Clinics
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Radioguided occult lesion localization versus wire-guided localization for non-palpable breast lesions: randomized controlled trial.
This prospective randomized clinical study was conducted to compare radioguided occult lesion localization (ROLL) with wire-guided localization to evaluate optimum localization techniques for non-palpable breast lesions. ⋯ The present study indicated that the ROLL technique is as effective as wire-guided localization for the excision of non-palpable breast lesions. In addition, ROLL improved the outcomes by reducing localization and operation time, preventing healthy tissue excision and achieving clearer margins.
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Cellular energy metabolism is one of the main processes affected during the transition from normal to cancer cells, and it is a crucial determinant of cell proliferation or cell death. As a support for rapid proliferation, cancer cells choose to use glycolysis even in the presence of oxygen (Warburg effect) to fuel macromolecules for the synthesis of nucleotides, fatty acids, and amino acids for the accelerated mitosis, rather than fuel the tricarboxylic acid cycle and oxidative phosphorylation. Mitochondria biogenesis is also reprogrammed in cancer cells, and the destiny of those cells is determined by the balance between energy and macromolecule supplies, and the efficiency of buffering of the cumulative radical oxygen species. ⋯ An understanding of how the main metabolic pathways are modified by cancer cells and the interactions between oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes with these pathways may enlighten new strategies in cancer therapy. In the present review, the main metabolic pathways are compared in normal and cancer cells, and key regulations by the main oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes are discussed. Potential therapeutic targets of the cancer energetic metabolism are enumerated, highlighting the astrocytomas, the most common brain cancer.
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Assisted reproductive technology is an evolving area, and several adjuvant procedures have been created to increase a couple's chance of conceiving. For male infertility, the current challenges are to properly accommodate old and new techniques that are both cost-effective and evidence-based. In this context, urologists are expected to diagnose, counsel, provide medical or surgical treatment whenever possible and/or correctly refer male patients for assisted conception. ⋯ We present a comprehensive review of the surgical treatment options for infertile males, including the perioperative planning and prognostic aspects, with an emphasis on the role of microsurgery in the optimization of treatment results. This review also discusses current techniques for sperm retrieval that are used in association with assisted reproductive technology and includes sperm retrieval success rates according to the technique and the type of azoospermia. New insights are provided with regard to each surgical treatment option in view of the availability of assisted conception to overcome male infertility.
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Death at the beginning of life is tragic but not uncommon in neonatal intensive care units. In Portugal, few studies have examined the circumstances surrounding the final moments of neonates. We evaluated the care given to neonates and their families in terminal situations and the changes that had occurred one decade later. ⋯ Despite an increase in the withholding and withdrawing of therapeutic activities and improvements in pain management and family support, many neonates still receive curative and aggressive practices at the end of life.
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Tinnitus is the perception of sound in the absence of an acoustic external stimulus. It affects 10-17% of the world's population and it a complex symptom with multiple causes, which is influenced by pathways other than the auditory one. ⋯ This specific subgroup -somatosensory tinnitus - is present in 65% of cases, even though it tends to be underdiagnosed. As a consequence, it is necessary to establish evaluation protocols and specific treatments focusing on both the auditory pathway and the musculoskeletal system.