Clinical Value of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Combined With Serum Prostate-specific Antigen, Epithelial Cadherin and Early Prostate Cancer Antigen 2 In Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer.

AIM: To explore the clinical value of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) combined with serum prostate specific antigen (PSA), epithelial cadherin (sE-cadherin) and early prostate cancer antigen-2 (EPCA-2) in prostate cancer (PC) diagnosis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fifty patients with PC and 50 with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) confirmed by pathology from January 2020 to July 2021 were studied retrospectively. All patients underwent MRI and measurement of the serum levels of PSA, EPCA-2, and sE-cadherin. The diagnostic accuracy and efficacy of these methods was compared between the groups. RESULTS: In MRI diagnosis of PC, lesions were mainly located in the peripheral zone; T2-weighted imaging of this zone showed low signal intensity, with different degrees of prostate enlargement. BPH had a clear boundary, complete capsule and central zone hyperplasia and uneven signal nodules. PC and BPH had different degrees of prostate enlargement. Serum levels of PSA, sE-cadherin and EPCA-2 in the cancer group were significantly higher than those in the BPH group (p<0.05). The diagnostic concordance of combined assessment of MRI, PSA, sE-cadherin, and EPCA-2 in differentiating PC from BPH was 93%, which was significantly higher than these approaches used alone (84%, 79%, 81% and 82%, respectively; p<0.05). The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve for the combined approach in PC diagnosis was 0.900, which was significantly higher than those for the individual methods (0.840, 0.730, 0.760 and 0.810, respectively; Z=2.343, p=0.004). CONCLUSION: MRI combined with PSA, sE-cadherin and EPCA-2 can improve the sensitivity and accuracy of PC diagnosis and has potential as a guiding scheme for early diagnosis of PC.

Erratum: Endovascular Repair of Blunt Popliteal Arterial Injuries.

[This corrects the article on p. 789 in vol. 17, PMID: 27587969.].

Endovascular Repair of Blunt Popliteal Arterial Injuries.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of endovascular repair for blunt popliteal arterial injuries. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis of seven patients with clinical suspicion of popliteal arterial injuries that were confirmed by arteriography was performed from September 2009 to July 2014. Clinical data included demographics, mechanism of injury, type of injury, location of injury, concomitant injuries, time of endovascular procedures, time interval from trauma to blood flow restoration, instrument utilized, and follow-up. All patients were male (mean age of 35.9 ± 10.3 years). The type of lesion involved intimal injury (n = 1), partial transection (n = 2), complete transection (n = 2), arteriovenous fistula (n = 1), and pseudoaneurysm (n = 1). All patients underwent endovascular repair of blunt popliteal arterial injuries. RESULTS: Technical success rate was 100%. Intimal injury was treated with a bare-metal stent. Pseudoaneurysm and popliteal artery transections were treated with bare-metal stents. Arteriovenous fistula was treated with bare-metal stent and coils. No perioperative death and procedure-related complication occurred. The average follow-up was 20.9 ± 2.3 months (range 18-24 months). One patient underwent intra-arterial thrombolysis due to stent thrombosis at 18 months after the procedure. All limbs were salvaged. Stent migration, deformation, or fracture was not found during the follow-up. CONCLUSION: Endovascular repair seems to be a viable approach for patients with blunt popliteal arterial injuries, especially on an emergency basis. Endovascular repair may be effective in the short-term. Further studies are required to evaluate the long-term efficacy of endovascular repair.

Umbilical cord blood cells regulate endogenous neural stem cell proliferation via hedgehog signaling in hypoxic ischemic neonatal rats.

Umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells (UCBMC) transplantation may improve hypoxia-induced brain injury in neonatal rats, but the mechanism is unclear. This study examines whether UCBMC promote neural stem cell (NSC) proliferation via the Sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling pathway. The rats underwent left carotid ligation followed by hypoxic stress. UCBMC were transplanted 24h after hypoxia ischemia (HI), and immunohistochemistry, immmunoblotting, and morphology analyses were performed at different time points after transplantation. Increased numbers of NSCs were observed in the subventrical zone (SVZ) of the HI+UCBMC group, but these increases were attenuated by cyclopamine treatment. There were significant increases in Shh and Gli1 protein levels after transplantation in the HI group treated with UCBMC compared to HI rats treated with phosphate-buffered solution (PBS). Significantly more Gli1(+)DAPI(+) cells were observed in the SVZ of the HI+UCBMC group compared to the HI+PBS and N+UCBMC groups, but few Gli1(+)DAPI(+) cells were found in the SVZ of the HI+cyclopamine+UCBMC group. The HI+UCBMC group had significantly less neuronal loss in the cortex and CA1 sector of the hippocampus compared to the HI+PBS group, but more neuron loss was observed in the HI+cyclopamine+UCBMC group compared to HI+UCBMC. These results indicate that UCBMC may promote NSC proliferation and alleviate brain injury in HI neonatal rats via Shh signaling.

Tuberculous abscess in hepatoduodenal ligament: evaluation with contrast-enhanced computed tomography.

Two patients with tuberculous abscess in the hepatoduodenal ligament were studied. Both patients underwent contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) scan. The abscess showed a low density with an irregular thick wall in the hepatoduodenal ligament on CT images, the margin was poorly defined. Contrast-enhanced CT images showed the contrast-enhanced thick wall, homogeneous and peripheral-enhanced lymph nodes. Although features of the tuberculous abscess in the hepatoduodenal ligament could be conspicuously shown with contrast-enhanced CT, further experience is needed to evaluate the potential value of CT in detecting early tuberculous abscess in relation to other entities in the hepatoduodenal ligament.