São Paulo medical journal = Revista paulista de medicina
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Comparative Study
Comparison of positivity frequency of bcl-2 expression in prostate adenocarcinoma with low and high Gleason score.
Multiple genetic and epigenetic factors have been implicated in the oncogenesis and progression of prostate cancer. The major difficulty is in that the clinical management stems from the reality that reliable and accurate prognostic biomarkers are not available and that effective treatment regimens forming hormone-resistant prostate cancers are yet to be developed. Among the most important regulators of apoptosis and programmed cell death is the bcl-2 gene and its related proteins. Elevated levels of bcl-2 protein may contribute to the progression of prostate cancers to a metastatic and hormone-insensitive state characterized by poor responses to chemotherapy. ⋯ The higher frequency of bcl-2 immunostaining in tumor samples was observed in association with more advanced Gleason scores and suggests that an increase in the ratio of this anti-apoptotic protein often occurs during progression of prostate cancers.
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Routine immunization of groups at high risk for influenza has been progressively implemented as a matter of Brazilian public health policy. Although the benefits of the vaccination for healthy young adults are still controversial, it has been offered yearly to hundreds of thousands of Brazilian workers, generally as part of wellness initiatives in the workplace. ⋯ The making of previous reference to repetitive upper-respiratory infections was a major difference between those who accepted or rejected the vaccine. The vaccination itself was not sufficient to reduce the number of occurrences of respiratory symptoms and related absenteeism to levels similar to those found among non-vaccinated people.
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Breast cancer may express the presence of b-human chorionic gonadotrophin in 12% to 18% of cases, using immunohistochemical reactions. Usually the tumors will show positivity in a few scattered cells. Breast cancer with choriocarcinomatous features, as reported by Saigo and Rosen, is a distinct variant of breast cancer. We report a case of breast cancer with choriocarcinomatous and neuroendocrine features. ⋯ A 50-year-old Brazilian woman underwent surgery for a lump in the right breast, which had been first noticed about 3 months earlier. The surgery consisted of quadrantectomy followed by right mastectomy with ipsilateral axillary lymph node dissection. The specimen from the quadrantectomy revealed a 7 x 6.5 x 4.5 cm tumor. Histology of the lesion showed the presence of an invasive ductal carcinoma with areas of giant cells and intense atypia. The immunohistochemistry was positive in the pleomorphic areas for human chorionic gonadotrophin, while the less pleomorphic areas showed positivity for synaptophysin and chromogranin.
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Despite the recent improvements in performing radical retropubic prostatectomy that have led to a considerable decrease in the complication rate, erectile dysfunction still represents a major problem. Moreover, less invasive treatment options that are emerging for erectile dysfunction have not shown satisfactory results in managing these patients. ⋯ Self-injection therapy with papaverine, phentolamine and prostaglandin E1 is effective and safe in the treatment of erectile dysfunction after radical prostatectomy.
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Tay-Sachs disease is an autosomal recessive disease characterized by progressive neurologic degeneration, fatal in early childhood. In the Ashkenazi Jewish population the disease incidence is about 1 in every 3,500 newborns and the carrier frequency is 1 in every 29 individuals. Carrier screening programs for Tay-Sachs disease have reduced disease incidence by 90% in high-risk populations in several countries. The Brazilian Jewish population is estimated at 90,000 individuals. Currently, there is no screening program for Tay-Sachs disease in this population. ⋯ The frequency of Tay-Sachs disease carriers among the Ashkenazi Jewish population of Brazil is similar to that of other countries where carrier screening programs have led to a significant decrease in disease incidence. Therefore, it is justifiable to implement a Tay-Sachs disease carrier screening program for the Brazilian Jewish population.