Medicina
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Review
Philadelphia-Negative MPN: A Molecular Journey, from Hematopoietic Stem Cell to Clinical Features.
Philadelphia negative Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (MPN) are a heterogeneous group of hematopoietic stem cell diseases. MPNs show different risk grades of thrombotic complications and acute myeloid leukemia evolution. ⋯ Here, we intend to elucidate the important factors affecting MPN clonal advantage and the reasons why some patients progress to more aggressive disease. Understanding these mechanisms is the key to developing new treatment approaches and targeted therapies for MPN patients.
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The response to neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy is an important prognostic factor for locally advanced rectal cancer. Although the majority of the patients after neoadjuvant therapy are referred to following surgery, the clinical data show that complete clinical or pathological response is found in a significant proportion of the patients. Diagnostic accuracy of confirming the complete response has a crucial role in further management of a rectal cancer patient. ⋯ The management of complete response demands interdisciplinary collaboration including oncologists, radiotherapists, radiologists, pathologists, endoscopists and surgeons, because the absence of a multidisciplinary approach may compromise the oncological outcome. Prediction and improvement of rectal cancer response to neoadjuvant therapy is still an active and challenging field of further research. This literature review is summarizing the main, currently known clinical information about the complete response that could be useful in case if encountering such condition in rectal cancer patients after neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy, using as a source PubMed publications from 2010-2021 matching the search terms "rectal cancer", "neoadjuvant therapy" and "response".
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The objective of this review is to describe the effectiveness of laparoscopy in the diagnosis and treatment of pelvic congestion syndrome (PCS). PCS is a cause of chronic pelvic pain (CPP) and is associated with dysfunction of the pelvic venous system. PCS is more common in women of reproductive age, and hormonal changes are associated with its development along with other reasons (e.g., working and living habits). ⋯ We also compare the methods to propose the most promising technique for providing a diagnosis with high accuracy. In our understanding, laparoscopy is superior when compared to other methods. It can provide a diagnosis of PCS while excluding or identifying other comorbidities and can also lead toward the next steps for the treatment of PCS.
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Muscle injuries occur frequently in athletes, accounting for more than one-third of sport-related trauma. Athletes most affected by these injuries are those practicing football and track and field, with hamstrings and gastrocnemius-soleus as the mainly involved sites. Muscle injuries lead to loss of competitions, long recovery times and risk of re-injury with a consequent increase of the management costs. ⋯ In this context, ultrasound imaging is widely used for diagnosis of musculoskeletal disorders because of several advantages including absence of radiation, portability, good spatial resolution, and the ability to perform dynamic tests. The aim of this review is to address the role of US in the evaluation of athletes with muscle injuries. US may play a pivotal role for the management of sport-related muscle injuries because it is fast and relatively cheap, allowing dynamic muscle assessment and time series evaluation of the healing process.
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Review Case Reports
Dermoscopic Features of Lichen Amyloidosis in Caucasians-A Case Series and Literature Review.
Primary cutaneous amyloidosis (PCA) is characterized by the extracellular deposition of amyloid in the skin without systemic involvement. It comprises several clinical variants, the most common of which are macular amyloidosis (MA) and lichen amyloidosis (LA). PCA is frequently observed in Asians, while it is considered to be very rare in Caucasians. ⋯ The literature review revealed that MA and LA share several dermoscopic similarities (the presence of a white central hub and grayish dots), but also display distinct features. Compared to the dermoscopic features of LA in darker skin phototypes, our patients presented less pronounced pigmentation and more evident vascular structures. Nevertheless, further studies are needed in order to reliably evaluate the dermoscopic features of PCA in various ethnicities.