Findings on optical colonoscopy after positive CT colonography exam

BACKGROUND & AIMS:  The aim of this study is to evaluate the findings on optical colonoscopy (OC) after a positive CT colonography (CTC) exam and characterize the type of polyps seen on OC but not reported by CTC.
METHODS:  Over an 18-month period a total of 159 asymptomatic adults had polyps seen on computed tomography colonography examination and subsequently underwent planned therapeutic optical colonoscopy. The colonoscopists were aware of the findings on CT colonography prior to further evaluation of the colon. Characteristics of polyps and adenomas seen on subsequent optical colonoscopy but not seen or reported on CT colonography were examined.
RESULTS:  The adenoma miss rate for CT colonography overall was 18.9% (25/132) including 6.2% (4/65) for polyps >9 mm and 18.2% (8/44) for polyps 6–9 mm. Three of the adenomas >9 mm not seen on CTC were sessile, and two were found in patients with technically difficult CT colonography studies due to poor colonic distention. No adenomas with advanced pathology <6 mm were found on optical colonoscopy but not reported on CT colonography. False-positive CTC referral where no polyp was seen on colonoscopy was 5.0%.
CONCLUSIONS:  CT colonography has adenoma miss rates similar to miss rates historically found with optical colonoscopy, with most missed adenomas being <10 mm and sessile in shape.     

Global Supply and Demand of Opioids for Pain Management

Purpose of Review

The goal of this review is to evaluate the global supply and demand of opioids used for pain management and discuss how it relates to the utilization of opioids around the world. The purpose of the review is also to determine the factors that contribute to inappropriate pain management.

Recent Findings

The total global production of opium for opioid manufacturing is enough to supply the growing global demands. However, licit opioids are only consumed by 20% of the world population. Most people throughout the world had no access to opioid analgesics for pain relief in case of need. Opioid misuse and abuse is not only a phenomena plague by the USA but globally across many countries.

Summary

Many countries have a lack of availability of opioids, contributing factors being strict government regulations limiting access, lack of knowledge of the efficacy of opioid analgesics in treating acute and chronic pain and palliative care, and the stigma that opioids are highly addictive. For the countries in which opioids are readily available and prescribed heavily, diversion, misuse, abuse, and the resurgence of heroin have become problems leading to morbidity and mortality. It is pertinent to find a balance between having opioids accessible to patients in need, with ensuring that opioids are regulated along with other illicit drugs to decrease abuse potential.

     

Review: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma in sub-Saharan Africa

Aim

Review the literature from 1990 to 2013 to determine known anatomic sites, risk factors, treatments, and outcomes of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) in sub-Saharan Africa.

Methods

Using a systematic search strategy, literature pertaining to HNSCC in sub-Saharan Africa was reviewed and patient demographics, anatomic sites, histology, stage, treatment, and outcomes were abstracted. The contributions of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), human papillomavirus (HPV) and behavioural risk factors to HNSCC in the region were assessed.

Results

Of the 342 papers identified, 46 were utilized for review, including 8611 patients. In sub-Saharan Africa, the oropharyngeal/oral cavity was found to be the most common site, with 7750 cases (90% of all cases). Few papers distinguished oropharyngeal from oral cavity, making identification of possible HPV-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) difficult. SCC of the nasopharynx, nasal cavity, or paranasal sinuses was identified in 410 patients (4.8% of all cases). Laryngeal SCC was found in 385 patients (4.5% of all cases), and only 66 patients (0.8% of all cases) with hypopharyngeal SCC were identified. In 862 patients with data available, 43% used tobacco and 42% used alcohol, and reported use varied widely and was more common in laryngeal SCC than that of the oropharyngeal/oral cavity. Toombak and kola nut use was reported to be higher in patients with HNSCC. Several papers reported HIV-positive patients with HNSCC, but it was not possible to determine HNSCC prevalence in HIV-positive compared to negative patients. Reports of treatment and outcomes were rare.

Conclusions

The oropharyngeal/oral cavity was by far the most commonly reported site of HNSCC reported in sub-Saharan Africa. The roles of risk factors in HNSCC incidence in sub-Saharan Africa were difficult to delineate from the available studies, but a majority of patients did not use tobacco and alcohol.     

Development and Evaluation of Probioticated Cucumber Juice Using <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lactobacillus plantarum</Emphasis>

The aim of the present study was to develop a probioticated cucumber juice by optimizing the concentration of prebiotic (inulin), stevia (Stevia rebudiana) and inoculum (Lactobacillus plantarum) by varying one factor at a time. Cucumber juice with 2% prebiotic had a pH 3.76, acidity 0.239%, total sugars 198.2 μg/mL, reducing sugars 102.3 μg/mL and microbial viability of 1.36 × 10⁸ colony forming units (CFU)/mL, respectively. The juice with 3% stevia had a pH 3.59, acidity 0.388%, total sugars 214 μg/mL, reducing sugars 156.7 μg/mL and microbial viability of 6.7 × 10⁷ CFU/mL, respectively. The juice with 3% inoculum size had a pH 3.82, acidity 0.39%, total sugars 128.3 μg/mL, reducing sugars 198.6 μg/mL and microbial viability of 3.5 × 10⁸ CFU/mL, respectively. Maximum growth of the probiotic (L. plantarum) in the cucumber juice was obtained at the end of 48 h of fermentation for 2% prebiotic, 3% stevia and 3% inoculum size without much changes in nutritional and organoleptic properties. The probiotic strain namely L. plantarum proved its ability and suitability to ferment cucumber juice. The growth of the probiotic in the cucumber juice was found maximum with 2% prebiotic, 3% stevia and 3% inoculum size at the end of 48 h of fermentation with minimal changes in nutritional value and organoleptic characteristics with a good shelf life at 4 °C in polyethylene terephthalate bottles.     

The GLP-1 Receptor Agonist Liraglutide Increases Myocardial Glucose Oxidation Rates via Indirect Mechanisms and Mitigates Experimental Diabetic Cardiomyopathy

BackgroundType 2 diabetes (T2D) increases risk for cardiovascular disease. Of interest, liraglutide, a therapy for T2D that activates the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor to augment insulin secretion, reduces cardiovascular-related death in people with T2D, though it remains unknown how liraglutide produces these actions. Notably, the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor is not expressed in ventricular cardiac myocytes, making it likely that ventricular myocardium-independent actions are involved. We hypothesized that augmented insulin secretion may explain how liraglutide indirectly mediates cardioprotection, which thereby increases myocardial glucose oxidation.MethodsC57BL/6J male mice were fed either a low-fat diet (lean) or were subjected to experimental T2D and treated with either saline or liraglutide 3× over a 24-hour period. Mice were subsequently euthanized and had their hearts perfused in the working mode to assess energy metabolism. A separate cohort of mice with T2D were treated with either vehicle control or liraglutide for 2 weeks for the assessment of cardiac function via ultrasound echocardiography.ResultsTreatment of lean mice with liraglutide increased myocardial glucose oxidation without affecting glycolysis. Conversely, direct treatment of the isolated working heart with liraglutide had no effect on glucose oxidation. These findings were recapitulated in mice with T2D and associated with increased circulating insulin levels. Furthermore, liraglutide treatment alleviated diastolic dysfunction in mice with T2D, which was associated with enhanced pyruvate dehydrogenase activity, the rate-limiting enzyme of glucose oxidation.ConclusionsOur data demonstrate that liraglutide augments myocardial glucose oxidation via indirect mechanisms, which may contribute to how liraglutide improves cardiovascular outcomes in people with T2D.     

Clinical Profile and Severity of Hemolysis in Adult Patients of Primary Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia and Their Response to Steroid: A Prospective Cohort Study from Single Institution

Autoimmune hemolytic anaemia (AIHA) has traditionally been classified based on the temperature sensitivity of the autoagglutinins as warm (WAIHA), cold (CAIHA) and mixed type. Autoagglutinin may be of IgG or IgM type. The present prospective study was conducted to evaluate the profile of clinical picture, severity of haemolysis, treatment response of steroid. This study on patients of adult primary AIHA was conducted by taking complete history followed by detail physical examination. Laboratory investigations were performed to establish haemolytic anaemia and to assess severity of haemolysis. Immunehematological work up including blood grouping, direct antiglobulin test (DAT), IAT, antibody screening, adsorption elution was performed to diagnose type of AIHA. All cases were followed up to assess the response to prednisolone. All the data were collected and analysed by SPSS 19. Out of 62 primary AIHA cases, female were affected more than male (41:21). WAIHA is most common type (42, 67.8%) followed by mixed (20.9%) and cold AIHA (11.3%). Severity of haemolysis showed significant correlation with the DAT strength and not with type of AIHA. (P < 0.05) On oral prednisolone, 22 cases attended complete remission, while relapse, drug dependency and partial remission was achieved in 13, 9, 3 cases respectively. Severity of haemolysis in AIHA is directly related with DAT strength. WAIHA is most common type and can be managed with oral prednisolone (cr 45.2%), without red cell transfusion in most of cases. Mixed type AIHA cases were presented mostly with severe haemolysis, with minimum therapeutic response to prednisolone and maximum relapse/drug dependency.     

Overexpression of sarcolipin decreases myocyte contractility and calcium transient

OBJECTIVE: Sarcolipin (SLN) is a novel 31-amino-acid protein associated with the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) whose function in cardiac muscle is poorly defined. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that SLN is a regulator of SR Ca(2+) transport function by overexpressing SLN in adult rat ventricular myocytes which express low levels of SLN. METHODS: Expression of SLN mRNA in rat tissues was analyzed by Northern blot as well by RT-PCR analysis. To define the role of SLN in cardiac muscle contractility, we overexpressed SLN in adult rat ventricular myocytes using adenoviral gene transfer techniques. Localization of SLN in the adult rat ventricular myocytes was determined using confocal microscopy. Myocyte contractility and calcium transients were measured using edge detection and Fura 2AM. RESULTS: Our results demonstrate that overexpression of SLN decreased the cell shortening significantly when compared to control myocytes, whereas the time to peak contraction was not altered. In addition, SLN overexpression prolonged the time of 50% relaxation. Calcium transient analysis shows that time to 50% decay of [Ca(2+) ]i was markedly prolonged in SLN-overexpressing myocytes (control -245.0+/-3.78 vs. SLN -199.0+/-3.25 ms, p<0.001). However, there were no significant differences in peak amplitudes of [Ca(2+)](i) between SLN-overexpressing and control myocytes. We further demonstrate that SLN is localized within the SR membrane similar to PLB and SR Ca(2+) ATPase. Co-immunoprecipitation studies indicate that SLN can physically interact with phospholamban. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that SLN may play an important role in regulating the SR calcium ATPase pump, possibly by interacting with phospholamban.