The natural history of interferon-2b-induced thyroiditis and its exclusivity in a cohort of patients with chronic hepatitis C infection

Background: Interferon-α2b (IFN-α2b) is well known to cause both hyper- and hypo-thyroidism. In the former, the commonest aetiology is thyroiditis. As there is no previous data to fully characterize the entity of IFN-related thyroiditis, the aim of this study is to document in detail its evolution in a cohort of hepatitis C patients treated with pegylated IFN-α2b and Ribavirin (RBV). Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted in patients who developed thyroid diseases whilst receiving combination of pegylated IFN-α2b and RBV for hepatitis C. The patients were followed with monthly thyrotropin (TSH). Where TSH was undetectable, free tetra- (fT4) and tri-iodothyronine (fT3) were added. Anti-thyroperoxidase (TPO), anti-thyroglobulin (Tg) and thyroid stimulating immunoglobulin (TSI) levels were also performed at diagnosis, during and at the end of IFN therapy. All patients were assessed and followed up closely with monthly TSH, fT4 and fT3 levels until the completion, after 6 and 12 months of treatment. Results: There were seven females and four males over a 30-month period. All patients were found to have thyroiditis. On average, the time to the development of thyroid disease was 10 weeks and duration of disease 9 weeks. All patients eventually recovered normal biochemical thyroid function although two required short-term supplementation. Conclusions: Thyroiditis was found exclusively in our patients. Both the hyper- and hypo-thyroid phase can be short lived, extreme and transient in nature which warrants strict monthly TSH monitoring. Careful follow-up of all patients is mandatory as complete recovery is expected

The spread of agriculture in northern Iberia: new archaeobotanical data from El Mirón cave (Cantabria) and the open-air site of Los Cascajos (Navarra)

This paper presents archaeobotanical results from the Neolithic levels (5,300–4,000 b.c.) of two recently excavated sites in northern Iberia: El Mirón cave (Cantabria) and the open-air site of Los Cascajos (Navarra). A cereal grain from El Mirón is currently the earliest domesticated plant remain from this region. Despite the large number of samples examined, plant remains are few. They include basically cereals (Triticum monococcum, T. dicoccum, T. aestivum/durum/turgidum and Hordeum vulgare) and some nuts and fruits (Corylus avellana, Quercus sp., Vitis sp., etc.). The presence of free-threshing wheats at El Mirón opens up an interesting subject for debate, as until now naked wheats have been absent from the early Neolithic archaeobotanical record of the coastal Cantabrian region. Hulled wheat chaff is the main plant component from Los Cascajos, south of the Cantabrian Cordillera in Navarra, indicating waste from processing activities. The association of barley almost exclusively with both a burial and a ritual vase in Los Cascajos could be related specific rituals or ceremonies.Excavations at El Mirón Cave, directed by Straus and González Morales since 1996, have been funded by the Fundación M. Botín, the U.S. National Science Foundation, the National Geographic Society, the L.S.B. Leakey Foundation, the Gobierno de Cantabria and the University of New Mexico. Excavations at Los Cascajos, directed by J. García Gazólaz and J. Sesma Sesma, have been funded by the Gobierno de Navarra. L. Peña-Chocarro has worked with a post-doctoral contract within the I3P Program, funded by the European Social Fund. L. Zapata’s study was done under a postdoctoral research grant from the Basque Government (Ref. BFI01.12) as part of the Research Group of the University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU 9/UPV00155.130-14570/2002.Peer reviewe

Chromosome 8q23.3 and 11q23.1 variants modify colorectal cancer risk in Lynch syndrome.

Contains fulltext : 79963.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)BACKGROUND & AIMS: Recent genome-wide association studies have identified common low-risk variants for colorectal cancer (CRC). To assess whether these influence CRC risk in the Lynch syndrome, we genotyped these variants in a large series of proven mutation carriers. METHODS: We studied 675 individuals from 127 different families from the Dutch Lynch syndrome Registry whose mutation carrier status was known. We genotyped 8q24.21, 8q23.3, 10p14, 11q23.1, 15q13.3, and 18q21.1 variants in carriers of a mismatch repair gene mutation. Univariate and multivariate analysis was used to analyse the association between the presence of a risk variant and CRC risk. RESULTS: A significant association was found between CRC risk and rs16892766 (8q23.3) and rs3802842 (11q23.1). For rs16892766, possession of the C-allele was associated with an elevated risk of CRC in a dose-dependent fashion, with homozygosity for CC being associated with a 2.16-fold increased risk. For rs3802842, the increased risk of CRC associated with the C-allele was only found among female carriers, while CRC risk was substantially higher among homozygous (hazard ratio [HR] 3.08) than among heterozygous carriers of the C-allele (HR 1.49). In an additive model of both variants, the risk was significantly associated with the number of risk alleles (HR 1.60 for carriers of 2 or more risk alleles). The effects were stronger in female carriers than in male carriers. CONCLUSION: We have identified 2 loci that are significantly associated with CRC risk in Lynch syndrome families. These modifiers may be helpful in identifying high-risk individuals who require more intensive surveillance