Resistin stimulates PC-3 prostate cancer cell growth through stimulation of SOCS3 and SOCS5 genes.

Resistin and suppressors of cytokine signaling (SOCSs) have been reported to regulate prostate cancer (PCa) cell proliferation and survival, respectively. Whether any of the SOCS molecules mediate the mitogenic effect of resistin on PCa cells is unknown. Using PC-3 human PCa cells, we found that resistin upregulates the expression of SOCS3 and SOCS5 mRNA, but not SOCS7 mRNA, in a dose- and time-dependent manner. The resistin-induced increases in SOCS3 and SOCS5 expression and cell proliferation were prevented by pretreatment with specific inhibitors of the TLR4, ERK, p38 MAPK, JNK, PI3K, and JAK2 proteins. However, pretreatment with a TLR2 inhibitor had no effect on resistin-mediated SOCS3 and SOCS5 expression. In addition, the effects of resistin on SOCS3, SOCS5, and SOCS7 mRNA levels were cell type-specific. Overexpression of either SOCS3 or SOCS5 enhanced further resistin-stimulated growth of PC-3 cells, whereas silencing SOCS3 or SOCS5 antagonized resistin-increased cell growth. Further PCa tissue analysis demonstrated higher levels of RETN, TLR4, SOCS3, and SOCS5 mRNAs in cancer tissues than benign prostate hyperplasia and indicated positive correlations among RETN, TLR4, and SOCS5. These data suggest that SOCS5, TLR4, and, to a lesser extent, SOCS3 can mediate the mitogenic effect of resistin on PC-3 PCa cells.

Betel Nut Arecoline Induces Different Phases of Growth Arrest between Normal and Cancerous Prostate Cells through the Reactive Oxygen Species Pathway.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is a reproductive system cancer in elderly men. We investigated the effects of betel nut arecoline on the growth of normal and cancerous prostate cells. Normal RWPE-1 prostate epithelial cells, androgen-independent PC-3 PCa cells, and androgen-dependent LNCaP PCa cells were used. Arecoline inhibited their growth in dose- and time-dependent manners. Arecoline caused RWPE-1 and PC-3 cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase and LNCaP cell arrest in the G0/G1 phase. In RWPE-1 cells, arecoline increased the expression of cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK)-1, p21, and cyclins B1 and D3, decreased the expression of CDK2, and had no effects on CDK4 and cyclin D1 expression. In PC-3 cells, arecoline decreased CDK1, CDK2, CDK4, p21, p27, and cyclin D1 and D3 protein expression and increased cyclin B1 protein expression. In LNCaP cells, arecoline decreased CDK2, CDK4, and cyclin D1 expression; increased p21, p27, and cyclin D3 expression; had no effects on CDK1 and cyclin B1 expression. The antioxidant N-acetylcysteine blocked the arecoline-induced increase in reactive oxygen species production, decreased cell viability, altered the cell cycle, and changed the cell cycle regulatory protein levels. Thus, arecoline oxidant exerts differential effects on the cell cycle through modulations of regulatory proteins.

Ptosis and macroglossia in a woman with systemic light-chain amyloidosis.

BACKGROUND: Amyloidosis is a rare and variable disease, characterized by extracellular deposits of amyloid protein in different tissues and organs. Patients may present with a range of symptoms, depending on the extent of involvement. Rapid, accurate diagnosis is still challenging in clinical practice. CASE REPORT: A 72-y-old woman presented with a 1-y history of droopy upper left eyelid, resulting in decreased visual acuity, and progressive tongue swelling, resulting in dysarthria, dysphagia, and sleep apnea. Physical examination revealed puffy eyes, moderate swelling up to 1 cm of the upper left eyelid, swollen submental region, and protrusion of the tongue, causing an inability to close the mouth. An abnormal serum free light chain ratio implied the presence of monoclonal gammopathies, and Congo red staining revealed amyloid deposits in specimens from both the tongue and left eyelid. Therefore, a diagnosis of systemic light-chain (AL) amyloidosis was confirmed. The patient then received oral melphalan therapy and surgical intervention for macroglossia. Clinical symptoms including dysarthria, dysphagia, and sleep apnea were under control at 6-month follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: We report an uncommon case presenting initially with both ptosis and macroglossia, for which a final diagnosis of systemic AL amyloidosis was made. Detailed history and laboratory investigation must be implemented on suspicion of amyloidosis, because early recognition of amyloid-associated diseases and appropriate treatment can improve clinical outcomes.

Torsion of a Giant Antimesenteric Lipoma of the Ileum: A Rare Cause of Acute Abdominal Pain.

BACKGROUND Torsion of an intra-abdominal lipoma is rarely the cause of acute abdominal pain. Most of the previously reported cases of intra-abdominal lipoma torsion originated in the mesentery or omentum. However, an antimesenteric lipoma of the ileum with torsion has not been reported before. CASE REPORT A 67-year-old man presented to the emergency department with acute abdominal pain. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) of the abdomen and pelvis only showed a giant fat-containing, soft-tissue, intra-abdominal tumor, suspected to be a lipoma. Laparotomy was performed, and the presence of torsion of the antimesenteric lipoma of the ileum was confirmed. Beside tumor resection, en bloc segmental resection of the ileum with end-to-end anastomosis was performed to avoid bowel stricture and obtain tumor-free margins. CONCLUSIONS CECT is the modality of choice to detect an intra-abdominal lipoma. Urgent surgical intervention should be considered if the symptoms persist and torsion cannot be excluded. If simple excision is not adequate because of poor accessibility of the tumor stalk, en bloc segmental resection with end-to-end anastomosis should be considered.

Successful management of adult lymphoma-associated intussusception by laparoscopic reduction and appendectomy.

Although primary gastrointestinal lymphoma is a rare malignancy, it can cause an intussusception in adults and can be a clinically challenging condition to manage. Intussusception could progress to life-threatening complications if left untreated or could delay chemotherapy if inappropriate surgical management is used. We report a 31-year-old man diagnosed with human immunodeficiency virus who was being treated with antiretroviral therapy. He presented with nausea, vomiting, poor appetite, and intermittent, cramping abdominal pain for over 1 wk. Abdominal computed tomography revealed a well-defined homogeneous mass in the mesenteric root region, together with a long segmental wall thickening in the ileum with ileocolic-type intussusception, which was suspected to be caused by a lymphoma. The intussusception was successfully laparoscopically reduced, and the tumor involvement of the appendix was confirmed by appendectomy with intraoperative frozen section. Systemic chemotherapy was immediately initiated after surgery without the need for bowel resection.

An evolutionary role of the ED: outcomes of patients with colorectal cancers presenting to the ED were not compromised.

PURPOSE: Patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) who present to the emergency department (ED) reportedly have poorer prognoses than other referral sources. The purpose of this study was to compare the clinical presentations and outcomes of patients referred to the hospital from the ED and those referred from non-ED facilities. METHODS: This retrospective medical record review study was conducted from January 1, 2008, to December 31, 2008, and comprised patients newly diagnosed as having CRC admitted to the hospital from the ED or referred from non-ED sources. Patients were admitted for CRC diagnosis confirmation, staging, and treatment. The staging at diagnosis and 2-year mortality were measured. RESULTS: Forty-five (29.2%) patients comprised the ED group, and another 109 (70.8%) patients comprised the non-ED group. Patients in the ED group had significantly longer hospital stays, greater in-hospital mortality, abdominal pain, intestinal obstruction, complications, lower hemoglobin levels, and more proximal than rectosigmoid tumor locations compared with patients referred from other sources. However, there was no statistically significant difference in stage at diagnosis or 2-year mortality rate between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: The ED played a pivotal role in the clinical and diagnostic evaluations of patients with CRC at our institution. Emergency department physicians provided timely diagnoses of CRC because the stage at diagnosis and 2-year mortality rate of ED patients were not compromised compared with that of patients referred from non-ED sources. Efforts should be made to reduce the numbers of patients with late presentations and acute complications associated with in-hospital mortality.

Pyogenic liver abscess treated by percutaneous catheter drainage: MDCT measurement for treatment outcome.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze multidetector computed tomographic (MDCT) parameters in patients with pyogenic liver abscess (PLA), and to identify which parameters can be predicted percutaneous catheter drainage (PCD) treatment outcome. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Clinical, laboratory and MDCT findings of 175 patients with PLA who had undergone PCD were retrospectively reviewed. All abscesses shown on MDCT were evaluated for size, margin, attenuation values, location, number of large (>3cm) abscesses, presence of a cystic component, presence of gas, and the shortest length to the liver capsule. Univariate and multivariate analyses of the MDCT parameters that affect PCD treatment outcome was performed. For continuous data of MDCT parameters (abscess size and the shortest length), we used receiver-operating-characteristic (ROC) curve to determine the optimal cut-off values. RESULTS: PCD was failed in 32 patients and the overall failure rate was 18.28%. Multivariate analysis revealed that PCD failure was predicted by the presence of gas (odds ratio [OR], 42.67), a large abscess (OR 1.21), low minimal attenuation values (OR 1.02), wide range of attenuation values (OR 1.01), a shorter length to the liver capsule (OR 0.09) and lack of a cystic component (OR 0.09) of the PLA. ROC curve showed that the shortest length less than 0.25cm and an abscess size greater than 7.3cm were the optimal cut-off values predicting PCD treatment failure. CONCLUSION: Among these MDCT parameters, gas formation within PLA was the most important predictor for PCD failure. Surgical intervention might be considered early in high-risk patients of PCD failure.

Hypoglycemia revisited in the acute care setting.

Hypoglycemia is a common finding in both daily clinical practice and acute care settings. The causes of severe hypoglycemia (SH) are multi-factorial and the major etiologies are iatrogenic, infectious diseases with sepsis and tumor or autoimmune diseases. With the advent of aggressive lowering of HbA1c values to achieve optimal glycemic control, patients are at increased risk of hypoglycemic episodes. Iatrogenic hypoglycemia can cause recurrent morbidity, sometime irreversible neurologic complications and even death, and further preclude maintenance of euglycemia over a lifetime of diabetes. Recent studies have shown that hypoglycemia is associated with adverse outcomes in many acute illnesses. In addition, hypoglycemia is associated with increased mortality among elderly and non-diabetic hospitalized patients. Clinicians should have high clinical suspicion of subtle symptoms of hypoglycemia and provide prompt treatment. Clinicians should know that hypoglycemia is associated with considerable adverse outcomes in many acute critical illnesses. In order to reduce hypoglycemia-associated morbidity and mortality, timely health education programs and close monitoring should be applied to those diabetic patients presenting to the Emergency Department with SH. ED disposition strategies should be further validated and justified to achieve balance between the benefits of euglycemia and the risks of SH. We discuss relevant issues regarding hypoglycemia in emergency and critical care settings.

Simultaneous bilateral central retinal vein occlusion as the initial presentation of acute myeloid leukemia.

Central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) is a common cause of visual impairment at any age, but only 10% to 15% of patients are younger than 40 years. Ocular involvement is not uncommon in patients with leukemia; however, bilateral CRVO as a complication of acute myeloid leukemia has rarely been reported. Here, we report a patient who had simultaneous bilateral CRVO as the initial presentation of acute myeloid leukemia. Thorough examination should be carefully conducted because ocular manifestations may be the initial presentation of life-threatening illness. A prompt search for the underlying systemic illness should be performed in all young patients presenting with CRVO.

Midgut volvulus as a delayed consequence of posttraumatic mesenteric pseudocyst.

Complicated midgut volvulus is a surgical emergency with high mortality rate if not treated promptly. Most of midgut volvulus in adults is a silent form of congenital midgut malrotation, but it also can be acquired from other medical conditions, such as adhesion bands, tumors, and mesenteric cysts. Posttraumatic mesenteric pseudocysts are rare entities, and the diagnosis tends to be delayed. In reviewing the medical literature, midgut volvulus as a delayed consequence of posttraumatic hemorrhagic mesenteric pseudocyst has never been reported before. Here, we report a 50-year-old female patient who had experienced blunt abdominal injury 3 months earlier and midgut volvulus that resulted from a delayed posttraumatic hemorrhagic pseudocyst. The patient was successfully treated with surgical intervention.

Acute ruptured appendicitis and peritonitis with pseudomyocardial infarction.

Acute abdominal conditions unexpectedly present with electrocardiographic changes. However, the presence of electrocardiographic changes and misleading clinical manifestations may obscure true etiology and delay surgical interventions. We present a patient who developed ruptured appendicitis with peritonitis manifested as acute inferior wall myocardial infarction-like electrocardiographic changes. A thorough physical examination and early echocardiographic evaluation helped to differentiate this pseudomyocardial infarction. A 64-multidetector-row computed tomography of the abdomen showed ruptured retrocecal appendicitis, and emergent appendectomy was done. Normalization of ST segments was observed after surgery.

Complicated acute appendicitis in diabetic patients.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is associated with adverse events or complications in various gastrointestinal diseases. In this study, we examined whether diabetic patients had higher risk for the development of complicated acute appendicitis than nondiabetic patients. The relevant risk factors also were determined. METHODS: A retrospective study enrolling diabetic and nondiabetic patients who acquired acute appendicitis was conducted at a single institution over a 5-year period. RESULTS: We identified 1,184 patients with a primary discharge diagnosis of acute appendicitis. Seventy-one patients were found to have DM. Diabetic patients were older, had a higher risk of developing complicated acute appendicitis (CAA), and had a more prolonged hospital stay compared with nondiabetic patients. On further examination by multivariate logistic regression analysis, DM was an independent risk factor for CAA after adjusting for age and sex. Of the 71 diabetic patients, 46 patients (64.8%) were found to have CAA. The mean age of diabetic patients with uncomplicated acute appendicitis (DM/UAA) and CAA (DM/CAA) had no significant difference. The duration from the onset of symptoms to diagnosis was significantly longer in the DM/CAA than in the DM/UAA group. The mean length of hospital stay also was significantly longer in the DM/CAA than in the DM/UAA group. DM/CAA patients were found to have a higher rate of history of diabetic nephropathy as well as a higher serum creatinine level and a lower estimated glomerular filtration rate than DM/UAA patients. There was no statistical significance regarding patients older or younger than 60 years. CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed that diabetic patients had a higher risk for the development of CAA and a subsequently longer hospital stay than nondiabetic patients. Age was not an independent risk factor for the development of CAA in diabetic patients in our study. Delayed diagnosis, and probably a history of diabetic nephropathy, as well as poorer renal function were risk factors for the development of CAA in diabetic patients. The single most important risk factor was the duration from the onset of symptoms to diagnosis. Once CAA developed, the length of hospital stay was prolonged significantly.