ABSTRACT
Schistosomiasis is a helminthic infection acquired through direct contact with contaminated fresh water. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case pulmonary of schistosomias is evaluated with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) reported in the literature. Functional imaging with 18F-FDG PET/CT may help in the diagnosis of schistosomiasis, leading to a correct definition of the disease extension.
ABSTRACT
The main aim of this study was to investigate the possible association between 18F-choline uptake and histopathological features of prostate biopsies such as the Gleason Group and the expression of both epithelial to mesenchymal transition (vimentin) and bone mineralization (bone morphogenetics protein (BMP)-2, runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2), receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL), vitamin D receptor (VDR), and pentraxin 3 (PTX3) in situ biomarkers. To this end, we enrolled 79 consecutive prostate cancer patients that underwent both the 18F-choline PET/CT analysis and the prostate bioptic procedure. The standardized uptake value (SUV) average values were collected from 18F-choline PET/CT analysis whereas Gleason Group and immunostaining data were collected from paraffin-embedded sections. Histological classification showed a heterogenous population including both low/intermediate and high-grade prostate cancers. A significant increase of 18F-choline uptake in high-grade prostate lesions (Gleason Score ≥8) was found. Also, linear regression analysis showed a significant correlation between 18F-choline uptake and the number of vimentin, RANKL, VDR, or PTX3 positive prostate cancer cells. Conversely, we observed no significant association between 18F-choline uptake and the expression of bone biomarkers involved in the early phases of osteoblast differentiation (BMP-2, RUNX2). In conclusion, results here reported can lay the foundation for the use of 18F-choline positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) as a diagnostic tool capable of identifying high-grade prostate cancer lesions expressing bone biomarkers.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Voluntary donors normally tolerate blood donation very well, but, occasionally, adverse reactions of variable severity may occur during or at the end of the collection. Aim of this study was to estimate and possibly avoid the cause of unwanted reactions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was conducted over a period of 6 months, from 24(th) October, 2005 to 24(th) April 2006. The donor population analysed consisted of 4,906 donors (3,716 male and 1,190 female). In total, 3,983 (81%) voluntaries have donated whole blood, 851 (17%) plasma from apheresis, 64 (1.3%) experienced multicomponent donation, and 8 (0.1%) were donors of plasma-platelet apheresis. RESULTS: Only 63 donors (1.2% of all the volunteers) suffered some kind of adverse reaction: 59 (1.08% of the subjects) had mild reactions (agitation, sweating, pallor, cold feeling, sense of weakness, nausea), and only 4 (3 males and 1 female, 0.2%) had more severe disorders, including vomiting, loss of consciousness, and convulsive syncope. CONCLUSIONS: Although the number of donors who developed disturbances during or at the end of blood donations was very low, it is nevertheless desirable to reduce risks to a minimum. A set of advices is provided for preventing problems.
