We report in a 65-year-old man hepatocellular carcinoma adjacent to a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt stent-graft which was successfully treated with irreversible electroporation (IRE). IRE is a new non-thermal tissue ablation technique which uses electrical pulses to induce cell necrosis by irreversible membrane poration. IRE proved to be more advantageous in the ablation of perivascular tumor with little injury to the surrounding structures.
Aged ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/diagnosis/*surgery ; Electroporation/*methods ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms/diagnosis/*surgery ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; *Portasystemic Shunt, Transjugular Intrahepatic ; *Stents ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Ultrasonography, Doppler

BACKGROUNDRhythmical massage therapy (RMT) is a massage technique used in anthroposophic medicine.

OBJECTIVEThe authors aimed to investigate the physiological action of RMT on the cardiovascular system by analysing heart rate variability (HRV).

DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS AND INTERVENTIONThis study was a randomised, controlled and single-blinded trial, involving 44 healthy women (mean age: (26.20 ± 4.71) years). The subjects were randomised to one of three arms: RMT with aromatic oil (RA), RMT without aromatic oil (RM) or standardised sham massage (SM). In the study the subjects were exposed to a standardised stress situation followed by one of the study techniques and Holter electrocardiograms (ECGs) were recorded for 24 h.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURESHRV parameters were calculated from linear (time and frequency domain) and nonlinear dynamics (symbolic dynamics, Poincare plot analysis) of the 24-h Holter ECG records.

RESULTSShort- and long-term effects of massage on autonomic regulation differed significantly among the three groups. Immediately after an RMT session, stimulation of HRV was found in the groups RA and RM. The use of an aromatic oil produced greater short-term measurable changes in HRV compared with rhythmic massage alone, but after 24 h the effect was no longer distinguishable from the RM group. The lowest stimulation of HRV parameters was measured in the SM group.

CONCLUSIONRMT causes specific and marked stimulation of the autonomic nervous system. Use of a medicinal aromatic oil had only a temporary effect on HRV, indicating that the RM causes the most relevant long-term effect. The effect is relatively specific, as the physiological effects seen in the group of subjects who received only SM were considerably less pronounced.

TRIAL REGISTRATIONRegistration trial DRKS00004164 on DRKS.

Adult ; Autonomic Nervous System ; physiology ; Female ; Heart ; physiology ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Male ; Massage ; Single-Blind Method ; Young Adult

Pubertal development may be altered in boys with cryptorchidism and hypospadias, but existing knowledge is inconsistent. Therefore, we investigated the association between cryptorchidism and hypospadias and pubertal development in a large cohort study. Boys in the Puberty Cohort, a cohort nested within the Danish National Birth Cohort, were included in this study. Information on cryptorchidism and hypospadias was retrieved from the Danish National Patient Register. From 11 years until 18 years or full pubertal development, information on physical markers of pubertal development was provided biannually, including Tanner stages, axillary hair, acne, voice break, and first ejaculation. In multivariate regression models for interval censored data, the mean (95% confidence intervals [CIs]) differences in months in obtaining the pubertal markers between boys with and without the anomalies were estimated. Among 7698 boys, 196 (2.5%) had cryptorchidism and 60 (0.8%) had hypospadias. Boys with hypospadias experienced first ejaculation and voice break 7.7 (95% CI: 2.5-13.0) months and 4.5 (95% CI: 0.3-8.7) months later than boys without hypospadias. The age at attaining the Tanner stages for gonadal and pubic hair growth was also higher, though not statistically significant. Pubertal development seemed unaffected in boys with mild as well as severe cryptorchidism. In conclusion, hypospadias may be associated with delayed pubertal development, but pubertal development seems unaffected by cryptorchidism. The relation between hypospadias and later pubertal development may be due to the underlying shared in utero risk or genetic factors.
Adolescent ; Age Factors ; Child ; Cohort Studies ; Cryptorchidism/physiopathology* ; Denmark ; Humans ; Hypospadias/physiopathology* ; Male ; Puberty/physiology*