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Historically deep brain stimulation (DBS) for Parkinson's disease (PD) has been performed by frame-based stereotaxy. However, recently the option of frameless stereotaxy has become available. This avoids the potential discomfort the patient may experience because of the frame fixed to the head. This study compared clinical outcomes of DBS performed using frame-based and frameless procedures for PD patients. Twelve patients underwent DBS operations; from these patients, six underwent frame-based and six underwent frameless DBS operations, and assessed 6 months later. Operation time, subthalamic electrode contact length, microelectrode recording (MER) tracts, and unified PD rating scale scores were evaluated and the scores were compared. This small study found no differences between frameless or frame based DBS, and concludes that framless system maybe an acceptable alternative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/aim: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver tumor and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. The current study aimed to investigate the clinical relevance of the epidermal growth factor-like domain multiple 6 (EGFL6) expression in HCC and to evaluate whether the expression of EGFL6 in HCC has diagnostic and prognostic significance., Patients and Methods: This study aimed to investigate EGFL6 protein expression levels in 260 HCC tissue specimens using immunohistochemical analyses. The immunohistochemical study demonstrated strong EGFL6 expression in the cytoplasm of non-tumor or normal hepatocytes., Results: The findings revealed that 98 patients exhibited low EGFL6 expression, while 162 patients displayed high EGFL6 expression. We explored the associations between cytoplasmic EGFL6 expression and the clinicopathological features of HCC. Decreased cytoplasmic EGFL6 expression exhibited significant correlations with worse cellular differentiation, higher T classification, vascular invasion, higher stage, and tumor recurrence. Survival analyses, using Kaplan-Meier survival curves for HCC patients, revealed that those with reduced cytoplasmic EGFL6 expression experienced significantly worse disease-free survival (DFS) and disease-specific survival (DSS). Univariate and multivariate analyses identified EGFL6 as an independent predictor for decreased expression, differentiation grade, vascular invasion, stage, or recurrence in cases of DFS or DSS in HCC., Conclusion: This study represents, to the best of our knowledge, the first investigation into the expression of EGFL6 protein in HCC. Taken together, our findings strongly suggest that EGFL6 likely plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of HCC and indicates that targeting EGFL6 could be a promising therapeutic strategy., (Copyright © 2024, International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. George J. Delinasios), All rights reserved.)

Background/aim: Our objectives in this study were to (i) evaluate the clinical significance of X-box-binding protein 1 (XBP1) expression in cases of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and (ii) assess the potential of XBP1 to be used as a prognostic biomarker., Patients and Methods: The expression of XBP1 protein in 267 HCC tissue specimens was measured using immunohistochemistry in order to characterize the associations among XBP1 expression, clinicopathological factors and survival outcomes. Survival analysis using follow-up data was used to assess the prognostic value of XBP1 in cases of HCC. Immunohistochemistry revealed a significant decrease in cytoplasmic XBP1 protein expression in HCC tumor tissue., Results: Immunoreactivity results showed that low cytoplasmic XBP1 expression was significantly associated with vascular invasion, as well as poor 5-year overall survival and long-term disease-specific (DSS) and disease-free (DFS) survival rates. Kaplan-Meier survival curves further confirmed a significant association between low cytoplasmic XBP1 protein expression and poor DSS and DFS. Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that XBP1 expression, tumor differentiation, vascular invasion, tumor stage, and the rate of recurrence were linked to DSS, while low cytoplasmic XBP1 expression remained an independent predictor of poor DSS. Our analysis also revealed that XBP1 expression, tumor differentiation, vascular invasion, and T classification were linked to DFS, while low cytoplasmic XBP1 expression remained an independent predictor of poor DFS., Conclusion: Low cytoplasmic XBP1 protein expression may play an important role in the pathogenesis of HCC, which suggests that XBP1 could potentially be targeted to benefit therapeutic strategies for HCC., (Copyright © 2024, International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. George J. Delinasios), All rights reserved.)

Globo-H (GH), a globo-series glycosphingolipid antigen that is synthesized by key enzymes β1,3-galactosyltransferase V (β3GalT5), fucosyltransferase (FUT) 1 and 2, is highly expressed on a variety of epithelial cancers rendering it a promising target for cancer immunotherapy. GH-targeting antibody-drug conjugate has been demonstrated an excellent tumor growth inhibition potency in animal models across multiple cancer types including Gastric cancer (GC). This study aims to further investigate the GH roles in GC. Significant correlations were observed between high mRNA expression of GH-synthetic key enzymes and worse overall survival (OS)/post-progression survival for GC patients based on the data from "Kaplan-Meier plotter" database (n=498). The level of GH expression was evaluated in clinical adenocarcinoma samples from 105 patients with GC by immunohistochemistry based on H-score. GH expression (H score ≥ 20; 33.3%) was significantly associated with a poor disease specific survival (DSS) and invasiveness in all samples with P=0.029 and P=0.013, respectively. In addition, it is also associated with shorter DSS and OS in poorly differentiated tumors with P=0.033 and P=0.045, respectively. Particularly, with patients ≥ 65 years of age, GH expression is also significantly associated with the stages (P=0.023), differentiation grade (P=0.038), and invasiveness (P=0.026) of the cancer. Sorted GC NCI-N87 cells with high level of endogenous GH showed higher proliferative activity compared with low-GH-expressing cells based on PCNA expression. Micro-western array analysis on high-GH-expressing GC cells indicated an upregulation in HER2-related signaling proteins including phospho-AKT/P38/JNK and Cyclin D1/Cyclin E1 proteins. Moreover, GH level was shown to be correlated with expression of total HER2 and caveolin-1 in GC cells. Immunoprecipitation study suggested that there are potential interactions among GH, caveolin-1, and HER2. In conclusions, GH level was significantly associated with the worse survival and disease progression in GC patients, especially in older patients. Enhanced cell proliferation activity through interactions among GH, HER2, and caveolin-1 interactions may contribute to GH induced tumor promotion signaling in GC. GH-targeting therapy may be a viable option for the treatment of GC patients., Competing Interests: None., (AJCR Copyright © 2023.)

Background: Osteoporosis is predominantly a condition of the elderly. In this study, we evaluated the effects of teriparatide on lung function and pain relief in elderly women with multiple osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures., Methods: A total of 37 patients who received teriparatide treatment during the period January 2010 to December 2011 were enrolled. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scans were used to measure bone mineral density (BMD) and lung function was measured using a MasterScreen Body Jaeger spirometer. Forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) values were recorded. The Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for pain were used to evaluate physical health and pain intensity, respectively, at baseline and after 6 months of teriparatide treatment., Results: Mean BMD at the lumbar spine increased from 0.716 g/cm(2) at baseline to 0.829 g/cm(2) after 6 months of treatment. In addition, both mean FVC and FEV1 values after 6 months of treatment were significantly higher than baseline values (99.01% and 100.06% vs. 87.62% and 90.62%, respectively). Teriparatide treatment also resulted in a significant reduction in self-reported pain intensity and a significant improvement in physical health as measured by VAS and ODI scores, respectively., Conclusions: In addition to increasing BMD, teriparatide treatment improves the lung function and results in diminished pain intensity in women with multiple osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures.