The latest reports on biomarkers used in the diagnosis of ovarian cancer

Introduction: Ovarian cancer ranks seventh in terms of incidence and eighth in terms of mortality among women worldwide. It is divided into several subtypes. The epithelial type of ovarian cancer is responsible for 90% of cases. The clinical picture is usually an appendage tumor detected by palpation or during pelvic imaging. Symptoms are usually non-specific such as abdominal pushing or bloating.  State of knowledge: Ovarian cancer is usually detected at an advanced stage due to the long duration of absence of symptoms. Therefore, there is an urgent need to look at existing and identify potential biomarkers that can lead to the development of new and more effective predictors for the diagnosis and prognosis of ovarian cancer. The ability of these biomarkers to predict the existence and stages of ovarian cancer could improve early diagnosis and survival of ovarian cancer patients. Currently, the biomarkers CA-125 and HE4 play the most important role in diagnosis. However, there are an increasing number of reports on other biomarkers such as kallikreins, bikunin, VEGF, and mesothelin.  Summary: Partly due to the lack of effective screening, ovarian cancer is usually diagnosed in the final stages. This is why ongoing research into new biomarkers that could contribute to faster detection of the disease is so important. They would also increase the effectiveness of the therapies used and enable a better prognosis of the course of the disease.  &nbsp

Deep brain stimulation failure due to external cardioversion in a patient with Parkinson's disease

We report a case of deep brain stimulation (DBS) hardware failure due to emergently performed subcutaneous coronary angioplasties complicated by cardioversion for rapid worsening of angina pectoris and some trouble shooting problems emerged after invasive cardiovascular procedures. The patient with prior implantation of permanent pacemaker due to vasovagal syndrome underwent successful left-sided unilateral electrode implantation into the subthalamic nucleus. During 21 months follow-up period the patient experienced 2 times episodes of aggravation of unstable angina pectoris 15 and 21 months respectively, which necessities emergent coronary angioplasties. After the first emergently performed coronary angioplasty with cardioversion the interrogation of DBS system revealed the depletion of an internal pulse generator (IPG). The secondly performed coronary angioplasty complicated by ventricular tachyarrhythmia with DBS system switched on during emergent cardioversion resulted in partial dysfunction of DBS electrode. Patients harboring cardiovascular implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) and DBS systems require special attention and good cooperation of neurosurgeons, interventional cardiologist, and neurologist. Some emergently performed invasive cardiovascular procedures which necessities cardioversion may cause DBS hardware failure with subsequent worsening of movement disorder symptoms

Health benefits of hormonal contraception used by symptoms associated with acne vulgaris and hirsutism

Hormonal contraception in reproductive age is used not only as a birth control method but also for other indications like acne vulgaris and hirsutism. Acne vulgaris and hirsutism are important signs related to hyperandrogenaemia and provide a serious medical problem for the patients. Reduction of numerous existing symptoms leads to an improvement in the quality of women’s life. The aim of the study is to present author’s statistical data and to compare it to available data on non-contraceptive benefits

The effect of hormonal contraception on symptoms associated with the menstrual cycle

Nowadays, there exist a large number of methods that allow to prevent unintended pregnancy. One of the most common technique in Poland is hormonal contraception in the form of contraceptive pills. This method is effective, easy to use, and more importantly it does not cause permanent sterility. Moreover, hormonal contraception comes with plenty of additional health benefits that are not related to contraception alone, such as: reduction of menstrual pain, regular cycles and lack of menorrhagia. Due to the beneficial effect on the body, hormonal contraception is used in the treatment of certain diseases, such as acne and endometriosis. Reduction of numerous existing symptoms leads to an improvement in the quality of women’s lives

Systemic sclerosis – review of current data and latest reports

Introduction: Systemic scleroderma (SSc) is an autoimmune disease characterized by fibrosis of the skin and internal organs, vasculopathy and dysregulation of the immune system. It has the highest mortality rate among rheumatologic diseases. SSc causes high economic and social costs. Aim of the study: The purpose of this review is to present the current state of knowledge and recent reports on the pathophysiology, clinical manifestation and treatment of SSc. Materials and methods: A search was conducted using PubMed and GoogleScholar databases. Articles were searched in English using the following keywords: "systemic sclerosis", "scleroderma", "treatment", "symptoms", "pathophysiology". Conclusions: Although the prognosis of SSc remains poor, optimized patient diagnosis along with ongoing advances in therapy could significantly impact the effectiveness of disease management in the near future. It is anticipated that there will be a growing need for further development of combination therapies to better treat this complex disease

Influence of vegetarian diet on human body

All over the world there are more vegetarians than in previous years due to many reasons. One of them is positive influence on health what is shown in the latest research. The aim of the article is to review the influence of vegetarian diet on frequent diseases such as: hypertension, obesity,osteoporosis.An analysis of scientific papers from Pubmed and Google Scholar was performed, which most accurately described the issue of impact vegetarian diet on human health. The following keywords have been used in the search:Vegetarian, hypertension, obesity, osteoporosis:vegetarian, hypertension, obesity, osteoporosis.The researchers shown than vegetarians have lover systolic blood pressure  and diastolic blood pressure by 10 and 5 mmHg, they also lower overall mortality by 10-15%, risk of heart failure and by ~40%,  stroke by~35% and coronary events by 20%. Vegetarians also have statistically  lower body mass index. What’s more in this diet is more energy efficient thanks too low food energy density and helps keeping leptin on adequate level. Research has shown than vegetarians have lower mineral bone density than non-vegetarian, although some studies has shown that  risk of fractures in vegetarians and non-vegetarians was not affected by diet alternation. Based on the results of the studies above vegetarian diet contributes to lower blood pressure and preventing from cardiovascular diseases. It helps to avoid obesity and  to get rid of weights also doesn’t have negative impact on osteoporosis

Does the patients age at cancer diagnosis affect microvessels density in uterine sarcoma tissues?

Objectives: The objective of the study was to retrospectively evaluate the density of vessels exhibiting positive glycoprotein CD34 expression in the uterine leiomyosarcoma tissues and their correlation with the age of patients at the time of tumor diagnosis. Material and methods: The archival paraffin blocks with the cancer tissues collected from 50 patients suffering from uterine leiomyosarcoma were used together with their clinical and demographic data. The immunohistochemical peroxidase-de­pendent methods were used to detect microvessels with positive CD34 expression. The glycoprotein CD34 expression was evaluated as a density of microvessel showing the positive immunohistochemical reaction (MVDCD34). Results: The negative, statistically significant correlation between the age of patients (at the moment diagnosis) and the MVDCD34+ (R = –0.289, p = 0.042) was found. Conclusions: The study’s findings may suggest that the tissues of younger people constitute a permissive environment for pro-angiogenic factors

Neuropilin 1 in uterine leiomyosarcoma. Clinical and pathological analysis

Objectives: The role of angiogenesis in leiomyosarcomas still remains unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the NRP1 expression in the leiomyosarcoma tissues and to find the relations between its expression and the clinical features. Material and methods: The study group consisted of 50 patients with diagnosis of the uterine leiomyosarcoma. Clinical and follow up data were collected. Using immunohistochemical methods the expression of NRP1 was detected. Results: The lack of NRP1 expression was found in 14 cases, positive (weak or moderate) expression was noted in 36 cases. The significantly higher expression of NRP1 was observed in more severe clinical stages in comparison to lower stages of the disease. The significantly shorter survival of patients with the positive expression of NRP1 in leiomyosarcoma was observed. Conclusions: The expression of NRP1 is associated with clinical advancement and worse prognosis in uterine LMS. Neuropilin 1 can be widely used as a postoperative survival predictor for the patients suffering from uterine LMS

Ekspresja podoplaniny w raku jasnokomórkowym jajnika

Abstract Introduction: Podoplanin is a transmembrane glycoprotein expressed in endothelial lymphatic cells. It was proven to be a predictive marker in a variety of cancers e.g. mesothelioma and head and neck squamous-cell carcinoma. Ovarian clear cell carcinoma (OCCC) is a rare and unique histopathologic subtype of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). The molecular basis of that phenomenon remains unknown. Objectives: The aim of our study was to assess podoplanin expression on the protein level in OCCC. Material and Methods: Immunohistochemistry was performed on paraffin-embedded tissues from 19 patients with diagnosed OCCC. Results: Podoplanin expression was present (moderate or strong) in 52% of OCCC cases (10/19). Nine of eleven (81,2%) postmenopausal and one of eight (12,5%) premenopausal women were podoplanin positive. No differences in podoplanin expression were found in relation to clinical features of the tumor. Conclusion: The incidence of podoplanin expression is higher in ovarian clear cell adenocarcinoma in postmenopausal patients.Streszczenie Wstęp: Podoplanina jest przezbłonową glikoproteiną występującą w komórkach śródbłonka naczyń limfatycznych. Swoje zastosowanie jako marker predykcyjny znalazła w diagnostyce międzybłoniaka czy też w raku głowy i szyi. Jasnokomórkowy rak jajnika (OCCC) jest rzadko występującym i odmiennym histopatologicznym podtypem nabłonkowego raka jajnika. Molekularne podłoże tego zjawiska nadal nie jest znane. Cel: Celem badań była ocena ekspresji podoplaniny na poziomie białka w jasnokomórkowym raku jajnika. Materiał i metody: Ekspresję podoplaniny oceniono metodą immunohistochemiczną z zastosowaniem techniki macierzy tkankowych (TMA) u 19 pacjentek z OCCC. Wyniki: Ekspresja podoplaniny była obecna (średnia lub wysoka) w 52% przypadków OCCC (10/19). Jej ekspresję wykazano u jednej Spośród ośmiu pacjentek przed menopauzą (12,5%) i u 9 spośród 11 (81,2%) po menopauzie. Nie wykryto różnic w ekspresji podoplaniny w odniesieniu do cech klinicznych nowotworu. Wnioski: Częsta ekspresja podoplaniny jest charakterystyczna dla kobiet po menopauzie ze zdiagnozowanym rakiem jasnokomórkowym jajnika

Expression of lymphangiogenesis marker neuropilin-1 in different types of ovarian cancer

Background: Neuropilin (NRP) may be used as a marker of lymphangiogenesis in malignant tumors. Significant correlations of the expression of NRP with tumor progression and overall survival prognosis were found in several cancer types. However, its potential role in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) has not been clarified. AIMS: The aim of the work was to study a possible correlation of neuropilin-1 (NRP-1) expression with selected clinical and histological features of EOC. Material and Methods: The study included 53 women (aged 23 to 81, mean 56.6+/-4.4yrs), 38 of which were postmenopausal (71.7%). Immunohistochemical staining with a specific anti-NRP-1 antibody was performed in representative tumor tissue samples of patients with EOC. Both, percentage of stained lymphatic cells and intensity of staining were assessed under 200x magnification. The results were correlated with the menopausal status, FIGO stage, histological type and histological grade of EOC. Results: Histological examination revealed that there were 27 cases of serous cancers (50%), 15 cases of mucinous cancer (28.3%) and 11 endometrioid cancers (20.7%). In 41.5% (n=22) cases of EOC no NRP-1 staining was found, a weak (+) or strong (++) staining were found in 13 (24.5%) and 18 tumors, respectively. There were no significant differences between neuropilin-1 expression and both menopausal status of women and histological type of EOC. Except for stage II, clinical EOC patients’ FIGO stage was not correlated with the lack of expression (38.8% for stage I, 71.4% for stage II and 35.7% for stage III). Conclusion: We believe that neuropilin-1 expression is probably not related to clinical and histological features of epithelial ovarian cancer