Medicina
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Background and objectives: Our aim is to explore the relationship between the levels of protein encoded by Ki67 and the histopathological aspects regarding the overall survival and progression-free survival in a single university center. A secondary objective was to examine other factors that can influence these endpoints. New approaches to the prognostic assessment of breast cancer have come from molecular profiling studies. ⋯ In our group, the histological type did not impact the time to progression or survival. Conclusions: Both overall survival and progression-free survival may be influenced by the higher value of Ki67 and less differentiated tumors. Further studies are needed in order to establish if the histologic type may impact breast cancer prognostic, probably together with other histologic and molecular markers.
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Background: prurigo is a chronic skin disorder associated with a history of chronic pruritus. The pathogenesis of prurigo is largely unknown and the treatment of prurigo is unsatisfactory and challenging. Conventional systemic treatments may be beneficial; however, their possible side effects and possible transient efficacy is still a problem. ⋯ All the patients in our cases were treated with oral alitretinoin after previous treatments and reported the improvement of skin lesions and pruritus within 2 weeks to 3 months. Conclusions: we suggest that oral alitretinoin may be an effective and well tolerated treatment option for patients with intractable prurigo. Further clinical studies are warranted to confirm the long-lasting efficacy and safety of alitretinoin for treating patients with prurigo.
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Background and Objectives: Our aim was to verify the optimal cut-off value for unenhanced CT attenuation and the percentage of negative voxels in the volume CT histogram analysis of adrenal masses. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the CT data of patients who underwent an adrenalectomy in the period 2002-2019. In total, 413 adrenalectomies were performed. ⋯ The percentage of negative voxels reached a slightly better area under the curve (0.919) than unenhanced attenuation (0.908). Conclusion: Mean unenhanced attenuation with a cut-off value of 10 HU represents a simple tool, and the most specific one, to distinguish adrenal adenomas from non-adenomas. CT histogram analysis with cut-off values of 10% of negative voxels improves sensitivity without any loss of specificity.
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Case Reports
The Natural History of Retinal Vascular Changes from Infancy to Adulthood in Wyburn-Mason Syndrome.
Wyburn-Mason syndrome is a rare, non-hereditary congenital neurocutaneous disorder leading to arteriovenous malformations. Malformations are characterized by an artery that is directly connected to veins without a capillary system and forms a fragile mass of abnormal vessels. It can be found in the midbrain, in the eyes, orbit, and rarely in cutaneous nevi. ⋯ Imaging modalities such as MRI/CT angiography, optical coherence angiography, and fluorescein angiography are the most important for the identification of arteriovenous malformations. In our case report, we present an eight-month-old girl with an incidental finding of retinal angiomatosis on the left eye and was subsequently diagnosed with Wyburn-Mason syndrome. We compare the findings from the first visit to her clinical findings 20 years later.
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Even though pain in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients is common and possibly associated with reduced quality of life, its exact prevalence and characteristics remain vaguely understood. We aimed to estimate the true extent of pain and its associations with quality of life in Lithuanian MS patients and to compare this data with that of a control group. ⋯ Pain affects approximately three out of four patients with MS in Lithuania and is negatively associated with the mental and physical aspects of quality of life.