New molecular targets in bone metastases

Bone metastases have a major impact on morbidity and on mortality in cancer patients. Despite its clinical relevance, metastasis remains the most poorly elucidated aspect of carcinogenesis. The biological mechanisms leading to bone metastasis establishment have been referred as " vicious circle," a complex network between cancer cells and the bone microenvironment. This review is aimed to underline the new molecular targets in bone metastases management other than bisphosphonates. Different pathways or molecules such as RANK/RANKL/OPG, cathepsin K, endothelin-1, Wnt/DKK1, Src have recently emerged as potential targets and nowadays preclinical and clinical trials are underway. The results from those in the advanced clinical phases are encouraging and underlined the need to design large randomised clinical trials to validate these results in the next future.Targeting the bone by preventing skeletal related events (SREs) and bone metastases has major clinical impact in improving survival in bone metastatic patients and in preventing disease relapse in adjuvant setting. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd

Prognostic role of human equilibrative transporter 1 (hENT1) in patients with resected gastric cancer

Nucleoside transporter proteins are specialized proteins that mediate the transport of nucleosides and nucleoside analog drugs across the plasma membrane. The human equilibrative nucleoside transporter 1 (hENT1) is a member of these proteins and mediates cellular entry of gemcitabine, cytarabine, and fludarabine. The hENT1 expression has been demonstrated to be related with prognosis and activity of gemcitabine-based therapy in breast, ampullary, lung, and pancreatic cancer. We investigated the immunohistochemical expression of hENT in tumor samples from III patients with resected gastric adenocarcinoma, correlating these data with clinical parameters and disease outcomes. None of the patients received chemotherapy or radiation therapy before or after surgery as a part of an adjuvant or neoadjuvant program. On univariate survival analysis, the hENT1 expression was associated with overall survival (OS) and disease free survival (DFS). Specifically, those patients with overexpression of hENT1 showed a shorter OS ( P=0.021) and a shorter DFS ( P=0.033). Considering only the node positive patients, higher hENT levels were associated with significantly shorter median DFS (21.7 months; 95% CI 11.1-32.4) compared with patients with low expression of hENT1. The hENT1 expression was defined, in the lymph-node positive patients, as an independent prognostic factor ( P=0.019). Furthermore, considering only patients with diffuse or mixed tumors and lymph-node positive, the expression of hENT1 was strongly related with DFS and OS. Immunohistochemistry for the hENT1 protein carries prognostic information in patients with resected gastric cancer and holds promise as a predictive factor in chemotherapy decisions

Cognitive Changes and Quality of Life in Neurocysticercosis: A Longitudinal Study

Neurocysticercosis (NCC) is one of the most common parasitic infections of the central nervous system. Cognitive changes have been frequently reported with this disease but have not been well studied. Our study team recruited a group of new onset NCC cases and a matched set of healthy neighborhood controls and new onset epilepsy controls in Lima, Peru for this study. A neuropsychological battery was administered at baseline and at 6 months to all groups. Brain MRI studies were also obtained on NCC cases at baseline and at 6 months. Newly diagnosed patients with NCC had mild cognitive deficits and more marked decreases in quality of life at baseline compared with controls. Improvements were found in both cognitive status and quality of life in patients with NCC after treatment. This study is the first to assess cognitive status and quality of life longitudinally in patients with NCC and provides new data on an important clinical morbidity outcome

Use of psychotropic drugs and associated dental diseases. PMID: 25492713

Patients with problems related to central nervous system dysfunctions are often treated with psychotropic drugs. These include antipsychotics, antidepressants, mood stabilizers, anticonvulsants, and drugs blocking specific receptors in the brain such as anticholinergics or beta-blockers. However, these medications have serious side effects affecting the oral health. In addition, many dental patients make use of psychoactive drugs, such as amphetamine, ecstasy, and cocaine. This article aims to review data on the psychotropic drugs being used in the last 30 years, their pharmacological profile, with special attention to the side effects related to the oral health. Oral diseases such as bruxism, orofacial dystonia, oromandibular dyskinesia, and rabbit syndrome are related to extrapyramidal effects of antipsychotic drugs because of their antagonist activity on the dopaminergic receptors. Drugs with anticholinergic and/or antiadrenergic effects such as tricyclic antidepressants may cause dry mouth and related complications such as candidiasis and other oral infections. Among mood stabilizers, lithium treatment induces a wide range of side effects on oral system including dry mouth, sialorrhea, infections, and ulceration of the oral cavity. Psychostimulants may instead provoke xerotomia, gingival enlargements, bruxism, dental erosion, mucosal ulceration, and oral/nasal lesions. This literature review supports the idea that the higher prevalence of oral diseases among patients with mental disorders may be attributed to the side effects of their medications mediated by complex interactions between different targeted receptors. Thus, dentists must be aware of the possible risks of these medications in order to take appropriate precautions in treating these patients

IL LASER NEL TRATTAMENTO DELL’IPERSENSIBILITà DENTINALE. STUDIO AL SEM

l'ipersensibilità dentinale è una delle più comuni cause di dolore dentale. E' dovuta a stimoli esogeni sui tubuli dentinali esposti. scopo di questa ricerca è quello di valutare al SEM, su campioni con dentina appositamente esposta, la chiusura dei tubuli dentinali dopo trattamento con ND:Yag laser utilizzato a diversi livelli di energia. I risultati mostrano come il laser produca fusione della dentina e chiusura dei tubuli dentinali esposti anche a bassi livelli di energia (40mJ), specialmente nei campioni con fango dentinale