Comparison of surgery or radiotherapy on complications and quality of life in patients with the stage IB and IIA uterine cervical cancer

[[abstract]]Objectives. To compare the long-term complications and quality of life of patients with stage IB and stage IIA uterine cervical carcinoma treated by surgery or radiotherapy. Methods. From August 2003 to May 2004, 202 patients with uterine cervical carcinoma were treated with surgery or radiotherapy at two institutions and were enrolled in this study upon follow-up at least 2 years post treatment. All patients completed the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire and complications Questionnaire. Results. Constipation (P<0.001), flushing (p<0.001), dysuria (p<0.001), urinary incontinence (p<0.01), dysparia (p<0.05) and vaginal dryness (p<0.05) were statistically higher in the surgery treated group, while diarrhea (p<0.001), bloody stools (p<0.001) and abdominal pain (p<0.01) were higher in the radiotherapy group. Using factor analysis and introducing personal conditioned variables, pelvic neural dysfunction was significantly higher in surgery group and intestinal dysfunction was higher in radiotherapy group. There was no difference in sexual dysfunction between these two modalities. Comparison of EORTC QLQ-C30 showed that the majority of issues had minimal differences between these two treatment modalities, except social functioning (p<0.05; higher in radiotherapy group), constipation (p<0.001; higher in surgery group) and diarrhea (p<0.01; higher in radiotherapy group). Conclusions. In early stage uterine cervical cancer patients, surgery or radiotherapy resulted in different complications, whereas long-term quality of life showed few differences between these two different modalities. These data were helpful for physicians in regards to the changes of patients, and moreover, for rehabilitation and supportive care of the patients after treatment. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Progenitor-like cells derived from mouse kidney protect against renal fibrosis in a remnant kidney model via decreased endothelial mesenchymal transition

Showing A quantification of GFP-positive cells in the lung after intravenous injection of MKPCs in five-sixths nephrectomized mice (y axis shows the number of cells, while the x axis (FL1-H) shows the fluorescence intensity; M1 is the area of GFP-positive cells) and B immunohistochemistry of the lung after intravenous injection of MKPCs into a mouse that underwent five-sixths nephrectomy. Few GFP positive cells were found in the lung at the first day but there were no GFP-positive cells at week 14. (TIFF 2253 kb

Flood impact assessment under climate change scenarios in central Taipei area, Taiwan

Providing effective information regarding flood control for responding climate change is essential to future flood risk management for cities. This study simulated and assessed the impacts of flooding for future climate change scenarios in Taipei city, Taiwan. We modelled rainfall events, generated by general circulation models, with different return periods. The flood extents and damage in the Central Taipei Area for the A1B climate change scenarios were compared to the ones, caused by the rainfall events with same return periods, without climate change (baseline scenario). The proposed approach provides potential flooding maps and flood damage assessment for climate change scenarios as useful information for flood risk management in urban areas.The work is supported by the National Science Council, Taiwan (NSC 99-2915-I-002-120) and the CORFU project, funded by the European Commission through Framework Programme 7, Grant Number 244047

Smoking, passive smoking and histological types in lung cancer in Hong Kong Chinese women.

In a case control study in Hong Kong, 445 cases of Chinese female lung cancer patients all confirmed pathologically were compared with 445 Chinese female healthy neighbourhood controls matched for age. The predominant histological type was adenocarcinoma (47.2%). The relative risk (RR) in ever-smokers was 3.81 (P less than 0.001, 95% CI = 2.86, 5.08). The RRs were statistically significantly raised for all major cell types with significant trends between RR and amount of tobacco smoked daily. Among never smoking women, RR for passive smoking due to a smoking husband was 1.65 (P less than 0.01, 95% CI = 1.16, 2.35) with a significant trend between RR and amount smoked daily by the husband. When broken down by cell types, the numbers were substantial only for adenocarcinoma (RR = 2.12, P less than 0.01, 95% CI = 1.32, 3.39) with a significant trend between RR and amount smoked daily by the husband. The results suggest that passive smoking is a risk factor for lung cancer, particularly adenocarcinoma in Hong Kong Chinese women who never smoked

Expanding genotype/phenotype of neuromuscular diseases by comprehensive target capture/NGS

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The complex interplay between endoplasmic reticulum stress and the NLRP3 inflammasome: a potential therapeutic target for inflammatory disorders.

Inflammation is the result of a complex network of cellular and molecular interactions and mechanisms that facilitate immune protection against intrinsic and extrinsic stimuli, particularly pathogens, to maintain homeostasis and promote tissue healing. However, dysregulation in the immune system elicits excess/abnormal inflammation resulting in unintended tissue damage and causes major inflammatory diseases including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, atherosclerosis, inflammatory bowel diseases, sarcoidosis and rheumatoid arthritis. It is now widely accepted that both endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and inflammasomes play critical roles in activating inflammatory signalling cascades. Notably, evidence is mounting for the involvement of ER stress in exacerbating inflammasome-induced inflammatory cascades, which may provide a new axis for therapeutic targeting in a range of inflammatory disorders. Here, we comprehensively review the roles, mechanisms and interactions of both ER stress and inflammasomes, as well as their interconnected relationships in inflammatory signalling cascades. We also discuss novel therapeutic strategies that are being developed to treat ER stress- and inflammasome-related inflammatory disorders

Punica granatum (Pomegranate) juice provides an HIV-1 entry inhibitor and candidate topical microbicide

BACKGROUND: For ≈ 24 years the AIDS pandemic has claimed ≈ 30 million lives, causing ≈ 14,000 new HIV-1 infections daily worldwide in 2003. About 80% of infections occur by heterosexual transmission. In the absence of vaccines, topical microbicides, expected to block virus transmission, offer hope for controlling the pandemic. Antiretroviral chemotherapeutics have decreased AIDS mortality in industrialized countries, but only minimally in developing countries. To prevent an analogous dichotomy, microbicides should be: acceptable; accessible; affordable; and accelerative in transition from development to marketing. Already marketed pharmaceutical excipients or foods, with established safety records and adequate anti-HIV-1 activity, may provide this option. METHODS: Fruit juices were screened for inhibitory activity against HIV-1 IIIB using CD4 and CXCR4 as cell receptors. The best juice was tested for inhibition of: (1) infection by HIV-1 BaL, utilizing CCR5 as the cellular coreceptor; and (2) binding of gp120 IIIB and gp120 BaL, respectively, to CXCR4 and CCR5. To remove most colored juice components, the adsorption of the effective ingredient(s) to dispersible excipients and other foods was investigated. A selected complex was assayed for inhibition of infection by primary HIV-1 isolates. RESULTS: HIV-1 entry inhibitors from pomegranate juice adsorb onto corn starch. The resulting complex blocks virus binding to CD4 and CXCR4/CCR5 and inhibits infection by primary virus clades A to G and group O. CONCLUSION: These results suggest the possibility of producing an anti-HIV-1 microbicide from inexpensive, widely available sources, whose safety has been established throughout centuries, provided that its quality is adequately standardized and monitored

Biodegradable collagen matrix implant vs mitomycin-C as an adjuvant in trabeculectomy: a 24-month, randomized clinical trial

AIM: To verify the safety and efficacy of Ologen (OLO) implant as adjuvant compared with low-dosage mitomycin-C (MMC) in trabeculectomy. METHODS: This was a prospective randomized clinical trial with a 24-month follow-up. Forty glaucoma patients (40 eyes) were assigned to trabeculectomy with MMC or OLO. Primary outcome includes target IOP at ≤21, ≤17, and ≤15 mm Hg; complete (target IOP without medications), and qualified success (target IOP regardless of medications). Secondary outcomes include bleb evaluation, according to Moorfields Bleb Grading System (MBGS); spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) examination; number of glaucoma medications; and frequency of postoperative adjunctive procedures and complications. RESULTS: The mean preoperative IOP was 26.5 (±5.2) in MMC and 27.3 (±6.0) in OLO eyes, without statistical significance. One-day postoperatively, the IOP dropped to 5.2 (±3.5) and 9.2 (±5.5) mm Hg, respectively (P=0.009). The IOP reduction was significant at end point in all groups (P=0.01), with a mean IOP of 16.0 (±2.9) and 16.5 (±2.1) mm Hg in MMC and OLO, respectively. The rates and Kaplan-Meier curves did not differ for both complete and qualified success at any target IOP. The bleb height in OLO group was higher than MMC one (P<0.05). SD-OCT analysis of successful/unsuccessful bleb in patients with or without complete success at IOP ≤17  mm Hg indicated a sensitivity of 83% and 73% and a specificity of 75% and 67%, respectively, for MMC and OLO groups. No adverse reaction to OLO was noted. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that OLO implant could be a new, safe, and effective alternative to MMC, with similar long-term success rate