Adv Exp Med Biol
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Breast cancer diagnosed during pregnancy or lactation up to 1 year post-partum is often referred to as pregnancy-associated breast cancer (PABC) , although the definition varies with length of post-partum period. The incidence rate has been reported to range from 17.5 to 39.9 per 100,000 births, but the rate is substantially lower during pregnancy (ranging from 3.0 to 7.7) than during the post-partum period (ranging from 13.8 to 32.2). ⋯ In studies comparing outcomes in women with PABC to other young breast cancer patients, it is crucial to adjust for age, since the age distribution of PABC depends both on age at pregnancy and age at breast cancer. Large studies have shown similar prognosis for women with PABC compared to other young women with breast cancer, when accounting for differences in age, stage and other tumour characteristics.
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Review Comparative Study
Immune Responses to SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2.
The world has given an outbreak alarm in the last two decades, with different members of the coronavirus family infecting people at different times. The spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which last appeared in December 2019 in China and spread rapidly to all over the world, has led the scientific world to studies on these viruses. ⋯ In this review, we aimed to provide a good view on immune strategies by comparing immunological responses to SARS-CoV-2 disease among other members of the family, SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. In the near future, it may contribute to vaccine or drug studies to be developed on immune intervention.
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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a lung disease affected by both genetic and environmental factors. Therefore, the role of epigenetics in the pathogenesis of COPD has attracted much attention. ⋯ The present review aims at overviewing the effect of DNA methylation on etiology, pathogenesis, pathophysiological changes, and complications of COPD. The clarification of aberrant methylation of target genes, which play important roles in the initiation and progression of COPD, will provide new disease-specific biomarker and targets for early diagnosis and therapy.
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β-hemolytic streptococci are major causes of necrotizing soft tissue infections (NSTIs), Streptococcus pyogenes (group A streptococcus; GAS) in particular. NSTIs caused by Streptococcus dysgalactiae (SD) have also been reported. In the INFECT cohort of 409 NSTIs patients, more than a third of the cases were caused by GAS (31%) or SD (7%). ⋯ As in other studies, a significant microbial diversity was observed, but with predominance of a few emm types. Overall, the INFECT study gives a comprehensive and contemporary picture of the clinical characteristics and the microbes involved in streptococcal NSTIs. The reported severity of disease underscores the need for new efforts aimed at identifying novel diagnostic measures and improved treatment.
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Regional anaesthesia involves targeting specific peripheral nerves with local anaesthetic. It facilitates the delivery of anaesthesia and analgesia to an increasingly complex, elderly and co-morbid patient population. Regional anaesthesia practice has been transformed by the use of ultrasound, which confers advantages such as accuracy of needle placement, visualisation of local anaesthetic spread, avoidance of intraneural injection and the ability to accommodate for anatomical variation. ⋯ Much research has been done, and is ongoing, with the aim of improving needle visualisation; this is also reviewed. Image interpretation requires the application of anatomical knowledge and understanding of the typical sonographic appearance of different tissues (as well as the needle). Years of practice are required to attain expertise, although it is hoped that continuing advances in nerve and needle visualisation, as described in this chapter, will expedite that process.