Adv Exp Med Biol
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Cerebral venous thrombosis is an important cause of stroke in the young. Unlike venous thromboembolism (VTE), women are affected three times more often than men by CVT. The most common symptoms are headache, seizures and focal neurological deficits. ⋯ Small studies have shown promising results of endovascular treatment in severe patients, but these data require confirmation in a randomized trial. In patients who develop clinical and radiological signs of impending herniation decompressive surgery can be both life-saving and result in a good functional outcome. The prognosis is nowadays favorable in most cases, especially compared to arterial stroke, although a significant proportion of patients do suffer from chronic symptoms.
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Stimulator of interferon (IFN) genes (STING) is a key mediator in the immune response to cytoplasmic DNA sensed by cyclic GMP-AMP (cGAMP) synthase (cGAS). After synthesis by cGAS, cGAMP acts as a second messenger activating STING in the cell harboring cytoplasmic DNA but also in adjacent cells through gap junction transfer. ⋯ Nonetheless, STING appears to be an essential component in the recruitment of immune cells to the tumor microenvironment, which is paramount to immune clearance of the tumor. This review presents an overview of the growing literature around the role of the cGAS-STING pathway in the tumor microenvironment, with a specific focus on the role that cancer cells may play in the direct activation of this pathway, and its amplification through cell-cell transfer of cGAMP.
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Multicenter Study
Antibacterial Bioactive Glass, S53P4, for Chronic Bone Infections - A Multinational Study.
Osteomyelitis is an infectious process in bone that occasionally leads to bone destruction. Traditionally, the surgical treatment procedure is performed in combination with systemic and local antibiotics as a two-stage procedure that uses autograft or allograft bone for filling of the cavitary defect. Bioactive glass (BAG-S53P4) is a bone substitute with proven antibacterial and bone bonding properties. ⋯ The minimum follow-up was 1 year (12-95 months, median 31). The cure rate was 104/116, the total success rate 90 % and most of the patients showed a rapid recovery. The study shows that (BAG-S53P4) can be used in a one-stage procedure in treatment of osteomyelitis with excellent results.
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Disruption of water and electrolyte balance is frequently encountered in clinical medicine. Regulating water metabolism is critically important. Diabetes insipidus (DI) presented with excessive water loss from the kidney is a major disorder of water metabolism. ⋯ This chapter will first review various forms of DI focusing on central diabetes insipidus (CDI) and nephrogenic diabetes insipidus (NDI ). This is followed by a discussion of regulatory mechanisms underlying CDI and NDI , with a focus on the regulatory axis of vasopressin, vasopressin receptor 2 (V2R ) and the water channel molecule, aquaporin 2 (AQP2 ). The clinical manifestation, diagnosis and management of various forms of DI will also be discussed with highlights of some of the latest therapeutic strategies that are developed from in vitro experiments and animal studies.
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Mitochondria individually encapsulate their own genome, unlike other cellular organelles. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is a circular, double-stranded, 16,569-base paired DNA containing 37 genes: 13 proteins of the mitochondrial respiratory chain, two ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs; 12S and 16S), and 22 transfer RNAs (tRNAs). The mtDNA is more vulnerable to oxidative modifications compared to nuclear DNA because of its proximity to ROS-producing sites, limited presence of DNA damage repair systems, and continuous replication in the cell. mtDNA mutations can be inherited or sporadic. ⋯ In this chapter, we summarize our current understanding of mtDNA mutations and their role in cardiac involvement. In addition, epigenetic modifications of mtDNA are briefly discussed for future elucidation of their critical role in cardiac involvement. Finally, current strategies for dealing with mitochondrial mutations in cardiac disorders are briefly stated.