European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST) Technical Notes on antimicrobial susceptibility testing

The main objectives of the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST) are to harmonise breakpoints for antimicrobial agents in Europe, and to act as the breakpoint committee for the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) during the registration of new antimicrobial agents. Detailed EUCAST procedures for harmonising and setting breakpoints for antimicrobial agents are available on the EUCAST website. Beginning with the current issue, a series of EUCAST Technical Notes will be published in CMI, based on the rationale documents produced by EUCAST for each of the antimicrobial agents studied, with the aim of highlighting important background information underlying decisions on breakpoints made by EUCAST.     

Application of breast cancer risk prediction models in clinical practice.

Breast cancer risk assessment provides an estimation of disease risk that can be used to guide management for women at all levels of risk. In addition, the likelihood that breast cancer risk is due to specific genetic susceptibility (such as BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations) can be determined. Recent developments have reinforced the clinical importance of breast cancer risk assessment. Tamoxifen chemoprevention as well as prevention studies such as the Study of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene are available to women at increased risk of developing breast cancer. In addition, specific management strategies are now defined for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers. Risk may be assessed as the likelihood of developing breast cancer (using risk assessment models) or as the likelihood of detecting a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation (using prior probability models). Each of the models has advantages and disadvantages, and all need to be interpreted in context. We review available risk assessment tools and discuss their application. As illustrated by clinical examples, optimal counseling may require the use of several models, as well as clinical judgment, to provide the most accurate and useful information to women and their families.     

Effects of intranasal 17beta-estradiol and raloxifene on lipid profile and fibrinogen in hypercholesterolemic postmenopausal women: a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial.

AIM: To compare the effects of 17beta-estradiol given intranasally (intranasal E2) and raloxifene on serum lipid profile and fibrinogen in hypercholesterolemic postmenopausal women. METHODS: The study population consisted of 46 women after menopause. The placebo group (n = 11) was given calcium, while the intervention groups were given intranasal E2 (Aerodiol; Servier, Chambray-les-Tours, France) (n = 16) or raloxifene (Evista; Lilly SA, Madrid, Spain) (n = 19). Blood lipids and fibrinogen were compared between groups at baseline and after 3 months of treatment. RESULTS: The group receiving intranasal E2 showed a significant decrease in triglyceride levels (p<0.05) and a marked increase in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels (p<0.05). No changes in lipid profile were observed in the raloxifene and placebo groups. Raloxifene caused a significant decrease in fibrinogen levels (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Intranasal E2 exerts significant effects on lipid profile in hypercholesterolemic postmenopausal women. Raloxifene has a greater impact on fibrinogen than intranasal E2 application.     

Female pelvic floor. Descriptive anatomy and clinical exploration by transvaginal ultrasound

In order to assess the state and pathology of the woman's pelvis minor, a number of methods are commonly used among practitioners, encompassing clinical exploration, radiology, MRN, urodynamics, endoscopy and echography.

Echography has been poorly used in clinical pelvic exploration and its reliability is actually a matter of controversy 1. However, echographic surveys can provide us with valuable gynecological data on the state and pathologies of the soft pelvis, within the genital regions or even going beyond them, i.e. the rectal channel, bladder, urethra, anus, vascular plexuses, and all of their supporting tissues.

At our research unit, we have been employing Transvaginal Ultrasound echography (TVU) for a long time in conjunction with other pelvis-focused methods in order to study different kinds of pelvic alterations. TVU has proven to be friendly to use, fast, harmless and inexpensive, allowing serial explorations and producing high-quality dynamic images (loop-cinema, video-tape). Furthermore, this method is fairly aseptic in that the occurrence of faeces in the rectal ampolla is not a nuisance but a bonus in tracking the contours of the rectum walls and other topographical features which would be otherwise difficult to survey.

A complete pelvic floor TVU may add no longer than 5-8 minutes to a routine gynecological examination, can be implemented by the general gynecologist and generates data that can be further studied by the appropriate specialist for a more insightful evaluation 2.     

Clinical and histopathologic factors related to prognosis in primary squamous cell carcinoma of the vagina

The goal of this retrospective study concerning primary carcinoma of the vagina (PCV) was to analyze clinical and histopathologic prognostic factors in one of the largest known material, which comprised 314 patients. PCV is a rare disease, and the majority of published studies are based on small materials; therefore, the established knowledge concerning prognostic factors is insufficient. Routine treatment is based on irradiation with risk for undertreatment or overtreatment, which leads to unnecessary complications in the absence of prognostic factors. The overall 5-year disease-specific survival rate in this study was 45% and in stage I 75%. In the univariate statistical analysis, several factors correlated significantly with disease-specific survival. However, in the multivariate analysis, there were only three factors that independently could predict poor survival-high age at diagnosis, large tumors (> or =4 cm), and advanced stage. Common background factors with no prognostic significance were prior hysterectomy, other gynecological malignancies, and pelvic irradiation. In conclusion, this study has elucidated three strong prognostic factors that might be considered in the choice of therapy and also for modification of the FIGO guidelines. Increased knowledge concerning complementary biologic markers to discriminate between low- and high malignant tumors is however of great importance.     

Emergencies caused by pheochromocytoma, neuroblastoma, or ganglioneuroma.

Pheochromocytoma may lead to important emergency situations, ranging from cardiovascular emergencies to acute abdomen and multiorgan failure. It is vital to think about this disease in any emergency situation when conventional therapy fails to achieve control or symptoms occur that do not fit the initial diagnosis. The importance of keeping this diagnosis in minds is underscored by the fact that, in 50% of pheochromocytoma patients, the diagnosis is initially overlooked. Two other tumors of the sympathetic nervous system, neuroblastoma and ganglioneuroma, are less commonly associated with emergency conditions. If they occur, they are often linked to catecholamine excess, paraneoplastic phenomena, or local tumor mass effect.     

Multiple Lidkantentumore

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Gonadotropins mediate DNA synthesis and protection from spontaneous cell death in human ovarian surface epithelium

Gonadotropins have been implicated in the development of epithelial ovarian cancers. These tumors are derived from ovarian surface epithelium (OSE). The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of these hormones on DNA synthesis and spontaneous cell death in primary cultures of OSE and three immortalized OSE cultures. Primary cultures of OSE cells were generated from the ovaries of women with benign disease. The effects of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) on DNA synthesis and cell death were determined using [(3)H]thymidine incorporation and JAM assays. Significant inductions of DNA synthesis were demonstrated with LH in 4/12 (33%) primary cultures of OSE and 2/3 OSE cell lines and with FSH in 4/11 (36%) primary cultures of OSE and 2/3 OSE cell lines. A significant protection from cell death was also observed in the presence of FSH in 2/4 primary cultures of OSE and 1/3 OSE cell lines and in the presence of LH in 1/4 primary cultures of OSE and 2/3 OSE cell lines. The results indicate that while gonadotropins have the potential to induce cell proliferation and protect from cell death in OSE cells in vitro, their effects are variable in OSE cells from different women.