The effect of vitamin C on oxidative stress indices and skin regimentation of vitiligo patients.

It has been suggested that vitamin C is involved in suppressing stress oxidation signaling in vitiligo disease. However, the effect of vitamin C supplementation on stress oxidative factors has not been investigated in vitiligo subjects. This study was designed to examine the effects on vitamin C supplementation on serum levels of stress oxidative factors and regimentation in vitiligo patients. Forty-four vitiligo patients will be recruited in this study. After block matching for sex and number of phototherapy sessions, they will be randomly assigned to receive 1000 mg/d vitamin C or placebo for 8 weeks. The weight, height, and waist circumference of participants will be measured. Determination of serum stress oxidative indices (CAT, SOD, GPX, MDA, TOS, TAC) will be done at study baseline and at the end of the trial. Also, the regimentation will be determined using the VASI score. This is the first randomized controlled trial that will determine the effect of vitamin C supplementation on serum levels of stress oxidative indices and regimentation in vitiligo patients. The results of this trial will provide clinical evidence on the effectiveness of vitamin C supplementation in controlling oxidative stress in vitiligo patients. Trial registration number: This study is registered in the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials website (available at http://www.irct.ir , identifier: IRCT20230123057193N1), Registration date: 2023/04/17.

High expression of Talin-1 is associated with tumor progression and recurrence in melanoma skin cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: Talin-1 as a component of multi-protein adhesion complexes plays a role in tumor formation and migration in various malignancies. This study investigated Talin-1 in protein levels as a potential prognosis biomarker in skin tumors. METHODS: Talin-1 was evaluated in 106 skin cancer (33 melanomas and 73 non-melanomas skin cancer (NMSC)) and 11 normal skin formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue samples using immunohistochemical technique on tissue microarrays (TMAs). The association between the expression of Talin-1 and clinicopathological parameters, as well as survival outcomes, were assessed. RESULTS: Our findings from data minings through bioinformatics tools indicated dysregulation of Talin-1 in mRNA levels for skin cancer samples. In addition, there was a statistically significant difference in Talin-1 expression in terms of intensity of staining, percentage of positive tumor cells, and H-score in melanoma tissues compared to NMSC (P = 0.001, P < 0.001, and P < 0.001, respectively). Moreover, high cytoplasmic expression of Talin-1 was found to be associated with significantly advanced stages (P = 0.024), lymphovascular invasion (P = 0.023), and recurrence (P = 0.006) in melanoma cancer tissues. Our results on NMSC showed a statistically significant association between high intensity of staining and the poor differentiation (P = 0.044). No significant associations were observed between Talin-1 expression levels and survival outcomes of melanoma and NMSC patients. CONCLUSION: Our observations showed that higher expression of Talin1 in protein level may be significantly associated with more aggressive tumor behavior and advanced disease in patients with skin cancer. However, further studies are required to find the mechanism of action of Talin-1 in skin cancers.

Mindfulness-integrated cognitive behavioral therapy: Is it effective on stress coping strategies in women with multiple sclerosis?

Background: Patients with chronic diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS) suffer more from psychiatric consequences than others, and their quality of life may be drastically affected, causing syndromes like depression and anxiety. Mindfulness-integrated cognitive behavioral therapy (Mi-CBT) seems to improve stress coping strategies in chronically ill patients, but its effectiveness has been little studied in MS. So, in this study, we aimed to assess its effectiveness on stress coping strategies in women suffering from MS in Mazandaran province, Iran. Methods: In this semi-experimental study, we selected 40 women with MS who had been referred to a neurologist in Mazandaran province, Iran during the year 2016 by convenient sampling and randomly assigned to the Mi-CBT and control group with a one-to-one ratio. Patients in the intervention group were under treatment for eight 120-minutes session, while the control group only stayed on the waiting list. After obtaining the ethics committee's approval (IR.IAU.CHALUS.REC.1397.018) and patient's informed consent, both groups underwent a pre-test assessment with a stress status questionnaire developed by Endler and Parker in 1988. The same assessment was done for both groups two times more, one after compilation of all sessions, and one 45 days later. Repeated measures analysis of variance was done using SPSS Version 24 software. Results: There was a difference between intervention and the control group for avoidance-oriented, and problem-oriented stress coping strategies (p<0.01), but there was not a significant difference for emotion-oriented strategy between groups (P=0.22). Conclusion: MiCBT is effective in improving stress coping strategies in women with MS, and overall mental health.

Biphasic Epithelial Predominant Synovial Sarcoma Presenting as Painful Thigh Mass.

Synovial sarcomas are soft tissue neoplasms mostly located in the lower extremities of young adults. A case of synovial sarcoma of the thigh in a 35-year-old male with the predominant epithelial component is reported. Microscopically the tumor showed variable-sized well-differentiated glands lined by the cuboidal cells with small foci of spindle cell component between glandular structures. Immunohistochemically glandular components showed positivity for the pan CK and EMA while CD99 and TLE1 were positive in both glandular and spindle cell components. This type of synovial sarcoma could be indistinguishable from metastatic adenocarcinoma and malignant adnexal tumor, thus, immunohistochemistry and molecular studies play an essential role in the exact diagnosis of this type of tumor.

Correlation of 99mTc-DMSA scan with radiological and laboratory examinations in childhood acute pyelonephritis: a time-series study.

BACKGROUND: Urinary tract infections are one of the most common diseases in children. They may lead to hypertension and renal failure later in life. Renal scintigraphy with technetium-99m dimercaptosuccinic acid (99mTc-DMSA) is one method used to diagnose acute pyelonephritis (APN) and renal parenchymal scars. The aim of the present study was to determine the ideal time to perform a follow-up 99mTc-DMSA scan to detect renal scars and also to evaluate the factors predicting the development of permanent renal damage after APN. METHODS: Sixty-four children with a first episode of APN underwent a 99mTc-DMSA scan. If there were abnormal findings on this scan, another scan was performed 6 and 12 months later. RESULTS: The baseline 99mTc-DMSA scan showed cortical changes in 35 patients (54.7 %). One the 6- and 12-month follow-up scans, 25 patients (39.06 %) and 21 patients (32.8 %), respectively, had cortical lesions. In multiple logistic regressions with the final 99mTc-DMSA scan results as the dependent variable, only the age range of the patients (ß = 1.062; 95 % CI 1.014-1.113; p = 0.01) showed an independent and significant association. Gender, therapeutic delay time, ultrasonography, and voiding cystourethrogram results, as well as laboratory test results including the erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein level, white blood cell counts, and type of bacteria in the urine, did not show such an association (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: There is not a significant difference between the results of 6- and 12-month 99mTc-DMSA follow-up scans. A follow-up 99mTc-DMSA scan should be performed 12 months after the acute scan to yield a more accurate diagnosis of permanent renal damage. If present, long-term follow-up of patients is necessary.