Potential Risks of Excess Iodine Ingestion and Exposure: Statement by the American Thyroid Association Public Health Committee

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/140261/1/thy.2014.0331.pd

Efficacy of Major Plant Extracts/Molecules on Field Insect Pests

Insect pests are considered the major hurdle in enhancing the production and productivity of any farming system. The use of conventional synthetic pesticides has led to the emergence of pesticide-resistant insects, environmental pollution, and negative effects on natural enemies, which have caused an ecological imbalance of the predator-prey ratio and human health hazards; therefore, eco-friendly alternative strategies are required. The plant kingdom, a rich repertoire of secondary metabolites, can be tapped as an alternative for insect pest management strategies. A number of plants have been documented to have insecticidal properties against various orders of insects in vitro by acting as antifeedants, repellents, sterilant and oviposition deterrents, etc. However, only a few plant compounds are applicable at the field level or presently commercialised. Here, we have provided an overview of the broad-spectrum insecticidal activity of plant compounds from neem, Annona, Pongamia, and Jatropha. Additionally, the impact of medicinal plants, herbs, spices, and essential oils has been reviewed briefl

Osteomyelitis of the odontoid process with associated retropharyngeal abscess: A case report

Objective: To report an interesting and informative case of a unique clinical entity. Methods: Individual case report. Results: We report a case of a 58-year-old female who presented with ten days of intractable neck pain and acutely worsening mental status. Her past medical history included type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hyperlipidemia and hypothyroidism. Initial laboratory workup revealed leukocytosis, and elevated CRP and ESR. CT scan of the cervical spine showed prominence of the retropharyngeal soft tissues. A subsequent MRI showed enhancing, lytic changes of the odontoid process with surrounding edema and soft tissue inflammatory changes, as well as a discrete fluid collection in the left anterior prevertebral space. Due to worsening airway compromise, the patient was intubated and taken to the operating room for evacuation of the retropharyngeal fluid collection. Intraoperatively, there was noted to be a small defect in the posterior nasopharyngeal mucosa, with active purulent drainage. Following decompression of the retropharyngeal abscess, the patient slowly improved, and remained on an extended course of IV antibiotics before being discharged to a rehab facility. Conclusion: Pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis rarely occurs in the cervical spine, and only a handful of reports have described involvement of the odontoid process. Diagnosis of this rare entity is often delayed due to the vague presenting symptoms and location deep within the soft tissues of the neck. Although retropharyngeal abscess most commonly occurs as a complication of an upper respiratory tract infection, this case demonstrates the possibility of an underlying vertebral infection

American Thyroid Association Scientific Statement on the Use of Potassium Iodide Ingestion in a Nuclear Emergency

This document serves to summarize the issues and the American Thyroid Association (ATA) position regarding the use of potassium iodide as a thyroid blocking agent in the event of a nuclear accident. The purpose is to provide a review and updated position statement regarding the advanced distribution, stockpiling, and availability of potassium iodide in the event of nuclear radiation emergencies in the United States

AGTR1 overexpression defines a subset of breast cancer and confers sensitivity to losartan, an AGTR1 antagonist

Breast cancer patients have benefited from the use of targeted therapies directed at specific molecular alterations. To identify additional opportunities for targeted therapy, we searched for genes with marked overexpression in subsets of tumors across a panel of breast cancer profiling studies comprising 3,200 microarray experiments. In addition to prioritizing ERBB2, we found AGTR1, the angiotensin II receptor type I, to be markedly overexpressed in 10–20% of breast cancer cases across multiple independent patient cohorts. Validation experiments confirmed that AGTR1 is highly overexpressed, in several cases more than 100-fold. AGTR1 overexpression was restricted to estrogen receptor-positive tumors and was mutually exclusive with ERBB2 overexpression across all samples. Ectopic overexpression of AGTR1 in primary mammary epithelial cells, combined with angiotensin II stimulation, led to a highly invasive phenotype that was attenuated by the AGTR1 antagonist losartan. Similarly, losartan reduced tumor growth by 30% in AGTR1-positive breast cancer xenografts. Taken together, these observations indicate that marked AGTR1 overexpression defines a subpopulation of ER-positive, ERBB2-negative breast cancer that may benefit from targeted therapy with AGTR1 antagonists, such as losartan