Genetic and chromosomal alterations in Kenyan Wilms Tumor

Wilms tumor (WT) is the most common childhood kidney cancer worldwide and poses a cancer health disparity to black children of sub‐Saharan African ancestry. Although overall survival from WT at 5 years exceeds 90% in developed countries, this pediatric cancer is alarmingly lethal in sub‐Saharan Africa and specifically in Kenya (36% survival at 2 years). Although multiple barriers to adequate WT therapy contribute to this dismal outcome, we hypothesized that a uniquely aggressive and treatment‐resistant biology compromises survival further. To explore the biologic composition of Kenyan WT (KWT), we completed a next generation sequencing analysis targeting 10 WT‐associated genes and evaluated whole‐genome copy number variation. The study cohort was comprised of 44 KWT patients and their specimens. Fourteen children are confirmed dead at 2 years and 11 remain lost to follow‐up despite multiple tracing attempts. TP53 was mutated most commonly in 11 KWT specimens (25%), CTNNB1 in 10 (23%), MYCN in 8 (18%), AMER1 in 5 (11%), WT1 and TOP2A in 4 (9%), and IGF2 in 3 (7%). Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at 17p, which covers TP53, was detected in 18% of specimens examined. Copy number gain at 1q, a poor prognostic indicator of WT biology in developed countries, was detected in 32% of KWT analyzed, and 89% of these children are deceased. Similarly, LOH at 11q was detected in 32% of KWT, and 80% of these patients are deceased. From this genomic analysis, KWT biology appears uniquely aggressive and treatment‐resistant. © 2015 The Authors. Genes, Chromosomes & Cancer Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The spectrum of computerized tomography (CT) findings in central nervous system (CNS) infection due to Cryptococcus neoformans var. gattii in immunocompetent children

Cranial CT scans of eleven immunocompetent children with central nervous system (CNS) infection due to Cryptococcus neoformans var. gattii were retrospectively reviewed. These children had an average age of 8.8 years and positive culture for C. n. var. gattii in cerebrospinal fluid. The most common signs and symptoms were headache, fever, nuchal rigidity, nausea and vomiting. No normal cranial CT was detected in any patient. Hypodense nodules were observed in all patients. The remaining scan abnormalities were as follows: nine had diffuse atrophy, six had hydrocephalus, and five had hydrocephalus coexistent with diffuse atrophy.     

Effects of interactions between ApoE polymorphisms,alcohol consumption and obesity on age-related trends of blood pressure levels in postmenopausal women: The Bambuì cohort study of aging (1997–2008)

Objectives

To evaluate the effects of interactions between ApoE genotypes, alcohol consumption and obesity on the age-related trends of blood pressure (BP) levels in postmenopausal women.

Study design

A population-based prospective cohort study of all residents in Bambuì, south-eastern Brazil, aged 60 years or older. Repeated BP measurements were obtained in four waves from 851 women who underwent ApoE genotyping at baseline (88.3% of those enrolled), and multi-level random-effects pattern-mixture models were used to evaluate the age-related BP trajectories, while accounting for non-ignorable dropouts/deaths and handling heterogeneities as random parameter variations. The few measurements (2.1%) made during hormone replacement therapy were excluded from the analysis.

Results

Alcohol consumption was associated with high levels of systolic and diastolic BP in an age × genotype-dependent manner only in the non-obese women (BMI < 27 kg/m²). Among those with the ?3/3 genotype, the differences in systolic and diastolic levels between drinkers and non-drinkers estimated at the age of 60 years were respectively 13.7 mmHg (p = 0.022) and 10.7 mmHg (p = 0.002), and disappeared in the older age groups, in which drinking was associated with systolic/diastolic hypertension if the non-obese women were ?4 carriers.

Conclusion

In non-obese postmenopausal women, alcohol consumption is associated with systolic and diastolic hypertension early in those with the ?3/3 ApoE genotype, and late in ?4 carriers. We hypothesize the mediation of androgen hormones and the influence of ApoE genotypes on age at natural menopause. A better understanding of these mechanisms may guide better preventive choices.     

Risk factors for neurological complications in children with Flavivirus infection

Journal of NeuroVirology - This study aims to characterize the acute neurological manifestations caused by DENV, ZIKV, and YFV during hospitalization; identify the risk factors associated with...     

Novel set of vectorcardiographic parameters for the identification of ischemic patients

New signal processing techniques have enabled the use of the vectorcardiogram (VCG) for the detection of cardiac ischemia. Thus, we studied this signal during ventricular depolarization in 80 ischemic patients, before undergoing angioplasty, and 52 healthy subjects with the objective of evaluating the vectorcardiographic difference between both groups so leading to their subsequent classification. For that matter, seven QRS-loop parameters were analyzed, i.e.: (a) Maximum Vector Magnitude; (b) Volume; (c) Planar Area; (d) Maximum Distance between Centroid and Loop; (e) Angle between XY and Optimum Plane; (f) Perimeter and, (g) Area-Perimeter Ratio. For comparison, the conventional ST-Vector Magnitude (ST_VM) was also calculated. Results indicate that several vectorcardiographic parameters show significant differences between healthy and ischemic subjects. The identification of ischemic patients via discriminant analysis using ST_VM produced 73.2% Sensitivity (Sens) and 73.9% Specificity (Spec). In our study, the QRS-loop parameter with the best global performance was Volume, which achieved Sens = 64.5% and Spec = 74.6%. However, when all QRS-loop parameters and ST_VM were combined, we obtained Sens = 88.5% and Spec = 92.1%. In conclusion, QRS loop parameters can be accepted as a complement to conventional ST_VM analysis in the identification of ischemic patients.     

Genes in the pathway of tooth mineral tissues and dental caries risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objectives

To perform a systematic review of the literature, investigating the influence of tooth mineral tissues genes on dental caries.

Materials and methods

Five databases were searched. Only human studies with cross-sectional, longitudinal, and case-control design were included. Meta-analysis was performed for each polymorphism, providing allele and genotype estimates. A meta-analysis was performed, pooling several polymorphisms for each gene. A Funnel Plot and Egger’s test were also performed.

Results

A total of 1124 records were found. Of these, 25 papers were included in the systematic review and 18 in the meta-analysis. Most of the studies (52%) were of medium quality. With regard to the allele analysis, the T allele of rs134136 (TFIP11) (OR 1.51; 95%CI 1.02–2.22) showed an association with high experience of caries and the summarization of polymorphisms investigated in the TFIP11 gene, after exclusion of SNP linkage disequilibrium, showed an association with caries experience (OR 1.64; 95%CI 1.08–2.50). An analysis of the homozygous genotype did not show any significant association. The pooled SNPs of AMBN showed associations with caries (OR 0.45; 95%CI 0.29–0.72). The pooled polymorphisms of AMELX were associated with caries experience (OR 1.78; 95%CI 1.23–2.56). In the analysis of the homozygous genotype, no SNP showed a significant association. Egger’s test showed no significant publication bias for all models (p > 0.05).

Conclusion

The present findings showed that the genes TFIP11, AMBN, and AMELX play an important role in dental caries.

Clinical relevance

Several single nucleotide polymorphisms related to the genes in the formation of tooth mineral are linked to the occurrence of dental caries, and these genes have proved to be important for an explanation of differences in the risk of dental caries.

     

Effectiveness of a reciprocating single file,single cone endodontic treatment approach: a randomized controlled pragmatic clinical trial

Clinical Oral Investigations - To compare the root filling quality, the sealer extrusion, and the healing rates of apical lesions addressed via two endodontic treatment approaches. The hypothesis...