Expression Analysis of the Long Non-Coding RNA LINC01433 in Lung Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer is one of the most fatal human cancers both in males and females. This type of cancer is categorized to different subtypes among them is non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). NSCLC accounts for about 80% of all cases. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been shown to influence the pathogenic course of lung cancer. However, the contribution of LINC01433 lncRNA in this type of cancer in Iranian patients is not clear. PURPOSE: In the current project, we evaluated expression of LINC01433 in 42 NSCLC samples and their paired non-tumoral tissues using quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction method. Samples were collected from patients admitted to Labbafinejad Hospital during 2016-2017. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the expression of LINC01433 between tumoral and non-tumoral tissues (expression ratio 0.67, p = 0.42). Expression of this lncRNA was not associated with any of clinical and demographic data including age, gender, smoking history, stage or cancer subtype. CONCLUSION: Based on the similar expression levels of this lncRNA between tumoral and non-tumoral tissues and lack of association between expression levels and clinical data, this lncRNA is not a possible contributor to lung cancer in Iranian patients. However, expression analysis of this lncRNA in larger sample sizes is needed to verify our results.

Hypogonadism following prostate-bed radiation therapy for prostate carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: The degree of testicular damage resulting from primary treatment of prostate carcinoma by external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) to the prostate bed has not been determined. If significant testicular damage has occurred, the resulting endocrine changes may result in modified tumor behavior, contribute to postradiation impotence, and may aggravate other signs and symptoms of hypogonadism, potentially influencing a patient's choice of primary treatment for his tumor. METHOD: Three to eight years after primary treatment for localized prostate carcinoma, serologic evaluation for hypogonadism was undertaken in 33 men who had received EBRT and in 55 similar men who had received radical prostatectomy (RP). No subjects had developed recognized tumor recurrence, and none had undergone hormonal treatment since primary therapy. RESULTS: Among men of similar age, prior treatment with EBRT was associated with significantly more frequent hypogonadism than prior treatment with RP. In men with EBRT, total testosterone levels averaged 27.3% less, free testosterone levels 31.6% less, dihydrotestosterone levels 33.4% less, luteinizing hormone (LH) levels 52.7% greater, and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels 100% greater than those values in men who had prior treatment with RP. Differences between postradiation and postsurgical men in LH and FSH levels were most prominent in men older than 70 years. CONCLUSIONS: Three to eight years after primary treatment for prostate carcinoma, striking hormone differences were present between men who had received EBRT to the prostate bed and those with prior RP. These differences strongly suggested that prominent and permanent testicular damage was sustained during EBRT, frequently severe enough to cause hypogonadism.

Vaginal reconstruction with a rectus abdominis musculoperitoneal flap.

In more than 300 clinical cases, the authors have observed and documented the presence of a branch of the deep inferior epigastric artery that penetrates the posterior rectus sheath near the umbilicus. Their cadaveric anatomic and animal injection studies confirm the vascularity of the peritoneum via the deep inferior epigastric artery. They report 2 patients treated with a new technique of vaginal reconstruction using a thin, pliable flap with a peritoneal-lined rectus abdominis muscle based on the deep inferior epigastric vessels.

Ocular effects associated with the chronic administration of the adenosine A(1) agonist cyclohexyladenosine.

PURPOSE: To investigate changes in ocular responses associated with the chronic administration of the adenosine A(1) agonist cyclohexyladenosine (CHA). METHODS: New Zealand White rabbits were treated unilaterally twice-a-day for 30 days with CHA (165 or 500 microg) or vehicle. Intraocular pressures (IOPs) and pupil diameters (PDs) were evaluated over the course of the study. At the end of the study period, outflow facility was determined in selected animals and compared to naïve vehicle- and CHA-treated animals. RESULTS: In rabbits receiving 165 microg of CHA, ipsilateral IOPs at 2 and 6 hours post-drug exhibited progressively greater reduction over the course of the study. Regression analysis demonstrated a significant correlation between study duration and lower IOP at 2 and 6 hours post-drug. In rabbits receiving 500 microg of CHA, ipsilateral IOP reductions at 2 hours post-drug were similar throughout the 30-day study. However, analysis of ipsilateral IOPs 6 hours following CHA administration, demonstrated a significant correlation between study duration and lower IOPs. Enhanced contralateral responses at 2 hours post- drug, were also measured in rabbits receiving 165 or 500 microg of CHA. In animals receiving chronic CHA treatment for 30 days, outflow facility 3 hours post-CHA was significantly elevated over that measured in naïve vehicle-treated rabbits. Although mean outflow facility in chronic treatment animals was slightly elevated over CHA-induced increases in naïve rabbits, this difference was not significant. No evidence of tolerance was observed for either dose during the course of these studies. No change in PD during the course of these studies was measured. CONCLUSIONS: The chronic administration of the adenosine A(1) agonist CHA twice daily produced no evidence of tolerance. Unexpectedly, the IOP response to CHA was enhanced with chronic administration. These data provide evidence that the use of adenosine A(1) agonists may be useful in the chronic treatment of ocular hypertension at doses lower than those identified in acute IOP studies.

Progressive osteoporosis during androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer.

PURPOSE: Hypogonadism is a prominent risk factor for osteoporosis in older men. However, bone loss during androgen ablation therapy for prostate cancer has rarely been quantitated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Femoral neck bone mineral density was determined in 26 men before orchiectomy or chemical castration as initial hormone therapy for prostate cancer and at 6-month intervals thereafter for 6 to 42 months. Measurements were made in 16 other men at 12 to 24 months beginning 3 to 8 years after the onset of castration. Baseline and post-castration bone loss was related to several host and tumor characteristics, and compared to similar measurements in 12 control subjects. RESULTS: Average age corrected baseline femoral neck bone mineral density was higher in controls than in treated men and remained essentially unchanged for 2 years. Following orchiectomy average bone mineral density decreased 2.4% and 7.6%, respectively, during years 1 and 2 (2-year loss 2.5% to 17.0%), with similar losses documented in men undergoing chemical castration. Average bone mineral density decreased 1.4% to 2.6% per year 3 to 8 years after uninterrupted androgen deprivation. Age corrected baseline bone mineral density was greater in men who were obese, younger than 75 years or participated in regular exercise but the influence of each characteristic could not be isolated. Post-castration bone loss was greater in men who were obese, younger than 75 years without regular exercise. CONCLUSIONS: Chemical or surgical castration in men with prostate cancer is usually followed by greatly accelerated bone loss which may be superimposed on a bone mass already depleted before hormonal therapy. Baseline bone mass and subsequent bone loss may be influenced by host obesity, age and exercise habits.

Long-term studies of cold-stored rabbit femoral artery and vein autografts.

UNLABELLED: In previous studies we have shown that 80-100% of rabbit femoral vascular autografts cold-stored at 4 degrees C for 3 weeks remain patent 3 weeks after reinsertion in the femoral artery. The present study reports the effect on graft patency of increasing either the period of cold storage prior to reinsertion or the duration of reperfusion to 6 months. Rabbit femoral blood vessels were cold-stored (CS) at 4 degrees C for varying periods. CS autografts were reinserted into the contralateral leg for 3 weeks or 6 months. Graft patency was determined and grafts examined by histological, immunohistochemical and electron microscopical techniques. Six months after reinsertion patency of 4-week CS arterial and 1-week CS venous grafts was 40% and 27% respectively, very much lower than the 80-100% seen after 3 weeks reperfusion. Arterial grafts CS for 6 months had a patency rate of 70% after 3 weeks reperfusion but 0% after 6 months. Morphological examination suggests that the delayed failure of cold-stored vascular grafts is caused by thrombus superimposed on intimal hyperplasia within the graft. CONCLUSIONS: Cold-stored vascular grafts are useful prostheses when only 3-4 weeks graft patency is required. They are not suitable for use when long-term graft patency is needed.

Vascularized muscle flaps and reoperative approach for complicated, dehisced sternal wounds in children.

Vascularized muscle flaps for treatment of mediastinitis and sternal wound dehiscence have become standard treatment practice, but triple-muscle flap reconstruction is reserved for the more complex wounds. The incisional approach for reoperation in such patients is controversial. We report an extremely ill infant, born at 38 weeks gestational age, who underwent an arterial switch procedure for transposition of the great arteries at 12 days of age. Sternal wound infection, dehiscence, mediastinitis, and extensive wound necrosis complicated the postoperative course. The cultured organism Enterobacter is a relatively rare cause for median sternotomy wound infection and was associated with massive postoperative hemorrhage. The infant underwent multiple debridements and at 2 months of age had reconstructive surgery with bilateral pectoralis major muscle advancement flaps combined with a rectus abdominis muscle flap. Three months postreconstruction the infant required reoperation to correct a stenosis at the site of the pulmonary artery anastomosis. This surgery was carried out through the previous median sternotomy scar because it was the safest, most direct approach and would also limit additional scarring. Long-term follow-up at 2 years of age shows a well-developed young boy with no limitations in growth and activity.

Surgical management of pressure ulcers.

Surgical management of pressure ulcers ranges from office or bedside debridement to formal debridement in the operating room for the more extensive necrosis. Closure of these wounds may be by advancement flap closure for the simple ulcers and by local muscle or myocutaneous flap closure for the more complex ulcers and defects. Some pressure ulcers recur following previous surgery or following conservative treatment. The simple recurrences can be managed by the use of simple techniques while the surgical options for the management of the more difficult recurrent ulcers are limited involving more complex surgery like sensate flaps, expanded flaps, free tissue transfers and fillet flaps.

Operative repair of pressure ulcers.

Surgical management of pressure ulcers ranges from débridement and advancement flap closure for simple ulcers to sensate flaps, expanded flaps, free-tissue transfers, and fillet flaps for more complex ulcers and defects. Some pressure ulcers recur following surgery or conservative treatment, and the surgical options for management of these difficult recurrent ulcers are limited. The geriatric population offers an even more difficult problem as patients suffer invariably from underlying medical and systemic diseases that may affect surgery or the rehabilitation program.

Recurrence of initial pressure ulcer in persons with spinal cord injuries.

Whether treated with surgery or by conservative, nonsurgical measures, pressure ulcers recur in 5% to 91% of spinal cord injured (SCI) patients. Factors other than the surgical technique used or the standard conservative management provided may be responsible. A retrospective study of 176 SCI patients with a history of one or more pressure ulcers was conducted at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center at Castle Point, N.Y. Approximately 35% of patients who received either surgical or nonsurgical treatment had a recurrence. Patients who smoked and patients with diabetes or cardiovascular disease had higher recurrence rates.

Candida albicans infection of bilateral polyurethane-coated silicone gel breast implants.

We present a report of bilateral Candida albicans infection of polyurethane-coated silicone gel prostheses and an acute onset of unilateral capsular contracture 4 years after breast augmentation. The patient was treated by removal of implants, antibiotic irrigation of the capsule cavities, and immediate replacement with new implants. Following histopathologic diagnosis, the patient was treated with a course of fluconazole and remains symptom free at the 12-month follow-up.

Immediate skin expansion: an old concept by a novel and inexpensive technique.

Intraoperative skin expansion is not a new concept. We have developed a technique using readily available inexpensive material to achieve wound closure. In this prospective study, 15 patients (age range, 1-72 years) with melanoma, giant nevi, scars, meningocele, gastroschisis, alopecia, thrombosed renal dialysis fistula, calcified nodule and trauma, with defects on back, limbs, abdomen, scalp, hand, calcaneum, and sole of foot were treated. Only hypodermic needles and dental wire, with an overall cost of less than a dollar, are needed for the immediate skin expansion technique. In contrast, the numerous other commercial devices currently in use are costly and must be ordered in advance. Using our technique, the wound can be gradually approximated and subcutaneous sutures placed with the device in situ. An intradermal or simple running suture is then placed to approximate the skin edges under little or no tension and the device is removed. All patients had a good result with minimal morbidity. The wounds treated by this technique healed by primary intention except in 3 patients, who developed minor dehiscence of the wounds.

Orthotopic vascularized osteochondral allografts in an immunosuppressed rat model.

This study examined the survival of orthotopic, vascularized, osteochondral allografts, following 12 weeks of immunosuppression and transfer into a naive, allograft host up to 14 weeks later, and compared the results with those previously reported for similar grafts in a heterotopic position. Knee-joint allografts between DA (donor) and Lewis (recipient) rat strains were assessed by quantitative histology up to 6 months after transplantation, and graft microcirculation was examined by India-ink infusion. Graft repopulation was assessed by re-transferring the graft to a naive, non-suppressed allograft host 12 to 26 weeks after the initial transplantation. Isografts survived for as long as grafts were examined (6 months) and showed good healing of the graft/host bone junction, although long-term isografts showed some deterioration of the growth plate. Non-suppressed allografts rejected within 2 weeks. Allografts in hosts immunosuppressed for 12 weeks remained healthy and healed in a similar manner to the isografts. Following cessation of immunosuppression, allografts progressively deteriorated, with mononuclear cell infiltration apparent in graft bone marrow and muscle in the later stages examined. Transfer to second non-suppressed hosts resulted in rapid rejection of the allografts, indicating that, as shown previously in heterotopic, osteochondral allografts, little or no graft repopulation by host-derived cells had occurred during the protected period in the first host.