Practice and prospects for PET/CT guided interventions.

During the past 10 years, performing real-time molecular imaging with positron emission tomography (PET) in combination with computed tomography (CT) during interventional procedures has undergone rapid development. Keeping in mind the interest of the nuclear medicine readers, an update is provided of the current workflows using real-time PET/CT in percutaneous biopsies and tumor ablations. The clinical utility of PET/CT guided biopsies in cancer patients with lung, liver, lymphoma, and bone tumors are reviewed. Several technological developments, including the introduction of new PET tracers and robotic arms as well as opportunities provided through acquiring radioactive biopsy specimens are briefly reviewed.

Global host molecular perturbations upon in situ loss of bacterial endosymbionts in the deep-sea mussel Bathymodiolus azoricus assessed using proteomics and transcriptomics.

BACKGROUND: Colonization of deep-sea hydrothermal vents by most invertebrates was made efficient through their adaptation to a symbiotic lifestyle with chemosynthetic bacteria, the primary producers in these ecosystems. Anatomical adaptations such as the establishment of specialized cells or organs have been evidenced in numerous deep-sea invertebrates. However, very few studies detailed global inter-dependencies between host and symbionts in these ecosystems. In this study, we proposed to describe, using a proteo-transcriptomic approach, the effects of symbionts loss on the deep-sea mussel Bathymodiolus azoricus' molecular biology. We induced an in situ depletion of symbionts and compared the proteo-transcriptome of the gills of mussels in three conditions: symbiotic mussels (natural population), symbiont-depleted mussels and aposymbiotic mussels. RESULTS: Global proteomic and transcriptomic results evidenced a global disruption of host machinery in aposymbiotic organisms. We observed that the total number of proteins identified decreased from 1118 in symbiotic mussels to 790 in partially depleted mussels and 761 in aposymbiotic mussels. Using microarrays we identified 4300 transcripts differentially expressed between symbiont-depleted and symbiotic mussels. Among these transcripts, 799 were found differentially expressed in aposymbiotic mussels and almost twice as many in symbiont-depleted mussels as compared to symbiotic mussels. Regarding apoptotic and immune system processes - known to be largely involved in symbiotic interactions - an overall up-regulation of associated proteins and transcripts was observed in symbiont-depleted mussels. CONCLUSION: Overall, our study showed a global impairment of host machinery and an activation of both the immune and apoptotic system following symbiont-depletion. One of the main assumptions is the involvement of symbiotic bacteria in the inhibition and regulation of immune and apoptotic systems. As such, symbiotic bacteria may increase their lifespan in gill cells while managing the defense of the holobiont against putative pathogens.

The treatment of 783 keloid scars by iridium 192 interstitial irradiation after surgical excision.

PURPOSE: the aim of this study is to confirm the effectiveness of irradiation associated with surgery in the treatment of keloids, to precise the factors favoring the recurrence of these keloids, and to evaluate the risk of recurrence, according to their initial distinctive features. METHODS AND MATERIALS: between 1977 and 1988, 544 patients, with a total of 855 keloids, were treated by interstitial radiotherapy immediately following total excision. RESULTS: recurrence rate is 21%, as against 50 to 80% for surgery alone, according to most authors. This recurrence rate is about the same as for external radiotherapy, but we prefer our method for practical reasons (cost, equipment, radiobiology, technique). Ninety percent of recurrences occurred in the year following therapy, which proves that a follow-up time of at least 12 months is needed for a study of keloids. In our experience, the keloids that are the most likely to recur are the largest and those giving rise to most symptoms. Bruising and loosened stitches, but in particular infection during therapy, largely favor a recurrence. In our series, the symptoms disappeared or were much improved in 80% of cases, and the cosmetic result was judged good by 75% of the patients. CONCLUSION: the results of this study proves the effectiveness of the method linking surgical excision and Iridium 192 interstitial irradiation and shows the importance of the sterile conditions of the treatment.

[Endometriosis and diaphragmatic defect in catamenial pneumothorax]. / Endométriose et brèche diaphragmatique dans le pneumothorax cataménial.

Two cases of catamenial pneumothorax are reported, a rare condition characterized by its sudden occurrence in a female patient between the ages of 30 and 40 years, always at the onset of the menstrual cycle. Its exact origin is unknown, but the frequent co-existence of endometriosis and a defect in the diaphragm suggests that endometriosis may be important in the etiology both of the pneumothorax and the diaphragmatic lesion. Pelvic endometriosis was present in both our patients, one of whom also had diaphragmatic endometriosis. The treatment of the pneumothorax in both our cases consisted of pleural decortication with excellent results so far.

[Endometriosis and ureteral stenosis. Apropos of 4 cases]. / Endométriose et sténose urétérale. A propos de quatre observations.

If endometriosis is particularly well known by Gynecologists, ureteral complications of this disease are very rare. We have had the occasion to observe four cases of ureteral stenosis by extrinsic compression of a pelvic endometriosis, and about these four cases, we have reviewed one hundred and fifty six cases in literature. We have emphasize that the fibrosis provoked by endometriosis can look like a neoplastic lesion, and get involved in very heavy therapeutic gestures. We insist on the fact that every endometriosis discovered should be on surgery of kidneys and ureters.