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AIMS: Cardiac disease is a dose-limiting toxicity in non-small cell lung cancer radiotherapy. The dose to the heart base has been associated with poor survival in multiple institutional and clinical trial datasets using unsupervised, voxel-based analysis. Validation has not been undertaken in a cohort with individual patient delineations of the cardiac base or for the endpoint of cardiac events. The purpose of this study was to assess the association of heart base radiation dose with overall survival and the risk of cardiac events with individual heart base contours. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients treated between 2015 and 2020 were reviewed for baseline patient, tumour and cardiac details and both cancer and cardiac outcomes as part of the NI-HEART study. Three cardiologists verified cardiac events including atrial fibrillation, heart failure and acute coronary syndrome. Cardiac substructure delineations were completed using a validated deep learning-based autosegmentation tool and a composite cardiac base structure was generated. Cox and Fine-Gray regressions were undertaken for the risk of death and cardiac events. RESULTS: Of 478 eligible patients, most received 55 Gy/20 fractions (96%) without chemotherapy (58%), planned with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (71%). Pre-existing cardiovascular morbidity was common (78% two or more risk factors, 46% one or more established disease). The median follow-up was 21.1 months. Dichotomised at the median, a higher heart base Dmax was associated with poorer survival on Kaplan-Meier analysis (20.2 months versus 28.3 months; hazard ratio 1.40, 95% confidence interval 1.14-1.75, P = 0.0017) and statistical significance was retained in multivariate analyses. Furthermore, heart base Dmax was associated with pooled cardiac events in a multivariate analysis (hazard ratio 1.75, 95% confidence interval 1.03-2.97, P = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Heart base Dmax was associated with the rate of death and cardiac events after adjusting for patient, tumour and cardiovascular factors in the NI-HEART study. This validates the findings from previous unsupervised analytical approaches. The heart base could be considered as a potential sub-organ at risk towards reducing radiation cardiotoxicity.
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Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas , Cardiopatias , Neoplasias Pulmonares , Radioterapia de Intensidade Modulada , Humanos , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/patologia , Neoplasias Pulmonares/patologia , Coração , Radioterapia de Intensidade Modulada/efeitos adversos , Cardiopatias/epidemiologia , Cardiopatias/etiologia , Doses de RadiaçãoRESUMO
Lung cancer's radiomic phenotype may potentially inform clinical decision-making with respect to radical radiotherapy. At present there are no validated biomarkers available for the individualisation of radical radiotherapy in lung cancer and the mortality rate of this disease remains the highest of all other solid tumours. MEDLINE was searched using the terms 'radiomics' and 'lung cancer' according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Met-Analyses (PRISMA) guidance. Radiomics studies were defined as those manuscripts describing the extraction and analysis of at least 10 quantifiable imaging features. Only those studies assessing disease control, survival or toxicity outcomes for patients with lung cancer following radical radiotherapy ± chemotherapy were included. Study titles and abstracts were reviewed by two independent reviewers. The Radiomics Quality Score was applied to the full text of included papers. Of 244 returned results, 44 studies met the eligibility criteria for inclusion. End points frequently reported were local (17%), regional (17%) and distant control (31%), overall survival (79%) and pulmonary toxicity (4%). Imaging features strongly associated with clinical outcomes include texture features belonging to the subclasses Gray level run length matrix, Gray level co-occurrence matrix and kurtosis. The median cohort size for model development was 100 (15-645); in the 11 studies with external validation in a separate independent population, the median cohort size was 84 (21-295). The median number of imaging features extracted was 184 (10-6538). The median Radiomics Quality Score was 11% (0-47). Patient-reported outcomes were not incorporated within any studies identified. No studies externally validated a radiomics signature in a registered prospective study. Imaging-derived indices attained through radiomic analyses could equip thoracic oncologists with biomarkers for treatment response, patterns of failure, normal tissue toxicity and survival in lung cancer. Based on routine scans, their non-invasive nature and cost-effectiveness are major advantages over conventional pathological assessment. Improved tools are required for the appraisal of radiomics studies, as significant barriers to clinical implementation remain, such as standardisation of input scan data, quality of reporting and external validation of signatures in randomised, interventional clinical trials.
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Neoplasias Pulmonares , Análise Custo-Benefício , Diagnóstico por Imagem , Humanos , Pulmão , Neoplasias Pulmonares/diagnóstico por imagem , Neoplasias Pulmonares/tratamento farmacológico , Neoplasias Pulmonares/radioterapia , Estudos ProspectivosRESUMO
AIMS: Specialty trainees in clinical oncology must be competent in the coordination of both radiotherapy and systemic therapy at the completion of their training. Radiotherapy technology and postgraduate medical education have evolved significantly over the last two decades, but little is known of the educational impact of those changes within the dual training of the clinical oncology programme. A qualitative assessment of the radiotherapy component of training was undertaken at a single regional cancer centre in order to identify potential areas for improvement. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Consultants and trainees (n = 10) at a regional cancer centre underwent semi-structured interviews regarding their lived experience of learning radiotherapy skills and knowledge. As consultants and trainees can be considered equal co-investors in the process of radiotherapy learning, the same question stems were used for both groups. An interpretative phenomenological analysis was undertaken by the investigators to elicit the perception of both groups. RESULTS: Consultant and trainee assessments of current radiotherapy learning standards differ for several aspects of training, as do their expectations of the other in learning processes. A lack of time is a major barrier in modern practice, and both groups can propose novel measures to improve learning locally. CONCLUSIONS: Arrangements for learning radiotherapy have not kept pace with the rate of change in the clinical oncology discipline. Trainees and consultants have contrasting views on the state of training, its strengths and weaknesses, and pathways to improvement, which should be reconciled by programme coordinators charged with upgrading the training system.
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Neoplasias , Competência Clínica , Educação Médica , Humanos , Oncologia/educação , Neoplasias/radioterapia , Radioterapia (Especialidade)/educação , Reino UnidoRESUMO
Changes in lung architecture during a course of radiotherapy can alter the planned dose distribution to the extent that it becomes clinically unacceptable. This study aims to validate a quantitative method of determining whether a replan is required during the course of conformal radiotherapy. The proposed method uses deformable image registration (DIR) to flexibly map planning CT (pCT) data to the anatomy of online CBCT images. The resulting deformed CT (dCT) images are used as a basis for assessing the effect of anatomical change on dose distributions. The study used retrospective data from a sample of seven replanned lung patients. The settings of an in-house, open-source DIR algorithm were first optimised for CT-to-CBCT registrations of the anatomy of the thorax. Using these optimised parameters, each patient's pCT was deformed to the CBCT acquired immediately before the replan. Registration accuracy was rigorously validated both geometrically and dosimetrically to confirm that the dCTs could reliably be used to inform replan decisions. A retrospective evaluation of the changes in dose delivered over time was then carried out for a single patient to demonstrate the clinical application of the proposed method. The geometric analysis showed good agreement between deformed structures and those same structures manually outlined on the CBCT images. Results were consistently better than those achieved with rigid-only registration. In the dosimetric analysis, dose distributions derived from the dCTs were found to match closely to the 'gold standard' replan CT (rCT) distributions across dose volume histogram and absolute dose difference measures. The retrospective analysis of serial CBCTs of a single patient produced reliable quantitative assessment of the dose delivery. Had the proposed method been available at the time of treatment, it would have enabled a more objective replan decision. DIR is a valuable clinical tool for dose recalculation in adaptive radiotherapy protocols for lung cancer patients.
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Neoplasias Pulmonares/diagnóstico por imagem , Planejamento da Radioterapia Assistida por Computador/métodos , Radioterapia Conformacional/métodos , Tomografia Computadorizada de Feixe Cônico Espiral/métodos , Algoritmos , Estudos de Viabilidade , Feminino , Humanos , Neoplasias Pulmonares/radioterapia , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Dosagem RadioterapêuticaRESUMO
PURPOSE: Up to one third of epilepsy patients develop pharmacoresistant seizures and many benefit from resective surgery. However, patients with non-lesional focal epilepsy often require intracranial monitoring to localize the seizure focus. Intracranial monitoring carries operative morbidity risk and does not always succeed in localizing the seizures, making the benefit of this approach less certain. We performed a decision analysis comparing three strategies for patients with non-lesional focal epilepsy: (1) intracranial monitoring, (2) vagal nerve stimulator (VNS) implantation and (3) medical management to determine which strategy maximizes the expected quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) for our base cases. METHOD: We constructed two base cases using parameters reported in the medical literature: (1) a young, otherwise healthy patient and (2) an elderly, otherwise healthy patient. We constructed a decision tree comprising strategies for the treatment of non-lesional epilepsy and two clinical outcomes: seizure freedom and no seizure freedom. Sensitivity analyses of probabilities at each branch were guided by data from the medical literature to define decision thresholds across plausible parameter ranges. RESULTS: Intracranial monitoring maximizes the expected QALYs for both base cases. The sensitivity analyses provide estimates of the values of key variables, such as the surgical risk or the chance of localizing the focus, at which intracranial monitoring is no longer favored. CONCLUSION: Intracranial monitoring is favored over VNS and medical management in young and elderly patients over a wide, clinically-relevant range of pertinent model variables such as the chance of localizing the seizure focus and the surgical morbidity rate.
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Anticonvulsivantes/uso terapêutico , Técnicas de Apoio para a Decisão , Epilepsia Resistente a Medicamentos/diagnóstico , Epilepsia Resistente a Medicamentos/terapia , Eletrocorticografia/normas , Avaliação de Processos e Resultados em Cuidados de Saúde/estatística & dados numéricos , Estimulação do Nervo Vago/normas , Adulto , Idoso , Eletrocorticografia/efeitos adversos , Eletrocorticografia/estatística & dados numéricos , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Anos de Vida Ajustados por Qualidade de Vida , Sensibilidade e Especificidade , Estimulação do Nervo Vago/efeitos adversos , Estimulação do Nervo Vago/estatística & dados numéricos , Adulto JovemRESUMO
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to identify sources of anatomical misrepresentation owing to the location of camera mounting, tumour motion velocity and image processing artefacts in order to optimize the four-dimensional CT (4DCT) scan protocol and improve geometrical-temporal accuracy. METHODS: A phantom with an imaging insert was driven with a sinusoidal superior-inferior motion of varying amplitude and period for 4DCT scanning. The length of a high-density cube within the insert was measured using treatment planning software to determine the accuracy of its spatial representation. Scan parameters were varied, including the tube rotation period and the cine time between reconstructed images. A CT image quality phantom was used to measure various image quality signatures under the scan parameters tested. RESULTS: No significant difference in spatial accuracy was found for 4DCT scans carried out using the wall- or couch-mounted camera for sinusoidal target motion. Greater spatial accuracy was found for 4DCT scans carried out using a tube rotation speed of 0.5 s rather than 1.0 s. The reduction in image quality when using a faster rotation speed was not enough to require an increase in patient dose. CONCLUSION: The 4DCT accuracy may be increased by optimizing scan parameters, including choosing faster tube rotation speeds. Peak misidentification in the recorded breathing trace may lead to spatial artefacts, and this risk can be reduced by using a couch-mounted infrared camera. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE: This study explicitly shows that 4DCT scan accuracy is improved by scanning with a faster CT tube rotation speed.
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Tomografia Computadorizada Quadridimensional/métodos , Processamento de Imagem Assistida por Computador/instrumentação , Neoplasias Pulmonares/diagnóstico por imagem , Imagens de Fantasmas , Artefatos , Sistemas Computacionais , Desenho de Equipamento , Humanos , Movimento (Física) , Reprodutibilidade dos Testes , Respiração , SoftwareRESUMO
Coral bleaching and associated mortality is an increasingly prominent threat to coral reef ecosystems. Although the effects of bleaching-induced coral mortality on reef fishes have been well demonstrated, corals can remain bleached for several weeks prior to recovery or death and little is known about how bleaching affects resident fishes during this time period. This study compared growth rates of two species of juvenile butterflyfishes (Chaetodon aureofasciatus and Chaetodon lunulatus) that were restricted to feeding upon either bleached or healthy coral tissue of Acropora spathulata or Pocillopora damicornis. Coral condition (bleached vs. unbleached) had no significant effects on changes in total length or weight over a 23-day period. Likewise, in a habitat choice experiment, juvenile butterflyfishes did not discriminate between healthy and bleached corals, but actively avoided using recently dead colonies. These results indicate that juvenile coral-feeding fishes are relatively robust to short term effects of bleaching events, provided that the corals do recover.
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Antozoários/fisiologia , Recifes de Corais , Ecossistema , Peixes/fisiologia , Animais , Peixes/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Lipídeos/análiseRESUMO
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of pre-treatment verification imaging with megavoltage X-rays on cancer and normal cell survival in vitro and to compare the findings with theoretically modelled data. Since the dose received from pre-treatment imaging can be significant, the incorporation of this dose at the planning stage of treatment has been suggested. METHODS: The impact of imaging dose incorporation on cell survival was investigated by clonogenic assay of irradiated DU-145 prostate cancer, H460 non-small-cell lung cancer and AGO-1522b normal tissue fibroblast cells. Clinically relevant imaging-to-treatment times of 7.5 and 15 min were chosen for this study. The theoretical magnitude of the loss of radiobiological efficacy due to sublethal damage repair was investigated using the Lea-Catcheside dose protraction factor model. RESULTS: For the cell lines investigated, the experimental data showed that imaging dose incorporation had no significant impact on cell survival. These findings were in close agreement with theoretical results. CONCLUSION: For the conditions investigated, the results suggest that allowance for the imaging dose at the planning stage of treatment should not adversely affect treatment efficacy. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE: There is a paucity of data in the literature on imaging effects in radiotherapy. This article presents a systematic study of imaging dose effects on cancer and normal cell survival, providing both theoretical and experimental evidence for clinically relevant imaging doses and imaging-to-treatment times. The data provide a firm foundation for further study into this highly relevant area of research.
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Sobrevivência Celular/efeitos da radiação , Modelos Biológicos , Neoplasias/radioterapia , Radioterapia de Alta Energia , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/radioterapia , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Relação Dose-Resposta à Radiação , Humanos , Neoplasias Pulmonares/radioterapia , Masculino , Modelos Teóricos , Neoplasias da Próstata/radioterapia , Dosagem Radioterapêutica , Radioterapia Assistida por Computador/métodos , Fatores de TempoRESUMO
Intrafraction tumour motion is an issue that is of increased interest in the era of image-guided radiotherapy. It is particularly relevant for non-small cell lung cancer, for which a number of recent developments are in use to aid with motion management in the delivery of radical radiotherapy. The ability to deliver hypofractionated ablative doses, such as in stereotactic radiotherapy, has been aided by improvements in the ability to analyse tumour motion and amend treatment delivery. In addition, accounting for tumour motion can enable dose escalation to occur by reducing the normal tissue being irradiated by virtue of a reduction in target volumes. Motion management for lung tumours incorporates five key components: imaging, breath-hold techniques, abdominal compression, respiratory tracking and respiratory gating. These will be described, together with the relevant benefits and associated complexities. Many studies have described improved dosimetric coverage and reduced normal tissue complication probability rates when using motion management techniques. Despite the widespread uptake of many of these techniques, there is a paucity of literature reporting improved outcome in overall survival and local control for patients whenever motion management techniques are used. This overview will review the extent of lung tumour motion, ways in which motion is detected and summarise the key methods used in motion management.
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Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/radioterapia , Neoplasias Pulmonares/radioterapia , Planejamento da Radioterapia Assistida por Computador/métodos , Fracionamento da Dose de Radiação , Humanos , Radioterapia Guiada por ImagemRESUMO
AIMS: To investigate the potential dosimetric and clinical benefits predicted by using four-dimensional computed tomography (4DCT) compared with 3DCT in the planning of radical radiotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty patients were planned using free breathing 4DCT then retrospectively delineated on three-dimensional helical scan sets (3DCT). Beam arrangement and total dose (55 Gy in 20 fractions) were matched for 3D and 4D plans. Plans were compared for differences in planning target volume (PTV) geometrics and normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) for organs at risk using dose volume histograms. Tumour control probability and NTCP were modelled using the Lyman-Kutcher-Burman (LKB) model. This was compared with a predictive clinical algorithm (Maastro), which is based on patient characteristics, including: age, performance status, smoking history, lung function, tumour staging and concomitant chemotherapy, to predict survival and toxicity outcomes. Potential therapeutic gains were investigated by applying isotoxic dose escalation to both plans using constraints for mean lung dose (18 Gy), oesophageal maximum (70 Gy) and spinal cord maximum (48 Gy). RESULTS: 4DCT based plans had lower PTV volumes, a lower dose to organs at risk and lower predicted NTCP rates on LKB modelling (P < 0.006). The clinical algorithm showed no difference for predicted 2-year survival and dyspnoea rates between the groups, but did predict for lower oesophageal toxicity with 4DCT plans (P = 0.001). There was no correlation between LKB modelling and the clinical algorithm for lung toxicity or survival. Dose escalation was possible in 15/20 cases, with a mean increase in dose by a factor of 1.19 (10.45 Gy) using 4DCT compared with 3DCT plans. CONCLUSIONS: 4DCT can theoretically improve therapeutic ratio and dose escalation based on dosimetric parameters and mathematical modelling. However, when individual characteristics are incorporated, this gain may be less evident in terms of survival and dyspnoea rates. 4DCT allows potential for isotoxic dose escalation, which may lead to improved local control and better overall survival.
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Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/radioterapia , Tomografia Computadorizada Quadridimensional/métodos , Neoplasias Pulmonares/radioterapia , Planejamento da Radioterapia Assistida por Computador/métodos , Idoso , Idoso de 80 Anos ou mais , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/patologia , Feminino , Tomografia Computadorizada Quadridimensional/efeitos adversos , Humanos , Neoplasias Pulmonares/patologia , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Modelos BiológicosRESUMO
The pathogenesis of disease progression in drug-refractory epilepsy is poorly understood. We report the case of a young woman with a four-year history of epilepsy that progressed rapidly as evidenced by the development of progressive focal cortical atrophy. She underwent biopsy that showed perinatal ischemia and a prominent inflammatory response, including T-cell infiltration and microglial activation. There was no consensus reached on the final diagnosis although the hypothesis of dual pathology (adult variant of Rasmussen's encephalitis and perinatal stroke) was considered. The possible role of inflammation in the progression of epilepsy caused by a "static" lesion (perinatal stroke) is discussed.
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This study examined the dietary habits and functional composition of butterflyfishes in the Chagos Archipelago, central Indian Ocean. Eighteen species of butterflyfishes were recorded in Chagos, including six obligate corallivores (Chaetodon bennetti, Chaetodon guttatissimus, Chaetodon meyeri, Chaetodon trifascialis, Chaetodon trifasciatus and Chaetodon zanzibarensis), five facultative corallivores (Chaetodon auriga, Chaetodon falcula, Chaetodon interruptus, Chaetodon kleinii and Chaetodon madagaskariensis), two non-corallivores (Chaetodon lunula and Chaetodon xanthocephalus) and a further five species (Chaetodon citrinellus, Chaetodon lineolatus, Heimitaurichthys zoster, Heniochus monoceros and Forcipiger flavissimus), for which local dietary habits were not studied. There were marked differences in the abundance of butterflyfishes among sites and between reef zones, mostly associated with variation in abundance of scleractinian corals. Obligate coral-feeding species (mostly C. trifascialis) dominated across all sites. This study suggests that coral feeding and high levels of dietary specialization contribute to high population-level fitness among coral reef butterflyfishes. Despite being more vulnerable to habitat disturbances and coral loss, it appears likely that specialist coral-feeding butterflyfishes are also much more resilient to occasional disturbances, and therefore dominate in a wide range of coral reef habitats.
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Biota , Recifes de Corais , Perciformes/fisiologia , Animais , Cadeia Alimentar , Oceano Índico , Biologia MarinhaRESUMO
Flattening filter free (FFF) linear accelerators allow for an increase in instantaneous dose-rate of the x-ray pulses by a factor of 2-6 over the conventional flattened output. As a result, radiobiological investigations are being carried out to determine the effect of these higher dose-rates on cell response. The studies reported thus far have presented conflicting results, highlighting the need for further investigation. To determine the radiobiological impact of the increased dose-rates from FFF exposures a Varian Truebeam medical linear accelerator was used to irradiate two human cancer cell lines in vitro, DU-145 prostate and H460 non-small cell lung, with both flattened and FFF 6 MV beams. The fluence profile of the FFF beam was modified using a custom-designed Nylon compensator to produce a similar dose profile to the flattened beam (6X) at the cell surface but at a higher instantaneous dose-rate. For both cell lines there appeared to be no significant change in cell survival. Curve fitting coefficients for DU145 cells irradiated with constant average dose-rates were 6X: α = 0.09 ± 0.03, ß = 0.03 ± 0.01 and 6FFF: α = 0.14 ± 0.13, ß = 0.03 ± 0.02 with a significance of p = 0.75. For H460 cells irradiated with the same instantaneous dose-rate but different average dose-rate the fit coefficients were 6FFF (low dose-rate): α = 0.21 ± 0.11, 0.07 ± 0.02 and 6FFF (high dose-rate): α = 0.21 ± 0.16, 0.07 ± 0.03, with p = 0.79. The results indicate that collective damage behaviour does not occur at the instantaneous dose-rates investigated here and that the use of either modality should result in the same clinical outcome, however this will require further validation in vivo.
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Radiobiologia , Radioterapia Assistida por Computador/métodos , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Sobrevivência Celular/efeitos da radiação , Humanos , Masculino , Radiometria , Dosagem Radioterapêutica , Fatores de TempoRESUMO
Observation of a theoretically predicted peak in the neoclassical toroidal viscosity (NTV) force as a function of toroidal plasma rotation rate Ω is reported. The NTV was generated by applying n=3 magnetic fields from internal coils to low Ω plasmas produced with nearly balanced neutral beam injection. Locally, the peak corresponds to a toroidal rotation rate Ω(0) where the radial electric field E(r) is near zero as determined by radial ion force balance.
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Deficiency of the intrinsic lysosomal protein human scavenger receptor class B, member 2 (SCARB2; Limp-2 in mice) causes collapsing focal and segmental glomerular sclerosis (FSGS) and myoclonic epilepsy in humans, but patients with no apparent kidney damage have recently been described. We now demonstrate that these patients can develop tubular proteinuria. To determine the mechanism, mice deficient in Limp-2, the murine homolog of SCARB2, were studied. Most low-molecular-weight proteins filtered by the glomerulus are removed in the proximal convoluted tubule (PCT) by megalin/cubilin-dependent receptor-mediated endocytosis. Expression of megalin and cubilin was unchanged in Limp-2(-/-) mice, however, and the initial uptake of injected Alexa Fluor 555-conjugated bovine serum albumin (Alexa-BSA) was similar to wild-type mice, indicating that megalin/cubilin-dependent, receptor-mediated endocytosis was unaffected. There was a defect in proteolysis of reabsorbed proteins in the Limp-2(-/-) mice, demonstrated by the persistence of Alexa-BSA in the PCT compared with controls. This was associated with the failure of the lysosomal protease cathepsin B to colocalize with Alexa-BSA and endogenous retinol-binding protein in kidneys from Limp-2(-/-) mice. The data suggest that tubular proteinuria in Limp-2(-/-) mice is due to failure of endosomes containing reabsorbed proteins to fuse with lysosomes in the proximal tubule of the kidney. Failure of proteolysis is a novel mechanism for tubular proteinuria.
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Nefropatias/genética , Rim/metabolismo , Proteínas de Membrana Lisossomal/genética , Proteinúria/genética , Receptores Depuradores/genética , Animais , Imunofluorescência , Humanos , Nefropatias/metabolismo , Proteína-2 Relacionada a Receptor de Lipoproteína de Baixa Densidade/metabolismo , Proteínas de Membrana Lisossomal/metabolismo , Lisossomos/metabolismo , Espectrometria de Massas , Camundongos , Camundongos Knockout , Proteinúria/metabolismo , Receptores Depuradores/metabolismo , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase Via Transcriptase ReversaRESUMO
INTRODUCTION: Electrophysiologic tests in hypoxic encephalopathy consist of EEG and evoked/event-related potential studies. In most studies the generalized periodic epileptiform complexes have been reported combined with other EEG patterns and were indicators of a poor outcome in different etiologies of hypoxic encephalopathy (HE), but these have rarely been examined independently. METHODOLOGY: We analyzed from 2000 to 2007 the outcome of patients with HE and generalized periodic epileptiform complexes. We abstracted and tabulated clinical information, imaging findings, and outcome from the medical records. RESULTS: We found 52 patients in our database. Fourteen patients (eight BiPLEDs and six GPEDs) were associated with HE. Patients with BIPLEDs were 68+/-19.4 years old, 5 female (62%) and 3 (38%) men. GPEDs patients were 52.5+/-19.1 years old, 2 women (20%) and 4 (80%) men. Myocardial infarction and ventricular tachycardia were responsible of 57% of the HE cases. Neuroimaging studies in both groups showed cortical structural lesions in 84%. All patients were comatose and died. Two GPEDs patients developed status epilepticus. CONCLUSION: GPEDs and BIPLEDs after an anoxic insult carried a poor prognosis for survival. Aggressive treatment of patients may not be warranted when these EEG patterns are seen after anoxic brain injury.
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Eletroencefalografia/classificação , Eletroencefalografia/métodos , Epilepsia/diagnóstico , Epilepsia/etiologia , Hipóxia Encefálica/complicações , Adulto , Idoso , Idoso de 80 Anos ou mais , Córtex Cerebral/patologia , Córtex Cerebral/fisiopatologia , Bases de Dados Bibliográficas/estatística & dados numéricos , Eletroencefalografia/estatística & dados numéricos , Feminino , Humanos , Hipóxia Encefálica/patologia , Imageamento por Ressonância Magnética/métodos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Prognóstico , Estudos Retrospectivos , Adulto JovemRESUMO
OBJECTIVES: Epilepsy surgery is performed less frequently in persons over 45 years of age than in younger individuals, probably reflecting biases among patients, referring physicians and neurologists. METHODS: We report on a clinically heterogeneous cohort of patients aged 45 years or older who underwent epilepsy surgery for medically intractable epilepsy. RESULTS: Over a 15-year period, 42 patients with a mean duration of epilepsy of 27.3 years underwent elective surgery. The mean follow-up period was 48 months. Thirty-two patients had an Engel class I outcome, of which 23 were totally seizure-free (Ia). Six patients had a class II outcome (rare disabling seizures), one had a class III outcome (worthwhile improvement), and three had a class IV outcome (no worthwhile improvement). The majority of patients reported an improved quality of life and satisfaction with the epilepsy surgery. A subjective improvement in cognition was reported in 7 patients while a decline was reported in 10 patients. New neuropsychiatric difficulties were reported in three patients while three patients reported improved anxiety after surgery. Only one patient became newly employed after surgery while 23 returned to driving. Permanent complications occurred in four patients (thalamic infarct during a Wada test (n=1) and asymptomatic visual field defect (n=3)). CONCLUSIONS: We report a favorable outcome from epilepsy surgery in a large series of older adults and conclude that age per se is not a contraindication to epilepsy surgery. We emphasize the lack of correlation between outcome from surgery and pre-operative duration of epilepsy.
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Encéfalo/cirurgia , Epilepsia/cirurgia , Complicações Pós-Operatórias/epidemiologia , Convulsões/epidemiologia , Fatores Etários , Idoso , Encéfalo/diagnóstico por imagem , Encéfalo/fisiopatologia , Cognição , Estudos de Coortes , Intervalo Livre de Doença , Eletroencefalografia , Epilepsia/psicologia , Feminino , Seguimentos , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Testes Neuropsicológicos , Procedimentos Neurocirúrgicos/efeitos adversos , Procedimentos Neurocirúrgicos/métodos , Tomografia por Emissão de Pósitrons , Qualidade de Vida , Resultado do TratamentoRESUMO
Diagnostic tools and treatment options for epilepsy have expanded in recent years. Imaging techniques once confined to research laboratories are now routinely used for clinical purposes. Medications that were unavailable a few years ago are now first-line agents. Patients with refractory seizures push for earlier surgical intervention, consider treatment with medical devices, and actively seek nonpharmacologic alternatives. We review some of these recent advances in the management of epilepsy.
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Anticonvulsivantes/uso terapêutico , Epilepsia/diagnóstico , Epilepsia/tratamento farmacológico , Diagnóstico por Imagem , Eletroencefalografia , HumanosRESUMO
A model for field-error penetration is developed that includes nonresonant as well as the usual resonant field-error effects. The nonresonant components cause a neoclassical toroidal viscous torque that keeps the plasma rotating at a rate comparable to the ion diamagnetic frequency. The new theory is used to examine resonant error-field penetration threshold scaling in Ohmic tokamak plasmas. Compared to previous theoretical results, we find the plasma is less susceptible to error-field penetration and locking, by a factor that depends on the nonresonant error-field amplitude.