Medicina
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Background and Objectives: Optimization of chemotherapy is crucial for cancer patients. Timely and costly efficient treatments are emerging due to the increasing incidence of cancer worldwide. Here, we present a methodology of nano-motion analysis that could be developed to serve as a screening tool able to determine the best chemotherapy option for a particular patient within hours. ⋯ The death of sensitive cells corresponding to the drop in signal variance occurred in less than 2 h after DOX application, while MDR cells continued to move, even showing an increase in signal variance. Conclusions: Nano-motion sensing can be developed as a screening tool that will allow simple, inexpensive and quick testing of different chemotherapeutics for each cancer patient. Further investigations on patient-derived tumor cells should confirm the method's applicability.
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A case of intractable IgG4-related orbital disease (IgG4-ROD) was successfully treated by debulking surgery combined with low-dose prednisolone and azathioprine as maintenance therapy. A 64-year-old man visited our clinic with progressive bilateral upper eyelid swelling and right eye fullness of a year's duration. He was previously treated with systemic corticosteroids for the IgG4-ROD and experienced a partial clinical response but relapsed upon prednisolone cessation. ⋯ His post-operative medication was oral prednisolone (5 mg) every other day and 50 mg azathioprine per day. The patient's right eye remained asymptomatic during the 18 months of follow-up. Debulking surgery combined with low-dose prednisolone and azathioprine, as a maintenance therapy, is an effective and alternative treatment for the long-term control of intractable IgG4-ROD.
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Case Reports
Internal Hernia and Volvulus in an Adult Male Caused by Meckel's Diverticulum: A Case Report.
Background: Meckel's diverticulum is a common congenital abnormality of the gastrointestinal tract encountered in about 1-3% of the general population. Although most patients remain asymptomatic, a minority will experience serious complications such as acute abdomen, haemorrhage or obstructive ileus. Of all patients presenting with symptoms of obstruction due to Meckel's diverticulum 7-18% is due to volvulus. ⋯ An internal hernia with ileal volvulus and a Meckel's diverticulum was found, which was later confirmed by histopathological examination. Conclusion: Meckel's diverticulum is a rare cause of acute abdomen and obstructive ileus which should be considered when the symptoms date back to childhood. The difficulty of preoperative diagnosis dictates the need for exploratory laparoscopy or laparotomy as diagnostic tools.
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Kidney transplantation is the best treatment modality for end-stage kidney disease, leading to improvement in a patient's quality and quantity of life. With significant improvements in short-term outcomes, prolonging long-term allograft and patient survival remain ongoing challenges. ⋯ Though kidney biopsy remains the backbone of transplant diagnostics, emerging biomarkers can help detecting kidney allograft injury early enough to prevent permanent damage and detect injury before it is clinically apparent. In this review, we summarize the recent biomarkers that have shown promise in the prediction of acute rejection with a focus on antibody-mediated rejection in kidney transplantation.
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Background and Objectives: COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted public health services worldwide, determining a significant decrease of elective cardiovascular (CV) procedures, especially in patients with associated chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus (DM). Materials and Methods: This study was first started in 2019 in the western of Romania, to analyze the differences regarding the implantations of intra-cardiac devices such as permanent pacemakers (PPM), cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), or implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICD) in 351 patients with and without DM and the situation was reanalyzed at the end of 2020. ⋯ The state of these procedures was reanalyzed at the end of 2020, a dramatic decrease of all new device implantations being observed, both in non-diabetic and in patients with type 2 DM (79.37%, respectively 81.82%). Conclusions: COVID-19 pandemic determined a drastic decrease, with around 75% reduction of all procedures of new intra-cardiac devices implantation, both in non-diabetics, this activity being reserved mostly for emergencies.