Genetic diversity of Echinococcus multilocularis specimens isolated from Belgian patients with alveolar echinococcosis using EmsB microsatellites analysis.

The genetic diversity of Echinococcus multilocularis (E. multilocularis) specimens isolated from patients with alveolar echinococcosis (AE), is a major field of investigation to correlate with sources of infection, clinical manifestations and prognosis of the disease. Molecular markers able to distinguish samples are commonly used worldwide, including the EmsB microsatellite. Here, we report the use of the EmsB microsatellite polymorphism data mining for the retrospective typing of Belgian specimens of E. multilocularis infecting humans. A total of 18 samples from 16 AE patients treated between 2006 and 2021 were analyzed through the EmsB polymorphism. Classification of specimens was performed through a dendrogram construction in order to compare the similarity among Belgian samples, some human referenced specimens on the EWET database (EmsB Website for the Echinococcus Typing) and previously published EmsB profiles from red foxes circulating in/near Belgium. According to a comparison with human European specimens previously genotyped in profiles, the 18 Belgian ones were classified into three EmsB profiles. Four specimens could not be assigned to an already known profile but some are near to EWET referenced samples. This study also highlights that some specimens share the same EmsB profile with profiles characterized in red foxes from north Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and French department near to the Belgian border. Furthermore, Belgian specimens present a genetic diversity and include one profile that don't share similarities with the ones referenced in the EWET database. However, at this geographical scale, there is no clear correlation between EmsB profiles and geographical location. Further studies including additional clinical samples and isolates from foxes and rodents of south Belgium are necessary to better understand the spatial and temporal circumstances of human infections but also a potential correlation between EmsB profiles and parasite virulence

Characterization of B cell plasticity in an original in vivo mouse model morphological features, morphometric study and insight in molecular aspects of the mechanisms

The common observation of pathological specimens of human endocrine pancreas has repeatedly raised questions. Among those, one is recurrent: what is the mechanism underlying the adaptation of the human endocrine pancreas to face the increased or lowered needs of insulin, does it solely rely on changes in β cell function or does it also depend on changes in the β cell mass ; in other words, the question is whether and how the endocrine pancreas is able to undergo hyperplasia and atrophy in relation to the changes in insulin needs and whether the endocrine pancreas could be considered as a “plastic” organ? Among the rationales that generate these questions are the analyses of the pancreases of infants suffering from persistent hypoglycemic hyperinsulinemia bearing a focal lesion hypersecreting insulin. Surprisingly, this localized abnormal insulin hypersecretion seems to induce the resting and atrophy of the islets of Langerhans located in the healthy part of the pancreas. No experimental model was adapted to the study of this pathology and of the mechanisms underlying atrophy of the normal islets surrounding the abnormal source of insulin hypersecretion and recovery after its resection. The purpose of this thesis has been to develop and characterize a model inducing plasticity of β cells. This model had to be flexible, specific to β cells and convenient for the study of β cell plasticity, defined as the dynamic adjustment of β cell mass and function to ensure normoglycemia through changing metabolic circumstances (Kargar and Ktorza 2008). We developed a model based on the implantation of insulin pellets inducing hyperinsulinaemia and concomitant profound atrophy of β cells. After the removal of these insulin implants, an impressive and rapid reconstitution of β cell mass occurred, mainly achieved through the replication of pre-existing β cells. We then decided to investigate whether regenerative mechanisms, in addition to the replication of pre-existing β cells, would require the reactivation of transcription factors that recapitulate the molecular events of embryogenesis and lead to the sequential differentiation of islet cells. Consequently, we explored the expression of several of these transcription factors using real-time PCR (RTqPCR) after laser capture microdissection (LCM) allowing a selective isolation of islets from surrounding cells in tissue sections. These findings were correlated with cellular localisation of the proteins revealed by immunofluorescence technique(SBIM 3) -- UCL, 201

Physiologie des sinus paranasaux

Les sinus paranasaux sont des cavités aériques creusées dans l’épaisseur des os du crâne. Ils sont tapissés par un épithélium de type respiratoire, pseudostratifié cylindrique cilié. Ils communiquent avec les fosses nasales par un « ostium », passage obligé de l’air et point de convergence des différentes voies de drainage. La perméabilité de cet orifice est capitale au maintien de la physiologie des sinus. Toute obstruction persistante de l’ostium engendre des perturbations importantes des pressions partielles en oxygène et en CO2 dans le sinus. Il en résulte une diminution du battement ciliaire, une stase des sécrétions et une prolifération bactérienne secondaire. Le drainage mucociliaire est la seconde composante nécessaire au bon fonctionnement des sinus. Celui-ci dépend de la morphologie et de la qualité du battement ciliaire et des propriétés rhéologiques du mucus qui lubrifie et protège l’épithélium sous-jacent. En pathologie, les dyskinésies ciliaires primitives et secondaires, et la mucoviscidose sont des exemples typiques d’altération du drainage mucociliaire

Current state of scanning micromanipulator applications with the carbon dioxide laser.

OBJECTIVES: The development of the scanning system AcuBlade has considerably enhanced carbon dioxide laser energy delivery, improving cutting and ablation modes. The scanning system can be applied with the 2 available high-powered pulsed waves, SuperPulse and UltraPulse. This study was conducted to determine whether there are any differences in phonosurgery between the SuperPulse and UltraPulse lasing applications with regard to thermal diffusion into the surrounding tissues, healing time, and clinical results. METHODS: Thirteen patients with bilateral and similar vocal fold lesions underwent operation--one side in SuperPulse mode and the other side in UltraPulse mode. The parameters for phonosurgery were depth of 0.2 mm, 10 W, single pulse, and 0.10 second for SuperPulse, and 2 passes, 10 W, single pulse, and 0.10 second for UltraPulse. RESULTS: Incisions were sharper with UltraPulse, making the surgery easier, but at the first postoperative follow-up visit, after 8 to 10 days, no differences were observed in the presentation, the healing, or the vibration of the 2 vocal folds. Coagulation along the incision line was 25 microm for SuperPulse and 15 microm for UltraPulse (median values). CONCLUSIONS: In comparison with SuperPulse, the UltraPulse carbon dioxide laser made the procedure easier, but did not improve the clinical outcome

Metachronous testicular seminoma after radiotherapy and chemotherapy: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Bilateral testicular neoplasia is rare, with an incidence ranging from 1 to 5%. Long-term survival has improved in recent years due to advanced diagnostic approaches and new therapeutic methods that are highly effective against germ cell tumors. CASE PRESENTATION: We present the case of a patient with a primary seminomatous testicular tumor, who developed a contralateral metastasis and a subsequent metachronous tumor following chemotherapy and consolidation radiotherapy treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Strict follow-up, including physical examination and ultrasound examination of the contralateral testis, enabled early diagnosis of the second tumor, giving the patient a high likelihood of a definitive cure

Liposarcoma of the Spermatic Cord: An Infrequent Pathology.

To describe a rare pathology, the liposarcoma of the spermatic cord (LSC), and discuss its diagnosis and treatment

Comprehensive cost analysis of sentinel node biopsy in solid head and neck tumors using a time-driven activity-based costing approach.

Head and neck cancer (HNC) is predominantly a locoregional disease. Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy offers a minimally invasive means of accurately staging the neck. Value in healthcare is determined by both outcomes and the costs associated with achieving them. Time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC) may offer more precise estimates of the true cost. Process maps were developed for nuclear medicine, operating room and pathology care phases. TDABC estimates the costs by combining information about the process with the unit cost of each resource used. Resource utilization is based on observation of care and staff interviews. Unit costs are calculated as a capacity cost rate, measured as a Euros/min (2014), for each resource consumed. Multiplying together the unit costs and resource quantities and summing across all resources used will produce the average cost for each phase of care. Three time equations with six different scenarios were modeled based on the type of camera, the number of SLN and the type of staining used. Total times for different SLN scenarios vary between 284 and 307 min, respectively, with a total cost between 2794 and 3541€. The unit costs vary between 788€/h for the intraoperative evaluation with a gamma-probe and 889€/h for a preoperative imaging with a SPECT/CT. The unit costs for the lymphadenectomy and the pathological examination are, respectively, 560 and 713€/h. A 10 % increase of time per individual activity generates only 1 % change in the total cost. TDABC evaluates the cost of SLN in HNC. The total costs across all phases which varied between 2761 and 3744€ per standard case