Ct angiography evaluation of the renal vascular pathologies: a pictorial review

The emergence of CT angiography (CTA) has a groundbreaking impact on the evaluation of renal vessels and is gradually replacing the conventional catheter angiography as the standard imaging procedure. In this review, we aimed to describe the renal CTA technique and imaging findings of several renal arterial (i.e. atherosclerosis, fibromuscular dysplasia, aneurysms of the renal arteries, dissection, vasculitidis, follow-up of patients with renal arterial stent) and venous (i.e. nut-cracker syndrome, pelvic congestion syndrome) pathologies

Clinical Application of Radioembolization in Hepatic Malignancies: Protocol for a Prospective Multicenter Observational Study

Background: Radioembolization, also known as transarterial radioembolization or selective internal radiation therapy with yttrium-90 (90Y) resin microspheres, is an established treatment modality for patients with primary and secondary liver tumors. However, large-scale prospective observational data on the application of this treatment in a real-life clinical setting is lacking. Objective: The main objective is to collect data on the clinical application of radioembolization with 90Y resin microspheres to improve the understanding of the impact of this treatment modality in its routine practice setting. Methods: Eligible patients are 18 years or older and receiving radioembolization for primary and secondary liver tumors as part of routine practice, as well as have signed informed consent. Data is collected at baseline, directly after treatment, and at every 3-month follow-up until 24 months or study exit. The primary objective of the Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiological Society of Europe Registry for SIR-Spheres Therapy (CIRT) is to observe the clinical application of radioembolization. Secondary objectives include safety, effectiveness in terms of overall survival, progression-free survival (PFS), liver-specific PFS, imaging response, and change in quality of life. Results: Between January 2015 and December 2017, 1047 patients were included in the study. The 24-month follow-up period ended in December 2019. The first results are expected in the third quarter of 2020. Conclusions: The CIRT is the largest observational study on radioembolization to date and will provide valuable insights to the clinical application of this treatment modality and its real-life outcomes

Regulation of IL-2 gene expression by Siva and FOXP3 in human T cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Severe autoinflammatory diseases are associated with mutations in the <it>Foxp3 </it>locus in both mice and humans. <it>Foxp3 </it>is required for the development, function, and maintenance of regulatory T cells (T_regs), a subset of CD4 cells that suppress T cell activation and inflammatory processes. <it>Siva </it>is a pro-apoptotic gene that is expressed across a range of tissues, including CD4 T cells. Siva interacts with three tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) family members that are constitutively expressed on T_regcells: CD27, GITR, and OX40.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here we report a biophysical interaction between FOXP3 and Siva. We mapped the interaction domains to Siva's C-terminus and to a central region of FOXP3. We showed that <it>Siva </it>repressed IL-2 induction by suppressing <it>IL-2 </it>promoter activity during T cell activation. Siva-1's repressive effect on <it>IL-2 </it>gene expression appears to be mediated by inhibition of NFkappaB, whereas FOXP3 repressed both NFkappaB and NFAT activity.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In summary, our data suggest that both <it>FOXP3 </it>and <it>Siva </it>function as negative regulators of IL-2 gene expression in T_regcells, via suppression of NFAT by <it>FOXP3 </it>and of NFkappaB by both <it>FOXP3 </it>and <it>Siva</it>. Our work contributes evidence for <it>Siva's </it>role as a T cell signalling mediator in addition to its known pro-apoptotic function. Though further investigations are needed, evidence for the biophysical interaction between FOXP3 and Siva invites the possibility that Siva may be important for proper T_regcell function.</p

Enhanced Syllable Discrimination Thresholds in Musicians

Speech processing inherently relies on the perception of specific, rapidly changing spectral and temporal acoustic features. Advanced acoustic perception is also integral to musical expertise, and accordingly several studies have demonstrated a significant relationship between musical training and superior processing of various aspects of speech. Speech and music appear to overlap in spectral and temporal features; however, it remains unclear which of these acoustic features, crucial for speech processing, are most closely associated with musical training. The present study examined the perceptual acuity of musicians to the acoustic components of speech necessary for intra-phonemic discrimination of synthetic syllables. We compared musicians and non-musicians on discrimination thresholds of three synthetic speech syllable continua that varied in their spectral and temporal discrimination demands, specifically voice onset time (VOT) and amplitude envelope cues in the temporal domain. Musicians demonstrated superior discrimination only for syllables that required resolution of temporal cues. Furthermore, performance on the temporal syllable continua positively correlated with the length and intensity of musical training. These findings support one potential mechanism by which musical training may selectively enhance speech perception, namely by reinforcing temporal acuity and/or perception of amplitude rise time, and implications for the translation of musical training to long-term linguistic abilities.Grammy FoundationWilliam F. Milton Fun

The Contribution of SAA1 Polymorphisms to Familial Mediterranean Fever Susceptibility in the Japanese Population

Background/Aims: Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) has traditionally been considered to be an autosomal-recessive disease, however, it has been observed that substantial numbers of patients with FMF possess only 1 demonstrable MEFV mutation. The clinical profile of familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) may be influenced by MEFV allelic heterogeneity and other genetic and/or environmental factors. Methodology/Principal Findings: In view of the inflammatory nature of FMF, we investigated whether serum amyloid A (SAA) and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) gene polymorphisms may affect the susceptibility of Japanese patients with FMF. The genotypes of the -13C/T SNP in the 5′-flanking region of the SAA1 gene and the two SNPs within exon 3 of SAA1 (2995C/T and 3010C/T polymorphisms) were determined in 83 Japanese patients with FMF and 200 healthy controls. The same samples were genotyped for IL-1β-511 (C/T) and IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) variable number of tandem repeat (VNTR) polymorphisms. There were no significant differences between FMF patients and healthy subjects in the genotypic distribution of IL-1β -511 (C/T), IL-1Ra VNTR and SAA2 polymorphisms. The frequencies of SAA1.1 allele were significantly lower (21.7% versus 34.0%), and inversely the frequencies of SAA1.3 allele were higher (48.8% versus 37.5%) in FMF patients compared with healthy subjects. The frequency of -13T alleles, associated with the SAA1.3 allele in the Japanese population, was significantly higher (56.0% versus 41.0%, p = 0.001) in FMF patients compared with healthy subjects. Conclusions/Significance: Our data indicate that SAA1 gene polymorphisms, consisting of -13T/C SNP in the 5′-flanking region and SNPs within exon 3 (2995C/T and 3010C/T polymorphisms) of SAA1 gene, are associated with susceptibility to FMF in the Japanese population

Giant Renal Artery Pseudoaneurysm Caused By Rupture Of Renal Angiomyolipoma Following Pregnancy: Endovascular Treatment And Review Of The Literature

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Endovascular Aortic Repair For A Pulmonary Aspergilloma Fistulized Into The Descending Aorta: Selective Intubation With A Single-Lumen Tube Under Fluoroscopic Guidance

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