Transformation of invasive lung adenocarcinoma with ALK rearrangement into pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) improve outcomes for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with ALK fusions. Nevertheless, ALK TKI resistance will inevitably occur. Histological transformation is one of the causes of TKI resistance in NSCLC. Reports of ALK-rearranged adenocarcinoma with histological transformation are limited. CASE PRESENTATION: A case of an invasive lung adenocarcinoma patient with ALK rearrangement who experienced histological transformation into sarcomatoid carcinoma after ALK TKI resistance is reported, and ALK fusion, MET amplification and TP53 mutation were detected after transformation. CONCLUSIONS: This case first reported a patient with invasive lung adenocarcinoma harboring ALK rearrangement who underwent histological transformation into sarcomatoid carcinoma after ALK TKI resistance, and MET amplification might represent the cause. After transformation, the patient benefited from targeted therapy combined with chemotherapy, which represents a promising option for patients with sarcomatoid carcinoma transformation.

Accurate 3D Reconstruction of White Matter Hyperintensities Based on Attention-Unet.

White matter hyperintensities (WMH), also known as white matter osteoporosis, have been clinically proven to be associated with cognitive decline, the risk of cerebral infarction, and dementia. The existing computer automatic measurement technology for the segmentation of patients' WMH does not have a good visualization and quantitative analysis. In this work, the author proposed a new WMH quantitative analysis and 3D reconstruction method for 3D reconstruction of high signal in white matter. At first, the author using ResUnet achieves the high signal segmentation of white matter and adds the attention mechanism into ResUnet to achieve more accurate segmentation. Afterwards, this paper used surface rendering to reconstruct the accurate segmentation results in 3D. Data experiments are conducted on the dataset collected from Shandong Province Third Hospital. After training, the Attention-Unet proposed in this paper is superior to other segmentation models in the segmentation of high signal in white matter and Dice coefficient and MPA reached 92.52% and 92.43%, respectively, thus achieving accurate 3D reconstruction and providing a new idea for quantitative analysis and 3D reconstruction of WMH.

Upregulated microRNA-126 induces apoptosis of dental pulp stem cell via mediating PTEN-regulated Akt activation.

INTRODUCTION: Human dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) have potential applications in regenerative medicine. The molecular mechanisms underlying DPSCs viability and apoptosis are not completely understood. Here, we investigated the role of miR-126 in DPSCs viability and apoptosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Senescent DPSCs were compared with early passage DPSCs. real-time PCR and microARRAY were performed to identify the differential expression of miR-126, and western blot was performed to detect the expression of PTEN. MTT assay was utilized to reveal the proliferative rate of both senescent and early passage DPSCs. Flow cytometry was used to examine the apoptotic rate of DPSCs. Dual-luciferase reporter assay was carried out to detect the interaction of miR-126 and PTEN. RESULTS: Senescent DPSCs showed a high level of apoptosis. Further study showed that miR-126 is upregulated in senescent DPSCs and its overexpression in early passaged DPSCs induced apoptosis. Phosphatase and tensin homolog gene (PTEN) was identified as a target of miR-126. PTEN was downregulated in senescent DPSCs, whereas miR-126 inhibition upregulated PTEN level, and subsequently activated Akt pathway and suppressed the apoptotic phenotype of senescent DPSCs. In addition, PTEN overexpression rescued apoptosis of DPSCs at later stage. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate that the miR-126-PTEN-Akt axis plays a key role in the regulation of DPSCs apoptosis and provide a candidate target to improve the functional and therapeutic potential of DPSCs.

Effect of Polydatin on Neurological Function and the Nrf2 Pathway during Intracerebral Hemorrhage.

This study investigates the effect of polydatin on the neurological function of cerebral hemorrhage rats and on the Nrf2 pathway of the endogenous antioxidant system in tissues around cerebral hematoma. Further, the study also aims to provide solid insights for clinical diagnosis and treatment. A total of 54 SPF grade male Wistar rats were divided into three groups: the sham group, model group, and polydatin group. Various parameters such as neurological deficit score, brain water content, pathological morphology, oxidative stress index content, Nrf2, NQO1, HO-1 mRNA expression, and the expression of HO-1, Nrf2, and kelch-like epichlorohydrin-1 (Keap1) protein were observed. Compared with the sham group, the mNSS score and brain water content of rats in the model group increased significantly after dosing (P < 0.05). When compared with the model group, the mNSS score and brain water content of rats in the polydatin group decreased significantly after dosing (P < 0.05). Compared with the other group, the serum NSE content of rats in the polydatin group decreased (P < 0.05). An increase was observed in the contents of NO, SOD, MDA, GSSG, and GSH in the brain tissue of rats in the model group when compared with the sham group. Compared with the model group, the contents of NO and MDA in the brain tissue of rats in the polydatin group decreased, while the contents of SOD, GSSG, and GSH increased (P < 0.05). The relative expressions of Nrf2, NQO1, and HO-1mRNA in the brain tissue of rats in the polydatin group was relatively high compared with both groups (P < 0.05). Polydatin can improve the neurological function of ICH rats and reduce the oxidative stress response by regulating the Nrf2-ARE pathway and downstream gene expression. This study preliminarily discussed the relevant mechanism of polydatin in the treatment of ICH rats, thus providing a theoretical reference to ICH treatment.

Assessment of Endovascular Treatment for Acute Basilar Artery Occlusion via a Nationwide Prospective Registry.

Importance: Several randomized clinical trials have recently established the safety and efficacy of endovascular treatment (EVT) of acute ischemic stroke in the anterior circulation. However, it remains uncertain whether patients with acute basilar artery occlusion (BAO) benefit from EVT. Objective: To evaluate the association between EVT and clinical outcomes of patients with acute BAO. Design, Setting, and Participants: This nonrandomized cohort study, the EVT for Acute Basilar Artery Occlusion Study (BASILAR) study, was a nationwide prospective registry of consecutive patients presenting with an acute, symptomatic, radiologically confirmed BAO to 47 comprehensive stroke centers across 15 provinces in China between January 2014 and May 2019. Patients with acute BAO within 24 hours of estimated occlusion time were divided into groups receiving standard medical treatment plus EVT or standard medical treatment alone. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was the improvement in modified Rankin Scale scores (range, 0 to 6 points, with higher scores indicating greater disability) at 90 days across the 2 groups assessed as a common odds ratio using ordinal logistic regression shift analysis, adjusted for prespecified prognostic factors. The secondary efficacy outcome was the rate of favorable functional outcomes defined as modified Rankin Scale scores of 3 or less (indicating an ability to walk unassisted) at 90 days. Safety outcomes included symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage and 90-day mortality. Results: A total of 1254 patients were assessed, and 829 patients (of whom 612 were men [73.8%]; median [interquartile] age, 65 [57-74] years) were recruited into the study. Of these, 647 were treated with standard medical treatment plus EVT and 182 with standard medical treatment alone. Ninety-day functional outcomes were substantially improved by EVT (adjusted common odds ratio, 3.08 [95% CI, 2.09-4.55]; P < .001). Moreover, EVT was associated with a significantly higher rate of 90-day modified Rankin Scale scores of 3 or less (adjusted odds ratio, 4.70 [95% CI, 2.53-8.75]; P < .001) and a lower rate of 90-day mortality (adjusted odds ratio, 2.93 [95% CI, 1.95-4.40]; P < .001) despite an increase in symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage (45 of 636 patients [7.1%] vs 1 of 182 patients [0.5%]; P < .001). Conclusions and Relevance: Among patients with acute BAO, EVT administered within 24 hours of estimated occlusion time is associated with better functional outcomes and reduced mortality.

Improvement of hyperandrogenism, oligo-ovulation, and ovarian morphology in a patient with polycystic ovary syndrome: possible role of ovarian wedge resection.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is an endocrinological abnormality which typically presents as hormones disorder and/or infertility. It has received more and more attention in recent years though its pathogenesis is still unclear. Ovarian mucinous adenoma is a rarely pathological type which generates from epithelial cell of ovary. Here we present a patient with PCOS and ovarian mucinous tumor (occasionally discovered by cesarean section) receiving a complete relief after benign ovarian tumor excision. In this case, tumor excision played as a partial resection of ovary which might result in the normalized concentration level of hormones and morphology of ovary. This report suggests that therapeutic strategies for PCOS should be considered more carefully and individually.

Protective effect of neovibsanin B on spatial cognitive functions of rats with cerebrovascular hypoperfusion.

Neovibsanins are believed to be promising candidates for the development of novel therapeutic agents to treat neurological diseases like Alzheimer's disease. It has been shown that chronic cerebral hypoperfusion is linked to neurodegenerative disorders and their subsequent cognitive impairment. In the present study effect of neovibsanin B (NVB) on spatial cognitive functions of rats with lobal cerebrovascular hypoperfusion was investigated. The cerebrovascular hypoperfusion rat model was prepared by bilateral common carotid arteries occlusion (2VO). Morris water maze (MWM) test was employed to examine the effect of NVB on spatial cognitive function before and after 2VO intervention. The animals were divided into two groups; long-term memory (LTM) and short-term memory (STM) groups. Each of the groups was subdivided into 3 subgroups: control, untreated and NVB treated groups. After ten weeks of the surgery, all the subgroups were tested with MWM. The results of working memory test for both control and NVB treated groups revealed that escape latency time and total distance travelled were significantly lower compared to untreated group. Similarly, the maze test performance was observed to be significantly improved for control and NVB treated groups. Moreover, the probe memory test performance for control and NVB treated groups was markedly better than untreated group. Thus NVB has a significant effect on the spatial cognitive preservation in rats with chronic cerebral hypoperfusion. Thus NVB can be a promising agent for the spatial cognitive functions improvement.