BACKGROUNDIncidence of prostate cancer has been increasing in recent decades. In the year 2005, prostate cancer became the second most common cancer in males in Macau. The purpose of this report was to review and summarize the clinical features and prognosis of the 54 patients undergoing radical prostatectomy in Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR), China.

METHODSFrom November 2000 to November 2006, retropubic radical prostatectomy were performed in 54 cases for the treatment of prostate cancer. The mean age of patients was 69.8 years (range from 54 to 79). The preoperative prostate specific antigen (PSA) level, postoperative pathologic stage and Gleason's score, operation duration, intraoperative bleeding and intraoperative and postoperative complications were reported. The follow-up duration was 3 months to 6.25 years with a mean of 2.1 years. Postoperative parameters including PSA alteration, biochemical recurrence, local recurrence, distant metastasis and mortality were observed.

RESULTSMost of the patients in our study were diagnosed as localized prostate cancer. The patients' preoperative serum PSA was 0-4.0 ng/ml (16.7%), 4.0-10.0 ng/ml (51.8%), 10.1-20.0 ng/ml (24.1%) and above 20.0 ng/ml (7.4%). The TNM stage T1a+T1b comprised 7.6% of patients, stage T2a+T2b comprised 20.3%, stage T2c 38.9%, stage T3a 20.3% and over T3a only 12.9%. There were 9.5% cases with Gleason scores of 2-4, 41.5% with scores of 5-6, 30.2% with scores of 7 and 18.8% with scores of 8 - 10. The average operative duration was 216 minutes and the average intraoperative bleeding was 760 ml. Intraoperative complications included one massive hemorrhage (1.9%), one rectal injury (1.9%) and one obturator nerve injury (1.9%). Early postoperative complications consisted of urinary incontinence (14 cases, 25.9%), bladder neck stricture (5 cases, 9.3%), acute urinary retention (4 cases, 7.4%), pelvic effusion (2 cases, 3.8%), lymphocele (1 case, 1.9%) and vesicorectal fistula (only 1 case, 1.9%). For late postoperative complications, total incontinence or severe incontinence occurred in 6 cases (11.1%), urge incontinence in 2 cases (3.8%) and bladder neck contracture in 8 cases (14.8%). The total postoperative recurrence rate was 14.8%. Only 5 cases of biochemical recurrence were noted (9.3%). One case (1.9%) of local recurrence associated with elevated PSA was found. There were 2 cases of distant metastasis with elevated PSA (3.8%).

CONCLUSIONRadical prostatectomy is a safe and effective method for the treatment of localized prostate cancer in Macau.

Aged ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Postoperative Complications ; epidemiology ; Prostatectomy ; adverse effects ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; surgery

BACKGROUNDObstructive sleep apnea affects up to 2.9% of children. This study was to determine demographic and clinical characteristics of a group of children with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) as defined by sleep polysomnography (PSG).

METHODSA prospective study was conducted in a public-funded general hospital in Hong Kong of China. Children confirmed to have OSAS by PSG were followed up between January 1997 and December 1998. Tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy (T&A) was offered to those with moderate to severe OSAS, and medication was offered to those with mild OSAS. All children were followed up regularly in the sleep clinic and sleep PSG was repeated for those with marked relapse in symptoms.

RESULTSEighty-nine children (64 boys and 25 girls, mean age 7 years) were confirmed to have OSAS out of 352 children who underwent PSG during the study period. The most common symptoms of OSAS were snoring (100%) and sweating (81%) during sleep and nasal blockage (61%) and sleepiness (34%) during daytime. Severe OSAS occurred in 15 children. Moderate OSAS occurred in 33 children. Forty-one children had mild OSAS. Forty-nine children underwent T&A, 5 (boys, < 5 years) out of whom were found to have recurrent OSAS within 1 year.

CONCLUSIONA male predominance has been found in a group of Hong Kong children with OSAS. Boys undergoing T&A at an early age (< 5 years) will be more likely to develop repeated OSAS.

Adenoidectomy ; Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Prospective Studies ; Recurrence ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive ; surgery ; Tonsillectomy

INTRODUCTIONA few electrocardiographic criteria have been described to identify the infarct-related artery in inferior myocardial infarction. The aim of this study was to devise an arithmetic score to further improve the diagnostic accuracy.

MATERIALS AND METHODSFrom 2004 to 2006, 78 patients who underwent primary angioplasty for inferior myocardial infarction within 6 hours from symptom onset were recruited for electrocardiographic and angiographic analysis.

RESULTSThe mean age of patients was 65 ± 12 years with male predominance (74%). Less ST depression in lead I and aVL, and more prominent ST depression in lead V1-3 were observed in left circumflex artery (LCX) than right coronary artery (RCA) occlusions. In addition, more prominent ST depression in lead I and ST elevation in V1 were found in proximal RCA than distal RCA occlusions. Based on the findings, the Jeopardised Inferior Myocardium (JIM) score was constructed and defi ned as [II-V3/III+V1- I]. The sensitivity and specificity of JIM score ≤0.5 to predict proximal RCA occlusions; 0.5 1.5 to predict LCX occlusions were 58% and 85%, 69% and 68%, and 79% and 94%, respectively. The accuracy of prediction is slightly better than the 2 previously reported criteria.

CONCLUSIONBy taking into account more leads, the JIM score is capable of identifying the infarct-related artery with an improved diagnostic accuracy.

Aged ; Algorithms ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Occlusion ; diagnosis ; Coronary Vessels ; pathology ; Electrocardiography ; methods ; Female ; Humans ; Inferior Wall Myocardial Infarction ; diagnosis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Sensitivity and Specificity

BACKGROUNDMany studies have shown that positive surgical margin and biochemical recurrence could impact the life of patients with prostate cancer treated with radical prostatectomy. With more and more patients with prostate cancer appeared in recent 20 years in China, it is necessary to investigate the risk of positive surgical margin and biochemical recurrence, and their possible impact on the prognosis of patients treated with radical prostatectomy. In this study, we analyzed the characteristics of patients with prostate cancer who had undergone radical prostatectomy in Macau area and tried to find any risk factor of positive surgical margin and biochemical recurrence and their relationship with the prognosis of these patients.

METHODSFrom 2000 to 2009, 149 patients with prostate cancer received radical prostatectomy and were followed up. Among these patients, 111 received retropubic radical prostatectomies, 38 received laparoscopic radical prostatectomies. All patients were followed-up on in the 3rd month, 6th month and from that point on every 6 months after operation. At each follow-up a detailed record of any complaint, serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA), full biochemical test and uroflowmetry was acquired.

RESULTSThe average age was (69.0 ± 6.1) years, preoperative average serum PSA was (10.1 ± 12.1) ng/ml and average Gleason score was 6.4 ± 1.3. The incidence of total complications was about 47.7%, the incidence of the most common complication, bladder outlet obstruction, was about 26.8%, and that of the second most common complication, urinary stress incontinence, was about 16.1% (mild 9.4% and severe 6.7%). The incidence of positive surgical margin was about 38.3%. The preoperative serum PSA ((13.4 ± 17.6) ng/ml), average Gleason score (7.1 ± 1.3) and pathological T stage score (7.0 ± 1.4) were higher in patients with positive surgical margins than those with negative margins ((8.0 ± 5.8) ng/ml, 6.0 ± 1.2 and 5.4 ± 1.4, respectively) (P = 0.004, P = 0.001 and P = 0.001, respectively). A univariate analysis showed that positive surgical margin had a positive statistical association with serum PSA (P = 0.007), Gleason score (P < 0.001), pathological T stage score (P < 0.001) and biochemical recurrence (BCR) (P = 0.035). The most common location of a positive surgical margin was in the apex of the prostate, which was about 63% (36/57). Sixty-four percent (23/36) of patients with positive surgical margin in apex were also involved in prostate lobe; other locations were prostate lobe (23%, 13/57), seminal vesicle (9%, 5/57). The multivariate analysis showed that positive surgical margin had a positive statistical association with Gleason score (P = 0.03) and pathological T stage score (P = 0.02). Neither univariate analysis or multivariate analysis showed any statistical relationship between BCR and any other risk factors covered in this study.

CONCLUSIONSPositive surgical margin is associated with pre-operative PSA, Gleason score, pathological T stage and biochemical recurrence. Earlier diagnosis and improved techniques of dissection of prostate apex could decrease the incidence of positive surgical margins.

Aged ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; blood ; Prostatectomy ; methods ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; blood ; pathology ; surgery ; Risk Factors

There is no fast-acting treatment strate-gies against Alzheimer's disease(AD),in particular dementia-related wandering.N,N-dimethyltryptamine(DMT)is a natural psychedelic that may have rapid-onset nootropic effects.In this study,5×FAD transgenic mice which recapitulated amyloid neuropathological features of AD received one single injection of 6 or 12 mg·kg-1 DMT and tested at 0.5,1,and 2 h thereafter in Y-maze for spatial memory.5×FAD transgenic mice exhibited pro-nounced decreases in time spent,number entered,and distance travelled in the novel arm of Y-maze.DMT at 12 mg·kg-1 partially or completely reversed the three behavioral indices at multiple time points,up to 2 h post injection.The rapid-onset behavioral improvement was consistent with pharmacokinetic analysis of DMT,showing approximately 30 min to reach the maximum concentra-tion in the brain tissue.The transgenic mice also displayed dramatically impaired hippocampal long-term potentiation(LTP),an electrophysiological feature of memory forma-tion and consolidation.DMT potently enhanced LTP and restored intracellular calcium activity,expression and phosphorylation of calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase Ⅱ(CaMK Ⅱ)and AMPA-type glutamate receptor 1(GluR1),the two key calcium-activated mediators involved in LTP induction.Adenosine triphosphate(ATP)is purinergic signalling molecules that are involved in LTP induction and maintenance.DMT rapidly increased mito-chondrial ATP dynamics in in vivo and in vitro models.These results suggest that DMT rapidly improve spatial memory and hippocampal LTP by restoring the CaMK Ⅱ-GluR1 signaling pathway and mitochondrial ATP produc-tion.It may be served as a fast-acting nootropic agent for the treatment of AD in particular wandering.

OBJECTIVETo assess the role of methylated mismatch repair (MMR) genes (hMLH1, hMSH2 and hMSH3) in the carcinogenesis and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

METHODSSamples of 38 cases of HCC along with their corresponding noncancerous tissues, 2 samples of donated normal tissue and 6 cell lines were collected and subject to the methylation-specific PCR (MSP) to examine promoter methylation status of MLH1, MSH2 and MSH3. Six tumor cell lines were analyzed before and after 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine treatment. In addition, alterations of mRNA expression of MMRs were investigated by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR.

RESULTSCpG island methylation of hMLH1 and hMSH2 was observed in 13.2% (5 of 38 samples) and 68.4% (26 of 38 samples) respectively in HCC, 2.6% (1 of 38 samples) and 55.3% (21 of 38) respectively in corresponding noncancerous tissues, but not in normal control tissues. Promoter methylation of the hMSH2 gene was present in 83.3% of cell lines tested (5/6), but none were observed for the hMLH1 gene. Promoter methylation of the hMSH3 gene was not identified in any tissue samples or cell lines. After 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine treatment, hMSH2 methylation was induced or completely reversed, and its mRNA expression was increased in most cell lines.

CONCLUSIONSOur results suggest that promoter hypermethylation of hMLH1 and hMSH2 genes is common in HCC. Particularly, there is a high frequency of methylation of hMSH2 in both cancer and noncancerous tissues, but not in normal control tissue. Therefore, hypermethylation of MMR genes, especially hMSH2, may be involved in the carcinogenesis of HCC and may serve as an early diagnostic marker for HCC. The close correlation between hMSH2 methylation and low expression of its mRNA suggests that hMSH2 methylation is an important pathway in the regulation of gene expression.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing ; Azacitidine ; analogs & derivatives ; pharmacology ; Base Pair Mismatch ; genetics ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; genetics ; Carrier Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Cell Line, Tumor ; DNA Methylation ; DNA Modification Methylases ; antagonists & inhibitors ; DNA Repair ; genetics ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; genetics ; MutL Protein Homolog 1 ; MutL Proteins ; Neoplasm Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Nuclear Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; RNA, Messenger ; biosynthesis ; genetics

PURPOSE: To develop a profiling tool which accurately assigns a patient to the appropriate attitudinal cluster for the management of asthma. METHODS: Attitudinal data from an online survey of 2,467 patients with asthma from 8 Asian countries/region, aged 18-50 years, having had ≥2 prescriptions in the previous 2 years and access to social media was used in a discriminant function analysis to identify a minimal set of questions for the Profiling Tool. A split-sample procedure based on 100 sets of randomly selected estimation and validation sub-samples from the original sample was used to cross-validate the Tool and assess the robustness of its predictive accuracy. RESULTS: Our Profiling Tool contained 10 attitudinal questions for the patient and 1 GINA-based level of asthma control question for the physician. It achieved a predictive accuracy of 76.2%. The estimation and validation sub-sample accuracies of 76.7% and 75.3%, respectively, were consistent with the tool's predictive accuracy at 95% confidence level; and their 1.4 percentage-points difference set upper-bound estimate for the degree of over-fitting. CONCLUSIONS: The Profiling Tool is highly predictive (>75%) of the attitudinal clusters that best describe patients with asthma in the Asian population. By identifying the attitudinal profile of the patient, the physician can make the appropriate asthma management decisions in practice. The challenge is to integrate its use into the consultation workflow and apply to areas where Internet resources are not available or patients who are not comfortable with the use of such technology.
Asia ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Asthma* ; Discriminant Analysis ; Disease Management ; Humans ; Internet ; Prescriptions ; Social Media

Alectinib, an inhibitor of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of patients with ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Here we investigated the reversal effect of alectinib on multidrug resistance (MDR) induced by ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters, which is the primary cause of chemotherapy failure. We provide the first evidence that alectinib increases the sensitivity of ABCB1- and ABCG2-overexpressing cells to chemotherapeutic agents in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, alectinib increased the intracellular accumulation of ABCB1/ABCG2 substrates such as doxorubicin (DOX) and Rhodamine 123 (Rho 123) by inhibiting the efflux function of the transporters in ABCB1- or ABCG2-overexpressing cells but not in their parental sensitive cells. Furthermore, alectinib stimulated ATPase activity and competed with substrates of ABCB1 or ABCG2 and competed with [125I] iodoarylazidoprazosin (IAAP) photolabeling bound to ABCB1 or ABCG2 but neither altered the expression and localization of ABCB1 or ABCG2 nor the phosphorylation levels of AKT and ERK. Alectinib also enhanced the cytotoxicity of DOX and the intracellular accumulation of Rho 123 in ABCB1-overexpressing primary leukemia cells. These findings suggest that alectinib combined with traditional chemotherapy may be beneficial to patients with ABCB1- or ABCG2-mediated MDR.
Adenosine Triphosphatases ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; Doxorubicin ; Drug Resistance, Multiple* ; Drug Therapy ; Humans ; In Vitro Techniques* ; Leukemia ; Lymphoma ; Parents ; Phosphorylation ; Phosphotransferases ; Rhodamine 123 ; United States Food and Drug Administration

Pulmonary alveolar microlithiasis (PAM) is a rare chronic disease with paucity of symptoms in contrast to the imaging findings. We present a case of a 24-year-old Malay man having an incidental abnormal pre-employment chest radiograph of dense micronodular opacities giving the classical "sandstorm" appearance. High-resolution computed tomography of the lungs showed microcalcifications with subpleural cystic changes. Open lung biopsy showed calcospherites within the alveolar spaces. The radiological and histopathological findings were characteristic of PAM.
Biopsy ; Calcinosis/*diagnosis/surgery ; Chronic Disease ; Genetic Diseases, Inborn/*diagnosis/surgery ; Humans ; *Incidental Findings ; Lung Diseases/*diagnosis/surgery ; Male ; Pulmonary Alveoli/pathology/radiography ; Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted/methods ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed/*methods ; Young Adult

Background/Aims: Immune and inflammatory cells respond to multiple pathological hits in the development of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and fibrosis. Relatively little is known about how their type and function change through the non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) spectrum. Here we used multi-dimensional mass cytometry and a tailored bioinformatic approach to study circulating immune cells sampled from healthy individuals and people with NAFLD. Methods: Cytometry by time of flight using 36 metal-conjugated antibodies was applied to peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from biopsy-proven NASH fibrosis (late disease), steatosis (early disease), and healthy patients. Supervised and unsupervised analyses were used, findings confirmed, and mechanisms assessed using independent healthy and disease PBMC samples. Results: Of 36 PBMC clusters, 21 changed between controls and disease samples. Significant differences were observed between diseases stages with changes in T cells and myeloid cells throughout disease and B cell changes in late stages. Semi-supervised gating and re-clustering showed that disease stages were associated with fewer monocytes with active signalling and more inactive NK cells; B and T cells bearing activation markers were reduced in late stages, while B cells bearing co-stimulatory molecules were increased. Functionally, disease states were associated with fewer activated mucosal-associated invariant T cells and reduced toll-like receptor-mediated cytokine production in late disease. Conclusions A range of innate and adaptive immune changes begin early in NAFLD, and disease stages are associated with a functionally less active phenotype compared to controls. Further study of the immune response in NAFLD spectrum may give insight into mechanisms of disease with potential clinical application.