Invasive micropapillary carcinoma of the breast overexpresses MUC4 and is associated with poor outcome to adjuvant trastuzumab in HER2-positive breast cancer

Invasive micropapillary carcinoma of the breast (IMPC) is a histological tumor variant that occurs with low frequency characterized by an inside-out formation of tumor clusters with a pseudopapillary arrangement. IMPC is an aggressive tumor with poor clinical outcome. In addition, this histological subtype usually expresses human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) which also correlates with a more aggressive tumor. In this work we studied the clinical significance of IMPC in HER2-positive breast cancer patients treated with adjuvant trastuzumab. We also analyzed mucin 4 (MUC4) expression as a novel biomarker to identify IMPC.Fil: Mercogliano, María Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Inurrigarro, Gloria. Sanatorio Mater Dei Hermanas de María de Schoenstatt; ArgentinaFil: de Martino, Mara. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Venturutti, Leandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Rivas, Martin Alfredo. Cornell University; Estados UnidosFil: Cordo Russo, Rosalia Ines. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Proietti Anastasi, Cecilia Jazmín. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Fernandez, Elmer Andres. Universidad Católica de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Frahm, Isabel. Sanatorio Mater Dei Hermanas de María de Schoenstatt; ArgentinaFil: Barchuk, Sabrina. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Agudos ; ArgentinaFil: Allemand, Daniel H.. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Agudos ; ArgentinaFil: Figurelli, Silvina. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Agudos ; ArgentinaFil: Gil Deza, Ernesto. Instituto Oncológico Henry Moore; ArgentinaFil: Ares, Sandra. Instituto Oncológico Henry Moore; ArgentinaFil: Gercovich, Felipe G.. Instituto Oncológico Henry Moore; ArgentinaFil: Cortese, Eduardo. Ministerio de Defensa. Fuerza Aérea Argentina. Hospital Aeronáutico Central ; ArgentinaFil: Amasino, Matías. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Guzmán, Pablo. Universidad de La Frontera; ChileFil: Roa, Juan C.. Universidad de La Frontera; ChileFil: Elizalde, Patricia Virginia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Schillaci, Roxana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; Argentin

Protection from Staphylococcus aureus mastitis associated with poly-N-acetyl beta-1,6 glucosamine specific antibody production using biofilm-embedded bacteria

Staphylococcus aureus vaccines based on bacterins surrounded by slime, surface polysaccharides coupled to protein carriers and polysaccharides embedded in liposomes administered together with non-biofilm bacterins confer protection against mastitis. However, it remains unknown whether protective antibodies are directed to slime-associated known exopolysaccharides and could be produced in the absence of bacterin immunizations. Here, a sheep mastitis vaccination study was carried out using bacterins, crude bacterial extracts or a purified exopolysaccharide from biofil

Analysis of the immune system of multiple myeloma patients achieving long-term disease control by multidimensional flow cytometry.

Multiple myeloma remains largely incurable. However, a few patients experience more than 10 years of relapse-free survival and can be considered as operationally cured. Interestingly, long-term disease control in multiple myeloma is not restricted to patients with a complete response, since some patients revert to having a profile of monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance. We compared the distribution of multiple compartments of lymphocytes and dendritic cells in the bone marrow and peripheral blood of multiple myeloma patients with long-term disease control (n=28), patients with newly diagnosed monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (n=23), patients with symptomatic multiple myeloma (n=23), and age-matched healthy adults (n=10). Similarly to the patients with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance and symptomatic multiple myeloma, patients with long-term disease control showed an expansion of cytotoxic CD8(+) T cells and natural killer cells. However, the numbers of bone marrow T-regulatory cells were lower in patients with long-term disease control than in those with symptomatic multiple myeloma. It is noteworthy that B cells were depleted in patients with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance and in those with symptomatic multiple myeloma, but recovered in both the bone marrow and peripheral blood of patients with long-term disease control, due to an increase in normal bone marrow B-cell precursors and plasma cells, as well as pre-germinal center peripheral blood B cells. The number of bone marrow dendritic cells and tissue macrophages differed significantly between patients with long-term disease control and those with symptomatic multiple myeloma, with a trend to cell count recovering in the former group of patients towards levels similar to those found in healthy adults. In summary, our results indicate that multiple myeloma patients with long-term disease control have a constellation of unique immune changes favoring both immune cytotoxicity and recovery of B-cell production and homing, suggesting improved immune surveillance.This work was supported by the Cooperative Research Thematic Network (RTICCs; RD06/0020/0006 and G03/136), Instituto de Salud Carlos III/ Subdirección General de Investigación Sanitaria (FIS: PI060339; 06/1354; 02/0905; 01/0089/01-02; PS09/01897/01370) and Consejeria de Educacion (GR37) and Consejería de Sanidad, Junta de Castilla y León, Valladolid, Spain (557/A/10). The authors also thank the Fundación Carolina-BBVA for supporting and promoting the exchange of medical researchers from Latin America to Spai

PDGF-BB serum levels are decreased in adult onset Pompe patients

Adult onset Pompe disease is a genetic disorder characterized by slowly progressive skeletal and respiratory muscle weakness. Symptomatic patients are treated with enzymatic replacement therapy with human recombinant alfa glucosidase. Motor functional tests and spirometry are commonly used to follow patients up. However, a serological biomarker that correlates with the progression of the disease could improve follow-up. We studied serum concentrations of TGFβ, PDGF-BB, PDGF-AA and CTGF growth factors in 37 adult onset Pompe patients and 45 controls. Moreover, all patients performed several muscle function tests, conventional spirometry, and quantitative muscle MRI using 3-point Dixon. We observed a statistically significant change in the serum concentration of each growth factor in patients compared to controls. However, only PDGF-BB levels were able to differentiate between asymptomatic and symptomatic patients, suggesting its potential role in the follow-up of asymptomatic patients. Moreover, our results point to a dysregulation of muscle regeneration as an additional pathomechanism of Pompe disease

Effectiveness of rotavirus vaccination in Spain

With the aim of determining rotavirus vaccine effectiveness (RVVE) in Spain, from Oct-2008/Jun-2009, 467 consecutive children below 2 years old with acute gastroenteritis (AGE) were recruited using a pediatric research network (ReGALIP-www.regalip.org) that includes primary, emergency and hospital care settings. Of 467 enrolled children, 32.3% were rotavirus positive and 35.0% had received at least one dose of any rotavirus vaccine. RRVE to prevent any episode of rotavirus AGE was 91.5% (95% CI: 83.7%-95.6%). RVVE to prevent hospitalization by rotavirus AGE was 95.6% (85.6-98.6%). No differences in RVVE were found regarding the vaccine used. Rotavirus vaccines have showed an outstanding effectiveness in Spain

FocusDET: Herramienta multimodal para la localización del foco epileptógeno en la epilepsia farmacorresistente

Los pacientes epilépticos con crisis parciales complejas resistentes a tratamiento farmacológico son candidatos a la escisión de la región focal del cerebro que induce dichas crisis. La correcta localización del foco epileptógeno es esencial para considerar la cirugía como posible tratamiento. El objetivo de este trabajo es el desarrollo de una aplicación médica para la localización del foco epileptógeno a partir de datos multimodales. Para el desarrollo de esta nueva herramienta se utiliza GIMIAS, una plataforma de software para la implementación y prototipado de aplicaciones médicas. La nueva herramienta desarrollada, FocusDET, permite llevar a cabo la técnica SISCOM y el análisis de datos EEG-RM f ictal, de imágenes PET y de distintas modalidades de imagen de RM. FocusDET, gracias a su interfaz amigable y a su rapidez de procesamiento, puede ser adecuada para la rutina clínica

The Spanish Infrared Camera onboard the EUSO-BALLOON (CNES) flight on August 24, 2014

The EUSO-Balloon (CNES) campaign was held during Summer 2014 with a launch on August 24. In the gondola, next to the Photo Detector Module (PDM), a completely isolated Infrared camera was allocated. Also, a helicopter which shooted flashers flew below the balloon. We have retrieved the Cloud Top Height (CTH) with the IR camera, and also the optical depth of the nonclear atmosphere have been inferred with two approaches: The first one is with the comparison of the brightness temperature of the cloud and the real temperature obtained after the pertinent corrections. The second one is by measuring the detected signal from the helicopter flashers by the IR Camera, considering the energy of the flashers and the location of the helicopter

A Cross-National Analysis of the Psychometric Properties of the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory

10.1093/geronb/gbz002J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sc

Re-emergence of enterovirus D68 in Europe after easing the COVID-19 lockdown, September 2021

We report a rapid increase in enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) infections, with 139 cases reported from eight European countries between 31 July and 14 October 2021. This upsurge is in line with the seasonality of EV-D68 and was presumably stimulated by the widespread reopening after COVID-19 lockdown. Most cases were identified in September, but more are to be expected in the coming months. Reinforcement of clinical awareness, diagnostic capacities and surveillance of EV-D68 is urgently needed in Europe.Peer Reviewe