Percutaneous bone biopsy using a flat-panel cone beam computed tomography virtual navigation system.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the clinical role of flat-panel cone beam CT (CBCT) in performing percutaneous needle biopsy (PNB) of bone lesions. Flat-panel cone beam CT systems have been used as a guidance tool for performing percutaneous biopsy. Real-time fluoroscopy and virtual navigation systems help simplify needle path planning and shorten procedure times. METHODS: From March 2012 to March 2016, 80 patients with 80 bone lesions were retrospectively enrolled in the study in Zhengzhou city of China. Technical success, diagnostic accuracy, puncture performance, procedure time, complications, and effective radiation exposure were calculated. RESULTS: All biopsies were technically successful (100%). Sufficient tissue for histopathological analysis was obtained in 75 of 80 cases. The sensitivity of PNB of bone lesions was 95.5%, the specificity was 83.3%, and accuracy was 93.7%. The mean scoring of puncture performance was 3.9 ± 1.3. The mean total procedure time was 13.20 ± 4.4 min, resulting in a mean exposure dose of 11.3 ± 5.1 mSv. The complication rate was 8.7%. CONCLUSION: Percutaneous bone biopsy using CBCT is a safe and effective method that simplifies needle path planning and shortens procedure times.

Neuro-Sweet disease with positive modified acid-fast staining of the cerebrospinal fluid: A case report.

Neuro-Sweet disease (NSD) is Sweet disease with central nervous system (CNS) involvement. To the best of our knowledge, the present case report is the first to describe NSD complicated by endogenous infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The present case report describes a male patient who developed NSD-induced meningitis, which initially manifested as a fever, headache and neck stiffness. Painful erythematous plaques subsequently developed on his face, neck and upper trunk. Brain magnetic resonance imaging was performed and the results were normal, whereas modified acid-fast stain analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) provided a positive result. The patient was thus diagnosed with viral meningitis and tuberculosis. However, subsequent skin biopsy results demonstrated neutrophilic infiltration into the dermis without vasculitis, and subsequent human leukocyte antigen typing was positive for Cw1 and negative for B51 and the patient was diagnosed with NSD. Following treatment with corticosteroids, and antiviral and anti-tuberculotic agents, the clinical symptoms were reduced and the previously abnormal findings in the CSF examinations and associated laboratory data were improved. The present case indicates that the diagnosis of NSD is not easily achieved, and early skin biopsy is vital to ensure a fast and effective diagnosis. In addition to systemic corticosteroids, comprehensive treatment is also recommended for patients with NSD complicated by additional complex medical problems.

Ginsenoside Rd attenuates Aß25-35-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis in primary cultured hippocampal neurons.

One of the most common pathological changes in Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain is the large number of amyloid ß (Aß) peptides accumulating in lesion areas. Ginsenosides are the most active components extracted from ginseng. Ginsenoside Rd (GRd) is a newly discovered saponin that has a stronger pharmacological activity than other ginsenosides, especially in neuroprotection. Here we examined the neuroprotective effects of GRd against neuronal insults induced by Aß25-35 in primary cultured hippocampal neurons. A 10µM GRd treatment significantly prevented the loss of hippocampal neurons induced by Aß25-35. In addition, GRd significantly ameliorated Aß25-35-induced oxidative stress by decreasing the reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and malondialdehyde (MDA) level, and increasing the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px); which is similar in treatments with 10µM of probucol (PB) and 100µM of edaravone (EDA). Moreover, our present study demonstrated that GRd significantly enhanced the expression of Bcl-2 mRNA, and decreased the expressions of Bax mRNA and Cyt c mRNA. GRd also downregulated the protein level of cleaved Caspase-3 compared to controls. These results highlighted the neuroprotective effects of GRd against Aß25-35-induced oxidative stress and neuronal apoptosis, suggesting that this may be a promising therapeutics against AD.

[Expression and prognostic significance of EphA2 and EphrinA-1 in ovarian serous carcinomas].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression and prognostic significance of EphA2 and EphrinA-1 in ovarian serous carcinomas. METHODS: Ninety five tumors from the patients with ovarian serous carcinomas and 2 ovarian cancer cell lines were recruited. The expressions of EphA2 and EphrinA-1 were examined by means of immunohistochemistry. The relationships among protein expression and clinicopathological features, survival of patients were analyzed. The mRNA and protein expressions of EphA2 and EphrinA-1 in ovarian cancer cell lines were measured with semiquantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. RESULTS: The protein expressions of EphA2 and EphrinA-1 in tumor were 92.6% (88/95)and 97.9% (93/95) respectively, while were 40%(8/20) and 30% (6/20) in adjacent ovarian tissue (P = 0.000). EphA2 immunohistochemical staining could be observed in both tumour and vascular endothelial cells, and EphrinA-1 mainly localized in the tumor cells. The expression of EphA2 was significantly associated with the expression of EphrinA-1 (r = 0.98, P = 0.02). There was no significant correlation between the expressions of EphA2/EphrinA-1 and age, FIGO stage, residual tumour size and histological grade. High levels of both EphA2 and EphrinA-1 protein expression were significantly associated with a shorter overall survival in multivariate analysis (P < 0.05). High levels of EphA2 and EphrinA-1 mRNA and protein were detected in OVCAR3 and SKOV3 cell lines. CONCLUSION: There are over-expression of EphA2 and EphrinA-1 in ovarian serous carcinomas and ovarian cancer cell lines. Tumours with higher expression levels of both EphA2 and EphrinA-1 significantly associated with poorer clinical outcome.