BIN1 in the Pursuit of Ousting the Alzheimer's Reign: Impact on Amyloid and Tau Neuropathology.

Alzheimer's disease contributes to 60-70% of all dementia cases in the general population. Belonging to the BIN1/amphiphysin/RVS167 (BAR) superfamily, the bridging integrator (BIN1) has been identified to impact two major pathological hallmarks in Alzheimer's disease (AD), i.e., amyloid beta (Aß) and tau accumulation. Aß accumulation is found to increase by BIN1 knockdown in cortical neurons in late-onset AD, due to BACE1 accumulation at enlarged early endosomes. Two BIN1 mutants, KR and PL, were identified to exhibit Aß accumulation. Furthermore, BIN1 deficiency by BIN1-related polymorphisms impairs the interaction with tau, thus elevating tau phosphorylation, altering synapse structure and tau function. Even though the precise role of BIN1 in the neuronal tissue needs further investigation, the authors aim to throw light on the potential of BIN1 and unfold its implications on tau and Aß pathology, to aid AD researchers across the globe to examine BIN1, as an appropriate target gene for disease management.

Unusual manifestations of extra-pulmonary tuberculosis: a pictorial essay.

Purpose: Tuberculosis is quite common in India. About 40% of all Indians are infected with mycobacterium tuberculosis, with 2.5 million active tuberculosis cases. Tuberculosis primarily affects the lungs, but it can affect any organ. Extra-pulmonary involvement occurs 15-20% of cases in immune-competent patients and in more than 50% in HIV patients. The most common extra-pulmonary sites are lymph nodes, pleura, abdomen, genitourinary tract, skin, joints and bones, or meninges. Case reports: In this pictorial review article we present 8 atypical cases of tuberculosis and describe their imaging features and histopathology. Conclusions: Extra-pulmonary tuberculosis can affect virtually any organ and can mimic various inflammatory and neoplastic disorders apart from other infective conditions. A strong index of suspicion is required particularly in those countries endemic to tuberculosis.

Sporadic bilateral synchronous multicentric papillary renal cell carcinoma masquerading as bilateral multifocal pyelonephritis.

Pyelonephritis is defined as an inflammation of the kidney and renal pelvis. The diagnosis is usually clinical. Acute multifocal bacterial nephritis is a rare form of pyelonephritis that is more severe and sepsis is more common. We report a patient who presented with fever and right-sided abdominal pain associated with right flank tenderness, suggesting right acute pyelonephritis. Bilateral multifocal pyelonephritis was diagnosed on ultrasonography, radionuclide renal scintigraphy and computed tomography. However, owing to non-resolution of symptoms, a biopsy was performed, which showed bilateral papillary renal cell carcinoma (PRCC). PRCC is known to exhibit multicentricity. To our knowledge, a case of bilateral multicentric PRCC masquerading as bilateral multifocal pyelonephritis has not been reported in the English literature. This case highlights the need to be vigilant while treating patients with focal lesions of the kidney as an inflammatory condition lest a malignancy should be missed.

Utility of the trough plasma imatinib level monitoring at two time points in patients with the chronic myeloid leukemia-chronic phase.

INTRODUCTION: Plasma imatinib levels vary widely in patients with the chronic myeloid leukemia-chronic phase, and studies have shown improved hematological, cytogenetic, and molecular responses in patients with the higher trough imatinib levels. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed 50 consecutive patients with the chronic myeloid leukemia-chronic phase and performed plasma imatinib levels at 1 month and 12 months and correlated them with complete hematological response at 3 months and molecular response at 12 months, respectively. RESULTS: Trough plasma imatinib levels at 1 month correlated well with complete hematological response at 3 months (P = 0.007) and levels at 12 months correlated with molecular response at 12 months (P = 0.04). Compliance to imatinib also significantly correlated with imatinib levels at 1 month (P = 0.0008) and imatinib levels at 12 months (P = 0.0002). CONCLUSION: Plasma imatinib levels may be of benefit in patients not achieving desired response at defined time intervals. The plasma level monitoring also helps in the assessment of drug compliance.