tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
OP0198-HPR No prospective association found between obesity and chronic, widespread musculoskeletal pain in a population based 20-year prospective follow-up study
Authors: K. Magnusson, N. Østerås, P. Mowinckel, N. Bård, K.B. Hagen
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2013)

<h3>Background</h3> Chronic, widespread musculoskeletal pain (CWP) and obesity are common problems in today's society, and both are associated with impaired function and reduced quality of life. The cross-sectional association between CWP and obesity is well established, but the temporal relationship is poorly understood. <h3>Objectives</h3> To investigate the prospective association between obesity and CWP. <h3>Methods</h3> In a twenty year population based prospective cohort study (the "Musculoskeletal pain in Ullensaker Study"), a random sample (n=855) of persons between 20 and 62 years in 1990 living in the municipality Ullensaker in Norway, participated in postal surveys in 1990, 1994, 2004 and 2010. CWP was reported on the Standard Nordic Questionnaire, and defined as the number of pain sites during the past seven days in: head, neck, shoulder, elbow, hand/wrist, upper back, lower back, hip, knee and/or ankle/foot. The number of pain sites were summed up and used as a continuous variable in the analyses. Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated by self-reported height and weight. BMI and CWP in 2010 were employed as dependent variables. Preselected covariates were sex, age, physical activity, smoking, mental distress, perceived health and sleep quality. To exploit all measurement times, a mixed models approach was used. <h3>Results</h3> The mean age was 60 years in 2010 and 57.2% were females. Mean (sd) number of pain sites was 2.4 (2.3) and mean BMI was 25.9 (3.4) in 2010. BMI in 1990, 1994 and 2004 was not related to CWP in 2010, but female sex, poor perceived health, poor sleep quality and smoking were associated with a significantly higher number of pain sites (table 1). CWP in 1990, 1994 and 2004 was not related to obesity in 2010, but being male and poor perceived health were associated with higher BMI in 2010 (table 2). <h3>Conclusions</h3> CWP and obesity did not mutually influence each other in this study, but perceived health predicted both conditions, and poor sleep was a predictor of more CWP. Although poor sleep has been found to predict obesity in previous studies, this was not found in this study. Future research should focus on the role health perception and sleep quality can have on the development of both CWP and obesity. <h3>Disclosure of Interest</h3> None Declared
Cholesterol Lowering in Intermediate-Risk Persons without Cardiovascular Disease
Authors: Salim Yusuf, Jackie Bosch, Gilles Dagenais, Jun Zhu, Denis Xavier, Lisheng Liu, Prem Pais, Patricio López-Jaramillo, Lawrence A. Leiter, Antonio Dans, Alvaro Avezum, Leopoldo S. Piegas, Alexander Parkhomenko, Katalin Keltai, Matyas Keltai, Karen Sliwa, Ron J.G. Peters, Claes Held, Irina Chazova, Khalid Yusoff, Basil S. Lewis, Petr Jansky, Kamlesh Khunti, William D. Toff, Christopher M. Reid, John Varigos, Gregorio Sanchez-Vallejo, Robert McKelvie, Janice Pogue, Hyejung Jung, Peggy Gao, Rafael Diaz, Eva Lonn
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (2016)

Previous trials have shown that the use of statins to lower cholesterol reduces the risk of cardiovascular events among persons without cardiovascular disease. Those trials have involved persons with elevated lipid levels or inflammatory markers and involved mainly white persons. It is unclear whether the benefits of statins can be extended to an intermediate-risk, ethnically diverse population without cardiovascular disease.
Hormonal Treatment of Postmenopausal Women
Authors: Alastair J.J. Wood, Paul E. Belchetz
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (1994)

Many postmenopausal women have been treated with ovarian hormones in an attempt to alleviate the symptoms of menopause and, more recently, in the hope of preventing osteoporosis and reducing the risk of ischemic heart disease. The postmenopausal period has been simplistically considered an endocrine-deficiency state, and replacement therapy has been seen as restoring the premenopausal endocrine milieu, but none of the available hormone-replacement regimens mimic the pattern of hormone secretion in premenopausal women. The most frequently used and most studied replacement regimen has been estrogen alone; the recent addition of progestogen provides a more nearly physiologic replacement regimen, but this . . .
Case 1-2004
Authors: David A. Chad, E. Tessa Hedley-Whyte
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (2004)

Presentation of CaseA 49-year-old left-handed woman was evaluated in the neurology clinic because of painful asymmetric neuropathy.The patient had been well until several years earlier, when numbness developed in the right hand. A right carpal-tunnel–release operation had been performed eight months before the current evaluation, but without benefit. During the four months before the evaluation, she experienced increasing burning pain in the same hand, and similar symptoms developed in the left hand. She frequently observed blisters on the first, second, and third digits of the right hand, without any recollection of injury. She had decreased sensation in the . . .
NI-45 * KINETIC ANALYSIS OF TRYPTOPHAN PET CAN ESTIMATE HISTOLOGIC GRADE AND PROLIFERATIVE ACTIVITY IN MENINGIOMAS
Authors: D. Kamson, S. Mittal, W. Kupsky, O. Muzik, N. Robinette, S. Michelhaugh, C. Juhasz
Journal: Neuro-Oncology (2014)

BACKGROUND: Positron emission tomography (PET) with alpha[11C]methyl-L-tryptophan (AMT) can track the immunosuppressive kynurenine pathway, which is often upregulated in human tumors; while AMT is not incorporated into proteins. In recent tissue studies, we have shown expression of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1), the key enzyme of the kynurenine pathway in meningiomas (Zitron et al., Cancer Biol Ther, 2013). In the present study, we explored the utility of AMT-PET for predicting histologic grade and proliferative activity in meningiomas. METHODS: Ten patients (mean age: 55.4 years) with MRI-detected meningioma underwent AMT-PET followed by tumor resection. AMT uptake was measured both by standardized uptake values (SUV) and kinetic analysis (using dynamic AMT-PET and serial blood radioactivity data) in the tumor as well as contralateral normal cortex. Two kinetic parameters were calculated: (i) the volume of distribution (VD) is an estimate of net tracer transport from blood to tissue; and (ii) the unidirectional uptake rate (K) is a measure of tissue trapping of AMT. Tumor/cortex ratios for each PET parameter were correlated with histologic grade and Ki-67 labeling index (characterizing proliferative activity). RESULTS: All 10 meningiomas (grade I: n = 6, grade II: n = 3, grade III: n = 1) showed increased AMT uptake as compared to normal cortex (mean SUV tumor/cortex ratio: 1.47 [range: 1.12-2.03]). AMT K tumor/cortex ratios were variable (range: 0.4-1.15) and showed a positive correlation with histologic grade (Spearman's rho = 0.72, p = 0.019). AMT VD was high in all meningiomas (mean tumor/cortex ratio: 2.2 [range:1.3-3.6]) and showed a negative correlation with Ki-67 labeling index (Spearman's rho = -0.74, p = 0.014). AMT SUV tumor/cortex ratios were not reliable predictors of meningioma grade or proliferative index (p ≥ 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: AMT accumulates in grade I-III meningiomas, and tracer kinetic analysis can assist reliable estimation of histologic grade and proliferative activity. This information may facilitate clinical decisions regarding the optimal management strategy.
ED-31 * RECURRENT PILOCYTIC ASTROCYTOMA OF THE CORPUS CALLOSUM IN A PATIENT WITH NEUROFIBROMATOSIS TYPE 1
Authors: H. Tathireddy, J. Lin, M. Gujrati, M. Zagardo, K. Fernandez, R. Antony
Journal: Neuro-Oncology (2014)

CASE REPORT: Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) associated pilocytic astrocytomas occur most frequently in the optic pathway, hypothalamus and brainstem. Astrocytomas of the corpus callosum are relatively rare in this population (about 15% of NF1 associated intracranial tumors) and have not been well characterized. We report a 12 year old boy with a recurrent NF1 associated pilocytic astrocytoma of the corpus callosum. Our patient has ADHD, Tourette's syndrome and hyperplasia of the left optic nerve and orbit. He has no history of seizures or any focal neurological deficits. MRI done to investigate new onset headaches showed interval development of a 1.8 X1.2 cm T2 hyperintense mass in the central corpus callosum. There was no surrounding vasogenic edema. No other enhancing lesions were seen in the corpus callosum. Pathological examination after sub-total resection showed the tumor to be well circumscribed with cells having long cytoplasmic processes and eosinophilic granular bodies consistent with a WHO grade 1 pilocytic astrocytoma but with infiltrative edges suggestive of WHO grade 2 diffuse astrocytoma. The tumor was GFAP(+), Neu-N(-) and Ki-67= 1%-7%. A few cells were p53(+), CD45(+) and CD68(+). Post-operative MRI showed enhancement along the surgical bed and follow up MRI done 8 months later showed progression of residual tumor. At repeat surgery all grossly apparent tumor was resected. Pathological examination showed moderate cellularity, nuclear pleomorphism, no mitotic activity, no necrosis, GFAP (+), S-100(+), Neu-N (-) and Synaptophysin(-). Ki-67 positivity was minimal. MRI 3 months later showed a 7 mm enhanced focus in the left paramedian posterior body of the corpus callosum which has remained stable over 6 months. The child is being closely monitored. The tumor grade/proliferative potential of corpus callosal pilocytic astrocytomas in NF1 patients may be different from astrocytomas in other locations and merit close monitoring and further study.
Abstract 3684: Developing STAT3 protein inhibitors as adjuvant therapeutics: Promising synergistic effects in human cancers
Authors: Steven Fletcher, Brent D. G. Page, Piebin Yue, Xiaolei Zhang, Sumaiya Sharmeen, Aaron D. Schimmer, James Turkson, Patrick T. Gunning
Journal: Cancer Research (2010)

Abstract Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 (Stat3) protein is a cytosolic transcription factor that relays signals from receptors in the plasma membrane directly to the nucleus, and is routinely hyper-activated in many human cancers and diseases. STAT3 induces anti-apoptotic gene expression programs (e.g. Bcl-xL) and the over-expression of cell cycle regulators (e.g. cyclin D1) that contribute significantly to the resistance of cancer to current chemotherapeutic strategies. Since most cancer drugs aim to initiate apoptosis, tumor cells containing activated STAT3 have an intrinsic resistance to current treatment strategies. It has therefore been postulated that STAT3 inhibitors could play a significant role in the future of adjuvant cancer therapies by sensitizing human tumors to traditional chemotherapy. By examining the protein-protein interaction interface and employing computational modeling, we have thus developed a series of small molecule inhibitors of the transcriptionally active STAT3-STAT3 homo-dimer complex. Lead inhibitors showed potent anti-STAT3 activity in vitro and in tumor cell lines, as well as in malignant cells taken from leukemia patients. More specifically, these compounds displayed single digit micromolar activity against breast, prostate, pancreatic and leukemia cell lines and showed negligible cytotoxic effects on healthy cells treated with high µM concentrations of compounds. Preliminary adjuvant studies with a series of clinically relevant therapeutics have shown impressive synergistic effects in leukemia cell lines, as well as in patient tumor cells. Note: This abstract was not presented at the AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010 because the presenter was unable to attend. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3684.
Alveolar echinococcosis in a highly endemic area of northern Slovakia between 2000 and 2013
Authors: D Antolová, M Miterpáková, J Radoňák, D Hudačková, M Szilágyiová, M Žáček
Journal: Eurosurveillance (2014)

Long-term surveillance of Echinococcus multilocularis occurrence in red foxes in Slovakia revealed the existence of highly endemic areas, with an overall prevalence rate of 41.6 % in the northern part of the country. Between 2000 and 2013, 26 human cases of alveolar echinococcosis were detected and only three of them were not in endemic localities in northern Slovakia. Remarkable is the occurrence of the disease in eight people younger than 35 years, including three patients aged eight, 14 and 19 years. Occurrence of E. multilocularis in red foxes throughout the country and high incidence of alveolar echinococcosis in young people indicate high infectious pressure in the environment of northern Slovakia. It can be assumed that the real incidence of alveolar echinococcosis is significantly higher than recorded by official data due to the lack of existing registration and reporting system. For effective management of prevention and control strategies for this disease improvement of the national surveillance system and engagement of specialists outside the medical community are necessary. Our study presents a comprehensive picture of the epidemiological situation of E. multilocularis in northern Slovakia. In addition, we report the first list of confirmed human cases of this serious parasitosis in Slovakia.
The Epidemiology of Tuberculosis among Foreign-Born Persons in the United States, 1986 to 1993
Authors: Matthew T. McKenna, Eugene McCray, Ida Onorato
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (1995)

One third of the world's population is infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and in the developed countries immigration is a major force that sustains the incidence of tuberculosis. We studied the effects of immigration on the epidemiology of tuberculosis and its recent resurgence in the United States.We analyzed data from the national tuberculosis reporting system of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Since 1986 reports of tuberculosis have included the patient's country of origin. Population estimates for foreign-born persons were derived from special samples from the 1980 and 1990 censuses.The proportion of persons reported to have tuberculosis who were foreign-born increased from 21.6 percent (4925 cases) in 1986 to 29.6 percent (7346 cases) in 1993. For the entire eight-year period, most foreign-born patients with tuberculosis were from Latin America (43.9 percent; 21,115 cases) and Southeast Asia (34.6 percent; 16,643 cases). Among foreign-born persons the incidence rate was almost quadruple the rate for native residents of the United States (30.6 vs. 8.1 per 100,000 person-years), and 55 percent of immigrants with tuberculosis had the condition diagnosed in their first five years in the United States.Immigration has had an increasingly important effect on the epidemiology of tuberculosis in the United States. It will be difficult to eliminate tuberculosis without better efforts to prevent and control it among immigrants and greater efforts to control it in the countries from which they come.
Abstract 3323: Induction of apoptosis in glioma cells by downregulation of X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP)
Authors: Venkata Ramesh Dasari, Kiranpreet Kaur, Daniel Fassett, Jeffrey D. Klopfenstein, Dzung H. Dinh, Meena Gujrati, Jasti S. Rao
Journal: Cancer Research (2010)

Abstract XIAP (X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein) is one of the most important members of the family of apoptosis inhibitors. XIAP blocks apoptosis by inhibiting both the initiator (caspase 9) and effector (caspase 3) caspases, and therefore, prevents cell death induced by various triggers. One mechanism through which tumor cells are believed to acquire resistance to apoptosis is by overexpression of XIAP. When XIAP is overexpressed, cancer cells are rendered resistant to apoptosis, both intrinsically and in response to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. It is upregulated in various malignancies, including human glioblastoma. It promotes invasion, metastasis, growth, and survival of malignant cells. In order to downregulate XIAP in glioma cells, we used human umbilical cord blood mesenchymal stem cells (hUCB) and siRNA of XIAP (siXIAP). We observed the effect of both hUCB and siXIAP on two malignant glioma cell lines (SNB19 and U251) and two glioma xenograft cell lines (4910 and 5310). In either case, proliferation of the glioma cells was significantly inhibited. Both treatments increased cytotoxicity of glioma cells and led to cell death. However, cytotoxicity is more significant in siXIAP treatments compared to hUCB cocultures. Both hUCB and siXIAP induced TNF-alpha-mediated apoptosis in glioma cells, which was confirmed by TUNEL assay, FACS analyses and immunoblotting. Apoptosis is characterized by loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and upregulation of mitochondrial apoptotic protein BAD. Cell death of glioma cells is marked by downregulation of Akt and phospho-Akt molecules. Taken together, our results indicate the therapeutic potential of XIAP and hUCB in treating malignant gliomas. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3323.
Cultured networks of excitatory projection neurons and inhibitory interneurons for studying human cortical neurotoxicity
Authors: Jin-Chong Xu, Jing Fan, Xueqing Wang, Stephen M. Eacker, Tae-In Kam, Li Chen, Xiling Yin, Juehua Zhu, Zhikai Chi, Haisong Jiang, Rong Chen, Ted M. Dawson, Valina L. Dawson
Journal: Science Translational Medicine (2016)

A method to culture human cortical neurons that yielded a balanced network of excitatory and inhibitory neurons revealed that these cells die in a PARP-dependent manner after neurotoxic insult.
Abstract 2866: Targeting autophagy in pancreatic cancer
Authors: Carolyn V. Ustach, Kristen Bisanz, Daniel D. Von Hoff, Eric Xu, Haiyong Han
Journal: Cancer Research (2011)

Abstract Autophagy is a cell survival pathway that has been shown to be activated in a variety of cancers including pancreatic cancer. It has been suggested that cancer cells activate autophagy to survive microenvironmental stresses such as depletion of nutrients, hypoxia and chemotherapeutic agents. Studies have shown that inhibition of autophagy can sensitize cancer cells to the treatment of therapeutic agents. Chloroquine (CQ) is a well established pharmacological inhibitor of autophagy and has been shown to enhance the sensitivity of cancer cells to treatment of cytotoxic agents. Dexamethasone (DEX), a synthetic gluococorticoid, which has been reported to sensitize pancreatic cancer cells to the treatment of gemcitabine (GEM) and carboplatin, is known to induce autophagy. In addition, activation of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) by DEX inhibits NF-kB and AP-1, two activators of survival pathways in many tumors. Whether DEX increases the cytotoxic effects of GEM through autophagy, NF-kB signaling, or a combo of both is unclear. Our preliminary studies show that DEX dramatically enhances the anti-tumor activity of CQ, indicating that the inhibition of autophagy may increase cell sensitivity to drug treatment. Therefore, we hypothesize that a combination pretreatment with CQ and DEX will significantly enhance the anti-tumor activity of GEM in pancreatic cancer, and that such enhancement in GEM activity is induced by the synergistic inhibition of autophagy by CQ and DEX. In vitro cell growth assay results showed that addition of CQ and DEX significantly increase the antitumor activity of GEM in MIA PaCa-2 and SU.86.86 pancreatic cancer cells. Interestingly, combination treatment of DEX+GEM or CQ+GEM did not show significant synergistic effect. A correlation between autophagy inhibition and cell death was evident when levels of LC3B-II protein, a common indicator of autophagy induction, were compared in cells exposed to single or combination drug treatments. In MIA PaCa-2 cells, CQ+DEX with 100nM GEM reduced LC3B-II levels by at least 50%. Animal studies are underway to determine the efficacy of the triple drug combination in vivo. Our results indicate pancreatic cells use autophagy as a cell survival mechanism in response to gemcitabine, and the drug combination dexamethasone and chloroquine are able to inhibit authophagy, thus rendering the pancreatic cancer cells more sensitive to gemcitabine. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2866. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-2866
EUS-FNA for the diagnosis of sarcoidosis
Authors: T Iwashita, I Yasuda, T Kato, K Sano, S Yasuda, M Imao, M Nakashima, Y Hirose, T Takami, H Moriwaki
Journal: Endoscopy (2006)

Aims: Sarcoidosis is a systemic disorder of unknown cause that is characterized by a pathological hallmark, the noncaseating granuloma. Bilateral hilar lymphadenopathy (BHL) is major clinical feature, but it is sometimes difficult to exclude metastatic disease, lymphoma and tuberculosis. The presence of lung lesions and extra-thoracic lesions such as uveitis and skin nodules, and laboratory findings such as an increased level of ACE are sometimes helpful for the diagnosis. However, pathological examination is necessary to confirm the diagnosis. Bronchoscopic transbronchial biopsy is currently the most popular method to obtain pathological material, but its diagnostic ability is not so high. EUS-FNA has also been attempted recently, and a few reports have been published. However, these reports describe using conventional 22-G needles, and so far their diagnoses are based on cytological findings.