Using Photodynamic Therapy to Estimate Effectiveness of Innovative Combined Diclofenac and Tazaroten Therapy of Disseminated Actinic Keratosis

Early diagnosis and therapy of precancerous lesions and malignant tumors belong to the most challenging tasks in modern medicine. Photodynamic diagnosis can help diagnose both precancerous lesions and early carcinoma. Actinic keratosis (AK) is the most common precancerous lesion of the skin. The available data show a high effectiveness of diclofenac in treating multifocal AK. We report a case of a 52-year-old woman who complained of multiple disseminated AK lesions predominantly on the lower limbs and trunk with a significant exacerbation within the last 6 months. Due to the spreading of disease and a high number of AK foci, as well as technical problems with visiting the hospital (PDT Laboratory), photodynamic therapy was not applied. The patient was treated for 2 months with a combination of local administration of 3% diclofenac and 0.1% tazaroten and 3% diclofenac only as a half side (left-right) comparison. The effects of therapy were later clinically evaluated and verified by means of photodynamic diagnosis (PDD) directly after therapy and at a follow-up examination 3 months later. The evaluation of treatment was blinded.Treatment with diclofenac only on the right side of the body resulted in clearing of 55% of all treated lesions, which increased to 60% three months after finishing therapy. On the left side of the body, where combined therapy (diclofenac 2 times daily on uneven dates and diclofenac once a day + tazaroten once a day on even dates) was used, 77.5% pathologic lesions disappeared, but this did not increase at follow up. The treatment of multifocal, disseminated AK is a difficult task and also burdensome for the patient due to side effects like scarring or burning and itching which occur during most therapies. Combined therapy with diclofenac and tazaroten supported by PDD may improve the effects of routine treatment of AK.</p

Trends in glioblastoma treatment research: an analysis of clinical trials and literature

Introduction. Glioblastoma is the most common, and the most lethal, primary malignant brain tumour in adults. The aim of the study was to present a comprehensive, data-based review of glioblastoma treatment research, considering all clinical trials and peer-reviewed journal publications.Materials and methods. Data regarding all glioblastoma clinical trials that was available on 7 August 2019 on ClinicalTrials.gov was analysed. Information on interventions’ mechanisms of action was obtained from AdisInsight. A PubMed search for ‘glioblastoma’ was performed in September 2019. Citation counts were gathered from Scopus. Custom software for obtaining and analyzing data was developed by the authors.Results. 1,388 clinical trials on glioblastoma with a start date between 1979 and 2020 were identified. The distribution of glioblastoma clinical trial phases differs significantly from that of other high-mortality cancers. 526 unique interventions of clinical trials and 206 molecular targets have been isolated. 32,410 publications on glioblastoma have been found, the number having increased especially since 2006. Publications on identified treatment options comprised 32.2%. Publications on glioblastoma are cited on average 4.27 times per year. The average specificity of treatment options’ publications for glioblastoma is 6.9%.Conclusions. Glioblastoma treatment options and their molecular targets can be quantitatively ranked according to theirscientific research output. To the best of our knowledge, no such registries have been elaborated before

Measurement of Exhaust Emissions under Actual Operating Conditions with the Use of PEMS: Review of Selected Vehicles

This paper is a synthetic approach to real driving (RDE) from selected vehicles: light-duty vehicle (LDV), heavy-duty vehicle (HDV). The tests were performed with the portable emission measurement system (PEMS) equipment under actual traffic conditions. The paper discusses problems of measurement methodology and emission of CO, HC, NOx, and PM. The performed investigation confirms that the main problem is the emission of NOx and PM, which usually is higher than the emission level. The obtained results show that the RDE method is very complex, but is the only way to provide invaluable information on the actual on-road exhaust emissions, not obtainable under laboratory conditions. In recent years, methods of exhaust emission testing under actual operating conditions have been developing rapidly. New technologies for extra low engine emissions pose a new question: does emission testing in a standard laboratory reflects real life emissions of a vehicle in use? In order to answer this question, it is necessary to measure the vehicle in-use emissions. Today, we know that the engine operating conditions (engine load and speed) in laboratory tests are not compliant with the conditions of actual operation. That is why the results of such tests are so desirable

Postępowanie okołozabiegowe u pacjenta z migotaniem przedsionków przyjmującego eteksylan dabigatranu — opis przypadku

Introduction of new oral anticoagulants (Non-Vitamin K Antagonist Oral Anticoagulants- NOACs) helped to eliminate some vitamin K antagonist–related inconveniences. The main disadvantage of NOACs is the lack of specific antidote. Before any surgical emergency patients with vascular complications, who receive novel oral anticoagulants, require restoration of normal blood coagulation. This case report presents a 69-year old male patient, on regular dabigatran etexilate for atrial fibrillation (AF) who was admitted to the Department of Vascular, General and Oncologic Surgery (Copernicus Memorial Hospital, Lodz, Poland) for acute limb ischemia. He required immediate vascular surgery, but the high risk of intraoperative bleeding was recognized. Laboratory findings revealed a 7-fold prolongation of thrombin time (TT). The patient was qualified for dialysis and received activated prothrombin complex concentrate to restore blood coagulation. He was then subjected to successfull open embolectomy of the left iliac and femoral artery with no significant bleeding. He was discharged on the 14th postoperative day. Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) require permanent pharmacological prevention for stroke and systemic embolism. The medication used for the prevention of thromboembolic events may prove ineffective. Before an urgent surgical intervention patients, who receive novel oral anticoagulants, require restoration of normal blood coagulation. In such cases dialysis and administration of activated prothrombin complex concentrate may be a successfull option for reversing dabigatran-induced coagulopathy.Wprowadzenie do praktyki medycznej nowych doustnych antykoagulantów (NOACs) pozwoliło wyeliminować wiele niedogodności związanych ze stosowaniem antagonistów witaminy K (VKA). Podstawową wadą NOACs jest jednak brak specyficznego antidotum. W przypadku wystąpienia powikłań i konieczności odwrócenia ich działania przed pilnymi zabiegami chirurgicznymi niezbędne jest zapewnienie hemostazy. W pracy przedstawiono przypadek 69-letniego pacjenta z migotaniem przedsionków, stosującego przewlekle eteksylan dabigatranu, którego przyjęto na Oddział Chirurgii Naczyniowej, Ogólnej i Onkologicznej Wojewódzkiego Szpitala Specjalistycznego im. Mikołaja Kopernika w Łodzi z powodu ostrego niedokrwienia lewej kończyny dolnej. Chory wymagał pilnej operacji chirurgicznej, jednak należało się liczyć z wysokim ryzykiem krwawienia śródoperacyjnego ze względu na ponad 7-krotne wydłużenie czasu trombinowego. W celu zapewniania hemostazy chorego przed zabiegiem poddano dializoterapii oraz podano mu aktywowany koncentrat zespołu protrombiny. Zator tętniczy usunięto chirurgicznie, bez istotnego krwawienia, i uzyskano poprawę ukrwienia kończyny. W 14. dobie po zabiegu chorego wypisano do domu. Pacjenci z migotaniem przedsionków wymagają stałej profilaktyki udarów mózgu i zatorów obwodowych. Leki przeciwzakrzepowe stosowane w profilaktyce incydentów zakrzepowo-zatorowych mogą być nieefektywne. Przed pilnym zabiegiem chirurgicznym z wysokim ryzykiem krwawienia chorzy przyjmujący profilaktycznie NOACs wymagają zapewnienia hemostazy. W celu szybkiego odwrócenia działania eteksylanu dabigatranu przed pilną operacją chirurgiczną z powodzeniem można stosować dializoterapię oraz podawać aktywowane czynniki zespołu protrombiny

Adventitial lymphatics of internal carotid artery in healthy and atherosclerotic vessels.

OBJECTIVESPresence of lymphatics in adventitia of major arteries remains controversial. Presence of lymphatics in adventitia of internal carotid artery was not documented and its relation to atherosclerosis was not studied. The aim of our study was to evaluate presence of lymphatic vessels in adventitia of internal carotid artery in healthy and atherosclerotic arteries.METHODSFragments of arterial wall of internal carotid artery were obtained during the surgical eversion endarterectomy in 15 patients with internal carotid artery stenosis and 2 healthy organ donors. 21 arteries were studied. Patients age ranged from 56 to 77 years. Fragments of arterial wall were embeded in paraffin. Lymphatics of arterial adventitia were visualized with immunohistochemistry using LYVE-1 and anty-podoplanin antibodies.RESULTSThe lymphatic vessels were visualized in adventitia of 20 carotid arteries. The serial sections have revealed that both LYVE-1 and podoplanin have identical specificity for lymphatic endothelium Number of lymphatics in adventitia significantly correlated with thickness of intima (

Immunohistochemical and Proteomic Evaluation of Nuclear Ubiquitous Casein and Cyclin-Dependent Kinases Substrate in Invasive Ductal Carcinoma of the Breast

Nuclear ubiquitous casein and cyclin-dependent kinases substrate (NUCKS) is 27 kDa chromosomal protein of unknown function. Its amino acid composition as well as structure of its DNA binding domain resembles that of high-mobility group A, HMGA proteins. HMGA proteins are associated with various malignancies. Since changes in expression of HMGA are considered as marker of tumor progression, it is possible that similar changes in expression of NUCKS could be useful tool in diagnosis and prognosis of breast cancer. For identification and analysis of NUCKS we used proteomic and histochemical methods. Analysis of patient-matched samples of normal and breast cancer by mass spectrometry revealed elevated levels of NUCKS in protein extracts from ductal breast cancers. We elicited specific antibodies against NUCKS and used them for immunohistochemistry in invasive ductal carcinoma of breast. We found high expression of NUCKS in 84.3% of cancer cells. We suggest that such overexpression of NUCKS can play significant role in breast cancer biology

The Use of Fractal Dimension Analysis in Estimation of Blood Vessels Shape in Transplantable Mammary Adenocarcinoma in Wistar Rats after Photodynamic Therapy Combined with Cysteine Protease Inhibitors

Fractal dimension analysis (FDA) is modern mathematical method widely used to describing of complex and chaotic shapes when classic methods fail. The main aim of this study was evaluating the influence of photodynamic therapy (PDT) with cystein proteases inhibitors (CPI) on the number and morphology of blood vessels inside tumor and on increase of effectiveness of combined therapy in contrast to PDT and CPI used separately. Animals were divided into four groups: control, treated using only PDT, treated using only CPI and treated using combined therapy, PDT and CPI. Results showed that time of animal survival and depth of necrosis inside tumor were significantly higher in CPI+PDT group in contrast to other groups. The higher value of fractal dimension (FD) was observed in control group, while the lowest value was found in the group which was treated by cystein protease inhibitors. The differences between FD were observed in CPI group and PDT+CPI group in comparison to control group. Our results revealed that fractal dimension analysis is a very useful tool in estimating differences between irregular shapes like blood vessels in PDT treated tumors. Thus, the implementation of FDA algorithms could be useful method in evaluating the efficacy of PDT

Socio-Psychological Determinants of Physical Fitness and a Value System of a Reference Group Based on the Case of the Polish Handball Federation&apos;s Referees

Abstract This paper deals with determinants of physical fitness and of a value system of the Polish Handball Federation&apos;s [Polski Związek Piłki Rę -cznej] referees (N=6

Subscriber location in radio communication nets, Journal of Telecommunications and Information Technology, 2008, nr 2

Our aim is to develop the method of location subscriber to be used in military communication nets. This method is based on frequency offset measurement. Analytic description of the Doppler effect creates one of such possibilities. In this paper, an original location subscriber method is presented. We showed the Maxwell equations solution in the case of a transmitter continually changing location in relation to a receiver. It makes possible to calculate exactly the value of the received signal parameters especially frequency offset. The methodology described in this paper shows that the Doppler frequency offset value can be used for radio signal sources location