=?1.21, 95% CI 1.08-1.35), worse N categories (larynx: RR?=?2.53, 95% CI 1.99-3.21; larynx & pharynx RR?=?1.95, 95% CI 1.35-2.82), higher tumor grades (larynx & pharynx RR?=?1.71, 95% CI 1.04-2.79) and 5-year OS rates (larynx: RR?=?0.62, 95% CI 0.47-0.83; larynx & pharynx RR?=?0.66, 95% CI 0.47-0.94) in patients with laryngeal and pharyngolaryngeal cancer. In stratified analysis, pan-CD44 and CD44-v6 expression were both correlated with 5-year OS rate of patients with laryngeal (CD44: RR?=?0.66, 95% CI 0.46-0.95; CD44-v6 RR?=?0.53, 95% CI 0.37-0.77) and pharyngolaryngeal cancer (CD44: RR?=?0.56, 95% CI 0.34-0.93; CD44-v6 RR?=?0.53, 95% CI 0.37-0.77).

Conclusions

Our analysis suggested that CD44 is related to worse T category, N category, tumor grade and prognosis, in pharyngeal and laryngeal cancer, but no clear association was revealed between CD44 expression and oral cancer.     

Influence of soil use on prevalence of tetracycline, streptomycin, and erythromycin resistance and associated resistance genes

This study examined differences in antibiotic-resistant soil bacteria and the presence and quantity of resistance genes in soils with a range of management histories. We analyzed four soils from agricultural systems that were amended with manure from animals treated with erythromycin and exposed to streptomycin and/or oxytetracycline, as well as non-manure-amended compost and forest soil. Low concentrations of certain antibiotic resistance genes were detected using multiplex quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR), with tet(B), aad(A), and str(A) each present in only one soil and tet(M) and tet(W) detected in all soils. The most frequently detected resistance genes were tet(B), tet(D), tet(O), tet(T), and tet(W) for tetracycline resistance, str(A), str(B), and aac for streptomycin resistance, and erm(C), erm(V), erm(X), msr(A), ole(B), and vga for erythromycin resistance. Transposon genes specific for Tn916, Tn1549, TnB1230, Tn4451, and Tn5397 were detected in soil bacterial isolates. The MIC ranges of isolated bacteria for tetracycline, streptomycin, and erythromycin were 8 to >256 μg/ml, 6 to >1,024 μg/ml, and 0.094 to >256 μg/ml, respectively. Based on 16S rRNA gene similarity, isolated bacteria showed high sequence identity to genera typical of soil communities. Bacteria with the highest MICs were detected in manure-amended soils or soils from agricultural systems with a history of antibiotic use. Non-manure-amended soils yielded larger proportions of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, but these had lower MICs, carried fewer antibiotic resistance genes, and did not display multidrug resistance (MDR).     

Evaluation of blood-brain barrier permeability and the effect of interferon in mouse glioma model

Summary The aim of this study was to evaluate whether interferon [IFN] can affect intracerebrally grown glioma and how alteration of the blood-brain barrier [BBB] may influence this effect. An intracerebrally implanted glioma G-26 (G-26) mouse brain-tumor model was developed and used in these studies. Histological characterization of this intracerebrally grown tumor revealed its anaplastic character. The astrocytic origin of G-26 was evidenced by glial fibrillary acidic protein staining and electron microscopic visualization of glial filaments. A study of tumor progression and animal survival showed development of a well defined tumor nodule within approximately seven days after the implantation. The median animal survival time was 27 ±3.8 days. The integrity of the blood-brain barrier [BBB] within the tumor was evaluated by the intravenous injection of horseradish peroxidase at days 3, 7,10 and 20 after brain tumor implant and compared to sham controls. The tumor-induced BBB alteration was progressive from day 3 to day 20.Glioma-26 subcutaneously passed in C57BL/6 mice was also continously cultured in vitro. Its proliferation was inhibited by homologous mouse interferon / [MuIFN / but not by human interferon a lymphoblastoid or human interferon ß. The in vivo studies of G-26 glioma treatment with MuIFN / were performed using single bolus of IFN in osmotically altered animals or slow IFN infusion through osmotic micro-pumps. The slow infusion of IFN had no effect on animal survival. However, a statistically significant increase in animal survival was observed after single bolus IFN treatment following osmotic BBB alteration.     

High chymotrypsin-like activity in the plasma of patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma treated with bortezomib is predictive of a better response and longer PFS

Proteasome inhibitors (PIs) such as bortezomib constitute an important part of the modern standard therapy for multiple myeloma (MM). In this study, we set out to assess whether proteasome concentration and chymotrypsin-like (ChT-L) activity could serve as potential biomarkers defining the likelihood of response to treatment with bortezomib, in order to identify patients who are more likely to respond to treatment with PI. We analysed proteasome concentration and ChT-L activity in the plasma of 78 patients with newly diagnosed MM during treatment with or without proteasome inhibitors. Values of all the studied parameters in the group of responders decreased sharply from the initial levels already after the third cycle of chemotherapy and remained significantly lower until the end of treatment. On the other hand, in the group of non-responders, there was an increase in the measured proteasome parameters already after the third cycle, and they remained high during the next cycles of therapy. We also showed that high baseline proteasome ChT-L activity values might prognosticate longer progression-free survival (PFS) in patients treated with PI. Our findings demonstrate that measuring plasma proteasome ChT-L activity can be used as a powerful biomarker for predicting clinical response to treatment and PFS in patients with newly diagnosed MM.