Retrospective Outcome Analysis of 39 Patients Who Underwent Lip Surgery for Cutaneous Carcinoma

Purpose

The treatment of lip carcinomas needs tumor surgical resection with safety margins respect. The aim of this study was to report the oncologic and aesthetic/functional outcomes of a retrospective monocentric case series of 39 patients treated for cutaneous lip cancer.

Methods

This retrospective study assessed 56 patients who were treated for a lip carcinoma between 2008 and 2012 and included 39 patients with cutaneous lip basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma. Clinical, surgical and pathological data were reviewed, and patients were interviewed for follow-up data. A comparison was made between the marked surgical margins and the margins observed under microscopy after histologic process.

Results

The most frequent tumor type was basal cell carcinoma in 69.2 %. The measured surgical margins were superior to the histological margins in 24 cases (61.5 %) and were inferior in 13 cases (33.3 %). Overall survival and recurrence-free survival rates at 1 year were 97.5 and 95 % respectively.

Conclusion

Differences between the surgical margins and the final histologic margins were the main finding of this retrospective study. These differences were attributed to surgical practices and modification during the histological process. Nevertheless, we did not observe a higher rate of recurrence or death in our study than in literature.

     

Detection of different variants of Ostreid Herpesvirus 1 in the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas between 2008 and 2010

Since summer 2008, high mortality rates of young Pacific oysters Crassostrea gigas have been recorded in association with the detection of the Ostreid Herpesvirus 1 (OsHV-1). A new variant called μVar has been recently described, characterized mainly by 12 consecutive deletions followed by one deletion of an adenine in the C region. The purpose of this study is to characterize the genotype (variants or OsHV-1 reference) of 300 positive samples of C. gigas analyzed between July 2008 and July 2010 collected along the French, Jersey, and Irish coasts. Samples were quantified by TaqMan PCR, amplified with conventional PCR, targeting the area of the deletion, and then sequenced. Eighty-seven percent of the samples were characterized and the OsHV-1 μVar was detected in 257 oyster samples. The genotype OsHV-1 reference was never detected during the 25 months of the present survey. Thirty-eight samples could not be determined and the majority of them had a low viral load. A novel genotype containing only 9 consecutive deletions named OsHV-1 μVar Δ9 was found in 5 samples. These observations indicate the emergence of different OsHV-1 variants.     

Déclenchement de conduites agressives par stimulation electrique du tegmentum ventral du mésencephale chez le rat

Two kinds of aggressive behavior were elicited by electrical stimulation of the ventral mesencephalic tegmentum (TVM) in the rat presented with a mouse: (1) well-oriented attack behavior without marked emotional display was elicited at sites which also sustained self-stimulation; (2) poorly oriented aggression intermingled with flight attemps and marked emotional display was elictied at sites where the stimulation also induced switch-off responses. At still other sites, stimulation elicited biting responses which were clearly different from the elicited interspecies aggression. These data are in agreement with the hypothesis derived from the behavioural effects observed following TVM lesion, i.e. that the TVM is involved in mechanisms which facilitate the release of interspecies aggression.     

Effects of Estrous Cycle and of in vivo Unilateral or Bilateral Adrenal Demedullation on the Distribution of Norepinephrine and Epinephrine Between Different Zones of the Adrenal

The distribution of norepinephrine (NE) and epinephrine (E) between the capsule/glomerular zone and the remainder of the adrenal was studied in the adult female rat. Both catecholamines were present in these two parts of the gland. The concentration of E was higher than that of NE. In the capsule/glomerular zone the catecholamine concentrations were more than twenty to thirty times lower than in the inner part of the gland. The circulating levels of catecholamines were always very low. The present data also support very weak or no changes in catecholamine concentrations in both parts of the adrenal during the different stages of the estrous cycle. The plasma levels of both aldosterone and corticosterone, like those of catecholamines, did not vary significantly throughout the estrous cycle. One week after unilateral or bilateral demedullation, both E content and concentration were reduced in the whole capsule/glomerular zone of the adrenal although the NE content did not change. The reduction of NE concentration could be related to the drastic weight increase of this part of the gland on the operated side. Moreover, unilateral demedullation was unable to significantly modify the plasma levels of both E and NE. In contrast bilateral demedullation suppressed circulating E and induced a significant reduction (about 50%) of NE plasma level. The present data suggest: 1) an extra-adrenal origin for the NE innervation of the capsule/glomerular zone of the adrenal cortex, and 2) a dual origin for E in the capsule/glomerular zone; part of E could arise from the adrenal medulla and part from an extra-adrenal site.     

Hemodynamic effects of exercise training in heart failure

Background

Exercise performance improvement after training in heart failure (HF) can be due to central or peripheral changes.

Methods and Results

In 70 HF stable patients we measured peak VO₂ and cardiac output (CO, inert gas rebreathing technique) and calculated arteriovenous O₂ differences (a-v O₂diff) before and after an 8-week training program. Peak VO₂ changed from 1111 ± 403 mL/minute to 1191 ± 441 (P < .001), peak workload from 68 ± 29 watts to 76 ± 32 (P < .0001), peakCO from 6.6 ± 2.2 L/minute to 7.3 ± 2.5 (P < .0001), and peak a-v O₂diff from 17.5 ± 5.1 mL/100 mL to 16.6 ± 4.1 (P = .081). Changes in peak CO and a-v O₂diff allowed to identify 4 behaviors: group 1: (n = 15) reduction in peak CO and increase in a-v O₂diff (peak VO₂ unchanged, peak workload +9.5%); group 2: (n = 16) both peak CO and a-v O₂diff increased as well as peak VO₂ (23%) and workload (18%); group 3: (n = 4) peak CO and a-v O₂diff reduced as well as peak VO₂ (-18%) and workload (-5%); group 4: (n = 35) peak CO increased with a-v O₂diff reduced (increase in peak VO₂ by 5.5 and workload by 8.4%).

Conclusions

Exercise training improves peakVO₂ by increasing CO with unchanged a-v O₂diff. A reduction after training of a-v O₂diff with an increase in CO is frequent (50% of cases), is suggestive of blood flow redistribution and, per se, not a sign of reduced muscle performance been associated with improved exercise capacity.     

RF9, a potent and selective neuropeptide FF receptor antagonist, prevents opioid-induced tolerance associated with hyperalgesia

Neuropeptide FF (NPFF) has been proposed to play a role in pain modulation, opioid tolerance, and several other physiological processes. However, pharmacological agents that would help define physiological roles for this peptide are still missing. Here we report the discovery of a potent and selective NPFF receptor antagonist, RF9, that can be administered systemically. This compound does not show any effects by itself but can block efficiently the increase in blood pressure and heart rate evoked by NPFF. When chronically coinjected with heroin, RF9 completely blocks the delayed and long-lasting paradoxical opioid-induced hyperalgesia and prevents the development of associated tolerance. Our data indicate that NPFF receptors are part of a bona fide antiopioid system and that selective antagonists of these receptors could represent useful therapeutic agents for improving the efficacy of opioids in chronic pain treatment.