The clinicopathological features and importance of p53, Rb, and mdm2 expression in phaeochromocytomas and paragangliomas

Aims - Phaeochromocytomas and paragangliomas are uncommon. The aims of this study were to analyse the characteristics and the possible roles of p53, Rb, and mdm2 alterations in these tumours. Methods - The clinicopathological features of 65 patients (31 men, 34 women) with phaeochromocytomas or paragangliomas were analysed. The tumours were studied for the expression of p53, Rb, and mdm2 by immunohistochemical methods. Results - Thirty nine of the patients had phaeochromocytomas and 26 had paragangliomas. Bilateral tumours were noted in eight of the patients and malignant tumours were seen in 13. Paragangliomas were often small, non-functional, and presented incidentally, whereas phaeochromocytomas were usually large, functional, and symptomatic, p53 overexpression, loss of Rb expression, and mdm2 overexpression were seen in four, 43, and 37 of the patients, respectively. Three of the four patients with p53 overexpression had bilateral tumours. Loss of Rb expression was often found in phaeochromocytomas, whereas mdm2 overexpression was more frequently seen in paragangliomas. The 10 year survival rate of patients with malignant tumours was 45%. Two patients died of tumour metastases more than 10 years after resection of the primary tumours. Conclusions - Phaeochromocytomas and paragangliomas had distinctive clinical features and genetic alterations. The prognosis of patients with these tumours was related to the malignant potential, p53 overexpression, more common in bilateral phaeochromocytomas and paragangliomas, could be a marker for this tumour subgroup.published_or_final_versio

Tracking Lumbar Vertebrae in Digital Videofluoroscopic Video Automatically

Low back pain becomes one of the significant problem in the industrialized world. Efficient and effective spinal motion analysis is required to understand low back pain and to aid the diagnosis. Videofluoroscopy provides a cost effective way for such analysis. However, common approaches are tedious and time consuming due to the low quality of the images. Physicians have to extract the vertebrae manually in most cases and thus continuous motion analysis is hardly achieved. In this paper, we propose a system which can perform automatic vertebrae segmentation and tracking. Operators need to define exact location of landmarks in the first frame only. The proposed system will continuously learn the texture pattern along the edge and the dynamics of the vertebrae in the remaining frames. The system can estimate the location of the vertebrae based on the learnt texture and dynamics throughout the sequence. Experimental results show that the proposed system can segment vertebrae from videofluoroscopic images automatically and accurately. © Springer-Verlag 2004.postprintThe International Workshop on Medical Imaging and Augmented Reality (MIAR 2004), Beijing, China, 19-20 August 2004. In Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2004, v. 3150, p. 154-16

Comparative analysis of dosimetric parameters of three different radiation techniques for patients with Graves' ophthalmopathy treated with retro-orbital irradiation

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Improving quality of life through reducing post-operative bacterial infections

Session: Functionalization of Cells and Biomaterials: abstract no. 483INTRODUCTION: Metallic implants such as titanium alloy have been widely used in orthopaedic surgeries1. 2-5% of the patients acquire post-operative bacterial infections at implant site though prescription of antibiotics2. Patients may suffer from surgeries like debridement of wound, removal of problematic implant and insertion of new implant. To reduce bacterial infections and improve quality of life of patients, implant surfaces loaded with …postprintThe 2010 North America Conference of the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS-NA 2010), Orlando, FL., 5-8 December 2010

Klebsiella infection in patients with thalassemia

Klebsiella infection has previously been reported in a few patients with transfusion-dependent thalassemia. The incidence and clinical spectrum of this infection in our cohort of patients were reviewed retrospectively. Among 160 patients observed for 12 years, there were 15 episodes of Klebsiella infection that occurred in 12 patients (7.5%), resulting in an incidence of 0.78 infections per 100 patient-years. The clinical spectrum included sinusitis (4 cases), intracranial infection (5 cases), septicemia (4 cases), and abscesses of the liver, lung, kidney, and parotid gland (1 case each). Three patients had recurrent infections involving different sites, 2 (16%) died of fulminant septicemia, and 3 (25%) had significant permanent neurological deficits. The antibiotic susceptibility pattern for the isolates was similar to the pattern for isolates recovered in the community. With regard to predisposing factors, iron overload and liver function derangement were found to be significant on univariate analysis (P = .046 and P = .049, respectively) but insignificant on multivariate analysis. Klebsiella infection was a serious and frequently encountered complication in our patients with transfusion-dependent thalassemia, resulting in high mortality and morbidity rates.published_or_final_versio

Suppression of nickel release in nickeltitanium alloys by plasma immersion ion implantation surface treatment: towards a new generation of "smart" orthopaedic implants

Summary form only given. Nickel-titanium shape memory alloys (NiTi) are potentially very useful in spinal deformity correction due to their super elastic properties and their ability to change shape with temperature. However, release of toxic nickel particulate debris remains a major concern. We have developed a novel method of altering the surface of the material to reduce nickel release by using plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII). This study compares the corrosion resistance and mechanical properties of PIII treated samples with untreated NiTi. NiTi discs containing 50.8% Ni were implanted with nitrogen using PIII technique. Their elemental depth profile, surface chemical composition, surface hardness and corrosion resistance were compared with untreated NiTi. The amount of Ni released into simulated body fluids after the accelerated corrosion tests were determined. The biocompatibility was assessed by culturing mouse osteoblasts expressing an enhanced green fluorescent protein on the surface of these materials. After PIII treatment, a layer of titanium nitride formed on the surface. Compared to untreated NiTi, the corrosion resistance is better by five times, and the surface hardness and elastic modulus are better by a factor of 2. The concentration of Ni in the simulated body fluid for the untreated sample was 30 ppm compared to undetectable levels in the PIII treated sample. There was no difference in the ability of cells to grow on either surface. PIII results in enhanced corrosion and wear resistance, and negligible Ni release. This technique will allow NiTi alloys to be safely implanted in the human body. A new generation of "smart" orthopaedic implants will likely result.published_or_final_versio

Nickel ion level in scoliotic patients implanted with nitrogen plasma surface modified nickel-titanium superelastic spinal implant

published_or_final_versionThe 3rd International NanoElectronics Conference (INEC), Hong Kong, 3-8 January 2010. In Proceedings of the 3rd INEC, 2010, p. 136

Yttrium-90 radioembolization for advanced inoperable hepatocellular carcinoma

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First Report of a Fatal Case Associated with EV-D68 Infection in Hong Kong and Emergence of an Interclade Recombinant in China Revealed by Genome Analysis

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Human papillomavirus status in southern Chinese women

1. The overall and type-specific human papillomavirus (HPV) prevalence differed between Hong Kong and Guangzhou healthy women. The prevalence of HPV was significantly higher in Guangzhou than Hong Kong women. Younger women had significantly higher risk of HPV infection. 2. HPV16 remained the most common type detected in both regions; the frequency increased with increasing disease severity. The prevalence of HPV58 and HPV52 was relatively high in women with normal cervix and precancerous lesions.published_or_final_versio