Short-term outcomes of patients with neovascular exudative AMD: the effect of COVID-19 pandemic

Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology - To estimate the impact of delayed care during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the outcomes of patients with...     

Anthropometric and reproductive factors and risk of esophageal and gastric cancer by subtype and subsite: Results from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort

Obesity has been associated with upper gastrointestinal cancers; however, there are limited prospective data on associations by subtype/subsite. Obesity can impact hormonal factors, which have been hypothesized to play a role in these cancers. We investigated anthropometric and reproductive factors in relation to esophageal and gastric cancer by subtype and subsite for 476,160 participants from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort. Multivariable hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using Cox models. During a mean follow-up of 14 years, 220 esophageal adenocarcinomas (EA), 195 esophageal squamous cell carcinomas, 243 gastric cardia (GC) and 373 gastric noncardia (GNC) cancers were diagnosed. Body mass index (BMI) was associated with EA in men (BMI ≥30 vs. 18.5–25 kg/m²: HR = 1.94, 95% CI: 1.25–3.03) and women (HR = 2.66, 95% CI: 1.15–6.19); however, adjustment for waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) attenuated these associations. After mutual adjustment for BMI and HC, respectively, WHR and waist circumference (WC) were associated with EA in men (HR = 3.47, 95% CI: 1.99–6.06 for WHR >0.96 vs. <0.91; HR = 2.67, 95% CI: 1.52–4.72 for WC >98 vs. <90 cm) and women (HR = 4.40, 95% CI: 1.35–14.33 for WHR >0.82 vs. <0.76; HR = 5.67, 95% CI: 1.76–18.26 for WC >84 vs. <74 cm). WHR was also positively associated with GC in women, and WC was positively associated with GC in men. Inverse associations were observed between parity and EA (HR = 0.38, 95% CI: 0.14–0.99; >2 vs. 0) and age at first pregnancy and GNC (HR = 0.54, 95% CI: 0.32–0.91; >26 vs. <22 years); whereas bilateral ovariectomy was positively associated with GNC (HR = 1.87, 95% CI: 1.04–3.36). These findings support a role for hormonal pathways in upper gastrointestinal cancers.     

Patterns in metabolite profile are associated with risk of more aggressive prostate cancer: A prospective study of 3,057 matched case–control sets from EPIC

Metabolomics may reveal novel insights into the etiology of prostate cancer, for which few risk factors are established. We investigated the association between patterns in baseline plasma metabolite profile and subsequent prostate cancer risk, using data from 3,057 matched case–control sets from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). We measured 119 metabolite concentrations in plasma samples, collected on average 9.4 years before diagnosis, by mass spectrometry (AbsoluteIDQ p180 Kit, Biocrates Life Sciences AG). Metabolite patterns were identified using treelet transform, a statistical method for identification of groups of correlated metabolites. Associations of metabolite patterns with prostate cancer risk (OR_1SD) were estimated by conditional logistic regression. Supplementary analyses were conducted for metabolite patterns derived using principal component analysis and for individual metabolites. Men with metabolite profiles characterized by higher concentrations of either phosphatidylcholines or hydroxysphingomyelins (OR_1SD = 0.77, 95% confidence interval 0.66–0.89), acylcarnitines C18:1 and C18:2, glutamate, ornithine and taurine (OR_1SD = 0.72, 0.57–0.90), or lysophosphatidylcholines (OR_1SD = 0.81, 0.69–0.95) had lower risk of advanced stage prostate cancer at diagnosis, with no evidence of heterogeneity by follow-up time. Similar associations were observed for the two former patterns with aggressive disease risk (the more aggressive subset of advanced stage), while the latter pattern was inversely related to risk of prostate cancer death (OR_1SD = 0.77, 0.61–0.96). No associations were observed for prostate cancer overall or less aggressive tumor subtypes. In conclusion, metabolite patterns may be related to lower risk of more aggressive prostate tumors and prostate cancer death, and might be relevant to etiology of advanced stage prostate cancer.     

A study of periapical lesions correlating the presence of a radiopaque lamina with histological findings.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the presence or absence of a radiopaque lamina of 60 human periapical lesions with the histological findings from a case study in dental practice. STUDY DESIGN: Paralleling radiographs were taken of 60 teeth with periapical radiolucencies. The periapical radiographs were scanned, and standardized images were evaluated on a computer screen for the presence or absence of a radiopaque lamina by 2 calibrated observers according to agreed criteria. The serially sectioned histological specimens were obtained from the extraction of 13 endodontically treated teeth and 27 nontreated teeth, as well as 20 post-treatment teeth with apical periodontitis removed during periapical surgical procedure; the specimens were classified according to agreed criteria. The findings of the 2 evaluations were compared. RESULTS: Out of 57 electronic images that could be interpreted, 10 lesions had a radiopaque lamina, but of these only 3 were histologically diagnosed as cysts, while 7 were granulomas or abscesses. Out of 47 lesions without a radiopaque lamina, 40 were histologically diagnosed as granulomas or abscesses, while 7 were cysts. CONCLUSIONS: The diagnosis of periapical lesions cannot be made on the basis of the presence or absence of a radiopaque lamina, but requires histological examination of serial sections.     

Pneumonia complicating abdominal sepsis: an experimental model of hematogenous contamination of the lung.

Pulmonary infection complicating intra-abdominal sepsis is a major clinical problem. An experimental model for intra-abdominal sepsis was created with implantation of gelatin capsules, containing 3 x 10(8) cfu E. coli strain no. 2554, in the peritoneal cavity of 20 rats (10 animals received and 10 did not receive antibiotic therapy with ceftriaxone) in order to verify the role of the primary site of infection in the pathogenesis of pneumonia. Ten rats were sacrificed to determine the relative pulmonary weight and 10 were submitted to simple laparotomy and insertion of a germ-free capsule (sham-operated group). In this group of animals there was only one death (10%). All the rats that received antibiotic therapy survived until sacrifice while all the rats that did not receive ceftriaxone died, 7 within the 2nd and 3 on the 6th postoperative day. Pneumonia and peritonitis developed only in the animals that did not receive ceftriaxone. Bacteriological findings of material obtained from peritoneal and pleural cavities revealed the same strain of E. coli used for the experiment, suggesting that bacteria involved in the pleuro-pulmonary infections may originate in the primary site of infection and that antibiotic therapy started at the moment of contamination, can prevent this major complication.     

A mild form of captopril-induced pemphigus

We describe a mild form of drug-induced pemphigus in a woman with essential arterial hypertension treated with captopril. Complete recovery was observed three weeks after the therapy had been discontinued.