Relevance of International Ovarian Tumor Analysis (IOTA) ultrasound rules and ADNEX risk calculator in the investigation of ovarian masses in a semi‑rural Indian population

Aims: The study was undertaken to assess the efficacy of the International Ovarian Tumor Analysis (IOTA) ultrasound rules and the IOTA‑ Assessment of Different NEoplasias in the adneXa (ADNEX) model risk calculator in the investigation of ovarian masses in a semi-rural Indian population.Methods and Material: The study was a retrospective study. The pre-operative ultrasound images of all patients who had surgery for an adnexal mass over a two year period were looked at and classified according to the IOTA‑ADNEX model calculator.Results: There were 45 patients who had surgery for an adnexal mass of which 78% had benign findings, 15% were malignant, and 6% were borderline on the final histological diagnosis. After retrospectively applying the ADNEX calculator, the study confirmed the low false positive (4%) and false negative (2%) rates, and this was despite not having cancer antigen 125(CA125) in hand at the time of the scan. There was one case where an adnexal lesion was classified benign on ultrasound, but was proven to be malignant on histology and as per the ADNEX model risk calculator.Conclusions: The study results showed vast potential in the management of adnexal masses in countries where costs, healthcare providers,  infrastructure, and patient follow‑up can be limited. The use of a predictive algorithm like the ADNEX model can help reduce anxiety, provide reassurance, and importantly avoid unwarranted surgery in patients with benign pathologies. Key words: Adnexal; IOTA‑ ADNEX; masses; ultrasound

Increased renal papillary density in kidney stone formers detectable by CT scan is a potential marker of stone risk, but is unrelated to underlying hypercalciuria

Several previous studies have reported an increase in Hounsfield unit density of the renal papillae in patients with nephrolithiasis compared with controls. Kidney stone formers (KSF) were found to have higher papillary and cortical density in both kidneys, irrespective of which side had calculi, and it was proposed that this might be related to the presence of underlying hypercalciuria. The current study was designed: (1) to determine whether recurrent KSF do have higher papillary density compared with healthy controls; (2) to test an association between higher renal papillary density and the presence of hypercalciuria in KSF. This retrospective case-matched controlled study was carried out at the Royal Free Hospital, London, UK. We investigated 111 patients, 57 of whom were KSF and 54 healthy controls. The CT attenuation values were measured within a 0.2 cm2 area of the renal papilla in the upper, middle, and lower segments of each kidney, and were compared between KSF and non-stone formers, and between KSF with and without hypercalciuria. There were no significant differences in age and sex between groups. Papillary density was significantly higher in KSF by both crude and adjusted analyses (p < 0.001). However, there was no association between higher papillary density and hypercalciuria in KSF. The papillary density measured by CT is a useful, non-invasive tool to differentiate between KSF and healthy controls. The absence of any correlation between papillary density and hypercalciuria suggests that the presence of clinically significant underlying renal stone disease, rather than urinary metabolic abnormalities, correlates with radiologically detectable increased papillary density

A coumarin-based array to discriminate between different types of amyloid fibrils

Self-assembly of misfolded proteins can lead to the formation of amyloids, which are implicated in the onset of many pathologies including Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. The facile detection and discrimination of different amyloids is crucial for early diagnosis of amyloid-related pathologies. Here, we report the development of a fluorescent two-sensor array which is able to correctly discriminate between four different amyloids implicated in amyloid-related pathologies with 100% classification. The array was also applied to mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease and was able to discriminate between samples from mice corresponding to early (6 months) and advanced (12 months) stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Finally, the flexibility of the array was assessed by expanding the analytes to include functional amyloids. The same two-sensor array was able to correctly discriminate between eight different disease-associated and functional amyloids with 100% classification

A Coumarin-Based Array for the Discrimination of Amyloids

Self-assembly of misfolded proteins can lead to the formation of amyloids, which are implicated in the onset of many pathologies including Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. The facile detection and discrimination of different amyloids are crucial for early diagnosis of amyloid-related pathologies. Here, we report the development of a fluorescent coumarin-based two-sensor array that is able to correctly discriminate between four different amyloids implicated in amyloid-related pathologies with 100% classification. The array was also applied to mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease and was able to discriminate between samples from mice corresponding to early (6 months) and advanced (12 months) stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Finally, the flexibility of the array was assessed by expanding the analytes to include functional amyloids. The same two-sensor array was able to correctly discriminate between eight different disease-associated and functional amyloids with 100% classification