In-utero ultrasonography detection of fetal retinoblastoma and neonatal selective ophthalmic artery chemotherapy

We report a case of non-familial, sporadic fetal retinoblastoma (RB) that was accidently detected at 39 weeks of gestation on pre-natal ultrasonography in left eye (OS). Post-natal examination revealed Group A and, Group D RB in right eye (OD) and OS, respectively. At 35 days, selective ophthalmic artery intra-arterial chemotherapy (IAC) was performed in OS and laser for OD. Pre-natal ultrasound and its application in RB are limited to those cases with a strong genetic predisposition. Our case was accidently detected at late gestation with no familial or genetic predisposition. In addition, this was the youngest reported case that received IAC on literature review.

Ziyuglycoside II-induced apoptosis in human gastric carcinoma BGC-823 cells by regulating Bax/Bcl-2 expression and activating caspase-3 pathway

Ziyuglycoside II is an active compound of Sanguisorba officinalis L. that has anti-inflammation, antioxidation, antibiosis, and homeostasis properties. We report here on the anticancer effect of ziyuglycoside II on human gastric carcinoma BGC-823 cells. We investigated the effects of ziyuglycoside II on cell growth, cell cycle, and cell apoptosis of this cell line. Our results revealed that ziyuglycoside II could inhibit the proliferation of BGC-823 cells by inducing apoptosis but not cell cycle arrest, which was associated with regulation of Bax/Bcl-2 expression, and activation of the caspase-3 pathway. Our study is the first to report the antitumor potential of ziyuglycoside II in BGC-823 gastric cancer cells. Ziyuglycoside II may become a potential therapeutic agent against gastric cancer in the future.

Detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in sputum, pleural and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid using DNA amplification of the MPB 64 protein coding gene and IS6110 insertion element.

Two gene sequences specific for Mycobacterium tuberculosis were evaluated for the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculous (PTB) in pleural fluid (PF), bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BAL) and sputum (Sp). The 240 bp sequence (nts 460-700) coding for the MPB 64 protein coding gene and the 123 bp IS6110 insertion element present in multiple copies in the mycobacterial genome were amplified using the polymerase chain reaction. Fifty-nine clinical specimens were studied. The diagnosis of PTB was confirmed by positive M. tuberculosis cultures in 14 specimens, and by the presence of characteristic histological features of granuloma and Langerhan's giant cells on pleural biopsy in 3 PF specimens through cultures for M. tuberculosis were negative. The remaining 42 specimens were obtained from patient's with non-tuberculosis pulmonary infections or malignancy, and these served as negative controls. Our results showed that the IS6110 insertion element and MPB 64 gene sequence were detected in all 14 culture positive PTB cases, although detection of the latter sequence required both DNA amplification and oligonucleotide hybridization. There was however one false positive specimen with the MPB 64 detection protocol. More importantly, both the MPB 64 sequence and IS6110 insertion element protocols were unable to detect M. tuberculosis DNA in the 3 PF samples diagnosed by histological characteristics on pleural biopsy and culture negative. We conclude that DNA amplification for M. tuberculosis-specific sequences is a useful method for rapid diagnosis of PTB in culture positive specimens. However, the false negative results with TB culture negative cases of tuberculosis pleurisy, limits its usefulness for the diagnosis of tuberculous pleurisy.