The Role of Bone Biopsy in the Management of CKD-MBD: CKD-Related Osteoporosis or CKD-MBD/Osteoporosis?

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Interferon Lambda: A New Sword in Cancer Immunotherapy

The discovery of the interferon-lambda (IFN-λ) family has considerably contributed to our understanding of the role of interferon not only in viral infections but also in cancer. IFN-λ proteins belong to the new type III IFN group. Type III IFN is structurally similar to type II IFN (IFN-γ) but functionally identical to type I IFN (IFN-α/β). However, in contrast to type I or type II IFNs, the response to type III IFN is highly cell-type specific. Only epithelial-like cells and to a lesser extent some immune cells respond to IFN-λ. This particular pattern of response is controlled by the differential expression of the IFN-λ receptor, which, in contrast to IFN-α, should result in limited side effects in patients. Recently, we and other groups have shown in several animal models a potent antitumor role of IFN-λ that will open a new challenging era for the current IFN therapy

Vertebral fractures are associated with increased cortical porosity in iliac crest bone biopsy of men with idiopathic osteoporosis

In men, vertebral fractures are poorly associated with bone density, and both cortical and trabecular micro-architectural changes could contribute to bone fragility. Bone histomorphometry makes it possible to investigate both the thickness and porosity of cortical bone, which has been reported to have a major impact on the biomechanical properties of bone. We therefore conducted a cross sectional study using iliac crest biopsies to investigate the trabecular and cortical bone structure in men with or without vertebral fractures.We selected 93 bone biopsies from men with idiopathic osteoporosis (defined as a T-score <− 2.5), between 40 and 70 years of age. Patients were divided into two groups on the basis of the presence (n = 46) or absence (n = 47) of prevalent vertebral fracture (VFX). We measured micro-architectural indices in trabecular and cortical bone by histomorphometry at the iliac crest. Patients with VFX had lower trabecular bone volume (BV/TV: 12.4 ± 3.8 versus 14.7 ± 3.1 % (m ± SD)), p < 0.01), higher trabecular separation (Tb.Sp: 871 ± 279 versus 719 ± 151 μm, p < 0.01), and higher marrow star volume (V*m.space: 1.617 ± 1.257 versus 0.945 ± 0.466 mm3, p < 0.01). Cortical thickness (Ct.Th) was the same in patients with or without VFX, whereas cortical porosity (Ct.Po) was higher in patients with VFX (6.5 ± 2.6 versus 5.0 ± 2.0 %, p < 0.01), because their Haversian canals had higher mean areas (8291 ± 4135 versus 5438 ± 2809 μm2, p < 0.001). There was no correlation between any trabecular and cortical micro-architectural parameters. Using a logistic regression model, we evaluated the VFX as a function of the V⁎m.space and Ct.Po, adjusted for age. The odds-ratio of having a VFX was 3.89 (95% CI 1.19–12.7, p = 0.02) for the third tertile of V*m.space (adjusted on age and Ct.Po), and 4.07 (95% CI 1.25–13.3, p = 0.02) for the third tertile of Ct.Po (adjusted on age and V*m.space). Our data show that both trabecular and cortical bone microarchitecture contribute independently to vertebral fractures in men with idiopathic osteoporosis. In contrast to data reported in women, in men it is cortical porosity, and not cortical width, that is associated with vertebral fractures. This suggests that the cortical deficit is different in men and in women with fragility fractures

Performance evaluation of novel square-bordered position-sensitive silicon detectors with four-corner readout

We report on a recently developed novel type of large area (62 mm x 62 mm) position sensitive silicon detector with four-corner readout. It consists of a square-shaped ion-implanted resistive anode framed by additional low-resistivity strips with resistances smaller than the anode surface resistance by a factor of 2. The detector position linearity, position resolution, and energy resolution were measured with alpha-particles and heavy ions. In-beam experimental results reveal a position resolution below 1 mm (FWHM) and a very good non-linearity of less than 1% (rms). The energy resolution determined from 228Th alpha source measurements is around 2% (FWHM).Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures, submitted to Nucl. Instr. and Meth.

The EuroHeart Failure Survey programme—a survey on the quality of care among patients with heart failure in Europe Part 2: treatment

National surveys suggest that treatment of heart failure in daily practice differs from guidelines and is characterized by underuse of recommended medications. Accordingly, the Euro, Heart Failure Survey was conducted to ascertain how patients hospitalized for heart failure are managed in Europe and if national variations occur in the treatment of this condition. Methods The survey screened discharge summaries of 11 304 patients over a 6-week period in 115 hospitals from 24 countries belonging to the ESC to study their medical treatment. Results Diuretics (mainly loop diuretics) were prescribed in 86.9% followed by ACE inhibitors (61.8%), beta-blockers (36.9%), cardiac glycosides (35.7%), nitrates (32.1%), calcium. channel blockers (21.2%) and spironolactone (20.5%). 44.6% of the population used four or more different drugs. Only 17.2% were under the combination of diuretic, ACE inhibitors and beta-blockers. Important local variations were found in the rate of prescription of ACE inhibitors and particularly beta-blockers. Daily dosage of ACE inhibitors and particularly of beta-blockers was on average below the recommended target dose. Modelling-analysis of the prescription of treatments indicated that the aetiology of heart failure, age, co-morbid factors and type of hospital ward influenced the rate of prescription. Age 70 years, in patients with respiratory disease and increased in cardiology wards, in ischaemic heart failure and in mate subjects. Prescription of cardiac glycosides was significantly increased in patients with supraventricular tachycardia/atrial fibrillation. Finally, the rate of prescription of antithrombotic agents was increased in the presence of supraventricular arrhythmia, ischaemic heart disease, mate subjects but was decreased in patients over 70. Conclusion Our results suggest that the prescription of recommended medications including ACE inhibitors and beta-blockers remains limited and that the daily dosage remains tow, particularly for beta-blockers. The survey also identifies several important factors including age, gender, type of hospital ward, co morbid factors which influence the prescription of heart failure medication at discharge