The Morphologic Assessment of Rectal Neuroendocrine Tumors

AbstractBackground and aimsThe histopathologic features of rectal neuroendocrine tumors (NETs), including size, lymphovascular invasion, invasion of proper muscle, and mitotic rate, have a limited role to play in determining a treatment plan preoperatively. We aimed to investigate the morphologic parameters associated with metastasis, and to evaluate their predictive value.MethodsBetween January 2000 and May 2011, the medical records and endoscopic findings of 468 patients presenting with rectal NETs at the Samsung Medical Center were analyzed retrospectively. All tumors were classified according to size and endoscopic features such as color, shape, contour, and surface change.ResultsTwenty-one of the 468 patients (4.5%) with rectal NETs had lymph node (LN) metastasis and 11 patients (2.4%) had distant metastasis. Risk factors for metastasis included tumor size (≥10mm in diameter), hyperemic change, polypoid lesions, irregular contours, and surface ulceration (p=0.000). Independent risk factors that were predictive of metastasis on multivariate analysis included tumor size (≥10mm in diameter), hyperemic change, and surface ulceration. As the number of independent risk factors for metastasis increased, the risk of metastasis rose.ConclusionsEndoscopic features such as hyperemic change, polypoid lesions, irregular contours, and surface ulcers with tumor size ≥10mm in diameter are associated with metastasis in rectal NETs. In particular, atypical endoscopic features including hyperemic change, and surface ulcer with tumor size ≥10mm in diameter may help to predict the risk of metastasis of rectal NETs

PDI Knockdown Inhibits Seizure Activity in Acute Seizure and Chronic Epilepsy Rat Models via S-Nitrosylation-Independent Thiolation on NMDA Receptor

Redox modulation and S-nitrosylation of cysteine residues are the post-translational modifications of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) to regulate its functionality. Recently, we have reported that protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) reduces disulfide bond (S-S) to free thiol (-SH) on NMDAR. Since PDI is a modulator of S-nitrosylation on various proteins, it is noteworthy whether PDI affects S-nitrosylation of NMDAR in acute seizure and chronic epilepsy models. In the present study, we found that acute seizures in response to pilocarpine and spontaneous seizures in chronic epilepsy rats led to the reduction in S-nitrosylated thiol (SNO-thiol)-to-total thiol ratio on NMDAR, while they elevated nitric oxide (NO) level and S-nitrosylation on NMDAR. N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, a non-selective NOS inhibitor) did not affect seizure activities in both models, although it decreased SNO-thiol levels on NMDAR. However, PDI knockdown effectively inhibited pilocarpine-induced acute seizures and spontaneous seizures in chronic epilepsy rats, accompanied by increasing the SNO-thiol-to-total thiol ratio on NMDAR due to diminishing the amounts of total thiols on GluN1 and GluN2A. Therefore, these findings indicate that PDI may not be a NO donor or a denitrosylase for NMDAR, and that PDI knockdown may inhibit seizure activity by the S-nitrosylation-independent thiolation on NMDAR

Psychotic Features as the First Manifestation of 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome

The 22q11.2 deletion is a genetic disorder which is characterized by abnormalities in cardiac functioning, facial structure, neurobehavioral development, T cell functioning, and velopharyngeal insufficiencies. In the presented case study, 22q11.2 deletion was found in a patient who has psychotic symptoms only. A 25-year-old woman with a history of hypoparathyroidism and hypothyroidism presented with auditory hallucinations and persecutory delusions. After three months of treatment with antipsychotic medications, the patient was readmitted with generalized tonic-clonic seizures. The following week, the patient went into sepsis. A fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis revealed the presence of a 22q11.2 microdeletion. This case study suggests that psychotic symptoms can develop prior to the typical symptoms of a 22q11.2 deletion. As such, psychiatrists should test for genetic abnormalities in patients with schizophrenia when these patients present with seizures and immunodeficiencies

Effects of Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation During Hemiplegic Arm Reaching in Individuals with Stroke: An Exploratory Study

SummaryObjective/BackgroundThis study investigated the effects of rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) on muscle activity and elbow motion during arm reaching with hemiplegic arm in participants with stroke.MethodsSixteen adults with stroke who resided in a community were recruited in this study. The RAS consisted of sound emitted from a digital metronome. While sitting upright in a chair, participants reached their arms towards a target (a switch on a table) both with and without RAS. The three-dimensional motion analysis system and surface electromyography system were used for measurements during the reaching tasks.ResultsWe found that RAS elicited better performance in reaching movements than those movements performed without RAS. RAS shortened the movement time (p = .002), reduced the change in acceleration (p = .001), increased the elbow extension range of motion (p = .001), increased muscle activation of the triceps brachii (p = .024), and reduced the co-contraction ratio (p = .015) of the affected arm.ConclusionRAS might be a useful technique to facilitate improvements in motor function of the affected arm in patients with stroke

Effects of Maxillary Sinus Graft on the Survival of Endosseous Implants: A 10-Year Retrospective Study

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the survival rates of implants placed in grafted maxillary sinuses and compare the results obtained with graft materials, implant surfaces and timing of implant placement. Materials and Methods: Between January 1996 and December 2005, 391 implants are placed in 161 patients who underwent sinus grafting treatment simultaneously or separately at Ewha Womans University Hospital. According to inclusion critieria, 272 impants were placed in 102 patients with 112 sinus grafts (30 females, 72 males), aged 26 to 88 years (mean age 49.0±9.7). The follow-up period ranged from 12 to 134 months (mean F/U 47±32). Survival rates were evaluated according to graft material, implant surface and timing of implant placement, The Kaplan-Meier procedure and the log rank (Mantel-Cox) test were used to estimate survival rates and test for equality of survival rates between different groups of patients. Results: Ten-year cumultative survival rate for implants placed in the grafted sinuses was 90.1%. The survival rates for autogenous bone, combination and bone substitutes were 94.6%, 85.9% and 100% respectively (p\u3e0.05). According to implant surface, survival rates were 84.8% in machined group and 97.5% in rough group (p0.05). Conclusion: Ten-year cumultative survival rate for implants placed in the grafter sinuses was 90.1% Rough-shaped implants have a higher survival rate than machined-surface implants when placed in grafted sinuses. (p\u3c0.05)

Effect of Guizhifulingwan (Keishibukuryogan) on climacteric syndrome: study protocol for a randomized controlled pilot trial

SPIRIT 2013 checklist. (DOCX 51 kb

Alleviating psoriatic skin inflammation through augmentation of Treg cells via CTLA-4 signaling peptide

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by hyperplasia of keratinocytes and immune cell infiltration. The IL-17-producing T cells play a key role in psoriasis pathogenesis, while regulatory T (Treg) cells are diminished during psoriatic inflammation. Current psoriasis treatments largely focus on IL-17 and IL-23, however, few studies have explored therapeutic drugs targeting an increase of Treg cells to control immune homeostasis. In this study, we investigated the effects of a cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4) signaling peptide (dNP2-ctCTLA-4) in Th17, Tc17, γδ T cells, Treg cells in vitro and a mouse model of psoriasis. Treatment with dNP2-ctCTLA-4 peptide showed a significant reduction of psoriatic skin inflammation with increased Treg cell proportion and reduced IL-17 production by T cells, indicating a potential role in modulating psoriatic skin disease. We compared dNP2-ctCTLA-4 with CTLA-4-Ig and found that only dNP2-ctCTLA-4 ameliorated the psoriasis progression, with increased Treg cells and inhibited IL-17 production from γδ T cells. In vitro experiments using a T cell-antigen presenting cell co-culture system demonstrated the distinct mechanisms of dNP2-ctCTLA-4 compared to CTLA-4-Ig in the induction of Treg cells. These findings highlight the therapeutic potential of dNP2-ctCTLA-4 peptide in psoriasis by augmenting Treg/Teff ratio, offering a new approach to modulating the disease