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Oncology 2017Lung cancer is currently the leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men and women in the United States, and optimal screening methods are still lacking. The... (Review)
Review
Lung cancer is currently the leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men and women in the United States, and optimal screening methods are still lacking. The field effect is a well-supported phenomenon wherein a noxious stimulus triggers genetic, epigenetic and molecular changes that are widespread throughout the entire exposed organ system. The buccal epithelium is an easily accessible part of the respiratory tree that has good potential of yielding a surrogate marker for the field effect in cigarette smokers, and thus, a noninvasive, reliable lung cancer screening method. Herein, we review the literature on the relationship between the buccal epithelium, cigarette smoking, and lung cancer.
Topics: Cigarette Smoking; Early Detection of Cancer; Epithelium; Humans; Lung Neoplasms; Mouth Mucosa; Smoking
PubMed: 28889127
DOI: 10.1159/000479796 -
World Journal of Gastroenterology Sep 2022Advances in diagnostics of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and improved treatment strategies allowed the establishment of new therapeutic endpoints. Currently, it is... (Review)
Review
Advances in diagnostics of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and improved treatment strategies allowed the establishment of new therapeutic endpoints. Currently, it is desirable not only to cease clinical symptoms, but mainly to achieve endoscopic remission, a macroscopic normalization of the bowel mucosa. However, up to one-third of IBD patients in remission exhibit persisting microscopic activity of the disease. The evidence suggests a better predictive value of histology for the development of clinical complications such as clinical relapse, surgical intervention, need for therapy escalation, or development of colorectal cancer. The proper assessment of microscopic inflammatory activity thus became an important part of the overall histopathological evaluation of colonic biopsies and many histopathological scoring indices have been established. Nonetheless, a majority of them have not been validated and no scoring index became a part of the routine bioptic practice. This review summarizes a predictive value of microscopic disease activity assessment for the subsequent clinical course of IBD, describes the most commonly used scoring indices for Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, and comments on current limitations and unresolved issues.
Topics: Colitis, Ulcerative; Crohn Disease; Endoscopy; Humans; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases; Intestinal Mucosa
PubMed: 36185628
DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v28.i36.5300 -
Hearing Research Sep 2022In the cochlea, mechano-electrical transduction is preceded by dynamic range compression. Outer hair cells (OHCs) and their voltage dependent length changes, known as... (Review)
Review
In the cochlea, mechano-electrical transduction is preceded by dynamic range compression. Outer hair cells (OHCs) and their voltage dependent length changes, known as electromotility, play a central role in this compression process, but the exact mechanisms are poorly understood. Here we review old and new experimental findings and show that (1) just audible high-frequency tones evoke an ∼1-microvolt AC receptor potential in basal OHCs; (2) any mechanical amplification of soft high-frequency tones by OHC motility would have an adverse effect on their audibility; (3) having a higher basolateral K+ conductance, while increasing the OHC corner frequency, does not boost the magnitude of the high-frequency AC receptor potential; (4) OHC receptor currents display a substantial rectified (DC) component; (5) mechanical DC responses (baseline shifts) to acoustic stimuli, while insignificant on the basilar membrane, can be comparable in magnitude to AC responses when recorded in the organ of Corti, both in the apex and the base. In the basal turn, the DC component may even exceed the AC component, lending support to Dallos' suggestion that both apical and basal OHCs display a significant degree of rectification. We further show that (6) low-intensity cochlear traveling waves, by virtue of their abrupt transition from fast to slow propagation, are well suited to transport high-frequency energy with minimal losses (∼2-dB loss for 16-kHz tones in the gerbil); (7) a 90-dB, 16-kHz tone, if transmitted without loss to its tonotopic place, would evoke a destructive displacement amplitude of 564 nm. We interpret these findings in a framework in which local dissipation is regulated by OHC motility. This article is part of the Special Issue Outer hair cell Edited by Joseph Santos-Sacchi and Kumar Navaratnam.
Topics: Acoustic Stimulation; Basilar Membrane; Cochlea; Hair Cells, Auditory, Outer; Hair Cells, Vestibular
PubMed: 34686384
DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2021.108367 -
Clinics in Dermatology 2019Red color is pervasive in local and systemic skin conditions. It is a color that often reflects variations of dermal blood flow and extends beyond the rubor and calor of... (Review)
Review
Red color is pervasive in local and systemic skin conditions. It is a color that often reflects variations of dermal blood flow and extends beyond the rubor and calor of inflammation. The pathophysiology of red skin involves remote and local chemical mediators that dilate arteriolar smooth muscle and increase blood flow to superficial vessels and capillary beds. Incident light hits hemoglobin, which preferentially absorbs light of shorter wavelengths, such as blue, and reflects warmer colors. Due to its pervasiveness and consistency, red color is a useful descriptive factor in helping narrow a differential diagnosis. Red skin disorders include a variety of conditions involving endocrine mediators, cardiovascular responses, and the disruption of the skin barrier. An understanding of the blood's role in these disorders equips clinicians to generate differential diagnoses through the lens of pathophysiology. Dermatologists can improve management by considering red skin as part of systemic disease rather than as an isolated incident.
Topics: Color; Humans; Mucous Membrane; Nail Diseases; Skin Diseases
PubMed: 31896409
DOI: 10.1016/j.clindermatol.2019.07.017 -
Periodontology 2000 Jun 2019Oral mucosal diseases encompass a diverse array of conditions and disorders arising from malignant, potentially malignant, and nonneoplastic processes. Considerable... (Review)
Review
Oral mucosal diseases encompass a diverse array of conditions and disorders arising from malignant, potentially malignant, and nonneoplastic processes. Considerable attention has been paid to the former in recent years, much less to the wide range of nonneoplastic disease processes, which constitute a sizeable proportion of the oral disease burden globally. Many nonneoplastic disease processes of the oral mucosa significantly affect the patient's quality of life. Fortunately, timely identification and intervention can reduce the associated morbidity and, sometimes, mortality. As such, it is of utmost importance that dentists are familiar with early identification and management of this wide range of oral mucosal diseases. This volume of Periodontology 2000 provides a comprehensive contemporary review of such diseases and disorders through 15 chapters. We cover all relevant disease categories: developmental anomalies, infections, white and red lesions, vesiculo-bullous diseases, oral dermatoses, oral ulcerative conditions, dysplastic lesions, and mucosal diseases as manifestations of systemic disease or oral lesions as a part of systemic diseases. Each chapter discusses epidemiology, etiopathogenesis, clinical features, diagnosis, and management. Controversies and many significant gaps in knowledge are exposed, with suggestions for research to address limitations in current understandings. We take a look at the 2017 classification of the periodontal diseases and discuss the importance of close liaison between the specialties of oral medicine and of periodontology in the management of the many oral diseases, apart from the common forms primarily related to oral biofilm, affecting the gingivae and other parts of the periodontium.
Topics: Humans; Mouth Diseases; Mouth Mucosa; Periodontal Diseases; Quality of Life
PubMed: 31090140
DOI: 10.1111/prd.12272 -
Postepy Biochemii Jun 2020Inflammatory bowel diseases are a group of chronic diseases of the digestive tract of unknown origin. The etiology of IBD is multifactorial and involves interaction... (Review)
Review
Inflammatory bowel diseases are a group of chronic diseases of the digestive tract of unknown origin. The etiology of IBD is multifactorial and involves interaction between genetic, environmental and immunological factors with oxidative stress being an inherent part of any one of them. Therefore, the redox equilibrium is crucial to maintain cell homeostasis in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, which is constantly exposed to large numbers of commensal and pathological bacteria. Distortion of this homeostasis and increase in oxidative stress leads to the propagation of inflammation, mucosal injury in the GI tract and is associated with the development and exacerbation of IBD.
Topics: Homeostasis; Humans; Inflammation; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases; Intestinal Mucosa; Oxidation-Reduction; Oxidative Stress
PubMed: 32700508
DOI: 10.18388/pb.2020_324 -
World Neurosurgery Feb 2015To assess clinical methods of sourcing human olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs), and the results of present day clinical studies in OEC transplantation. (Review)
Review
OBJECTIVE
To assess clinical methods of sourcing human olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs), and the results of present day clinical studies in OEC transplantation.
METHODS
Review of literature.
RESULTS
Present clinical studies of OEC transplantation have demonstrated the feasibility and safety of the technique, and no significant complications have occurred from harvest of the olfactory mucosa to culture OECs. These reported studies have not been designed to determine whether clinical outcome is improved by transplantation.
CONCLUSIONS
OEC transplantation strategies need to be studied further. At present clinical models for testing OECs vary in methodology and quality, and until high-quality, well-designed, and sufficiently powered studies have been performed, the true effect of OEC treatment for patients will remain unclear.
Topics: Cadaver; Cells, Cultured; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Olfactory Mucosa; Spinal Cord Injuries; Tissue and Organ Harvesting
PubMed: 23891878
DOI: 10.1016/j.wneu.2013.07.016 -
Microvascular Research Sep 2020The chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) is a highly vascularized extraembryonic membrane, which carries out several functions during embryonic development,... (Review)
Review
The chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) is a highly vascularized extraembryonic membrane, which carries out several functions during embryonic development, including exchange of respiratory gases, calcium transport from the eggshell, acid-base homeostasis in the embryo, and ion and water reabsorption from the allantoic fluid. Due to its easy accessibility, affordability and given that it constitutes an immunodeficient environment, CAM has been used as an experimental model for >50 years and in particular it has been broadly used to study angiogenesis and anti-angiogenesis. This review article describes the use of the CAM assay as a valuable assay to test angiogenic activity of biomaterials in vivo before they are further investigated in animal models. In this context, the use of CAM has become an integral part of the biocompatibility testing process for developing potential biomaterials.
Topics: Animals; Biocompatible Materials; Biological Assay; Chick Embryo; Chorioallantoic Membrane; Materials Testing; Neovascularization, Physiologic; Risk Assessment
PubMed: 32505611
DOI: 10.1016/j.mvr.2020.104026 -
Gastroenterology Oct 2016The intestinal tract is lined by a single layer of columnar epithelial cells that forms a dynamic, permeable barrier allowing for selective absorption of nutrients,... (Review)
Review
The intestinal tract is lined by a single layer of columnar epithelial cells that forms a dynamic, permeable barrier allowing for selective absorption of nutrients, while restricting access to pathogens and food-borne antigens. Precise regulation of epithelial barrier function is therefore required for maintaining mucosal homeostasis and depends, in part, on barrier-forming elements within the epithelium and a balance between pro- and anti-inflammatory factors in the mucosa. Pathologic states, such as inflammatory bowel disease, are associated with a leaky epithelial barrier, resulting in excessive exposure to microbial antigens, recruitment of leukocytes, release of soluble mediators, and ultimately mucosal damage. An inflammatory microenvironment affects epithelial barrier properties and mucosal homeostasis by altering the structure and function of epithelial intercellular junctions through direct and indirect mechanisms. We review our current understanding of complex interactions between the intestinal epithelium and immune cells, with a focus on pathologic mucosal inflammation and mechanisms of epithelial repair. We discuss leukocyte-epithelial interactions, as well as inflammatory mediators that affect the epithelial barrier and mucosal repair. Increased knowledge of communication networks between the epithelium and immune system will lead to tissue-specific strategies for treating pathologic intestinal inflammation.
Topics: Cell Communication; Epithelial Cells; Homeostasis; Humans; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases; Intercellular Junctions; Intestinal Mucosa; Leukocytes
PubMed: 27436072
DOI: 10.1053/j.gastro.2016.07.008 -
Progress in Retinal and Eye Research May 2021Vascular basement membrane (BM) thickening has been hailed over half a century as the most prominent histological lesion in diabetic microangiopathy, and represents an... (Review)
Review
Vascular basement membrane (BM) thickening has been hailed over half a century as the most prominent histological lesion in diabetic microangiopathy, and represents an early ultrastructural change in diabetic retinopathy (DR). Although vascular complications of DR have been clinically well established, specific cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying dysfunction of small vessels are not well understood. In DR, small vessels develop insidiously as BM thickening occurs. Studies examining high resolution imaging data have established BM thickening as one of the foremost structural abnormalities of retinal capillaries. This fundamental structural change develops, at least in part, from excess accumulation of BM components. Although BM thickening is closely associated with the development of DR, its contributory role in the pathogenesis of DR is coming to light recently. DR develops over several years before clinical manifestations appear, and it is during this clinically silent period that hyperglycemia induces excess synthesis of BM components, contributes to vascular BM thickening, and promotes structural and functional lesions including cell death and vascular leakage in the diabetic retina. Studies using animal models show promising results in preventing BM thickening with subsequent beneficial effects. Several gene regulatory approaches are being developed to prevent excess synthesis of vascular BM components in an effort to reduce BM thickening. This review highlights current understanding of capillary BM thickening development, role of BM thickening in retinal vascular lesions, and strategies for preventing vascular BM thickening as a potential therapeutic strategy in alleviating characteristic lesions associated with DR.
Topics: Animals; Basement Membrane; Capillaries; Diabetes Mellitus; Diabetic Retinopathy; Retina; Retinal Vessels
PubMed: 32950677
DOI: 10.1016/j.preteyeres.2020.100903