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Background: Ambroxol relieves cough symptoms based on its secretagogue, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, immunomodulatory and local anesthetic effects. The present study was designed to explore differential patient profiles and efficacy against acute respiratory symptoms of four formulations registered as over-the-counter medicines.
Methods: Nine hundred sixty-five pharmacy customers purchasing one of four branded ambroxol formulations (extended release capsules, adult syrup, pediatric syrup and soft pastilles) filled a questionnaire including a patient-adapted version of the Bronchitis Severity Scale, several questions on degree of impairment by acute cough, time to onset of symptom relief and duration of treatment. Data on pediatric syrup users were entered by their parents. Based on the exploratory character of the study, no hypothesis-testing statistical analysis was applied.
Results: Users of the pediatric syrup and the pastilles reported somewhat less severe baseline symptoms. The patient-adapted Bronchitis Severity Scale proved feasible as a self-administered tool. Among BSS items, ambroxol formulations improved chest pain while coughing to the largest and sputum to smallest degree (− 75% vs. -40%). Reported efficacy was comparable among formulations with minor differences in favor of the pediatric syrup. Time to onset of symptom relief was less than 60 min in more than 90% of patients and occurred prior to known systemic tmax. Time to onset was the parameter with the greatest differences between formulations, being reported fastest with pastilles and pediatric syrup and, as expected, slowest with extended release capsules. All ambroxol formulations were well tolerated.
Conclusions: We conclude that over-the-counter formulations of ambroxol exhibit comparable user profiles and efficacy. Differences in speed of onset of symptom relief may involve not only those in systemic pharmacokinetics but also local anesthetic effects of immediate release formulations. Differences between pediatric and adult syrup may in part reflect reporting bias.
Objective: Immune cell adaptor protein SKAP1 couples the antigen-receptor (TCR/CD3) with the activation of LFA-1 adhesion in T-cells. Previous work by ourselves and others have shown that SKAP1 can directly bind to other adaptors such as ADAP and RapL. However, it has been unclear whether SKAP1 can form homodimers with itself and the regions within SKAP1 that mediated homodimer formation.
Results: Here, we show that SKAP1 and SKAP2 form homodimers in cells. Homodimer formation of immune adaptor protein SKAP1 (SKAP-55) are mediated by residues A17 to L21 in the SKAP1 N-terminal region. SKAP1 dimer formation was not needed for its binding to RapL. These data indicate that the pathway linking SKAP1 to RapL is not dependent on the homo-dimerization of SKAP1.
The Gleason grading system remains the most powerful prognostic predictor for patients with prostate cancer since the 1960s. Its application requires highly-trained pathologists, is tedious and yet suffers from limited inter-pathologist reproducibility, especially for the intermediate Gleason score 7. Automated annotation procedures constitute a viable solution to remedy these limitations. In this study, we present a deep learning approach for automated Gleason grading of prostate cancer tissue microarrays with Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) staining. Our system was trained using detailed Gleason annotations on a discovery cohort of 641 patients and was then evaluated on an independent test cohort of 245 patients annotated by two pathologists. On the test cohort, the inter-annotator agreements between the model and each pathologist, quantified via Cohen’s quadratic kappa statistic, were 0.75 and 0.71 respectively, comparable with the inter-pathologist agreement (kappa = 0.71). Furthermore, the model’s Gleason score assignments achieved pathology expert-level stratification of patients into prognostically distinct groups, on the basis of disease-specific survival data available for the test cohort. Overall, our study shows promising results regarding the applicability of deep learning-based solutions towards more objective and reproducible prostate cancer grading, especially for cases with heterogeneous Gleason patterns.
EGFL7 enhances surface expression of integrin α5β1 to promote angiogenesis in malignant brain tumors
(2018)
Glioblastoma (GBM) is a typically lethal type of brain tumor with a median survival of 15 months postdiagnosis. This negative prognosis prompted the exploration of alternative treatment options. In particular, the reliance of GBM on angiogenesis triggered the development of anti‐VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) blocking antibodies such as bevacizumab. Although its application in human GBM only increased progression‐free periods but did not improve overall survival, physicians and researchers still utilize this treatment option due to the lack of adequate alternatives. In an attempt to improve the efficacy of anti‐VEGF treatment, we explored the role of the egfl7 gene in malignant glioma. We found that the encoded extracellular matrix protein epidermal growth factor‐like protein 7 (EGFL7) was secreted by glioma blood vessels but not glioma cells themselves, while no major role could be assigned to the parasitic miRNAs miR‐126/126*. EGFL7 expression promoted glioma growth in experimental glioma models in vivo and stimulated tumor vascularization. Mechanistically, this was mediated by an upregulation of integrin α5β1 on the cellular surface of endothelial cells, which enhanced fibronectin‐induced angiogenic sprouting. Glioma blood vessels that formed in vivo were more mature as determined by pericyte and smooth muscle cell coverage. Furthermore, these vessels were less leaky as measured by magnetic resonance imaging of extravasating contrast agent. EGFL7‐inhibition using a specific blocking antibody reduced the vascularization of experimental gliomas and increased the life span of treated animals, in particular in combination with anti‐VEGF and the chemotherapeutic agent temozolomide. Data allow for the conclusion that this combinatorial regimen may serve as a novel treatment option for GBM.
Aim: The aim of the study is to assess the long-term effect of active periodontal therapy on serum inflammatory parameters in patients with aggressive (AgP) and chronic (ChP) periodontitis in a non-randomised clinical study.
Methods: Twenty-five ChP and 17 AgP were examined clinically prior to (baseline), 12 weeks and 60 months after subgingival debridement of all pockets within 2 days. Systemic antibiotics were prescribed if Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans was detected (10 AgP, 8 ChP), flap surgery was rendered if required. Neutrophil elastase (NE), C-reactive protein (CRP), lipopolysaccharide binding protein, interleukin 6, 8, and leukocyte counts were assessed at baseline, 12 weeks and 60 months.
Results: Clinical parameters improved significantly in both groups from 12 weeks to 60 months. Eleven AgP and 18 ChP patients received surgical treatment after the 12 weeks examination. Only 3 patients in each group attended ≥ 2 supportive maintenance visits per year. NE and CRP were significantly higher in AgP than ChP at baseline and 60 months (p < 0.01). For leukocyte counts in ChP, significant changes were observed (baseline: 6.11 ± 1.44 nl−1; 12 weeks: 5.34 ± 1.40 nl−1; 60 months: 7.73 ± 2.89 nl−1; p < 0.05). Multiple regression analysis identified African origin, surgical treatment and female sex to correlate with better clinical improvement.
Conclusion: Despite comprehensive periodontal treatment, AgP patients exhibit higher NE and CRP levels than ChP patients up to 5 years after therapy.
Clinical relevance: Systemic inflammatory burden in AgP patients is higher than in ChP patients even 5 years after periodontal treatment.
Background: Concomitant radiation with BRAF inhibitor (BRAFi) therapy may increase radiation-induced side effects but also potentially improve tumour control in melanoma patients.
Methods: A total of 155 patients with BRAF-mutated melanoma from 17 European skin cancer centres were retrospectively analysed. Out of these, 87 patients received concomitant radiotherapy and BRAFi (59 vemurafenib, 28 dabrafenib), while in 68 patients BRAFi therapy was interrupted during radiation (51 vemurafenib, 17 dabrafenib). Overall survival was calculated from the first radiation (OSRT) and from start of BRAFi therapy (OSBRAFi).
Results: The median duration of BRAFi treatment interruption prior to radiotherapy was 4 days and lasted for 17 days. Median OSRT and OSBRAFi in the entire cohort were 9.8 and 12.6 months in the interrupted group and 7.3 and 11.5 months in the concomitant group (P=0.075/P=0.217), respectively. Interrupted vemurafenib treatment with a median OSRT and OSBRAFi of 10.1 and 13.1 months, respectively, was superior to concomitant vemurafenib treatment with a median OSRT and OSBRAFi of 6.6 and 10.9 months (P=0.004/P=0.067). Interrupted dabrafenib treatment with a median OSRT and OSBRAFi of 7.7 and 9.8 months, respectively, did not differ from concomitant dabrafenib treatment with a median OSRT and OSBRAFi of 9.9 and 11.6 months (P=0.132/P=0.404). Median local control of the irradiated area did not differ in the interrupted and concomitant BRAFi treatment groups (P=0.619). Skin toxicity of grade ≥2 (CTCAE) was significantly increased in patients with concomitant vemurafenib compared to the group with treatment interruption (P=0.002).
Conclusions: Interruption of vemurafenib treatment during radiation was associated with better survival and less toxicity compared to concomitant treatment. Due to lower number of patients, the relevance of treatment interruption in dabrafenib treated patients should be further investigated. The results of this analysis indicate that treatment with the BRAFi vemurafenib should be interrupted during radiotherapy. Prospective studies are desperately needed.
Background: α-mannosidosis is a rare, autosomal-recessive, lysosomal storage disease caused by a deficient activity of α-mannosidase. Typical symptoms include intellectual, motor and hearing impairment, facial coarsening, and musculoskeletal abnormalities. Ocular pathologies reported previously were mainly opacities of the cornea and lens, strabismus, and ocular motility disorders. However, retinal and optic nerve degeneration have been rarely described.
Methods: We report ocular findings of 32 patients with α-mannosidosis. We particularly concentrated on retinal abnormalities which we supported by posterior segment examination, fundus photography, and Spectral-Domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) imaging.
Results: Tapeto-retinal degeneration with bone spicule formations in the peripheral retina or macular changes were seen in three patients (9.4%) on funduscopy; of these, two with optic nerve atrophy. Eight retinal images could be obtained by OCT or fundus photography; of these, six showed thinning of the outer retinal layers on OCT. Overall, optic nerve atrophy was seen in six patients (18.8%); of these, four with partial atrophy. Two patients had partial optic nerve atrophy with no retinal abnormalities on funduscopy. Cataract was seen in two (6.3%), corneal haze also in two patients (6.3%). Six patients (18.8%) had manifest strabismus, four (12.5%) nystagmus, and in five patients (15.6%) impaired smooth pursuit eye movements were seen.
Conclusion: Ocular pathologies are not exclusively confined to opacities of the cornea and lens or strabismus and ocular motility disorders but tapeto-retinal degeneration and optic nerve atrophy may be a common feature in α-mannosidosis. OCT technology helps detecting early outer retinal thinning which can progress with age and potentially leads to vision loss over time.
Background: There are no validated standardised clinical procedures for severity measurement of acute bronchitis in children. The "BSS-ped", a short version of the physician-rated assessment scale BSS (Bronchitis Severity Scale), can fill this gap, if it is valid.
Objective: To examine the scale´s validity.
Methods: Investigations were planned according to classical clinical-psychometric validity criteria including a formal competence evaluation of the scale´s authors and statistical analyses of data from 78 patients aged 1-6 and diagnosed with "acute bronchitis". Cross-validation was provided by analysis of data from 70 children with matching age, sex and diagnosis. All children were examined three times (day 0, 3-5 and 7) using the BSS-ped in addition to other clinical and psychometric monitoring procedures.
Results: The evidently high level of expertise of the scale’s authors substantiates pronounced content validity and relevance of the BSS-ped and its items. The validity criterion, i.e. to reflect the unidimensional severity of acute bronchitis and its change using the BSS-ped score, was fulfilled. There were substantial correlations with other scales measuring the current health-related quality of life, as well as satisfaction and success of treatment. Severity change prognoses for acute bronchitis under placebo and an active substance were correct. The BSS-ped was found to be a feasible instrument because it can be repeated at short intervals (minute range) without any special technical aids or extended training.
Conclusion: The BSS-ped is a valid procedure for measuring the severity of acute bronchitis in children.
Pain and pain chronification are incompletely understood and unresolved medical problems that continue to have a high prevalence. It has been accepted that pain is a complex phenomenon. Contemporary methods of computational science can use complex clinical and experimental data to better understand the complexity of pain. Among data science techniques, machine learning is referred to as a set of methods that can automatically detect patterns in data and then use the uncovered patterns to predict or classify future data, to observe structures such as subgroups in the data, or to extract information from the data suitable to derive new knowledge. Together with (bio)statistics, artificial intelligence and machine learning aim at learning from data. ...