Humans ; COVID-19 ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Pain

An overview of the epidemiological, biological, and clinical studies of Taenia and taeniasis in Taiwan for the past century is presented. The phenomenal observations that led to the discovery of Taenia asiatica as a new species, which differ from Taenia solium and Taenia saginata, are described. Parasitological surveys of the aborigines in Taiwan revealed a high prevalence of taeniasis, which might be due to the culture of eating raw liver of hunted wild boars. Chemotherapeutic deworming trials involving many patients with taeniasis were discussed. Praziquantel was found to be very effective, but sometimes complete worms could not be recovered from the feces after treatment, probably due to the dissolution of the proglottids. Atabrine, despite some side effects, can still be used, in properly controlled dosages, as the drug of choice for human T. asiatica infection if we need to recover the expelled worms for morphological examinations. Research results on the infection of T. asiatica eggs from Taiwan aborigines in experimental animals were also noted. Since the pig serve as the natural intermediate host of T. asiatica and the predilection site is the liver, a differential comparison of other parasitic pathogens that might cause apparently similar lesions is also presented.
Animals ; Anthelmintics/therapeutic use ; Biomedical Research/history ; History, 20th Century ; History, 21st Century ; Humans ; Taenia/*classification/*isolation & purification ; Taeniasis/drug therapy/*epidemiology/history ; Taiwan/epidemiology

A 51-year-old woman presented with metachronous tumor development in bilateral breasts, thyroid, and endometrium. Additional signs and symptoms fulfilled the National Comprehensive Cancer Network criteria for Cowden syndrome. Immunohistochemistry showed loss of PTEN expression in all tumors. Single nucleotide variants, 647 germline variants (including one each in PTEN and MSH3), and 21 somatic mutations within exons were detected in all tumors after whole-exome sequencing. There were 0, 11, and 46 specific somatic mutations in bilateral breasts, thyroid, and endometrial cancers, respectively.Although PTEN mutation is key to the development of Cowden syndrome, DNA repair dysfunction might be the initial driver of mutations. Fewer mutations were required to induce initial bilateral breast carcinomas, with subsequent thyroid and endometrial carcinomas requiring more mutations for induction. When genetic screening is unavailable, breast cancer patients with clinical manifestations of Cowden syndrome must be carefully assessed for secondary malignancies, such as thyroid and endometrial carcinomas.

A 36-year-old man was diagnosed with a right temporal lobe grade II cerebral arteriovenous malformation (cAVM) and was treated with radiosurgery. At nine months after the cAVM radiosurgery, the patient began to develop bilateral focal narrowing at the M1 segments of the bilateral middle cerebral arteries. The narrowing progressively deteriorated as was demonstrated on longitudinal serial follow-up MR imaging. X-ray angiography performed at 51 months after radiosurgery confirmed that the cAVM was cured and a diagnosis of moyamoya disease. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of cAVM-associated moyamoya disease that developed after radiosurgery. Given the chronological sequence of disease development and radiation dose distribution of radiosurgery, it is proposed that humoral or unknown predisposing factors, rather than direct radiation effects, are the cause of moyamoya disease associated with cAVM.
Adult ; Humans ; Intracranial Arteriovenous Malformations/diagnosis/*surgery ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Moyamoya Disease/*etiology ; Postoperative Complications ; Radiosurgery

We report here on a 26-year-old pregnant female who developed hirsutism and virilization during her third trimester along with a significantly elevated serum testosterone level. Abdominal US and MR imaging studies were performed, and they showed unique imaging features that may suggest the diagnosis of pregnancy luteoma in the clinical context. After the delivery, the serum testosterone level continued to decrease, and it returned to normal three weeks postpartum. The follow-up imaging findings were closely correlated with the clinical presentation.
Adult ; Contrast Media ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Gadolinium DTPA/diagnostic use ; Hirsutism/etiology ; Humans ; Luteoma/complications/*diagnosis ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Ovarian Neoplasms/complications/*diagnosis ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications, Neoplastic/*diagnosis ; Pregnancy Outcome ; Ultrasonography, Prenatal ; Virilism/etiology

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether the diffusion tensor imaging-derived metrics are capable of differentiating the ischemic penumbra (IP) from the infarct core (IC), and determining stroke onset within the first 4.5 hours. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All procedures were approved by the local animal care committee. Eight of the eleven rats having permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion were included for analyses. Using a 7 tesla magnetic resonance system, the relative cerebral blood flow and apparent diffusion coefficient maps were generated to define IP and IC, half hour after surgery and then every hour, up to 6.5 hours. Relative fractional anisotropy, pure anisotropy (rq) and diffusion magnitude (rL) maps were obtained. One-way analysis of variance, receiver operating characteristic curve and nonlinear regression analyses were performed. RESULTS: The evolutions of tensor metrics were different in ischemic regions (IC and IP) and topographic subtypes (cortical, subcortical gray matter, and white matter). The rL had a significant drop of 40% at 0.5 hour, and remained stagnant up to 6.5 hours. Significant differences (p < 0.05) in rL values were found between IP, IC, and normal tissue for all topographic subtypes. Optimal rL threshold in discriminating IP from IC was about -29%. The evolution of rq showed an exponential decrease in cortical IC, from -26.9% to -47.6%; an rq reduction smaller than 44.6% can be used to predict an acute stroke onset in less than 4.5 hours. CONCLUSION: Diffusion tensor metrics may potentially help discriminate IP from IC and determine the acute stroke age within the therapeutic time window.
Animal Care Committees ; Animals ; Anisotropy ; Cerebrovascular Circulation ; Diffusion Tensor Imaging ; Diffusion* ; Gray Matter ; Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery ; Models, Animal* ; Rats* ; ROC Curve ; Stroke

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Coffee is a complex chemical mixture, with caffeine being the most well-known bioactive substance. The immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory properties of coffee and caffeine impact health in various aspects, including the respiratory system. The objective is to investigate the effects of coffee and caffeine on airway hyperresponsiveness and allergic reactions, as well as to analyze and compare associated cytokine profiles.MATERIALS/METHODS: BALB/c mice were intraperitoneally sensitized with ovalbumin (OVA) and given OVA inhalation to induce airway hypersensitivity. Two weeks after sensitization, they were intragastrically gavaged with coffee or caffeine, both containing 0.3125 mg caffeine, daily for 4 weeks. Control mice were fed with double-distilled water. Serum OVAspecific antibody levels were measured beforehand and 5 weeks after the first gavage. Airway hyperresponsiveness was detected by whole body plethysmography after gavage. Cytokine levels of bronchoalveolar lavage and cultured splenocytes were analyzed. RESULTS: Coffee effectively suppressed T helper 2-mediated specific antibody response.Airway responsiveness was reduced in mice treated with either coffee or caffeine. Compared to the control, coffee significantly reduced OVA-specific immunoglobulin (Ig) G, IgG1 and IgE antibody responses (P < 0.05). Caffeine also attenuated specific IgG and IgG1 levels, though IgE level was unaffected. Coffee significantly reduced interleukin (IL)-4 and increased IL-10 concentration in spleen cells and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Coffee effectively attenuated airway hyperresponsiveness and systemic allergic responses induced by OVA food allergen in mice. As a complex composition of bioactive substances, coffee displayed enhanced immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects than caffeine.

PURPOSE: Lovastatin is an effective inhibitor of cholesterol synthesis. A previous study demonstrated that lovastatin can also suppress airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) in murine model of asthma. We aimed to investigate the effect of lovastatin on mucus secretion and inflammation-associated gene expression in the lungs of murine model of asthma. METHODS: Female BALB/c mice were sensitized and challenged with ovalbumin (OVA) by intraperitoneal injection, and orally administered lovastatin from days 14 to 27 post-injection. Gene expression in lung tissues was analyzed using real-time polymerase chain reaction. AHR and goblet cell hyperplasia were also examined. BEAS-2B human bronchial epithelial cells were used to evaluate the effect of lovastatin on the expression of cell adhesion molecules, chemokines, and proinflammatory cytokines in vitro. RESULTS: We showed that lovastatin inhibits the expression of Th2-associated genes, including eotaxins and adhesion molecules, in the lungs of murine model of asthma. Mucin 5AC expression, eosinophil infiltration and goblet cell hyperplasia were significantly decreased in the lung tissue of murine model of asthma treated with lovastatin. Furthermore, lovastatin inhibited AHR and expression of Th2-associated cytokines in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. However, a high dose (40 mg/kg) of lovastatin was required to decrease specific IgE to OVA levels in serum, and suppress the expression of Th2-associated cytokines in splenocytes. Activated BEAS-2B cells treated with lovastatin exhibited reduced IL-6, eotaxins (CCL11 and CCL24), and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 protein expression. Consistent with this, lovastatin also suppressed the ability of HL-60 cells to adhere to inflammatory BEAS-2B cells. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that lovastatin suppresses mucus secretion and airway inflammation by inhibiting the production of eotaxins and Th2 cytokines in murine model of asthma.
Animals ; Asthma* ; Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid ; Cell Adhesion Molecules ; Chemokines ; Cholesterol ; Cytokines ; Eosinophils ; Epithelial Cells ; Female ; Gene Expression ; Goblet Cells ; HL-60 Cells ; Humans ; Hyperplasia ; Immunoglobulin E ; Inflammation* ; Injections, Intraperitoneal ; Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 ; Interleukin-6 ; Lovastatin* ; Lung ; Mice ; Mucin 5AC ; Mucus* ; Ovalbumin ; Ovum ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction

We present here the case of a 40-year-old woman with a greater than 10 year prior history of bilateral breast silicone injection and saline bag implantation. Bilateral palpable breast nodules were observed, but the ultrasound scan was suboptimal and the magnetic resonance imaging showed no gadolinium-enhanced tumor. The 18F-FDG PET/CT scan showed a hypermetabolic nodule in the left breast with a 30% increase of 18F-FDG uptake on the delayed imaging, and this mimicked breast cancer. She underwent a left partial mastectomy and the pathology demonstrated a siliconoma.
Adult ; Breast Implants/adverse effects ; Breast Neoplasms/diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; *False Positive Reactions ; Female ; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18/diagnostic use ; Granuloma, Foreign-Body/*diagnosis ; Humans ; Injections ; *Positron-Emission Tomography ; Radiopharmaceuticals/diagnostic use ; Silicones/administration & dosage/*adverse effects ; *Tomography, X-Ray Computed