Molecular prevalence of Merkel cell polyomavirus in nonmelanoma skin cancer in a Brazilian population

Summary

Background

Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV), a newly described oncogenic virus, has been found in association with tumours other than Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC). As yet, little is known about the involvement or influence of MCPyV on the development of these tumours and its prevalence in various populations.

Aim

To assess the prevalence of MCPyV DNA in cases of nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC).

Methods

The prevalence of MCPyV DNA was assessed in 96 cases of NMSC in a Brazilian population comprising 76 subjects, and these results were correlated with epidemiological and demographical data.

Results

MCPyV DNA was detected in 23 of 69 (33.3%) basal cell carcinomas, in 2 of 11 (18%) squamous cell carcinomas, 2 of 4 Bowen disease case, 0 of 1 MCC and 4 of 11 other skin disorders.

Conclusion

Despite the frequent detection of MCPyV DNA in NMSC, its possible role in the development of NMSC still needs further investigation.

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Successful treatment of refractory palmoplantar pustulosis with apremilast

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Multiple, spontaneous, noninflammatory cutaneous atrophic pits on the extremities

Click here for the corresponding questions to this CME article.

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Ecthyma gangrenosum without bacteraemia: evidence in favour of a broader definition

Summary

Ecthyma gangrenosum (EG) is often defined as a cutaneous manifestation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa septicaemia, typically secondary to neutropenia. There is increasing recognition that a broader definition is warranted, as numerous causative organisms and predisposing conditions have been reported. We describe two cases of EG that occurred without bacteraemia. In this atypical subset of cases, the skin is thought to represent the primary inoculation site from which haematogenous spread can occur.

The first case occurred in the context of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, a rarely reported association. The evidence base guiding clinicians on management of EG is very limited, particularly in relation to patients with HIV, in whom recurrence risk may be higher than normal. Recurrent EG is described in our second case, in an individual with Good syndrome, a rare association of thymoma and immunodeficiency.

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Palmar fasciitis and polyarthritis, a rare paraneoplastic syndrome related to ovarian cancer

Summary

Palmar fasciitis and polyarthritis syndrome (PFPAS) is an uncommon disorder characterized by diffuse inflammation of the palmar fascia, tendon sheaths, and joints of the fingers and wrists, which rapidly progresses to flexion contracture of the hands. This paraneoplastic syndrome, originally linked to ovarian carcinoma, has also been associated with multiple different malignancies. As PFPAS usually precedes the detection of cancer, its symptoms should raise the suspicion of an underlying malignancy and should be thoroughly investigated.

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‘Scaly’ tattoo reactions: is treatment mandatory?

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Cutaneous leishmaniasis associated with anti-tumour necrosis factor-α drugs: an emerging disease

Summary

Leishmaniasis is endemic in several geographic areas of the world. In each of these areas, particular species of Leishmania with differing aggressiveness to humans predominate. In the European Mediterranean basin, cutaneous leishmaniasis usually presents with discrete, self-healing skin lesions. Although it is known that tumour necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors may increase the risk of developing infections such as tuberculosis, there is scarce literature on Leishmania infections in patients treated with these drugs. In recent months, we have observed three patients resident in the Catalan coast of Spain who were treated with TNF inhibitors for Crohn disease, and who developed unusually large and persistent cutaneous lesions of leishmaniasis. These lesions responded only to treatment with intravenous liposomal amphotericin B. In countries with a high incidence of infection by aggressive species of Leishmania, serological screening may be indicated to detect a possible latent leishmanial infection before prescription of TNF inhibitors.

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Mutations in AAGAB underlie autosomal dominant punctate palmoplantar keratoderma

Summary

Punctate palmoplantar keratoderma type 1 (PPPK1) is a rare autosomal dominant inherited skin disease, characterized by multiple hyperkeratotic lesions on the palms and soles. The causative gene for PPPK1 has been identified as AAGAB, which encodes α- and γ-adaptin-binding protein p34. We describe the clinical features in three unrelated families with PPPK1, and report three recurrent causative mutations in AAGAB.

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Cutaneous leucocytoclastic vasculitis with anti-EJ autoantibodies: mere coincidence or a manifestation of antisynthetase syndrome?

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Interspersed Distribution of Selectivity to Kinematic Stimulus Features in Supragranular Layers of Mouse Barrel Cortex

<span class="paragraphSection"><div class="boxTitle">Abstract</div>Neurons in the primary sensory regions of neocortex have heterogeneous response properties. The spatial arrangement of neurons with particular response properties is a key aspect of population representations and can shed light on how local circuits are wired. Here, we investigated how neurons with sensitivity to different kinematic features of whisker stimuli are distributed across local circuits in supragranular layers of the barrel cortex. Using 2-photon calcium population imaging in anesthetized mice, we found that nearby neurons represent diverse kinematic features, providing a rich population representation at the local scale. Neurons interspersed in space therefore responded differently to a common stimulus kinematic feature. Conversely, neurons with similar feature selectivity were located no closer to each other than predicted by a random distribution null hypothesis. This finding relied on defining a null hypothesis that was specific for testing the spatial distribution of tuning across neurons. We also measured how neurons sensitive to specific features were distributed relative to barrel boundaries, and found no systematic organization. Our results are compatible with randomly distributed selectivity to kinematic features, with no systematic ordering superimposed upon the whisker map.</span>

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Regeneration of meniscus tissue using adipose mesenchymal stem cells-chondrocytes co-culture on a hybrid scaffold: In vivo study

Publication date: May 2017
Source:Biomaterials, Volume 126
Author(s): Lida Moradi, Mohammad Vasei, Mohammad M. Dehghan, Mohammad Majidi, Saeed Farzad Mohajeri, Shahin Bonakdar
The meniscus has poor intrinsic regenerative capacity and its damage inevitably leads to articular cartilage degeneration. We focused on evaluating the effects of Polyvinyl alcohol/Chitosan (PVA/Ch) scaffold seeded by adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cell (ASC) and articular chondrocytes (AC) in meniscus regeneration. The PVA/Ch scaffolds with different molar contents of Ch (Ch1, Ch2, Ch4 and Ch8) were cross-linked by pre-polyurethane chains. By increasing amount of Ch tensile modulus was increased from 83.51 MPa for Ch1 to 110 MPa for Ch8 while toughness showed decrease from 0.33 mJ/mm³ in Ch1 to 0.11 mJ/mm³ in Ch8 constructs. Moreover, swelling ratio and degradation rate increased with an increase in Ch amount. Scanning electron microscopy imaging was performed for pore size measurement and cell attachment. At day 21, Ch4 construct seeded by AC showed the highest expression with 24.3 and 22.64 folds increase in collagen II and aggrecan (p ≤ 0.05), respectively. Since, the mechanical properties, water uptake and degradation rate of Ch4 and Ch8 compositions had no statistically significant differences, Ch4 was selected for in vivo study. New Zealand rabbits were underwent unilateral total medial meniscectomy and AC/scaffold, ASC/scaffold, AC-ASC (co-culture)/scaffold and cell-free scaffold were engrafted. At 7 months post-implantation, macroscopic, histologic, and immunofluorescent studies for regenerated meniscus revealed better results in AC/scaffold group followed by AC-ASC/scaffold and ASC/scaffold groups. In the cell-free scaffold group, there was no obvious meniscus regeneration. Articular cartilages were best preserved in AC/scaffold group. The best histological score was observed in AC/scaffold group. Our results support that Ch4 scaffold seeded by AC alone can successfully regenerate meniscus in tearing injury and ASC has no significant contribution in the healing process.

Graphical abstract

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Dosimetric impact of contouring and image registration variability on dynamic 125I prostate brachytherapy

Publication date: Available online 24 February 2017
Source:Brachytherapy
Author(s): Hendrik Westendorp, Kathrin Surmann, Sandrine M.G. van de Pol, Carel J. Hoekstra, Robert A.J. Kattevilder, Tonnis T. Nuver, Marinus A. Moerland, Cornelis H. Slump, André W. Minken
PurposeThe quality of permanent prostate brachytherapy can be increased by addition of imaging modalities in the intraoperative procedure. This addition involves image registration, which inherently has inter- and intraobserver variabilities. We sought to quantify the inter- and intraobserver variabilities in geometry and dosimetry for contouring and image registration and analyze the results for our dynamic ¹²⁵I brachytherapy procedure.Methods and MaterialsFive observers contoured 11 transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) data sets three times and 11 CT data sets one time. The observers registered 11 TRUS and MRI data sets to cone beam CT (CBCT) using fiducial gold markers. Geometrical and dosimetrical inter- and intraobserver variabilities were assessed. For the contouring study, structures were subdivided into three parts along the craniocaudal axis.ResultsWe analyzed 165 observations. Interobserver geometrical variability for prostate was 1.1 mm, resulting in a dosimetric variability of 1.6% for V100 and 9.3% for D90. The geometric intraobserver variability was 0.6 mm with a V100 of 0.7% and D90 of 1.1%. TRUS–CBCT registration showed an interobserver variability in V100 of 2.0% and D90 of 3.1%. Intraobserver variabilities were 0.9% and 1.6%, respectively. For MRI–CBCT registration, V100 and D90 were 1.3% and 2.1%. Intraobserver variabilities were 0.7% and 1.1% for the same.ConclusionsProstate dosimetry is affected by interobserver contouring and registration variability. The observed variability is smaller than underdosages that are adapted during our dynamic brachytherapy procedure.



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Non-coding RNA: Exosomal microRNAs as novel adipokines

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Cancer genomics: ECdetect hunts extrachromosomal DNA

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Ultrasound Image Classification of Ductal Carcinoma in Situ (DCIS) of the Breast: Analysis of 705 DCIS Lesions1

Publication date: Available online 24 February 2017
Source:Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology
Author(s): Takanori Watanabe, Takuhiro Yamaguchi, Hiroko Tsunoda, Setsuko Kaoku, Eriko Tohno, Hidemitsu Yasuda, Kanako Ban, Koichi Hirokaga, Kumiko Tanaka, Takeshi Umemoto, Toshitaka Okuno, Yasuhisa Fujimoto, Shuichi Nakatani, Jun Ito, Ei Ueno
The Japan Association of Breast and Thyroid Sonology (JABTS) proposed, in 2003, a conceptual classification system for non-mass abnormalities to be applied in addition to the conventional concept of masses, to facilitate detecting ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) lesions. The aim of this study was to confirm the utility of this system and to clarify the distribution of these findings in DCIS lesions. Data on 705 surgically treated DCIS lesions from 16 institutions in Japan were retrospectively reviewed. All 705 DCIS lesions could be classified according to the JABTS classification system. The most frequent findings were hypo-echoic areas in the mammary gland (48.6%), followed by solid masses (28.0%) and duct abnormalities (10.2%) or mixed masses (8.1%). Distortion (1.3%), clustered microcysts (1.4%) and echogenic foci without a hypo-echoic area (2.5%) were uncommon. These results suggest that the concept of non-mass abnormalities is useful in detecting DCIS lesions.



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Semi-quantitative Strain Ratio Determined Using Different Measurement Methods: Comparison of Strain Ratio Values and Diagnostic Performance Using One- versus Two-Region-of-Interest Measurement

Publication date: Available online 24 February 2017
Source:Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology
Author(s): Jung Hyun Yoon, Mi Kyung Song, Eun-Kyung Kim
We evaluated the agreement and diagnostic performance of strain ratio values using measurements made with one and two user-defined regions of interest (ROIs) on breast elastography. Two hundred forty-three breast masses of 226 women (mean age: 48.2 y) were included. Ultrasonography (US) and elastography images of the masses were recorded. Strain ratio was measured twice on the same elastography image; strain ratio 1, applying one ROI at the target mass for measurement, and strain ratio 2, applying one ROI at the target mass and another ROI as reference strain. The two strain ratio measurements were in substantial agreement, with an intra-class correlation coefficient of 0.655 (95% confidence interval: 0.577–0.722). Specificity, positive predictive value and accuracy (cutoffs: 2.66 and 2.35) were significantly improved for US combined with the two strain ratio measurements (all p values < 0.05). Strain ratios measured using one or two user-defined ROIs were in substantial agreement, both contributing to the improved diagnostic performance of breast US.



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Design and Experimental Evaluation of a Quantified Depth Shave Biopsy Device—Proof of Concept

More diagnoses of skin cancer occur than all other cancers combined. The most common method to biopsy a skin lesion is the shave biopsy (SB), because of efficiency afforded to the provider and patient. However, it produces biopsy specimens with unknown and variable thickness. The present study examines an innovative SB prototype that quantifies the depth of specimen harvest at the time of tissue acquisition. Our objective was to design a quantified >1.1 mm depth of skin tissue harvest SB device that was easy to operate.

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Percutaneous needle fasciotomy for Dupuytren’s disease: minimizing morbidity

We read with interest the letter by Nikkhah and Kang in the January issue of the journal (1), describing anecdotal observations derived from a series of 150 patients treated with percutaneous needle fasciotomy (PNF). Nikkhah and Kang perform PNF along the lines described by Foucher et al. (2). Our own PNF practice differs in several significant respects. In particular, we question the requirement for wrist block, and we highlight differences in the positioning of the PNF sites, the gauge of needle and the post-operative splinting regime.

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Patient Experience of Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy for Melanoma

Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) has become an established investigation for assessing microscopic nodal metastasis in melanoma. In a 10-year review of SLNB for melanoma at a single institution, our unit reported a complication rate of 6%1. Despite the widespread use of SLNB for melanoma there are no studies that evaluate patient experience. A method of identifying this information is the study of patient reported outcome measures (PROMs), defined by the Food and Drug Administration as a "measurement of any aspect of a patient's health status that comes directly from the patient".

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Is it time for a change in the approach to chemical burns? The role of Diphoterine® in the management of cutaneous and ocular chemical injuries

A multitude of household and occupational compounds have the potential to induce chemical burns to the eye and skin. Without prompt intervention, irreversible visual loss and disfigurement may prevail. Diphoterine® and Hexafluorine® are amphoteric, hypertonic, chelating solutions used in the management of general chemical and hydrofluoric acid burns respectively. They rapidly neutralise both acid and alkali agents without heat release and limit diffusion, making them superior to water irrigation alone.

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Graphical Abstracts

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Meet Our Editorial Board Member

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COMMENTARY: Magnetic Resonance Techniques Applied to Parkinson’s Disease

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Editorial: Brain Imaging and Automatic Analysis in Neurological and Psychiatric Diseases - Part II

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Detection of Dendritic Spines Using Wavelet Packet Entropy and Fuzzy Support Vector Machine

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Detection of Unilateral Hearing Loss by Stationary Wavelet Entropy

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Brain Tumor Segmentation Using Deep Belief Networks and Pathological Knowledge

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Stationary Wavelet Transform and AdaBoost with SVM Based Pathological Brain Detection in MRI Scanning

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Coarse Classification to Region-Scalable Refining for White Matter Lesions Segmentation in Multi-Channel MRI

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Differentiation of Glioblastoma and Lymphoma Using Feature Extraction and Support Vector Machine

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Mitochondrial Dysfunctions in Bipolar Disorder: Effect of the Disease and Pharmacotherapy

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Mitochondrial Dysfunctions in Bipolar Disorder: Effect of the Disease and Pharmacotherapy

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Mitochondrial Dysfunctions in Bipolar Disorder: Effect of the Disease and Pharmacotherapy

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Design, Synthesis and Evaluation of the Antidepressant and Anticonvulsant Activities of Triazole-Containing Benzo[d]oxazoles

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Multitarget Therapeutic Effect of Fasudil in APP/PS1transgenic Mice

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Antibacterial and anti-biofilm effects of sodium hypochlorite against Staphylococcus aureus isolates derived from patients with atopic dermatitis

Abstract

Introduction

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is characterised by an increased susceptibility for skin infections. Staphylococcus aureus is reported to dominate in AD lesions and reports have revealed the presence of staphylococcal biofilms. These infections contribute to aggravating the eczema. Sodium hypochlorite is known to reduce bacterial load of skin lesions as well as disease severity in AD patients but the effect on biofilms is unknown.

Objectives

The aim of this study was to investigate the antimicrobial and anti-biofilm effects of sodium hypochlorite against S. aureus isolates derived from patients with AD.

Materials and Methods

Skin biopsy derived from infected AD patient was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Using radial diffusion assays, biofilm assays and confocal laser scanning microscopy, we assessed the effect of sodium hypochlorite on S. aureus isolates derived from lesional skin of AD patients.

Results

SEM revealed clusters of coccoid bacteria embedded in fibrin and extracellular substances at the skin of a patient with infected AD. At concentrations of 0.01-0.08%, sodium hypochlorite showed antibacterial effects against planktonic cells. Eradication of S. aureus biofilms in vitro was observed in concentrations ranging from 0.01% to 0.16%. Confocal laser scanning microscopy confirmed these results. Finally, when human AD skin was subjected to sodium hypochlorite in an ex vivo model, a dose of 0.04% reduced the bacteria derived from AD skin.

Conclusions

Sodium hypochlorite has antimicrobial and anti-biofilm effects against clinical S. aureus isolates. Our findings suggest usage of a higher concentration than currently used in bleach baths of skin-infected AD patients.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

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Correlation between pre-ramadan glycemic control and subsequent glucose fluctuation during fasting in adolescents with Type 1 diabetes

Abstract

Background

Even though patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) are exempted from fasting, the vast majority elect to fast against the advice of their healthcare providers. We have previously reported the incidence of wide fluctuations in blood glucose (BG) along with "unrecognized" severe hypoglycemia during Ramadan fasting in adolescents with T1DM. This report compares the continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) data during fasting in adolescents with T1DM according to their Pre-Ramadan diabetes control.

Methods

Children and adolescents with T1DM who intended to fast the month of Ramadan were asked to wear the CGM during fasting for a minimum of 3 days. Hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, and severe hyperglycemia were identified as BG <70 mg/dL (3.9 mmol/L), BG 201–300 mg/dL (11.2–16.7 mmol/L), or BG >300 mg/dL (16.7 mmol/L) respectively, while normoglycemia was identified as BG 70–200 mg/dL (3.9–11.1 mmol/L). Patients were categorized as well-controlled (Group 1) and poorly controlled (Group 2) if the pre-fasting HbA1C was ≤8% (64 mmol/mol) and >8%, respectively. We compared the mean BG and the percentages of time spent in hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, and severe hyperglycemia between the two groups using Chi-square (significant difference when P value was <0.05).

Results

A total of 21 patients were enrolled (15 females), age 15 ± 4 years, duration of diabetes 6 ± 3 years, and HbA1C 8.5 ± 1.0% (70 mmol/mol). There were 7 subjects in Group 1, mean HbA1C 7.5 ± 0.4, and 14 subjects in Group 2, mean HbA1C 9.1 ± 0.9. The mean ± SD BG was 174 ± 76 mg/dL versus 199 ± 98, (P < 0.05) in Group 1 and Group 2, respectively. The percentages of hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, and severe hyperglycemia were significantly higher in Group 2, while there was a higher percentage of normoglycemia in Group 1. The overall durations of hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, and severe hyperglycemia in Group 2 were longer by 30, 14, and 135%, respectively, than those in Group 1.

Conclusions

Glycemic control before Ramadan in adolescents with T1 DM appears to correlate with blood glucose profile during Ramadan fasting. Our data suggest that optimal glycemic control before Ramadan may reduce the potential risks associated with fasting and minimize glucose fluctuation.

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Biodegradation of pentachloronitrobenzene by Cupriavidus sp. YNS-85 and its potential for remediation of contaminated soils

Abstract

Pentachloronitrobenzene (PCNB) is a toxic chlorinated nitroaromatic compound. However, only a few bacteria have been reported to be able to utilize PCNB. In the present study, one pentachloronitrobenzene (PCNB)-degrading bacterium, Cupriavidus sp. YNS-85, was isolated from a contaminated Panax notoginseng plantation. The strain co-metabolized 200 mg L⁻¹ PCNB in aqueous solution with a removal rate of 73.8% after 5 days. The bacterium also degraded PCNB effectively under acid conditions (pH 4–6) and showed resistance to toxic trace elements (arsenic, copper, and cadmium). Its ability to utilize proposed PCNB intermediates as sole carbon sources was also confirmed. The soil microcosm experiment further demonstrated that bacterial bioaugmentation enhanced the removal of PCNB (37.8%) from soil and the accumulation of pentachloroaniline (89.3%) after 30 days. Soil enzyme activity and microbial community functional diversity were positively influenced after bioremediation. These findings indicate that Cupriavidus sp. YNS-85 may be a suitable inoculant for in situ bioremediation of PCNB-polluted sites, especially those with acid soils co-contaminated with heavy metal(loid)s.

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