34 research outputs found
A new score predicting the survival of patients with spinal cord compression from myeloma
A validated score estimating ambulatory status following radiotherapy of elderly patients for metastatic spinal cord compression
A predictive tool particularly designed for elderly myeloma patients presenting with spinal cord compression
Nuclear expression of p65 (RelA) in patients receiving post-operative radiotherapy for locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck
Do patients with very few brain metastases from breast cancer benefit from whole-brain radiotherapy in addition to radiosurgery?
Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor (MIF) Drives Murine Psoriasiform Dermatitis
The immunomodulator Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor (MIF) exerts pleiotropic immunomodulatory activities and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of diverse inflammatory diseases. Expression levels of MIF are also significantly elevated in the skin and serum of psoriasis patients, but the pathogenic significance of MIF in psoriasis is unknown. We have therefore addressed the role of MIF in two mouse models of psoriasis, namely in the imiquimod-induced psoriasiform dermatitis (IIPD) and the IL-23-induced dermatitis model. Daily treatment with Aldara™ cream, containing imiquimod, markedly increased the abundance of MIF in the skin and generated a cellular skin expression pattern of MIF closely resembling that in human plaque psoriasis. Deficiency in MIF significantly alleviated IIPD. On the clinical level, all hallmarks of psoriasiform dermatitis, including erythema, skin infiltration, and desquamation were reduced in Mif−/− mice. On the histopathological level, MIF deficiency decreased keratinocyte hyperproliferation, inflammatory cell infiltration, specifically with respect to monocyte-derived cells, and dermal angiogenesis, suggesting that MIF may be involved in the pathogenesis of psoriasiform dermatitis through several mechanisms. Similarly, MIF deficiency also significantly reduced disease in the IL-23-induced dermatitis model, suggesting that MIF is involved in the pathogenic pathways activated by IL-23 and required to achieve full-blown psoriasiform dermatitis. Collectively, our results lend support to a possible disease-promoting role of MIF in psoriasis, which should be further investigated
Radiosurgery alone versus radiosurgery plus whole-brain irradiation for very few cerebral metastases from lung cancer
External validation of a model to predict the survival of patients presenting with a spinal epidural metastasis
The surgical treatment of spinal metastases is evolving. The major problem is the
selection of patients who may benefit from surgical treatment. One of the
criteria is an expected survival of at least 3 months. A prediction model has
been previously developed. The present study has been performed in order to
validate externally the model and to demonstrate that this model can be
generalized to other institutions and other countries than the Netherlands. Data
of 356 patients from five centers in Germany, Spain, Sweden, and the Netherlands
who were treated for metastatic epidural spinal cord compression were collected.
Hazard ratios in the test population corresponded with those of the developmental
population. However, the observed and the expected survival were different.
Analysis revealed that the baseline hazard function was significantly different.
This tempted us to combine the data and develop a new prediction model.
Estimating iteratively, a baseline hazard was composed. An adapted prediction
model is presented. External validation of a prediction model revealed a
difference in expected survival, although the relative contribution of the
specific hazard ratios was the same as in the developmental population. This
study emphasized the need to check the baseline hazard function in external
validation. A new model has been developed using an estimated baseline hazar