Cholecystomucoclasis: Revaluation of safety and validity in aged populations

Background: We evaluated the safety and validity of cholecystomucoclasis (CM) and compared its intraoperative characteristics with those of standard cholecystectomy (SC).Methods: We enrolled 174 patients who underwent cholecystectomy and retrospectively evaluated the outcomes of patients in the SC and CM groups.Results: Significant differences in age (71.1 vs. 61.9 years), American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status (ASA-PS), and serum C-reactive protein levels (CRP) (18.1 vs. 4.7 mg/dL) were observed between the CM and SC groups. Conversely, no significant differences were observed in the operation time (129 vs. 108 min), amount of blood loss (147 vs. 80 mL), intraoperative complications (0% vs. 5.7%), or duration of hospital stay (13.2 vs. 8.9 days) between the 2 groups. A high conversion rate (35.3%), postoperative complications (33%), and frequent drain insertions (94%) were observed in the CM group.Conclusions: CM is a safe and valid surgical procedure and surgeons should not hesitate to transition to CM for patients who are of advanced age, in poor general condition (high ASA classification), or have high levels of serum CRP. © 2012 Tsukada et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

Variantes genéticas en el locus 9p21 contribuyen al desarrollo de arteriosclerosis a través de la modulación de ANRIL y CDKN2A/B

Registro creado en correspondencia al grado de doctora de Ada Congrains Castillo.Los estudios de asociación de todo el genoma (GWAS) han identificado variantes genéticas que contribuyen al riesgo de enfermedad cardiovascular (ECV) en el locus del cromosoma 9p21. La región asociada a CVD es adyacente a los dos inhibidores de quinasas dependientes de ciclina (CDKN) 2A y 2B y los últimos exones del ARN no codificante, ANRIL. Todavía no está claro cuál de estas transcripciones o cómo están involucradas en la patogénesis de la aterosclerosis.Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified genetic variants contributing to the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) at the chromosome 9p21 locus. The CVD-associated region is adjacent to the two cyclin dependent kinase inhibitors (CDKN)2A and 2B and the last exons of the non-coding RNA, ANRIL. It is still not clear which of or how these transcripts are involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis.Japón. Programa de Promoción de Estudios Fundamentales en el Instituto Nacional de Innovación Biomédica de Japón (HR: 22-2-5), el Ministerio de Educación, Cultura, Deportes, Ciencia y Tecnología de Japón (KK: 22510211) y la Fundación NOVARTIS para la Investigación Gerontológica (KK).Tesi

Life-Threatening Gastrointestinal Mucosal Necrosis during Methotrexate Treatment for Rheumatoid Arthritis

Methotrexate (MTX), a folic acid antagonist, is widely used in the treatment of neoplasms, psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis. Despite its efficacy, MTX sometimes finds limited application because of its adverse effects, including renal or liver impairment, bone marrow toxicity and gastrointestinal mucosal injury. Intestinal mucositis, bleeding and peptic ulcers are well-known gastrointestinal adverse effects of MTX, although cases of fatal mucosal necrosis induced by MTX are extremely rare. Here, we report the case of an 82-year-old Japanese woman who developed severe gastrointestinal mucosal necrosis after 8 years of treatment with low-dose MTX (8 mg/week). In the drug lymphocyte stimulation test, MTX showed a strong positive reaction, with a stimulation index of 443% against normal controls. Physicians must be aware of potential drug-induced adverse effects in patients with chronic diseases who are on long-term medication

Biosynthesis of Schwertmannite and Goethite in a Bioreactor with Acidophilic Fe(II)-Oxidizing Betaproteobacterium Strain GJ-E10

Iron oxide minerals, schwertmannite and goethite, which are naturally occurring in acidic environments are attractive nanostructured materials because of the potential diverse applications. Although the biosynthesis of schwertmannite by acidophilic Fe(II)-oxidizing microorganisms has been investigated, little is known about goethite biosynthesis under acidic conditions. To examine a biological approach to the synthesis of these minerals, bioreactor experiments were conducted with a newly isolated acidophilic betaproteobacterium. The bioproducts were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, cryogenic Mössbauer spectroscopy, and electron microscopy. The cultures growing at 25 °C and pH 3.0 or at 37 °C and pH 2.5 oxidized Fe(II) and precipitated schwertmannite rapidly. Increasing pH at each temperature resulted in the concomitant production of goethite, and 90% pure goethite was obtained at 37 °C and pH 3.5. The goethite phase was nano-sized and had relatively large specific surface area (133 m2·g−1), leading to high sorption capacity for metal oxyanions. Schwertmannite was also a good adsorbent for oxyanions, regardless of the smaller specific surface area. Our results indicate that these acidophilic microbial cultures serve as a simple rapid system for the synthesis of nanostructured goethite as well as schwertmannite