MR-Guided percutaneous ethanol ablation of liver tissue in a .2-T open MR system: Preliminary study in porcine model

The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility of MR-guided percutaneous ethanol ablation of liver tissue on a .2-T open MR scanner. Needles were placed by MR guidance first into an ex vivo sheep liver and then into livers of three anesthetized pigs, and injection of 10 ml of 96% alcohol was performed. T1 fast low-angle shot (FLASH), T2 turbo spin echo (TSE), and T1 spin echo (SE) images were obtained after incremental volumes of injection. In one pig, simultaneous injection of saline into normal liver was also performed with subsequent pathological correlation. Ethanol-infiltrated liver was hypointense to liver on all sequences, whereas saline caused no tissue signal changes on T1 SE and either isointense or hyperintense changes on T2 TSE images. Pathological examination confirmed ethanol-induced acute liver changes as compared with the control. MR guidance of needle placement and monitoring of ethanol effects on liver tissue is feasible. This may have implications for potential MR-guided hepatic tumor ablation.     

Unruptured sinus of Valsalva aneurysm mimicking as right atrial tumor

Sinus of Valsalva aneurysm is a rare congenital cardiac abnormality and is usually diagnosed when it ruptures. An asymptomatic 55‐year‐old male of unruptured sinus of Valsalva aneurysm of noncoronary cusp was on medical follow‐up. At 2‐year follow‐up, there was thrombus formation in the aneurysm, mimicking right atrium tumor on 2D transthoracic echocardiography. Cardiac computed tomography showed filling defect in the aneurysm suggestive of thrombus. Considering the high risk of systemic emboli surgery was performed, and aneurysm was repaired with Dacron patch.     

Influence of human leukocyte antigen class II alleles on susceptibility to Entamoeba histolytica infection in Bangladeshi children

BACKGROUND: The association of antibody responses with both innate and acquired immunity to amebiasis indicate that CD4+ T cells play a role in protection against Entamoeba histolytica infection. To test this hypothesis, we compared the genotype frequencies of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II alleles in a cohort of Bangladeshi children intensively monitored for E. histolytica infection for a 3-year period. METHODS: Using logistic regression, we calculated the odds of disease by genotype and by haplotype. RESULTS: The DQB1*0601 heterozygous and homozygous genotypes were found in 55% of E. histolytica-negative children but in only 34% of E. histolytica-positive children (overall odds ratio, 2.39; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.26-4.54). Children who were heterozygous for the DQB1*0601/DRB1*1501 haplotype were 10.1 times (95% CI, 2.02-50.6) more likely to be both E. histolytica negative and serum anti-lectin immunoglobulin G negative at baseline. Other DQB1 and DRB1 alleles (DQB1*0202, DQB1*0301, and DRB1*0701) were not associated with any of the clinical outcomes related to amebiasis. CONCLUSION: A potential protective association was observed with the HLA class II allele DQB1*0601 and the heterozygous haplotype DQB1*0601/DRB1*1501. This association may explain why amebiasis does not occur in some children who are exposed to the parasite and implicates HLA class II-restricted immune responses in protection against E. histolytica infection.     

Gene-Specific Differential DNA Methylation and Chronic Arsenic Exposure in an Epigenome-Wide Association Study of Adults in Bangladesh

Background: Inorganic arsenic is one of the most common naturally occurring contaminants found in the environment. Arsenic is associated with a number of health outcomes, with epigenetic modification suggested as a potential mechanism of toxicity.Objective: Among a sample of 400 adult participants, we evaluated the association between arsenic exposure, as measured by blood and urinary total arsenic concentrations, and epigenome-wide white blood cell DNA methylation.Methods: We used linear regression models to examine the associations between arsenic exposure and methylation at each CpG site, adjusted for sex, age, and batch. Differentially methylated loci were subsequently examined in relation to corresponding gene expression for functional evidence of gene regulation.Results: In adjusted analyses, we observed four differentially methylated CpG sites with urinary total arsenic concentration and three differentially methylated CpG sites with blood arsenic concentration, based on the Bonferroni-corrected significance threshold of p < 1 × 10^–7. Methylation of PLA2G2C (probe cg04605617) was the most significantly associated locus in relation to both urinary (p = 3.40 × 10^–11) and blood arsenic concentrations (p = 1.48 × 10^–11). Three additional novel methylation loci—SQSTM1 (cg01225779), SLC4A4 (cg06121226), and IGH (cg13651690)—were also significantly associated with arsenic exposure. Further, there was evidence of methylation-related gene regulation based on gene expression for a subset of differentially methylated loci.Conclusions: We observed significant associations between arsenic exposure and gene-specific differential white blood cell DNA methylation, suggesting that epigenetic modifications may be an important pathway underlying arsenic toxicity. The specific differentially methylated loci identified may inform potential pathways for future interventions.Citation: Argos M, Chen L, Jasmine F, Tong L, Pierce BL, Roy S, Paul-Brutus R, Gamble MV, Harper KN, Parvez F, Rahman M, Rakibuz-Zaman M, Slavkovich V, Baron JA, Graziano JH, Kibriya MG, Ahsan H. 2015. Gene-specific differential DNA methylation and chronic arsenic exposure in an epigenome-wide association study of adults in Bangladesh. Environ Health Perspect 123:64–71; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1307884     

Rabeprazole improves health-related quality of life in patients with erosive gastroesophageal reflux disease

The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of rabeprazole 20 mg once a day on patient-reported health-related quality of life in routine clinical practice. Patients with erosive gastroesophageal reflux disease participating in an open-label, 8-week study completed the SF-36 Health Survey before and after treatment with rabeprazole. For all SF-36 scales, there was a statistically significant (p 0.007) improvement in mean scores from baseline to week 8. Improvements in each of the subscales, except for physical functioning, general health, and mental health, were at least 5% in magnitude, a level considered clinically meaningful. Furthermore, while baseline scores were significantly poorer than general United States population scores, follow-up scores for four of the subscales (role limitations due to physical problems, social functioning, role limitations due to emotional problems, and mental health) were comparable to general population scores. In conclusion, rabeprazole significantly improved health-related quality of life in erosive gastroesophageal reflux disease patients and restored social functioning and emotional well-being to levels comparable to those observed in the United States general population.     

Association of TNF level with production of circulating cellular microparticles during clinical manifestation of human cerebral malaria

Microparticles (MPs) resulting from vesiculation of different cell types in Plasmodium falciparum infection correlate with the level of proinflammatory cytokine TNF that may thereby determine the disease severity. Using TruCount tube based flow cytometric method for the exact quantification of MP and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay for the measurement of TNF, we conducted a hospital based case control study on P. falciparum malaria patients to scrutinize and infer the link between the two. In 52 cerebral malaria (CM), 21 multi-organ-dysfunction (MOD), 12 non cerebral severe malaria (NCSM) and 43 uncomplicated malaria patients, the MP level was found to be significantly elevated in febrile malaria patients compared to healthy controls and a striking decrease in MP level was observed with the clearance of the P. falciparum infection in the patients upon follow-up. The lowering of the parasite density with the level of plasma TNF and the positive correlation of the cytokine with the cell derived MPs and negative correlation with the respective cell count in human malaria patients suggests that TNF may be a key stimulant to the cells resulting in the release of MPs in malaria infection.     

Histological observations on the anterior olfactory nucleus in human

Aim: Localization of isolated clusters of anterior olfactory nucleus (AON) in a human olfactory bulb and tract. Materials and methods: This investigation was done on human olfactory bulbs and their tracts, collected from the freshly donated cadavers, before embalming, in the Department of Anatomy, IPGMER, Kolkata. H&E stained histological slides were prepared along the whole length of specimens and examined under a Leica DM 2000 microscope and with a Leica Quin image analyzer. Results: The anterior olfactory nucleus was detected in the form of a major cluster and in two smaller clusters of neurons. The major cluster was located at the caudal pole of the bulb and was composed of medium-sized triangular cells which had an average diameter of 13.92 ± 3.43 μm. Out of the two minor clusters, one was detected at the beginning and another at the middle of the olfactory tract. Here neurons were little larger in size and their diameter ranged approximately 15–17 μm. Olfactory striae also accommodated some neurons in a scattered manner. Conclusion: This observation will be helpful in exploration of the complex role of AON in the organization and function of the olfactory system and its clinical significance in human.