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Cureus Apr 2024Morvan syndrome is a rare condition distinguished by hyperactivity within the central, autonomic, and peripheral nervous systems. Due to the limited number of cases,...
Morvan syndrome is a rare condition distinguished by hyperactivity within the central, autonomic, and peripheral nervous systems. Due to the limited number of cases, this presents clinical challenges stemming from the scarcity of published literature. We present a successful anesthetic approach for a patient diagnosed with Morvan syndrome scheduled for elective major intra-thoracic surgery to remove metastases from a thymoma. The patient had previously undergone thymectomy, with the syndrome being diagnosed only one year after the surgery. Additionally, we conducted a literature review on the anesthetic management of this condition.
PubMed: 38779241
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.58762 -
BMC Cardiovascular Disorders May 2024Surgery remains the primary treatment modality for thymic carcinoma, with adjuvant radiotherapy being recommended to effectively mitigate local recurrence and metastasis...
INTRODUCTION
Surgery remains the primary treatment modality for thymic carcinoma, with adjuvant radiotherapy being recommended to effectively mitigate local recurrence and metastasis rates subsequent to incomplete or complete resection. Chemoradiotherapy has the potential to induce coronary artery occlusion, thereby potentially impacting patients' long-term survival rates. The existing literature currently lacks comprehensive research on the lesion characteristics of coronary artery injury resulting from chemoradiotherapy.
CASE PRESENTATION
The male patient, aged 55, was admitted to the hospital due to recurrent chest tightness and pain persisting for one week. Notably, the patient had previously undergone curative resection surgery for thymic carcinoma seven years ago. After the surgical procedure, the patient underwent a course of adjuvant chemotherapy comprising docetaxel and platinum. 11 months later, imaging examination diagnosed tumor recurrence, and concurrent chemoradiotherapy was administered at a total dose of 62 Gy/31F for planning gross target volume (PGTV) and 54 Gy/31F for planning target volume (PTV) with 2 cycles of paclitaxel and cisplatin. Re-admission of the patient occurred after a 7-year interval subsequent to the completion of concurrent chemoradiotherapy, leading to a subsequent diagnosis of acute non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction. Following administration of antiplatelet, anticoagulant, and anti-myocardial ischemia therapy, coronary angiography revealed the presence of a bifurcation lesion at the distal end of the left main trunk. Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) examination demonstrated significant negative remodeling of both the main trunk and its branches at the bifurcation site, characterized by minimal atherosclerotic plaque components.
CONCLUSIONS
Chemoradiotherapy may induce damage to endothelial cells, resulting in an inflammatory response. Negative remodeling of blood vessels is likely to occur, primarily characterized by vasoconstriction but with less atherosclerotic plaque burden. Routine stent implantation in negatively remodeled areas may lead to vascular rupture, necessitating intravascular imaging examination.
Topics: Humans; Male; Thymus Neoplasms; Middle Aged; Treatment Outcome; Time Factors; Thymoma; Coronary Angiography; Vascular System Injuries; Coronary Vessels; Chemoradiotherapy
PubMed: 38778265
DOI: 10.1186/s12872-024-03948-2 -
Indian Journal of Pathology &... Apr 2024Pyrexia of unknown origin can be caused due to numerous infective and noninfective causes. It poses a diagnostic dilemma to the clinicians and requires a myriad of...
Pyrexia of unknown origin can be caused due to numerous infective and noninfective causes. It poses a diagnostic dilemma to the clinicians and requires a myriad of investigations for the confirmation of diagnosis. Thymomas are rare mediastinal tumors that present as anterior mediastinal mass; however, thymomas presenting as pyrexia of unknown origin has rarely been reported in the literature. We report an interesting case of a middle-aged male who presented as pyrexia of unknown origin due to thymoma.
Topics: Humans; Thymoma; Male; Fever of Unknown Origin; Thymus Neoplasms; Middle Aged; Tomography, X-Ray Computed
PubMed: 38769812
DOI: 10.4103/ijpm.ijpm_686_21 -
BioRxiv : the Preprint Server For... May 2024Paraneoplastic neurological syndromes arise from autoimmune reactions against nervous system antigens due to a maladaptive immune response to a peripheral cancer....
Paraneoplastic neurological syndromes arise from autoimmune reactions against nervous system antigens due to a maladaptive immune response to a peripheral cancer. Patients with small cell lung carcinoma or malignant thymoma can develop an autoimmune response against the CV2/collapsin response mediator protein 5 (CRMP5) antigen. For reasons that are not understood, approximately 80% of patients experience painful neuropathies. Here, we investigated the mechanisms underlying anti-CV2/CRMP5 autoantibodies (CV2/CRMP5-Abs)-related pain. We found that patient-derived CV2/CRMP5-Abs can bind to their target in rodent dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and superficial laminae of the spinal cord. CV2/CRMP5-Abs induced DRG neuron hyperexcitability and mechanical hypersensitivity in rats that were abolished by preventing binding to their cognate autoantigen CRMP5. The effect of CV2/CRMP5-Abs on sensory neuron hyperexcitability and mechanical hypersensitivity observed in patients was recapitulated in rats using genetic immunization providing an approach to rapidly identify possible therapeutic choices for treating autoantibody-induced pain including the repurposing of a monoclonal anti-CD20 antibody that selectively deplete B-lymphocytes. These data reveal a previously unknown neuronal mechanism of neuropathic pain in patients with paraneoplastic neurological syndromes resulting directly from CV2/CRMP5-Abs-induced nociceptor excitability. CV2/CRMP5-Abs directly sensitize pain responses by increasing sensory neuron excitability and strategies aiming at either blocking or reducing CV2/CRMP5-Abs can treat pain as a comorbidity in patients with paraneoplastic neurological syndromes.
PubMed: 38766071
DOI: 10.1101/2024.05.04.592533 -
BMJ Open May 2024Extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) and extended pleurectomy/decortication (ePD) are surgical cytoreductive techniques aimed at achieving macroscopic resection in malignant... (Review)
Review
INTRODUCTION
Extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) and extended pleurectomy/decortication (ePD) are surgical cytoreductive techniques aimed at achieving macroscopic resection in malignant pleural tumours such as pleural mesothelioma, non-mesothelioma pleural malignancies such as thymoma and sarcoma, and rarely for pleural tuberculosis, in a more limited fashion. Despite extensive studies on both surgical techniques and consequences, a significant knowledge gap remains regarding how best to approach the perioperative anaesthesia challenges for EPP and ePD.It is unknown if the risk stratification processes for such surgeries are standardised or what types of functional and dynamic cardiac and pulmonary tests are employed preoperatively to assist in the perioperative risk stratification. Further, it is unknown whether the types of anaesthesia and analgesia techniques employed, and the types of haemodynamic monitoring tools used, impact on outcomes. It is also unknown whether individualised haemodynamic protocols are used to guide the rational use of fluids, vasoactive drugs and inotropes.Finally, there is a dearth of evidence regarding how best to monitor these patients postoperatively or what the most effective enhanced recovery protocols are to best mitigate postoperative complications and accelerate hospital discharge. To increase our knowledge of the perioperative and anaesthetic treatment for patients undergoing EPP/ePD, this scoping review attempts to synthesise the literature and identify these knowledge gaps.
METHODS AND ANALYSIS
This scoping review will be conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Extension for Scoping Review Protocols methodology. Electronic databases, OVID Medline, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library, will be systematically searched for relevant literature corresponding to EPP or ePD and perioperative or anaesthetic management. Data will be analysed and summarised descriptively and organised according to the three perioperative stages: preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative factors in clinical care.
ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION
Ethics approval was not required. The findings will be disseminated through professional networks, conference presentations and publications in scientific journals.
Topics: Humans; Pneumonectomy; Anesthesia; Pleura; Perioperative Care; Pleural Neoplasms; Postoperative Complications
PubMed: 38760041
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-078125 -
Journal of Neuroinflammation May 2024Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an immune-mediated disease frequently associated with thymic changes. Increased T helper 17 (Th17) cell activity and dysfunctional regulatory T...
Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an immune-mediated disease frequently associated with thymic changes. Increased T helper 17 (Th17) cell activity and dysfunctional regulatory T (Treg) cells have been demonstrated in subgroups of MG. On the other hand, hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) has been shown to regulate the Th17/Treg balance by inducing Th17 differentiation while attenuating Treg development. To identify the underlying mechanisms of different thymic pathologies in MG development, we evaluated thymic samples from thymoma-associated myasthenia gravis (TAMG), MG with hyperplasia (TFH-MG) and thymoma without MG (TOMA) patients. Differential gene expression analysis revealed that TAMG and TFH-MG cells are associated with different functional pathways. A higher RORC/FOXP3 ratio provided evidence for Th17/Treg imbalance in TAMG potentially related to increased HIF1A. The hypoxic microenvironment in thymoma may be a driver of TAMG by increasing HIF1A. These findings may lead to new therapeutic approaches targeting HIF1A in the development of TAMG.
Topics: Myasthenia Gravis; Thymoma; Humans; Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory; Th17 Cells; Thymus Gland; Male; Female; Thymus Neoplasms; Adult; Middle Aged; Aged
PubMed: 38734662
DOI: 10.1186/s12974-024-03095-7 -
Cancers Apr 2024(1) Background. Intracavitary hyperthermic chemotherapy (HITHOC) remains part of the complex mosaic that is the multimodal approach for advanced stage thymoma and... (Review)
Review
(1) Background. Intracavitary hyperthermic chemotherapy (HITHOC) remains part of the complex mosaic that is the multimodal approach for advanced stage thymoma and pleural malignancies. However, robotic pleurectomy/removal of pleural lesions in combination with intrathoracic chemotherapy is not currently being investigated. The aim of this study is to evaluate the safety of robotic pleurectomy/removal of relapses and HITHOC in patients with pleural recurrence of thymoma or MPM. (2) Methods: The data of nine consecutive patients affected by thymoma relapses or MPM who underwent robotic surgery in combination with HITHOC from February 2017 to November 2022 were collected and analyzed. Surgery performed prior to intrathoracic infusion of high-temperature chemotherapy consisted of removal of recurrences (three patients) or pleurectomy (six patients). All surgeries were performed with a four-port, fully robotic technique. (3) Results: No intraoperative complications occurred. No renal complications related to infusion were recorded. One patient, who underwent pleurectomy for MPM, had a grade II Clavien-Dindo postoperative complication. Oncological follow-up showed results in line with the literature. (4) Conclusions: With the limitation of the small number of patients, robotic surgery in combination with HITHOC seems to be safe in patients with pleural relapses of thymoma and early-stage MPM.
PubMed: 38730643
DOI: 10.3390/cancers16091691 -
Medicine May 2024This study, based on a population, explored the prognostic value of postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) for Masaoka-Koga IIB stage thymomas. Patients diagnosed with...
This study, based on a population, explored the prognostic value of postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) for Masaoka-Koga IIB stage thymomas. Patients diagnosed with thymoma from 2004 to 2017 in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database were included in the retrospective study. Through propensity score matching, the baseline characteristics of the patients were successfully matched to mitigate the selection bias of PORT. Survival rates and survival curves were compared between the PORT and non-PORT groups, with potential confounding factors addressed using a multivariate Cox regression model. In this study, 785 cases of IIB stage thymoma were included from the SEER database, and 303 patients were successfully matched between PORT and non-PORT groups through propensity score matching, with no significant differences in baseline characteristics. In the PORT and non-PORT groups, 10-year overall survival rates were 65.2% versus 59.6%, and cancer-specific survival rates were 87.0% vs. 84.4%, PORT did not yield statistically significant improvements in overall survival (P = .275) or cancer-specific survival (P = .336) for stage IIB thymomas. Based on the SEER database, the results of our study indicated that PORT does not confer a significant survival benefit for IIB stage thymomas.
Topics: Humans; Thymoma; SEER Program; Female; Propensity Score; Male; Middle Aged; Retrospective Studies; Thymus Neoplasms; Neoplasm Staging; Aged; Adult; Radiotherapy, Adjuvant; Survival Rate; Prognosis
PubMed: 38728510
DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000037956 -
Autoimmunity Apr 2024Thymoma is closely associated with myasthenia gravis (MG). However, due to the heterogeneity of thymoma and the intricate pathogenesis of MG, it remains unclear why some...
Thymoma is closely associated with myasthenia gravis (MG). However, due to the heterogeneity of thymoma and the intricate pathogenesis of MG, it remains unclear why some patients with thymoma develop MG and others do not. In this study, we conducted a comparative phenotype analysis of thymocytes in type B thymomas in patients with MG (MG (+) thymomas) and without MG (MG (-) thymomas) fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). Our results show that the developmental stages defined by the expression of CD3, CD4, and CD8 were largely maintained in both MG (+) and MG (-) thymomas, with CD4CD8 cells constituting the majority of thymocytes in type B thymoma, and no significant difference between this cell population was observed in MG (+) and MG (-) thymomas.We discovered that CD4CD8 thymocytes in MG (+) thymomas expressed low levels of αβ TCR and high levels of IL-7 receptor α (IL-7Rα), whereas in MG (-) thymomas, CD4CD8 thymocytes exhibited the opposite pattern of αβ TCR and IL-7Rα expression. These results suggest that the positive and negative selection processes of CD4CD8 thymocytes might differ between MG (+) thymomas and MG (-) thymomas. The expression of the Helios transcription factor is induced during negative selection and marks a group of T cells that have undergone negative selection and are likely to be deleted due to strong TCR binding with self-peptides/MHC ligands. We observed that the percentage of Helios-positive CD4SP T cells was greater in MG (-) than in MG (+) thymomas. Thus, the differentially regulated selection process of CD4CD8 thymocytes, which involves TCR and IL-7/IL-7Rα signaling, is associated with the presence of MG in type B thymomas.
Topics: Humans; Thymoma; Myasthenia Gravis; Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta; Male; Thymocytes; Female; Middle Aged; Receptors, Interleukin-7; Adult; Aged; Thymus Neoplasms; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes; Immunophenotyping
PubMed: 38723105
DOI: 10.1080/08916934.2024.2347379 -
International Journal of... 2024Cell metabolism functions without a stop in normal and pathological cells. Different metabolic changes occur in the disease. Cell metabolism influences biochemical and... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Cell metabolism functions without a stop in normal and pathological cells. Different metabolic changes occur in the disease. Cell metabolism influences biochemical and metabolic processes, signaling pathways, and gene regulation. Knowledge regarding disease metabolism is limited.
OBJECTIVE
The review examines the cell metabolism of glucose, nucleotides, and lipids during homeostatic and pathological conditions of neurotoxicity, neuroimmunological disease, Parkinson's disease, thymoma in myasthenia gravis, and colorectal cancer.
METHODS
Data collection includes electronic databases, the National Center for Biotechnology Information, and Google Scholar, with several inclusion criteria: cell metabolism, glucose metabolism, nucleotide metabolism, and lipid metabolism in health and disease patients suffering from neurotoxicity, neuroinflammation, Parkinson's disease, thymoma in myasthenia gravis. The initial number of collected and analyzed papers is 250. The final analysis included 150 studies out of 94 selected papers. After the selection process, 62.67% remains useful.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION
A literature search shows that signaling molecules are involved in metabolic changes in cells. Differences between cancer and neuroimmunological diseases are present in the result section. Our finding enables insight into novel therapeutic targets and the development of scientific approaches for cancer and neurological disease onset, outcome, progression, and treatment, highlighting the importance of metabolic dysregulation. Current understanding, emerging research technologies and potential therapeutic interventions in metabolic programming is disucussed and highlighted.
Topics: Humans; Lipid Metabolism; Neoplasms; Nervous System Diseases; Nucleotides; Glucose; Animals; Signal Transduction
PubMed: 38712748
DOI: 10.1177/03946320241250293