Spontaneous internal carotid artery pseudoaneurysm complicated with ischemic stroke in a young man: A case report and review of literature.

BACKGROUND: Carotid artery pseudoaneurysm (PSA) is infrequently encountered in clinical settings. Internal carotid artery (ICA) PSA complicated with ischemic stroke is rare. PSAs are typically caused by iatrogenic injury, trauma, or infection. The underlying mechanisms of spontaneous PSA formation are not well characterized. We report a healthy young man who presented with stroke as a complication of spontaneous PSA of the left ICA. CASE SUMMARY: A 30-year-old man working as a ceiling decoration worker was hospitalized due to sudden-onset speech disorder and right lower extremity weakness. Medical history was unremarkable. Brain computed tomography revealed ischemic stroke. Digital subtraction angiography showed a left ICA PSA with mild stenosis. The patient was conservatively managed with oral anticoagulation and antiplatelet therapy. He recovered well and was discharged. The patient was in good condition during follow-up. CONCLUSION: The occupational history of patient should be taken into consideration while evaluating the etiology of spontaneous ICA PSA in young people with stroke.

SWATH-MS-based proteomics reveals functional biomarkers of Th1/Th2 responses of tropomyosin allergy in mouse models.

Type-I food allergies are hypersensitive reactions compromising the immune organs and epithelial barriers. To investigate the organ-specific proteomic alterations of the allergy responses, the spleen and intestine of mice sensitized with high (shrimp and clam) and weak (fish) allergenic tropomyosins were analyzed using sequential windowed acquisition of all theoretical fragment ion mass spectra (SWATH-MS)-based proteomics. The results showed that Th1 and Th2 tropomyosin-induced responses in the spleen are characterized by the unique upregulation of innate (cochlin) and adaptive (Ig κ chain V-III region PC 7175) immune regulators, respectively. In the intestine, tropomyosin allergy concurred with the downregulation of 35 differentiating proteins featuring the overall impairment of metabolic pathways, absorption processes and ammonium ion responses. These data provide new functional biomarkers of tropomyosin-induced immune responses as well as candidate targets for intervention.

Evaluation of hepatocellular carcinoma by contrast-enhanced sonography: correlation with pathologic differentiation.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to determine whether contrast-enhanced sonography can be used to differentiate histopathologic grades of hepatocellular carcinoma. METHODS: This study included 54 patients with hepatocellular carcinomas. All patients underwent fundamental and contrast-enhanced sonographic examinations. Auto-tracking contrast quantification software was used to determine the contrast arrival time, time to peak, peak intensity, contrast-enhanced time, wash-out time, enhancement slope, and clearance slope of the lesions. All lesions were confirmed by surgery. The hepatocellular carcinoma lesions were divided into 2 groups according to the World Health Organization grading system: group 1 (well-differentiated hepatocellular carcinomas) and group 2 (moderately to poorly differentiated carcinomas). The enhancement parameters between the groups were compared using a Student t test. RESULTS: Fourteen of 20 well-differentiated lesions showed a "fast-in, slow-out" enhancement pattern, whereas 6 showed a "fast-in, fast-out" pattern. Thirty-three of 34 moderately to poorly differentiated lesions showed a fast-in, fast-out pattern, whereas only 1 showed a fast-in, slow-out pattern. The differences in the time to peak, contrast-enhanced time, wash-out time, enhancement slope, and clearance slope between the groups were statistically significant (P < .05), whereas the differences in the arrival time and peak intensity were not significant (P > .05). CONCLUSIONS: The contrast patterns of well-differentiated and moderately to poorly differentiated hepatocellular carcinomas were quite different on contrast-enhanced sonography. The time to peak, contrast-enhanced time, and wash-out time of the well-differentiated hepatocellular carcinomas were longer than those of the moderately to poorly differentiated carcinomas, whereas the enhancement slope and clearance slope of the well-differentiated lesions were lower those that of the moderately to poorly differentiated lesions.