Could reduced cerebrospinal fluid (csf) galanin contribute to restricted eating in anorexia nervosa?

Galanin (GAL) and gamma amino butyric acid (GABA) are orexigenic neuropeptides that could contribute to the pathogenesis of anorexia nervosa (AN). To avoid the confounding effects of the ill state, we studied women who were recovered (> 1 year, normal weight, and regular menstrual cycles, no binging or purging) from AN (REC AN) and matched healthy control women (NC). CSF GAL was reduced in REC AN (64.4 +/- 8.6 pg/ml) compared to NC (72.0 +/- 11.6 pg/ml; p <.05), GABA was similar between groups. In the brain, GAL stimulates appetite and fat consumption. These data raise the question of whether alterations in brain GAL activity plays a role in clinical symptoms in AN, such as food restriction and fat avoidance.     

Frequent amplification of a chr19q13.41 microRNA polycistron in aggressive primitive neuroectodermal brain tumors

We discovered a high-level amplicon involving the ehrl9ql3.41 microRNA （miRNA） duster （C19MC） in 11/45 （approximately 25%） primary CNS-PNET, which results in striking overexpression of nfiR-517c and 520g. Constitutive expression of miR-517c or 520g protnotes in vitro and in vivo oncogenicity, modulates cell survival, and robustly enhances growth of untransformed human neural stem cells （hNSCs） in part by upregulating WNT pathway signaling and restricting differentiation of hNSCs.     

Experience converting an RT department to full CT simulation: Technical issues identified during commissioning of a wide‐bore scanner

The advent of CT scanners with larger bore sizes have offered the potential for radiotherapy departments to undertake the majority or all treatment planning simulation via CT. Wide‐bore scanners can present some unique issues when being commissioned for clinical use. During the process of converting a radiotherapy department to full CT simulation, several issues regarding images produced by a wide‐bore scanner were identified. These were investigated by using electron density and image resolution phantoms. It was found that the reconstruction algorithm used by the scanner of interest for extended field of view (FOV) imaging, combined with the extended X‐ray source‐to‐detector distance, influenced the resolution and quality of images. The reconstruction technique influenced the relationship between electron density and CT number with distance from the scanner axis, leading to image artefacts. A variation of 400 CT units is seen for cortical bone across the scanner FOV, with smaller variations for water and breast tissue. It is anticipated that this variation will impact on tissue delineation, and subsequent dose calculation would become questionable should beams pass through large areas of artefact. Image resolutions of 0.5 and 0.3 line‐pairs per millimetre (lp/mm) were achievable in the primary and extended FOV regions respectively. Several aspects of image production with a wide‐bore scanner that can influence imaging for radiotherapy treatment planning have been highlighted. Departments should be mindful of these issues when using a GE Lightspeed wide‐bore scanner and should consider how scanner settings should be optimised for the use of images in treatment planning.     

Wnt Signaling: Role in Regulation of Haematopoiesis

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are a unique population of bone marrow cells which are responsible for the generation of various blood cell lineages. One of the significant characteristics of these HSCs is to self-renew, while producing differentiating cells for normal hematopoiesis. Deregulation of self-renewal and differentiation leads to the hematological malignancies. Several pathways are known to be involved in the maintenance of HSC fate among which Wnt signaling is a crucial pathway which controls development and cell fate determination. Wnt signaling also plays a major role in differentiation, self-renewal and maintenance of HSCs. Wnt ligands activate three major pathways including planar cell polarity, Wnt/β-catenin and Wnt/Ca²⁺. It has been shown that Wnt/β-catenin or canonical pathway regulates cell proliferation, survival and differentiation in HSCs, deregulation of this pathway leads to hematological malignancies. Wnt non-canonical pathway regulates calcium signaling and planar cell polarity. In this review, we discuss various signaling pathways induced by Wnt ligands and their potential role in hematopoiesis.     

COVID-19-associated rhino-orbital- cerebral mixed mycoses with intracranial fungal granuloma – An aggressively managed rare entity

Rhino-orbital-cerebral mucormycosis (ROCM) with intracranial extension is a fatal disease. A case of extensive ROCM, with rare intracranial fungal granuloma, seen in a COVID-19 positive young male is described. A successful therapy consisting of a multidisciplinary approach for sinuses debridement, orbital exenteration, and intracranial granuloma excision was done. Nonseptate hyphae of Mucor and septate filamentous Aspergillus grew concurrently from exenterated orbital specimen.     

Replication and Spread of Oncolytic Herpes Simplex Virus in Solid Tumors

Oncolytic herpes simplex virus (oHSV) is a highly promising treatment for solid tumors. Intense research and development efforts have led to first-in-class approval for an oHSV for melanoma, but barriers to this promising therapy still exist that limit efficacy. The process of infection, replication and transmission of oHSV in solid tumors is key to obtaining a good lytic destruction of infected cancer cells to kill tumor cells and release tumor antigens that can prime anti-tumor efficacy. Intracellular tumor cell signaling and tumor stromal cells present multiple barriers that resist oHSV activity. Here, we provide a review focused on oncolytic HSV and the essential viral genes that allow for virus replication and spread in order to gain insight into how manipulation of these pathways can be exploited to potentiate oHSV infection and replication among tumor cells.     

Safety and efficacy of corneal tissue harvested from organophosphorous deceased patients

Purpose:To analyze the quality of tissues and outcome of corneal transplants from tissues harvested from the donors of organophosphorus poisoning victims.Methods:A retrospective study was carried out on corneas harvested from organophosphorus poisoning victims between January 2016 and December 2018. Details of quality of tissues and outcome following keratoplasty were collected from the eye bank and outpatient records, respectively.Results:Four hundred and seventy-eight donor corneas were collected from the victims of organophosphorus poisoning during the study period. The mean age of the donor was 38.8 ± 16.5 years. The mean donor-to-preservation time was 6.2 ± 3.2 hours. The mean endothelial cell density on specular microscopy was 2986.5 ± 369.0 cells/mm². Four hundred and twenty-two (88.2%) donor corneas were utilized. Of the 121 corneas utilized at our institute for transplantation, 73 and 48 corneas were for optical and therapeutic/tectonic indications, respectively. Of the 73 optical grafts, 25 patients were lost-to-follow-up and 58.3% (28/48) who came for one-year follow-up were found to be clear.Conclusion:Donor corneas retrieved from organophosphorus poisoning are safe for transplantation. The postoperative outcome of the tissue utilized from these donors is satisfactory.