Trends in the use of local intervention for metastatic hormone-naïve prostate cancer: A multicenter retrospective study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluated the trends of local intervention and their impact on oncological outcomes in metastatic hormone-naïve prostate cancer (mHNPC) in real-world practice. METHODS: This retrospective multicenter study included 760 patients treated with either androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) without local treatment (no castration-resistant prostate cancer [CRPC] progression within 12 months, control group) or ADT plus local intervention (intervention group) between January 2005 and March 2022. We evaluated the trends in the use of local intervention in patients with mHNPC and factors associated with CRPC-free survival in the intervention group. RESULTS: The use of local intervention gradually increased in combination with upfront combination treatment (docetaxel or androgen receptor axis-targeted agents) for the duration of our study. The number of patients with local intervention combined with upfront treatment was significantly higher in patients with high tumor burden disease than in those with low tumor burden disease. Of the 108 patients who received local intervention, a duration of ≤7 months of initial therapy before local intervention and a level of prostate-specific antigen ≥0.20 ng/mL at the time of local intervention were significantly associated with poor CRPC-free survival. CONCLUSIONS: The use of local intervention in combination with upfront therapy to treat mHNPC increased for the duration of our study regardless of the tumor burden. Local intervention in addition to the standard of care for mHNPC may be a feasible treatment option for selected patients, taking into consideration the duration of and response to initial treatment.

In vivo imaging of type 1 diabetes immunopathology using eye-transplanted islets in NOD mice.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Autoimmune attack against the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreatic islets results in type 1 diabetes. However, despite considerable research, details of the type 1 diabetes immunopathology in situ are not fully understood mainly because of difficult access to the pancreatic islets in vivo. METHODS: Here, we used direct non-invasive confocal imaging of islets transplanted in the anterior chamber of the eye (ACE) to investigate the anti-islet autoimmunity in NOD mice before, during and after diabetes onset. ACE-transplanted islets allowed longitudinal studies of the autoimmune attack against islets and revealed the infiltration kinetics and in situ motility dynamics of fluorescence-labelled autoreactive T cells during diabetes development. Ex vivo immunostaining was also used to compare immune cell infiltrations into islet grafts in the eye and kidney as well as in pancreatic islets of the same diabetic NOD mice. RESULTS: We found similar immune infiltration in native pancreatic and ACE-transplanted islets, which established the ACE-transplanted islets as reliable reporters of the autoimmune response. Longitudinal studies in ACE-transplanted islets identified in vivo hallmarks of islet inflammation that concurred with early immune infiltration of the islets and preceded their collapse and hyperglycaemia onset. A model incorporating data on ACE-transplanted islet degranulation and swelling allowed early prediction of the autoimmune attack in the pancreas and prompted treatments to intercept type 1 diabetes. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: The current findings highlight the value of ACE-transplanted islets in studying early type 1 diabetes pathogenesis in vivo and underscore the need for timely intervention to halt disease progression.

Long-Term Effect of Vibration Therapy for Training-Induced Muscle Fatigue in Elite Athletes.

Purpose: To evaluate the long-term effect of vibration therapy with holistic and local intervention in treating muscle fatigue in elite athletes during their intensive training season. Methods: Study participants included five male athletes from a provincial Greco-Roman wrestling team who were qualified for the finals of China's national games. During the study, conventional therapeutic intervention was applied during the initial three weeks of the study, and an instrument intervention was adopted in the following three weeks. A surface electromyography (sEMG) was used to measure muscle fatigue of latissimus dorsi, both before and after each intervention session. Specifically, the pre-intervention measurement was conducted right after the daily training completion; and the post-intervention measurement occurred in the following morning. The data analyses were to compare the differences in the muscle fatigue data between the two modes of interventions, conventional and instrument therapy. Results: The conventional intervention showed no significant difference in the sEMG indexes before and after the intervention; while for the instrument intervention, the pre- and post- intervention sEMG indexes differed significantly (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The long-term effects of instrument vibration therapy on muscle fatigue recovery were studied based on observational data from elite athletes. The results indicate that the vibration therapy with holistic and local consideration demonstrated an effective reduction of muscle fatigue and/or fatigue accumulation in elite athletes during their intensive training season.

The Impact of Local Intervention Combined with Targeted Therapy on Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND/AIM: We performed a retrospective survey on our metastatic renal cell carcinoma (MRCC) patients who had received targeted therapies, and afterwards evaluated the clinical impacts of local interventions on the patient outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between 2006 and 2016, 124 patients with MRCC who had received at least one line of tyrosine kinase inhibitors or mammalian target of rapamycin were included in the study. Seventy-five patients (60.5%) received targeted therapies only, twenty-six patients received complete resection and the remaining 23 received incomplete local interventions for their metastatic lesions. Analysis of the basic characteristics, overall survival and multi-variant regression amongst the three groups was performed. RESULTS: The age, gender distribution, tumor cell type, targeted therapy selection, line of therapies and sites of metastases were not different amongst the three groups. The targeted therapy-only group had a significantly higher percentage of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) poor-risk patients compared with the other two groups (22.7% vs. 3.8% and 0%, p=0.006 respectively). The targeted treatment duration and follow-up duration was significantly shorted in the targeted therapy-only group. Of the twelve variables analyzed, complete resection and MSKCC poor-risk group showed a significant impact on the overall survival rate (HR=0.5, 95%CI=0.25-0.98, p=0.045; HR=2.97, 95%CI=1.05-8.4, p=0.04 respectively). CONCLUSION: Complete resection of metastatic sites for MRCC patients, combined with targeted therapy, could provide better overall survival rates than targeted therapy alone. Poor MSKCC risk is still correlated to a poor outcome in the current targeted therapy era.

Diabetic Retinopathy-Update on Prevention Techniques, Present Therapies, and New Leads.

Diabetic retinopathy is the major ocular complication associated with diabetes, and represents the leading cause of legal blindness in the working-age population of developed countries. Although classically diagnosed based on abnormalities of the retinal microvasculature, diabetic retinopathy is now widely recognized as a neurovascular disease. While all patients with diabetes are at increased risk for eye disease including diabetic retinopathy, proactive measures, and timely intervention can prevent or delay subsequent vision loss. Systemic management of diabetes by combined control of glycemia, blood pressure, and serum lipid levels remains the most important method of preventing diabetic retinopathy onset and progression. Once detected, surgical and medical interventions including photocoagulation, vitrectomy, and intravitral drug injection can help preserve vision. However, the need for improved detection methods and therapies that will allow earlier diagnosis and treatment remains apparent. This review summarizes current techniques for the prevention and intervention for diabetic retinopathy, and examines ongoing developments in the search for new endpoints and therapies as they apply to preventing vision loss associated with diabetes.

Terapia ocupacional en inclusión laboral: experiencias a nivel local / Occupational therapy in work inclusion: local experiences

El presente estudio exploratorio tiene como objetivo analizar la implementación de dos proyectos de SENADIS para la inclusión laboral de personas con discapacidad (CCR Integral y Proyecto Piloto de Profesionales de Apoyo) en base al relato de Terapeutas Ocupacionales que ejecutaron dichos proyectos en los municipios de Conchalí, Huechuraba, Independencia, La Pintana y Peñalolén entre los años 2011- 2013, contribuyendo a la generación de conocimiento en lo que respecta a políticas públicas de inclusión laboral para personas con discapacidad. Este estudio es de tipo cualitativo y está diseñado en base a la Teoría Fundamentada. La recolección de datos se realizó a través del diseño de una entrevista semi estructurada a las Terapeutas Ocupacionales ejecutoras y a los encargados de dichos proyectos en SENADIS. Las entrevistas abarcaron desde aspectos operativos de la ejecución de los proyectos, hasta refexiones personales en torno a la experiencia. Se identifcan como aspectos signifcativos las siguientes categorías: proceso de implementación de los proyectos en los Municipios, constitución del cargo de las Terapeutas Ocupacionales, equipo de trabajo, factores que facilitaron la implementación de los proyectos, factores que difcultaron la implementación de los proyectos y refexión de las Terapeutas Ocupacionales acerca de la experiencia. La presente investigación se centra en conocer el proceso de implementación de políticas públicas de inclusión laboral a nivel municipal, a partir de la experiencia de Terapeutas Ocupacionales ejecutoras de los proyectos ejecutados.

The aim of this exploratory study is to analyze the execution of two projects proposed by SENADIS for work inclusion, based on the Occupational Therapists report who participated in the execution of both projects in the local councils of: Conchalí, Huechuraba, Independencia, La Pintana and Peñalolén between 2011 and 2013, promoting the knowledge generation related to public policies of work inclusion. This qualitative study is based on Founded Theory. The data recollection was done through semi structured interviews to the Occupational Therapists and two SENADIS professionals in charge of both projects. The interviews included operative aspects like the execution of both projects and also personal thoughts about the experience. The next categories were considered meaningful for the study: The interviewed, execution process of both projects in local councils, Occupational Therapist’s position in both projects, work team, factors that collaborated in the execution, factors that interrupted the execution and personal thoughts about the experience. This study is to recognize the execution process of public policies in work inclusion, generating discussions from the Occupational Therapists experience that executed both projects.