Ungual warts: comparison of treatment with intralesional bleomycin and electroporation in terms of efficacy and safety.

BACKGROUND: Ungual warts are considered the most common benign nail tumour, and they are caused by the human papillomavirus. Despite the numerous treatments reported in the medical literature, ungual warts are considered frustrating, with high relapse rates and a potential risk of nail dystrophy. Bleomycin is a therapeutic option showing a good safety profile and high cure rates. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of electrochemotherapy using intralesional bleomycin for the treatment of ungual warts in comparison with intralesional bleomycin alone and describe the side-effects related to the use of both techniques. METHODS: This was a prospective, randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trial. Forty-four 18- to 60-year-old female and male patients with ungual warts of only one finger were included. The patients were divided into two treatment groups: GA - intralesional bleomycin; and GB - electroporation and intralesional bleomycin. Following a single application, the patients were followed up for 180 days. RESULTS: The patients' mean age was 36 years for GA and 37 years for GB. Most patients were female (68%). Of 22 patients in GA completing the study, 11 (50%) achieved the cure, while 18 (85.7%) of 21 patients completing the study in GB showed cure. A significant association of patients with or without cure after the GA and GB treatments (P = 0.022) was observed. None of the patients in either group had systemic side-effects. Independent of the technique used, all the participants considered the adverse effects tolerable. CONCLUSION: The intralesional use of bleomycin associated with electroporation for the treatment of ungual warts (both periungual and subungual) showed a statistically superior cure when compared with intralesional bleomycin alone. Side-effects were more frequently observed in the electrochemotherapy with bleomycin group than in the bleomycin monotherapy group.

Smoking and the risk of prostate cancer in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition.

BACKGROUND: Smoking is not associated with prostate cancer incidence in most studies, but associations between smoking and fatal prostate cancer have been reported. METHODS: During 1992 and 2000, lifestyle information was assessed via questionnaires and personal interview in a cohort of 145,112 European men. Until 2009, 4623 incident cases of prostate cancer were identified, including 1517 cases of low-grade, 396 cases of high grade, 1516 cases of localised, 808 cases of advanced disease, and 432 fatal cases. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to examine the association of smoking status, smoking intensity, and smoking duration with the risk of incident and fatal prostate cancer. RESULTS: Compared with never smokers, current smokers had a reduced risk of prostate cancer (RR=0.90, 95% CI: 0.83-0.97), which was statistically significant for localised and low-grade disease, but not for advanced or high-grade disease. In contrast, heavy smokers (25+ cigarettes per day) and men who had smoked for a long time (40+ years) had a higher risk of prostate cancer death (RR=1.81, 95% CI: 1.11-2.93; RR=1.38, 95% CI: 1.01-1.87, respectively). CONCLUSION: The observation of an increased prostate cancer mortality among heavy smokers confirms the results of previous prospective studies.

Aislamiento y caracterización de las células madre mesenquimales de la pulpa dentaria humana / Isolation and characterization of stem cells mesenchymal of human dental pulp

Las células madre mesenquimales de la pulpa dentaria han surgido como una herramienta promisoria en la medicina regenerativa. El objetivo de la presente investigación es establecer el cultivo de las células madre mesenquimales de la pulpa dentaria humana. Estas fueron aisladas de terceros molares retenidos de pacientes entre 15 y 24 años, con técnica de disgregación enzimática y cultivadas en medio DMEM-F12, suplementado con 15% de SFB , 100 ?M L-ácido ascórbico 2-fosfato, 2 mM L-glutamina, 100 U/mL de penicilina, 100 µg/mL de estreptomicina y 2 µg/mL de anfotericina B . Las células fueron observadas diariamente bajo microscopio. Pruebas inmunohistoquímicas mostraron en las poblaciones de células aisladas la existencia de células mesenquimales STRO-1+, marcador de células madre mesenquimales, también expresaron CD146+ y no expresaron CD45-, marcador de células hematopoyéticas. Las células aisladas mostraron capacidad de autorrenovación y eficiencia de formación de colonias. En el presente estudio, en las poblaciones de células aisladas se identificaron células con características de células madre mesenquimales, como su capacidad de adherirse a las placas plásticas en cultivo, formar colonias altamente proliferativas, su morfología fusiforme y la expresión consistente de marcadores de superficie que caracteriza células madre mesenquimales adultas de pulpa dentaria. Sin embargo, faltaría determinar su capacidad de diferenciación para cumplir con los criterios básicos para definirlas como células madre

Mesenchymal stem cells dental pulp-derived have emerged as a promising tool in regenerative medicine. The objective of the present investigation is to establish the culture of mesenchymal stem cells of dental pulp human. The dental pulp mesenchymal cells were isolated from impacted third molars of patients between 15-24 year-old. The dental pulp tissue was extracted, enzymatic digestion technique and culture in medium DMEM-F12, supplemented with 15% de SFB , 100 ?M L-ascorbic acid 2- phosphate, 2 mM L-glutamine, 100 U/mL de penicillin, 100 µg/mL de streptomycin y 2 µg/mL de amphotericin B. Cells were observed daily under microscope. Immunocytochemistry tests showed cells STRO-1+ mesenchymal stem cell marker. These cells also expressed CD146+ and no expressed CD45- hematopoietic stem cell marker. The isolated cells showed self-renewal capabilities and colony-forming efficiency. In this study, isolated cell populations were identified cells with mesenchymal stem cell characteristics, such as its ability to adhere to plastic culture plates, highly proliferative colony forming, fusiform morphology and consistent expression of surface markers characterized adult mesenchymal stem cells from dental pulp. However, missing differentiating their ability to meet the basic criteria to define them as stem cells

Genome type analysis of South American adenoviruses of subgenus C collected over a 7-year period.

A collection of 148 adenovirus strains of subgenus C collected in Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay were studied by restriction enzyme analysis of genomic DNA with endonucleases BamHI, BglII, BstEII, EcoRI, HindIII, KpnI, and SmaI. Only strains corresponding to serotypes 1, 2, and 5 were identified representing both already described and new genome types. The most frequently detected type was Ad 2 followed by Ad 1 and Ad 5. Three different genomic variants of both Ad 1 and Ad 5 were discriminated. Ad 2 with 9 genome types exhibited the greatest variability. Novel profiles emerged only in strains corresponding to this serotype by restriction with BglII and BstEII. The circulation of prototype-like strains of Ad 1 throughout the study period is note-worthy. Thirty-six of 43 strains corresponded to genome type D 1. Clearly, one genome type of each serotype predominated over the 7-year period (Ad 1 D 1, n = 36; Ad 2 D 5, n = 32, Ad 5 D 36, n = 17). Some genomic variants were detected sporadically and only in Argentina, Chile, or Uruguay whereas others were widely distributed and circulated for years. A high proportion of the analysed strains was isolated from children under one year and males were more frequently infected than females.

Molecular epidemiology of adenoviruses isolated from hospitalized children with severe lower acute respiratory infection in Santiago, Chile.

Genome analysis was performed on 69 adenovirus isolates from pharyngeal secretions of young children hospitalized with severe lower acute respiratory disease in Santiago, Chile, between 1984 and 1986. As expected, most isolated strains belonged to subgenus B (68.1%). Among the isolates of 1984, Ad7c was the dominant genotype (12 out of 23). The majority of isolates of 1986 were of the recently described genomic variant 3f.