Molecular epidemiology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Buenos Aires, Argentina

To analyze the molecular epidemiology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains at a hospital in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and mutations related to multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis, we conducted a prospective case-control study. Our findings reinforce the value of incorporating already standardized molecular methods for rapidly detecting resistance.     

Targeting obesity-related inflammation in skin cancer: molecular and epigenetic insights for cancer chemoprevention by dietary phytochemicals

Non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) is one of the most common cancers in the US, although the role of obesity in skin cancer remains unclear. In vivo studies have consistently demonstrated that obese mice challenged with UVB radiation show increased skin tumorigenesis in comparison with leaner control mice. Growing evidence suggests that enhanced inflammation, oxidative stress and impaired apoptosis may play important roles in the development of skin cancer. Interventions such as voluntary exercise and the surgical removal of parametrial fat have been demonstrated to be effective in reducing adipose tissue that may influence the development of skin cancer; however, these interventions are not achievable in all obese patients. Therefore, the use of dietary natural phytochemicals that may modify and reverse the deregulated molecular and epigenetic events related to obesity and cancer development might represent a potential therapeutic modality due to their potential efficacy and low toxicity. In this review, we aim to provide the molecular and epigenetic basis of the NMSC-obesity relationship and to highlight the potential anti-cancer chemopreventive benefits of dietary phytochemicals such as sulforaphane and epigallocatechin-3-gallate.     

Role of High-Variable Frequency Ultrasound in Preoperative Diagnosis of Glomus Tumors

Background: Accurate preoperative imaging of glomus tumors improves the outcome of surgery. Currently, MRI is frequently recommended for preoperative assessment although this requires the use of intravenous contrast media and may be less efficient at detecting tumors <3 mm in diameter. Recent developments in highvariable frequency ultrasound (HVFUS) mean re-evaluation of the possible role of ultrasound in the preoperative detection of glomus tumors appears appropriate. Objective: To assess the capabilities of contemporary HVFUS in relation to preoperative detection and characterization of glomus tumors. Methods: Seven patients (all women, aged 38–66 years, mean age 51.3 years) suspected on clinical grounds of having a glomus tumor were evaluated with high-resolution color Doppler ultrasound using a compact linear probe that varies from 7 to 15 MHz in frequency. The results were compared with histology. Results: The tumors and their exact location were identified in all cases. The tumors appeared as hypoechoic nodules with high vascularity in the nail bed, together with remodeling of the underlying bone. Small tumors (0.9 mm depth) were also identified. Arterial flow was identified inside all tumors. Peak systolic velocity varied greatly, but the mean was 11.3 ± 9.1 cm/sec (range: 3.7–26.1 cm/sec). Conclusion: Recent developments in HVFUS have made it possible to identify small glomus tumors in real time and with high resolution. The procedure does not require administration of intravenous contrast media and provides good information about lesional blood flow and the surrounding structures. These results suggest that HVFUS may play a larger role in the preoperative assessment of glomus tumors in the future.     

Blood-based diagnostics of Alzheimer’s disease

Introduction: This review is focused on the methods used for biomarker discovery for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in blood rather than on the nature of the biomarkers themselves.

Areas covered: All biomarker discovery programs explicitly rely on contrasts in phenotype as a basis for defining differences. In this review, we explore the basis of contrasting choices as a function of the type of biomarker (genetic, protein, metabolite, non-coding RNA, or pathogenic epitope). We also provide an overview of the capacity to identify pathogenic epitopes with our new platform called Aptamarkers. It is suggested that a pre-existing hypothesis regarding the pathophysiology of the disease can act as a constraint to the development of biomarkers.

Expert opinion: Limiting putative biomarkers to those that have a postulated role in the pathophysiology of disease imposes an unrealistic constraint on biomarker development. The understanding of Alzheimer’s disease would be accelerated by agnostic, non-hypothesis-based biomarker discovery methods. There is a need for more complex contrasts and more complex mathematical models.     

Children with epilepsy demonstrate macro- and microstructural changes in the thalamus,putamen, and amygdala

Neuroradiology - Despite evidence for macrostructural alteration in epilepsy patients later in life, little is known about the underlying pathological or compensatory mechanisms at younger ages...