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Background: Zika produced the highest increase in the incidence of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) in Latin America in the last decade. The Neuroinfections Emerging in the Americas Study (NEAS) was established in 2016 to investigate the association of emerging infectious disorders with GBS in Colombia. The present study assessed the role of preceding infections, including arboviruses and other pathogens, as risk factors for GBS., Methods: A case-control study was conducted prospectively between June 2016 and December 2019 in 5 Colombian cities. We recruited newly diagnosed patients with GBS and a house control plus an age and season-matched-hospital control per case. Clinical information, blood, CSF, and urine samples were used to diagnose bacterial and viral infections. Anti-glycolipid antibodies were identified in serum. Statistical analyses were performed using conditional logistic regression., Findings: Fifty-seven patients with GBS, 66·7% male, 52 years of median age, were recruited along with 77 (55 house and 22 hospital) controls. GBS was associated with presenting diarrhea (adjusted OR 10·94; 95% CI 1·8-66·29; p=0·009) and a history of recent upper respiratory tract infection (aOR 13·91; 95% CI 2·38-81·1 p=0·003). Specific recent infections did not significantly differ between cases and controls, but the number of infections was associated with GBS (aOR=1·77 95% CI 1·04-3·01 p=0·03). C. jejuni (74%), M. pneumoniae (23%), and Chikungunya (7%) were the most frequent infections. Anti-glycolipid IgG against GM1 and their heterodimer complexes were identified to be associated with GBS., Conclusions: After the Zika epidemic, infections causing diarrhea and upper respiratory diseases contributed to the burden of GBS in Colombia. Prevention and control of food-borne pathogens could reduce the incidence of GBS in Colombia., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2025 Osorio et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Background: Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) can lead to significant functional impairments, yet little is understood about the recovery phase and long-term consequences for patients in low- and medium-income countries., Objective: To evaluate the functional status and identify factors influencing outcomes among patients with GBS in Colombia., Methods: Telephone interviews were conducted with GBS patients enrolled in the Neuroviruses Emerging in the Americas Study between 2016 and 2020. The investigation encompassed access to health services and functional status assessments, utilizing the modified Rankin Scale (mRS), GBS Disability Score (GDS), Barthel Index (BI), and International Classification of Functioning (ICF). Univariate analysis, principal component analysis, linear discriminant analysis, and linear regression were employed to explore factors influencing functional status., Results: Forty-five patients (mean age = 50[±22] years) with a median time from diagnosis of 28 months (IQR = 9-34) were included. Notably, 22% and 16% of patients did not receive rehabilitation services during the acute episode and post-discharge, respectively. Most patients demonstrated independence in basic daily activities (median BI = 100, IQR = 77.5-100), improvement in disability as the median mRS at follow-up was lower than at onset (1 [IQR = 0-3] vs. 4.5 [IQR = 4-5], p < 0.001), and most were able to walk without assistance (median GDS = 2, IQR = 0-2). A shorter period from disease onset to interview was associated with worse mRS (p = 0.015) and ICF (p = 0.019). Negative outcomes on GDS and ICF were linked to low socioeconomic status, ICF to the severity of weakness at onset, and BI to an older age., Conclusions: This study underscores that the functional recovery of GBS patients in Colombia is influenced not only by the natural course of the disease but also by socioeconomic factors, emphasizing the crucial role of social determinants of health., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest Declarations of interest: none., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Genetic and environmental backgrounds influence the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In Latin America, epidemiologic data are scarce. We aimed to determine the prevalence of RA in Chile in a population-based study., Methods: The National Health Survey was a cross-sectional household survey with a stratified multistage probability sample of 6233 participants performed between August 2016 and March 2017. A screening instrument for RA was applied to a random sample of 3847 subjects > 30 years old. Positive screening was defined by at least 1 of the following: 2 swollen joints for at least 4 consecutive weeks (past/present), and/or a diagnosis of arthritis in the past. Individuals with positive screening had rheumatoid factor, anticitrullinated protein antibodies, and C-reactive protein measured, as well as clinical examination performed by a rheumatologist. Self-report of doctor-diagnosed RA was also performed., Results: The screening questionnaire was applied to 2998 subjects. A positive screening was found for 783 (22.1%). Among subjects with positive screening, 493 (66%) had a clinical evaluation performed by a rheumatologist. Using the American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism 2010 classification criteria, prevalence was 0.6% (95% CI 0.3-1.2). Prevalence was higher in women, and 3.3% of subjects self-reported having RA., Conclusion: According to this national population-based study, RA prevalence in Chile is 0.6% (0.3-1.2), a value similar to what has been found in developed countries and slightly lower than some Latin American countries. Self-reporting leads to overestimating RA.

Fusion of the anaplastic lymphoma receptor tyrosine kinase gene ( ALK ) with the echinoderm microtubule-associated protein 4 gene ( EML4 ) is the second most common actionable alteration in non-small-cell lung cancer, with a frequency of 5%. Here, we present a case of an EML4-ALK-positive patient with an atypical in-frame insertion from the LTBP1 gene in the canonical junction of variant 1 . The patient was a 39-year-old never-smoker female diagnosed with Stage IV lung adenocarcinoma. A core biopsy was negative for EGFR and KRAS mutations but positive for ALK immunohistochemistry and fluorescence in situ hybridization. When submitted to nCounter, the sample showed a 3'/5' imbalance indicative of an ALK rearrangement, but failed to give a positive signal for any of the variants tested. Finally, a band with a molecular weight higher than expected appeared after reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analysis. When Sanger sequencing was performed, the band revealed an atypical EML4-ALK fusion gene with an in-frame 129 bp insertion. A 115 bp segment of the insertion corresponded to an intronic region of LTBP1 , a gene located in the short arm of chromosome 2, between ALK and EML4 . The patient received crizotinib and showed a good therapeutic response that is still ongoing after 12 months. Our result suggests that short in-frame insertions of other genes in the EML4-ALK junction do not affect the sensitivity of the EML4-ALK fusion protein to crizotinib., Competing Interests: Disclosure Dr Santiago Viteri reports speaker honoraria from BMS and Roche, advisory board fees from Roche and Boehringer Ingelheim, and meeting inscription/travel expenses fees from Merck Serono. The authors report no other conflicts of interest in this work.

Background: A reasonable estimate is that 50% of patients treated with cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and perioperative chemotherapy for malignant peritoneal mesothelioma will recur. Recognition of this recurrence and knowledgeable selection for additional surgical intervention is important in improving survival of patients who progress., Material and Methods: Patients treated for malignant peritoneal mesothelioma with CRS and perioperative chemotherapy were placed in follow-up for assessment of symptoms and signs and radiologic abnormalities by CT. The data were prospectively maintained and retrospectively reviewed., Results: From a database of 130 patients with malignant peritoneal mesothelioma, 38 patients who had 50 reoperations with disease recurrence that was histologically confirmed were studied. The median time to first recurrence was 14 months with a range of 3-102. Considering 50 reoperative events the most common symptoms or signs were abdominal pain (40%) and abdominal distention (34%). The most common radiologic finding was a tumor mass (56%). Patients with an abdominal or pelvic mass had a reduced prognosis (p = 0.006) and patients with an absence of radiologic abnormalities had an improved survival (p = 0.047)., Conclusions: In patients having reoperative surgery, symptoms, signs and radiologic abnormalities associated with recurrent (progressive) malignant peritoneal mesothelioma are abdominal pain, abdominal distention, and a tumor mass. An abdominal or pelvic mass was associated with a reduced prognosis and an absence of radiologic abnormalities with an improved prognosis., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd, BASO ~ The Association for Cancer Surgery, and the European Society of Surgical Oncology. All rights reserved.)

Liquid biopsy analyses are already incorporated in the routine clinical practice in many hospitals and oncology departments worldwide, improving the selection of treatments and monitoring of lung cancer patients. Although they have not yet reached its full potential, liquid biopsy-based tests will soon be as widespread as "standard" biopsies and imaging techniques, offering invaluable diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive information. This review summarizes the techniques available for the isolation and analysis of circulating free DNA and RNA, exosomes, tumor-educated platelets, and circulating tumor cells from the blood of cancer patients, presents the methodological challenges associated with each of these materials, and discusses the clinical applications of liquid biopsy testing in lung cancer.