Urinary glycosaminoglycan excretion in patients with primary nocturnal enuresis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Aim</p> <p>The aim of this study was to determine whether primary nocturnal enuresis (PNE) leads to alterations in glycosaminoglycan (GAG) excretion.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Twenty subjects (mean age 8.7 years, M/F 15/5) with PNE were included in the study. Twenty-two healthy subjects were selected as a control group (mean age 8.7 years, M/F 14/8). Urinary GAG excretion was measured using a modified dimethylmethylene blue (DMD) assay of 24-hour urine.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mean urinary GAG content was 33.9 mg/g and 23.8 mg/g creatinine in patients with PNE and controls, respectively; patients with PNE thus had a higher mean GAG excretion than did age-matched controls (p < 0.05). The association between GAG level and enuresis frequency bordered on significance (p = 0.068).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>GAG excretion in patients with PNE was significantly higher than in normal children, suggesting that measurement of urinary GAG may be useful in evaluating physiopathological conditions of the bladder wall. Further studies are needed to confirm this finding.</p

Pitfalls in machine learning‐based assessment of tumor‐infiltrating lymphocytes in breast cancer: a report of the international immuno‐oncology biomarker working group

The clinical significance of the tumor-immune interaction in breast cancer (BC) has been well established, and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) have emerged as a predictive and prognostic biomarker for patients with triple-negative (estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and HER2 negative) breast cancer (TNBC) and HER2-positive breast cancer. How computational assessment of TILs can complement manual TIL-assessment in trial- and daily practices is currently debated and still unclear. Recent efforts to use machine learning (ML) for the automated evaluation of TILs show promising results. We review state-of-the-art approaches and identify pitfalls and challenges by studying the root cause of ML discordances in comparison to manual TILs quantification. We categorize our findings into four main topics; (i) technical slide issues, (ii) ML and image analysis aspects, (iii) data challenges, and (iv) validation issues. The main reason for discordant assessments is the inclusion of false-positive areas or cells identified by performance on certain tissue patterns, or design choices in the computational implementation. To aid the adoption of ML in TILs assessment, we provide an in-depth discussion of ML and image analysis including validation issues that need to be considered before reliable computational reporting of TILs can be incorporated into the trial- and routine clinical management of patients with TNBC

Prevalence of angiographically significant coronary artery disease in patients with rheumatic mitral stenosis

Objective-In order to evaluate the prevalence of angiographically significant coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with predominant mitral stenosis (mitral valve area less than or equal to 1.5 cm(2)), coronary angiograms of the 837 consecutive patients with mitral stenosis (482 women and 355 men; median age = 50 years [ranging from 35 to 77]) were retrospectively analysed

Maximum P wave duration and P wave dispersion in adult patients with secundum atrial septal defect: The impact of surgical repair

Background: Patients with atrial septal defect (ASD) have an increased risk for atrial fibrillation (AF). Previously it was shown that maximum P wave duration and P wave dispersion in 12-lead surface electrocardiograms are significantly increased in individuals with a history of paroxysmal AF. We studied P maximum and P dispersion in adult patients with ASD during normal sinus rhythm. In addition, the impact of surgical closure of ASD on these variables within 1 year after surgery was evaluated

Fistulous connection between internal mammary graft and pulmonary vasculature after coronary artery bypass grafting: a rare cause of continuous murmur

A 58-year-old male who had undergone coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) using left internal mammary artery and a sequential saphenous vein graft 2 years ago presented with new onset angina. His initial physical examination revealed an unexpected continuous murmur over the left sternal border, and two-dimensional echocardiography has failed to identy the cause. Cardiac catheterization then performed and revealed patent left internal mammary artery and saphenous vein grafts. Besides, selective injection of the left internal mammary artery graft also showed a fistula formation between left internal mammary artery graft and pulmonary vasculature of the left upper lobe. He was managed conservatively because of the severely diseased left anterior descending artery distal to internal mammary artery anastomosis and low pulmonary artery pressure. The development of fistulous connection between internal mammary artery and pulmonary vasculature is an extremely rare complication following CABG. Patients with such fistulae usually present with chest pain due to coronary steal syndrome. A new heart sound, especially a continuous murmur, may be detected during, physical examination. Surgical correction is indicated in the event of refractory angina, growing fistula causing heart failure or endarteritis. Otherwise, a conservative approach with instruction of the patient for prophylactic precautions of subacute bacterial endocarditis may be recommended for asymptomatic patients. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved

Metabolic syndrome negatively impacts early patency of saphenous vein grafts

Background Coronary artery bypass grafting has been performed for a long period utilizing saphenous vein grafts, the fate of which might be crucial to prognosis following the operation. Metabolic syndrome, on the other hand, has become an increasingly important part of cardiovascular practice. We examined whether there was any negative effect of metabolic syndrome on saphenous vein graft patency in a relatively short term (<= 5 years)