Purpose: Some patients who have undergone surgery due to lumbar disc herniation still complain of leg pain and other abnormal sensations. Therefore, the study examined the effects of the neurodynamics on pain and other abnormal nerve sensations in post-operated patients with lumbar disc herniation. Methods: The participants of this study comprised 20 adults (10 males and 10 females) who were diagnosed with lumbar disc herniation. The subjects were classified into two groups of 10 patients each in the lower extremity neurodynamics (LEN) and lumbar stabilization exercise (LSE) groups. Each intervention was applied twice a day for one week and was composed of two different exercise patterns; one was applied by a therapist, and the other was performed by the patients themselves. The data were analyzed using assessment methods of Digital Infrared Thermal Imaging (DITI), Toronto clinical neuropathy scoring system (TCNSS), Sympathetic Skin Response (SSR) test, and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scale. Results: Significant differences in TCNSS, DITI, ODI scale were observed between the LEN and LSE group (p<0.01). On the other hand, there was no significant difference in the SSR test between pre and post-treatment (p>0.05). Conclusion The results indicated that neurodynamics treatment is effective in pain reduction and abnormal sensations, such as leg muscle cramps, in post-operated patients with lumbar disc herniation.

Purpose: Some patients who have undergone surgery due to lumbar disc herniation still complain of leg pain and other abnormal sensations. Therefore, the study examined the effects of the neurodynamics on pain and other abnormal nerve sensations in post-operated patients with lumbar disc herniation. Methods: The participants of this study comprised 20 adults (10 males and 10 females) who were diagnosed with lumbar disc herniation. The subjects were classified into two groups of 10 patients each in the lower extremity neurodynamics (LEN) and lumbar stabilization exercise (LSE) groups. Each intervention was applied twice a day for one week and was composed of two different exercise patterns; one was applied by a therapist, and the other was performed by the patients themselves. The data were analyzed using assessment methods of Digital Infrared Thermal Imaging (DITI), Toronto clinical neuropathy scoring system (TCNSS), Sympathetic Skin Response (SSR) test, and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scale. Results: Significant differences in TCNSS, DITI, ODI scale were observed between the LEN and LSE group (p<0.01). On the other hand, there was no significant difference in the SSR test between pre and post-treatment (p>0.05). Conclusion The results indicated that neurodynamics treatment is effective in pain reduction and abnormal sensations, such as leg muscle cramps, in post-operated patients with lumbar disc herniation.

No abstract available.
Bile Duct Neoplasms/*diagnosis/pathology/radiography ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/*diagnosis/radiography/therapy ; Chemoembolization, Therapeutic ; Cholangiocarcinoma/*diagnosis/pathology/radiography ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Keratin-7/metabolism ; Liver Neoplasms/*diagnosis/pathology/radiography/therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasms, Multiple Primary/*diagnosis/pathology/radiography ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

No abstract available.
Endometriosis* ; Female ; Humans ; Hyperplasia* ; Leiomyoma*

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Intestinal cholesterol absorption includes intestinal Niemann-Pick C1-like 1 (NPC1L1) and is an important target pathway in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We investigated the expression of NPC1L1 and its correlation with liver X receptor (LXR) expression in peripheral mononuclear (PMN) cells in patients with NAFLD. METHODS: We evaluated intestinal expression of NPC1L1 in 25 NAFLD patients and 28 healthy controls. We calculated the mRNA expression levels of LXR and farnesoid X receptor (FXR), which are master players of cholesterol metabolism in PMN cells. The protein expression of ABCA1, ABCG5/8, NPC1L1, SREBP, LXR, FXR, and CD36 was measured on tissue samples from the duodenum and ileum. RESULTS: The expression of LXR (p = 0.01) and FXR (p = 0.03) in PMN cells was increased in the NAFLD group compared to the control group. Duodenal NPC1L1 decreased in the NAFLD group compared to the healthy controls (3.38 ± 1.4 vs. 2.42 ± 1.2, p = 0.05). NPC1L1 expression in the duodenum was negatively correlated with LXR expression in PMN cells. Expression of LXR and FXR in the ileum was also negatively correlated with the expression of LXR in PMN cells. CONCLUSIONS Duodenal NPC1L1 expression was decreased in NAFLD and was negatively correlated with LXR expression in PMN cells.

Purpose: Mesenchymal epithelial transition (MET) is a proto-oncogene that encodes a heterodimerictransmembrane receptor tyrosine kinase for the hepatocyte growth factor. Aberrant METsignaling has been described in several solid tumors—especially non-small cell lung cancer—and is associated with tumor progression and adverse prognosis. As MET is a potentialtherapeutic target, information regarding its prevalence and clinicopathological relevanceis crucial. Materials and Methods: We investigated MET expression and gene amplification in 113 gallbladder cancers usingtissue microarray. Immunohistochemistry was used to evaluate MET overexpression, andsilver/fluorescence in situ hybridization (ISH) was used to assess gene copy number. Results: MET overexpression was found in 37 cases of gallbladder carcinoma (39.8%), and geneamplification was present in 17 cases (18.3%). MET protein expression did not correlatewith MET amplification. MET amplification was significantly associated with aggressive clinicopathologicalfeatures, including high histological grade, advanced pT category, lymphnode metastasis, and advanced American Joint Committee on Cancer stage. There was nosignificant correlation between any clinicopathological factors and MET overexpression. Nodifference in survival was found with respect to MET overexpression and amplification status. Conclusion Our data suggested that MET might be a potential therapeutic target for targeted therapyin gallbladder cancer, because MET amplification was found in a subset of tumors associatedwith adverse prognostic factors. Detection of MET amplification by ISH might be a usefulpredictive biomarker test for anti-MET therapy.

No abstract available.
Chest Pain ; Crohn Disease ; Thorax

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related death, and adenocarcinoma is the most common histologic subtype. MicroRNA is a small non-coding RNA that inhibits multiple target gene expression at the post-transcriptional level and is commonly dysregulated in malignant tumors. The purpose of this study was to analyze the expression of microRNA-374a (miR-374a) in lung adenocarcinoma and correlate its expression with various clinicopathological characteristics.METHODS: The expression level of miR-374a was measured in 111 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded lung adenocarcinoma tissues using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction assays. The correlation between miR-374a expression and clinicopathological parameters, including clinical outcome, was further analyzed.RESULTS: High miR-374 expression was correlated with advanced pT category (chi-square test, p=.004) and pleural invasion (chi-square test, p=.034). Survival analysis revealed that patients with high miR-374a expression had significantly shorter disease-free survival relative to those with low miR-374a expression (log-rank test, p=.032).CONCLUSIONS: miR-374a expression may serve as a potential prognostic biomarker for predicting recurrence in early stage lung adenocarcinoma after curative surgery.
Adenocarcinoma ; Disease-Free Survival ; Gene Expression ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; Lung ; MicroRNAs ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Recurrence ; RNA, Small Untranslated

PURPOSE: Dual-specificity protein phosphatase 4 (DUSP4), also known as mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase (MKP) 2 is a member of the inducible nuclear MKP group. The role of DUSP4 in cancer development and progression appears to vary with the type of malignancy. The purpose of this study was to investigate DUSP4 expression in a case series of invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast. METHODS: We constructed tissue microarrays consisting of 16, 14, 47, and 266 cases of normal breast tissue, usual ductal hyperplasia, ductal carcinoma in situ, and invasive ductal carcinoma, respectively. DUSP4 expression was investigated by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Cytoplasmic DUSP4 expression was observed. DUSP4 was more frequently expressed in malignant than in benign cases (p=0.024). The mean DUSP4 expression score was significantly higher in malignant tumors than in benign lesions (p=0.019). DUSP4 expression was significantly correlated with a larger tumor size (>2 cm, p=0.015). There was no significant correlation between overall survival or disease-free survival and DUSP4 expression in all 266 patients. We evaluated the impact of DUSP4 expression on the survival of 120 patients with T1-stage tumors. Interestingly, Kaplan-Meier survival curves revealed that DUSP4 expression had a significant effect on both overall patient survival (p=0.034, log-rank test) and disease-free survival (p=0.045, log-rank test). In early T-stage breast cancer, DUSP4 expression was associated with a worse prognosis. CONCLUSION: DUSP4 is frequently upregulated in breast malignancy, and may play an important role in cancer development and progression. In addition, it may be a marker of adverse prognosis, especially in patients with early T1-stage cancer.
Breast Neoplasms ; Breast* ; Carcinoma, Ductal* ; Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating ; Cytoplasm ; Disease-Free Survival ; Humans ; Hyperplasia ; Immunohistochemistry ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Prognosis ; Protein Kinases

Sjögren's syndrome (SS) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disorder that affects mainly salivary and lacrimal glands, but its cause remains largely unknown. Clinical data indicating that SS occurs in a substantial proportion of patients with lupus points to common pathogenic mechanisms underlying the two diseases. To address this idea, we asked whether SS develops in the lupus-prone mouse strain sanroque (SAN). Owing to hyper-activation of follicular helper T (Tfh) cells, female SAN mice developed lupus-like symptoms at approximately 20 wk of age but there were no signs of SS at that time. However, symptoms typical of SS were evident at approximately 40 wk of age, as judged by reduced saliva flow rate, sialadenitis, and IgG deposits in the salivary glands. Increases in serum titers of SS-related autoantibodies and numbers of autoantibody-secreting cells in cervical lymph nodes (LNs) preceded the pathologic manifestations of SS and were accompanied by expansion of Tfh cells and their downstream effector cells. Thus, our results suggest that chronic dysregulation of Tfh cells in salivary gland-draining LNs is sufficient to drive the development of SS in lupus-prone mice.
Animals ; Autoantibodies ; Autoimmunity ; Disease Models, Animal ; Female ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; Lacrimal Apparatus ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic ; Lymph Nodes ; Mice ; Saliva ; Salivary Glands ; Sialadenitis