The effect of interleukin-33 expression on prognosis in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

INTRODUCTION: Interleukin-33 (IL-33) is a newly defined inflammatory cytokine that is a member of the interleukin-1 (IL-1) gene family. This cytokine is expressed in structural cells, such as the vascular endothelium, bronchial epithelial cells, keratinocytes, epithelial cells of the stomach, and fibroblastic reticular cells of lymphoid tissues. Several studies suggest that IL-33 plays a role in head-and-neck cancer. The aim of this study was to retrospectively examine IL-33 expression in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and to evaluate its relationship between clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis. METHODS: In this monocentric, retrospective analysis, the data of 43 cases diagnosed with primary NPC and 20 cases with normal nasopharyngeal tissue (diagnosed between 2014 and 2020) were evaluated regarding the relationship between the immunohistochemically analyzed IL-33 expression status and corresponding clinicopathological parameters. RESULTS: The mean age was 56.9 years. The majority (67.4%) of the patients had an early tumor stage (T1-T2). IL-33 expression was positive in 56% of the cases. The five-year overall survival rate was 77% for all patients, 90% for the patients with positive IL-33 expression, and 55% for those without IL-33 expression (p = 0.008, univariate analysis). In multivariate analysis, IL-33 expression was shown to be the only independent prognostic marker for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (p = 0.014). CONCLUSION: This retrospective study showed that IL-33 expression could be considered an independent factor affecting positively prognosis in NPC.

OCT-A evaluation of the retinal and choroidal structures of patients with a history of radiotherapy due to nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: To perform the optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) evaluation of the microvascular structures of the retina and choroidal tissue in asymptomatic patients who received radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma and to compare the results to those of healthy individuals. METHODS: Ophthalmological examinations were performed in all asymptomatic patients without vascular or systemic diseases, or fundus findings who had received radiotherapy at least two years earlier. Then, OCT-A scans were obtained. Foveal, parafoveal, and whole retinal thicknesses, vessel densities in the superficial and deep capillary plexuses, subfoveal choroidal thickness, the non-flow area in the superficial capillary plexus, and the choriocapillaris flow area were measured and compared to the values of the healthy control group. RESULTS: The radiotherapy group had significantly lower deep capillary plexus vascular density and subfoveal choroidal thickness values and significantly higher choriocapillaris flow area values compared to the control group. CONCLUSIONS: We consider that OCT-A is useful in the early diagnosis of radiation retinopathy that may develop during follow-up in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma who have received radiotherapy.

Does Liver Transplant Improve Neurological Symptoms in Wilson Disease? Report of 24 Cases.

OBJECTIVES: Wilson disease is an inherited disorder that results in copper accumulation in the tissues with liver injury and failure. Orthotopic liver transplant is one of the treatments of choice for this disease. The aim of this study was to compare the neurological symptoms, before and after orthotopic livertransplant, of patients with liver cirrhosis due to Wilson disease, who represent a special group of patients with liver failure. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between 2007 and 2020, there were 24 patients with Wilson disease resistant to medical treatment who underwent deceased donor orthotopic livertransplant and were followed up for 1 year, 5 years, and 10 years for evaluation with neurological scoring systems. Patients were also evaluated for postoperative complications and survival. RESULTS: Of the 24 patients evaluated, there were 13 (54.2%) female patients and 11 (45.8%) male patients, and the mean age was 34 years (range, 14-57 years). One of the patients died from early postoperative sepsis. After orthotopic livertransplant, disease scores returned to normal in 16 patients and improved in the remaining patients. Before transplant, all patients required help in their daily activities. After transplant, there were significant improvements in some symptoms, and the patients became more independent in their daily lives. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that orthotopic liver transplant provides significant improvement in neurological symptoms and quality of life in patients with Wilson disease.

Psychophysiological, but Not Behavioral, Indicator of Working Memory Capacity Predicts Video Game Proficiency.

Visual working memory (VWM) is the ability to actively maintain visual information over short periods of time and is strongly related to global fluid intelligence and overall cognitive ability. In our study, we used two indices of visual working memory capacity: the behavioral estimate of capacity (K) and contralateral delay activity (CDA) in order to check whether training in a Real-Time Strategy (RTS) video game StarCraft II can influence the VWM capacity measured by the change detection task. We also asked a question whether individual differences in behavioral and psychophysiological indices of VWM can predict the effectiveness of video game training. Sixty-two participants (non-players) were recruited to the experiment. Participants were randomly assigned to either experimental (Variable environment), active control (Fixed environment), and passive control groups. Experimental and active control groups differed in the type of training received. Training consisted of 30 h of playing the StarCraft II game. Participants took part in two EEG sessions (pre- and post-training) during which they performed the VWM task. Our results showed that working memory capacity (K calculated according to Pashler's formula) increases after training in both experimental groups, but not in a control group. We have also found a correlation between average visual working memory capacity (calculated as K) and mean CDA amplitude no matter which group we are looking at. And, last but not least, we have found that we can predict the amount of improvement in the RTS video game by looking at the psychophysiological indices (CDA amplitude) recorded at baseline (before training), but only in the experimental group. We think that the strength of the psychophysiological indicator of VWM capacity might be a marker of the future success in video game acquisition.

Safety of Continuous Postoperative Pulse Oximetry Monitoring Without Obstructive Sleep Apnea Screening in > 5000 Patients Undergoing Bariatric Surgery.

INTRODUCTION: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is common but often undiagnosed in obese patients undergoing bariatric surgery, and is associated with increased risk of cardiopulmonary complications. The aim of this study is to evaluate the safety of continuous postoperative pulse oximetry (CPOX) without preoperative OSA screening in bariatric patients. METHODS: Retrospective, single-center cohort study of all consecutive patients who underwent bariatric surgery between 2011 and 2017. All patients were postoperatively monitored with CPOX and received oxygen supplementation. Patients with no history of OSA (the "CPOX" only group) were compared with patients with adequately treated OSA as a reference group. The primary outcome was the incidence of cardiopulmonary complications within 30 days after surgery. Secondary outcomes included overall 30-day complications, mortality, intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, readmissions, and length of stay. RESULTS: In total, 5682 patients were included, 89.6% (n = 5089) had no history of OSA, 10.4% (n = 593) had adequately treated OSA. Cardiopulmonary complications occurred in the CPOX group and OSA group in 0.6% (n = 31) and 0.8% (n = 5), respectively (p = 0.171). No mortality occurred due to cardiopulmonary complications. In both groups, one patient required ICU admission for respiratory failure (p = 0.198). Non-cardiopulmonary complications occurred in 6.4% in the CPOX group and 7.8% in the OSA group (p = 0.792). Mortality, ICU admissions, readmissions, and length of stay were not significantly different between groups. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that CPOX monitoring without preoperative OSA screening is a safe and effective strategy in perioperative care of bariatric patients. Future studies are needed to assess whether this strategy is also cost-effective.

The role of insulin-like growth factor I-II receptor on development of pleomorphic adenoma.

Pleomorphic adenoma is a slow-growing salivary gland tumor frequently arising from the parotid gland. In this study, we investigated the role of the insulin-like growth factor I-II receptor (IGFI-IIR) levels on the development of parotid gland pleomorphic adenomas. The study included 20 males and 20 females who had superficial parotidectomy with a histopathological diagnosis of pleomorphic adenoma in Firat University Otorhinolaryngology Clinic between 2000 and 2011. The ages of the patients ranged between 20 and 50 years. The control tissues were obtained unilaterally from the parotid glands of five female and five male cadavers during autopsy, and consisted of 0.5 × 0.5 cm sized normal parotid gland tissues. The expression of IGFI-IIR were measured in both tumor and tumor-free normal parotid tissue in the study group while only the normal parotid tissues were studied in the cadavers. Primary polyclonal antibodies against IGFI-IIR were used with "Streptavidin-Biotin Complex" method for immunohistochemical staining of both the study and the control groups' tissue sections. In this study, the IGFI-IIR levels were found significantly higher in the pleomorphic adenoma tissue (p < 0.05). In addition, IGFI-IIR expression was greater in normal parotid tissues of the study group when compared to the normal parotid tissues of the cadavers. However, the difference was not statistically significant (p > 0.017). Greater expression for IGFI-IIR in pleomorphic adenoma when compared to normal parotid tissues of the patients and the cadavers suggests that IGFI-II may be important factors in the development of pleomorphic adenoma.

Hemodynamic and oxygenation changes in surgical intensive care unit patients with fever and fever lowering nursing interventions.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of fever and nursing interventions to lower fever on hemodynamic values and oxygenation in febrile (temperature greater than 38.3°C) surgical intensive care unit patients. This retrospective study was conducted in 53 febrile patients out of 519 patients admitted to the surgical intensive care unit at a university hospital. Data were obtained from the medical records, laboratory files and nursing notes. Statistical analysis of the data was analyzed by repeated measures analysis of variance and a paired sample t-test. The average hourly urine output (F = 5.46; P = 0.002) and systolic blood pressure (F = 2.87; P = 0.03) were significantly lower after fever onset. Heart rate, respiratory rate, positive end-expiratory pressure settings and FiO(2) settings were unchanged after the development of fever. Diastolic blood pressure and oxygen saturation had non-statistically significant decreases. Nursing interventions for febrile patients consisted of medication administration (69.8%), ice (62.3%) and sponging with tepid water (62.3%). The present results showed that fever was associated with an increase in heart rate, decreased systolic arterial pressure, mean arterial pressure, oxygen saturation and hourly urine output.