An updated review on primary signet-ring cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder and report of a case.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to emphasize the critical importance of the clinician's awareness of signet-ring cell carcinoma (SRCC) of the urinary bladder, a rare and aggressive disease entity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A review of the current literature was conducted and a classic case of advanced SRCC of the urinary bladder is reported, clearly demonstrating the severity of this disease and the imperative need for standardized recommendations for the diagnostic work-up and management of urinary bladder SRCC. RESULTS: The prognosis for patients with SRCC of the urinary bladder is poor, attributed to presentation at advanced stages following asymptomatic progression, inefficacy of multimodality therapy and possibly an aggressive underlying biological phenotype. Treatment options are limited and not well studied. CONCLUSION: Given the rarity of SRCC, multi-institutional clinical trials and international cooperation are mandatory to improve survival for patients with primary SRCC of the bladder.

Human models of migraine - short-term pain for long-term gain.

Migraine is a complex disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of headache, and is one of the most prevalent and disabling neurological disorders. A key feature of migraine is that various factors can trigger an attack, and this phenomenon provides a unique opportunity to investigate disease mechanisms by experimentally inducing migraine attacks. In this Review, we summarize the existing experimental models of migraine in humans, including those that exploit nitric oxide, histamine, neuropeptide and prostaglandin signalling. We describe the development and use of these models in the discovery of molecular pathways that are responsible for initiation of migraine attacks. Combining experimental human models with advanced imaging techniques might help to identify biomarkers of migraine, and in the ongoing search for new and better migraine treatments, human models will have a key role in the discovery of future targets for more-specific and more-effective mechanism-based antimigraine drugs.