Medicine
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The aim of this article is to investigate the cortical metabolic arrangements in olfactory processing by using F fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography. Twenty-six normosmic individuals (14 women and 12 men; mean age 46.7 ± 10 years) were exposed to a neutral olfactory condition (NC) and, after 1 month, to a pure olfactory condition (OC) in a relatively ecological environment, that is, outside the scanner. All the subjects were injected with 185-210 megabecquerel of F FDG during both stimulations. ⋯ As a result, we found a significant higher glucose consumption during OC in the cuneus, lingual, and parahippocampal gyri, mainly in the left hemisphere. During NC, our results show a relative higher glucose metabolism in the left superior, inferior, middle, medial frontal, and orbital gyri as well as in the anterior cingulate cortex. The present investigation, performed with a widely available functional imaging clinical tool, may help to better understand the neural responses associated to olfactory processing in healthy individuals and in patients with olfactory disorders by acquiring data in an ecologic, noise-free, and resting condition in which possible cerebral activations related to unwanted attentional processes might be avoided.
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Observational Study
Combined alkaline phosphatase and phosphorus levels as a predictor of mortality in maintenance hemodialysis patients.
Hyperphosphatemia-induced vascular calcification and higher alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels-related high-turnover bone diseases are linked to mortality among patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Nonetheless, no large epidemiological study in patients with CKD has been conducted to investigate the interaction and joint effect of hyperphosphatemia and higher ALP levels on mortality. We analyzed 11,912 maintenance hemodialysis patients from January 2005 to December 2010. ⋯ The association between serum phosphorus levels and mortality was not limited to higher ALP levels. Regardless of serum ALP levels, we may control serum phosphorus levels merely toward the normal range. While considering the joint effect of ALP and hyperphosphatemia on mortality, the optimal phosphorus range should be stricter.
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Observational Study
Effect of switching therapy to pegaptanib in eyes with the persistent cases of exudative age-related macular degeneration.
Purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of switching to pegaptanib monotherapy for persistent cases of exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Out of 296 eyes of 296 patients treated with ranibizumab or ranibizumab combined with photodynamic therapy (PDT), 50 eyes of 50 AMD patients were found to be resistant to these treatments. Over a 12-month period, intravitreal pegaptanib (IVP) 0.3 mg was administered at intervals of 6 weeks until the exudation disappeared prospectively. ⋯ At 12 months, the exudative change was completely resolved in 27 eyes (54.0%) and reduced in 21 eyes (42.0%). The number of previous IVR treatments was significantly correlated with dry macula at 12 months. After switching therapy to pegaptanib in persistent cases of AMD, most patients maintained or improved their BCVA and exhibited a positive treatment response at 12 months.
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Case Reports
Imaging diagnosis for left ventricular thrombosis in idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome: two case reports.
Idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome (IHES) is a rare disease that is frequently associated with cardiac thrombosis and endocardial wall thickness. This case report describes 2 patients who had IHES associated with left ventricular (LV) thrombi. The patients' symptoms are atypical. ⋯ Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), conventional multislice spiral CT, gemstone spectral CT, and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging were used to identify the LV intraluminal thrombus and endocardial thickening, and the diagnostic values of each imaging method were analyzed and compared. These patients were clinically diagnosed as "IHES, LV thrombosis, NYHA heart function classification I." Both patients received oral prednisone and warfarin therapy. At 5 month follow-up, TTE rechecks showed that the size of the LV thrombotic lesion was reduced in the first case but substantially increased in the second case.
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Renal oncocytoma is a benign tumor with characteristic histologic findings. We describe an oncocytoma-like renal tumor with progression to high-grade oncocytic carcinoma and metastasis. A 74-year-old man with no family history of cancer presented with hematuria. ⋯ This was partly attributable to FLCN underexpression but further accentuated by overexpression of numerous genes on 8q. In the high-grade oncocytic carcinoma region, vascular endothelial growth factor A along with metalloproteinases matrix metallopeptidase 9 and matrix metallopeptidase 12 were overexpressed, facilitating angiogenesis and invasiveness. Genetic molecular testing provided evidence for the development of an aggressive oncocytic carcinoma from an oncocytoma, leading to aggressive targeted treatment but eventual death 39 months after the diagnosis.