Ospedale Bellaria

BACKGROUND: Gefitinib is a selective inhibitor of the epidermal growth factor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase, which is overexpressed in many cancers, including non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We carried out a clinical study to compare the relationship between EGFR gene copy number, EGFR protein expression, EGFR mutations, and Akt activation status as predictive markers for gefitinib therapy in advanced NSCLC. METHODS: Tumors from 102 NSCLC patients treated daily with 250 mg of gefitinib were evaluated for EGFR status by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), DNA sequencing, and immunohistochemistry and for Akt activation status (phospho-Akt [P-Akt]) by immunohistochemistry. Time to progression, overall survival, and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated and evaluated by the Kaplan-Meier method; groups were compared using the log-rank test. Risk factors associated with survival were evaluated using Cox proportional hazards regression modeling and multivariable analysis. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS: Amplification or high polysomy of the EGFR gene (seen in 33 of 102 patients) and high protein expression (seen in 58 of 98 patients) were statistically significantly associated with better response (36% versus 3%, mean difference = 34%, 95% CI = 16.6 to 50.3; P<.001), disease control rate (67% versus 26%, mean difference = 40.6%, 95% CI = 21.5 to 59.7; P<.001), time to progression (9.0 versus 2.5 months, mean difference = 6.5 months, 95% CI = 2.8 to 10.3; P<.001), and survival (18.7 versus 7.0 months, mean difference = 11.7 months, 95% CI = 2.1 to 21.4; P = .03). EGFR mutations (seen in 15 of 89 patients) were also statistically significantly related to response and time to progression, but the association with survival was not statistically significant, and 40% of the patients with mutation had progressive disease. In multivariable analysis, only high EGFR gene copy number remained statistically significantly associated with better survival (hazard ratio = 0.44, 95% CI = 0.23 to 0.82). Independent of EGFR assessment method, EGFR+/P-Akt+ patients had a statistically significantly better outcome than EGFR-, P-Akt-, or EGFR+/P-Akt- patients. CONCLUSIONS: High EGFR gene copy number identified by FISH may be an effective molecular predictor for gefitinib efficacy in advanced NSCLC.

Idiopathic REM sleep behaviour disorder (iRBD) is a powerful early sign of Parkinson's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, and multiple system atrophy. This provides an unprecedented opportunity to directly observe prodromal neurodegenerative states, and potentially intervene with neuroprotective therapy. For future neuroprotective trials, it is essential to accurately estimate phenoconversion rate and identify potential predictors of phenoconversion. This study assessed the neurodegenerative disease risk and predictors of neurodegeneration in a large multicentre cohort of iRBD. We combined prospective follow-up data from 24 centres of the International RBD Study Group. At baseline, patients with polysomnographically-confirmed iRBD without parkinsonism or dementia underwent sleep, motor, cognitive, autonomic and special sensory testing. Patients were then prospectively followed, during which risk of dementia and parkinsonsim were assessed. The risk of dementia and parkinsonism was estimated with Kaplan-Meier analysis. Predictors of phenoconversion were assessed with Cox proportional hazards analysis, adjusting for age, sex, and centre. Sample size estimates for disease-modifying trials were calculated using a time-to-event analysis. Overall, 1280 patients were recruited. The average age was 66.3 ± 8.4 and 82.5% were male. Average follow-up was 4.6 years (range = 1-19 years). The overall conversion rate from iRBD to an overt neurodegenerative syndrome was 6.3% per year, with 73.5% converting after 12-year follow-up. The rate of phenoconversion was significantly increased with abnormal quantitative motor testing [hazard ratio (HR) = 3.16], objective motor examination (HR = 3.03), olfactory deficit (HR = 2.62), mild cognitive impairment (HR = 1.91-2.37), erectile dysfunction (HR = 2.13), motor symptoms (HR = 2.11), an abnormal DAT scan (HR = 1.98), colour vision abnormalities (HR = 1.69), constipation (HR = 1.67), REM atonia loss (HR = 1.54), and age (HR = 1.54). There was no significant predictive value of sex, daytime somnolence, insomnia, restless legs syndrome, sleep apnoea, urinary dysfunction, orthostatic symptoms, depression, anxiety, or hyperechogenicity on substantia nigra ultrasound. Among predictive markers, only cognitive variables were different at baseline between those converting to primary dementia versus parkinsonism. Sample size estimates for definitive neuroprotective trials ranged from 142 to 366 patients per arm. This large multicentre study documents the high phenoconversion rate from iRBD to an overt neurodegenerative syndrome. Our findings provide estimates of the relative predictive value of prodromal markers, which can be used to stratify patients for neuroprotective trials.

Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease with varied morphological appearances, molecular features, behavior, and response to therapy. Current routine clinical management of breast cancer relies on the availability of robust clinical and pathological prognostic and predictive factors to support clinical and patient decision making in which potentially suitable treatment options are increasingly available. One of the best-established prognostic factors in breast cancer is histological grade, which represents the morphological assessment of tumor biological characteristics and has been shown to be able to generate important information related to the clinical behavior of breast cancers. Genome-wide microarray-based expression profiling studies have unraveled several characteristics of breast cancer biology and have provided further evidence that the biological features captured by histological grade are important in determining tumor behavior. Also, expression profiling studies have generated clinically useful data that have significantly improved our understanding of the biology of breast cancer, and these studies are undergoing evaluation as improved prognostic and predictive tools in clinical practice. Clinical acceptance of these molecular assays will require them to be more than expensive surrogates of established traditional factors such as histological grade. It is essential that they provide additional prognostic or predictive information above and beyond that offered by current parameters. Here, we present an analysis of the validity of histological grade as a prognostic factor and a consensus view on the significance of histological grade and its role in breast cancer classification and staging systems in this era of emerging clinical use of molecular classifiers.

INTRODUCTION: Accurate estimates of prevalence/incidence are important in understanding the true burden of male and female sexual dysfunction and in identifying risk factors for prevention efforts. This is the summary of the report by the International Consultation Committee for Sexual Medicine on Definitions/Epidemiology/Risk Factors for Sexual Dysfunction. AIM: The main aim of this article is to provide a general overview of the definitions of sexual dysfunction for men and women, the incidence and prevalence rates, and a description of the risk factors identified in large population-based studies. METHODS: Literature regarding definitions, descriptive and analytical epidemiology of sexual dysfunction in men and women were selected using evidence-based criteria. For descriptive epidemiological studies, a Prins score of 10 or higher was utilized to identify population-based studies with adequately stringent criteria. This report represents the opinions of eight experts from five countries developed in a consensus process and encompassing a detailed literature review over a 2-year period. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The study aims to provide state-of-the-art prevalence and incidence rates reported for each dysfunction and stratified by age and gender. Expert opinion was based on the grading of evidence-based medical literature, widespread internal committee discussion, public presentation, and debate. RESULTS: A wealth of information is presented on erectile dysfunction, its development through time, and its correlates. The field is still in need of more epidemiological studies on the other men's sexual dysfunction and on all women's sexual dysfunctions. CONCLUSIONS: A review of the currently available evidence from epidemiological studies is provided.

BACKGROUND: Most studies of amyloidotic cardiomyopathy consider as a single entity the 3 main systemic cardiac amyloidoses: acquired monoclonal immunoglobulin light-chain (AL); hereditary, mutated transthyretin-related (ATTRm); and wild-type transthyretin-related (ATTRwt). In this study, we compared the diagnostic/clinical profiles of these 3 types of systemic cardiac amyloidosis. METHODS AND RESULTS: We conducted a longitudinal study of 233 patients with clear-cut diagnosis by type of cardiac amyloidosis (AL, n=157; ATTRm, n=61; ATTRwt, n=15) at 2 large Italian centers providing coordinated amyloidosis diagnosis/management facilities since 1990. Average age at diagnosis was higher in AL than in ATTRm patients; all ATTRwt patients except 1 were elderly men. At diagnosis, mean left ventricular wall thickness was higher in ATTRwt than in ATTRm and AL. Left ventricular ejection fraction was moderately depressed in ATTRwt but not in AL or ATTRm. ATTRm patients less often displayed low QRS voltage (25% versus 60% in AL; P<0.0001) or low voltage-to-mass ratio (1.1+/-0.5 versus 0.9+/-0.5; P<0.0001). AL patients appeared to have greater hemodynamic impairment. On multivariate analysis, ATTRm was a strongly favorable predictor of survival, and ATTRwt predicted freedom from major cardiac events. CONCLUSIONS: AL, ATTRm, and ATTRwt should be considered 3 different cardiac diseases, probably characterized by different pathophysiological substrates and courses. Awareness of the diversity underlying the cardiac amyloidosis label is important on several levels, ranging from disease classification to diagnosis and clinical management.

BACKGROUND: The extracranial venous outflow routes in clinically defined multiple sclerosis (CDMS) have not previously been investigated. METHODS: Sixty-five patients affected by CDMS, and 235 controls composed, respectively, of healthy subjects, healthy subjects older than CDMS patients, patients affected by other neurological diseases and older controls not affected by neurological diseases but scheduled for venography (HAV-C) blindly underwent a combined transcranial and extracranial colour-Doppler high-resolution examination (TCCS-ECD) aimed at detecting at least two of five parameters of anomalous venous outflow. According to the TCCS-ECD screening, patients and HAV-C further underwent selective venography of the azygous and jugular venous system with venous pressure measurement. RESULTS: CDMS and TCCS-ECD venous outflow anomalies were dramatically associated (OR 43, 95% CI 29 to 65, p<0.0001). Subsequently, venography demonstrated in CDMS, and not in controls, the presence of multiple severe extracranial stenosis, affecting the principal cerebrospinal venous segments; this provides a picture of chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) with four different patterns of distribution of stenosis and substitute circle. Moreover, relapsing-remitting and secondary progressive courses were associated with CCSVI patterns significantly different from those of primary progressive (p<0.0001). Finally, the pressure gradient measured across the venous stenosies was slightly but significantly higher. CONCLUSION: CDMS is strongly associated with CCSVI, a scenario that has not previously been described, characterised by abnormal venous haemodynamics determined by extracranial multiple venous strictures of unknown origin. The location of venous obstructions plays a key role in determining the clinical course of the disease.

BACKGROUND: The first European case series are detecting a very high frequency of chemosensitive disorders in COVID-19 patients, ranging between 19.4% and 88%. METHODS: Olfactory and gustatory function was objectively tested in 72 COVID-19 patients treated at University Hospital of Sassari. RESULTS: Overall, 73.6% of the patients reported having or having had chemosensitive disorders. Olfactory assessment showed variable degree hyposmia in 60 cases and anosmia in two patients. Gustatory assessment revealed hypogeusia in 33 cases and complete ageusia in one patient. Statistically significant differences in chemosensitive recovery were detected based on age and distance from the onset of clinical manifestations. CONCLUSION: Olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions represent common clinical findings in COVID-19 patients. Otolaryngologists and head-neck surgeons must by now keep this diagnostic option in mind when evaluating cases of ageusia and nonspecific anosmia that arose suddenly and are not associated with rhinitis symptoms.

BACKGROUND: There is continuous debate regarding the optimal classification, prognosis, and treatment of the follicular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma (FVPTC). The objective of this study was to assess the behavior of FVPTC, especially its encapsulated form, and shed more light on its true position in the classification scheme of well differentiated thyroid carcinoma. METHODS: All patients with FVPTC, follicular thyroid adenoma (FTA), and follicular thyroid carcinoma (FTC) who were diagnosed between 1980 and 1995 were reviewed and reclassified according to the currently accepted definition of FVPTC. The tumors were separated into encapsulated and nonencapsulated (infiltrative/diffuse) types. Encapsulated tumors were subdivided further into tumors with or without capsular/vascular invasion. These different subtypes of FVPTC were correlated with outcome and with other clinicopathologic parameters. RESULTS: After review by 4 pathologists, 78 patients were included in the study. Sixty-one of 78 patients (78%) had encapsulated tumors (18 invasive, 43 noninvasive), and 17 patients had nonencapsulated tumors (infiltrative/diffuse). The gender distribution, age at presentation, and tumor size did not differ between patients with encapsulated and nonencapsulated FVPTC. Patients who had encapsulated FVPTC had a significantly lower rate of marked intratumor fibrosis (18%), extrathyroid extension (5%), and positive margins (2%) compared with patients who had nonencapsulated tumors (88%, 65%, and 50% respectively; P < .0001). Regional lymph node metastases were present in 14 of 78 patients (18%), and no patients had distant metastases. The lymph node metastatic rate was significantly higher in patients who had nonencapsulated tumors (11 of 17 patients; 65%) compared with patients who had encapsulated neoplasms (3 of 61 patients; 5%; P < .0001). In addition, lymph node metastases were not detected in any noninvasive, encapsulated FVPTCs. With a median follow-up of 10.8 years, only 1 patient developed a recurrence, which occurred in an encapsulated FVPTC that had numerous invasive foci. None of the patients with noninvasive, encapsulated FVPTCs developed recurrences, including 31 patients who underwent lobectomy alone, with a median follow-up of 11.1 years. CONCLUSIONS: FVPTC appeared to be a heterogeneous disease composed of 2 distinct groups: an infiltrative/diffuse (nonencapsulated) subvariant, which resembles classic papillary carcinoma in its metastatic lymph node pattern and invasive growth, and an encapsulated form, which behaves more like FTA/FTC. Patients who had noninvasive, encapsulated FVPTCs did not develop lymph node metastases or recurrences and could be treated by lobectomy alone. If the current findings are confirmed, then strong consideration should be given to reclassifying encapsulated FVPTC as an entity that is close to the FTA/FTC class of tumors.

PURPOSE: The aim of the present study was to evaluate factors predicting the recurrence pattern after the administration of temozolomide (TMZ), initially concurrent with radiotherapy (RT) and subsequently as maintenance therapy, which has become standard treatment for patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma (GBM). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Ninety-five patients with newly diagnosed GBM were treated with RT plus TMZ (75 mg/m(2)/d) followed by maintenance TMZ cycles (150 to 200 mg/m(2) for 5 days every 28 days). Assessable MGMT methylation status and magnetic resonance imaging follow-up were mandatory in all cases. RESULTS: After a median follow-up of 18.9 months (range, 6.6 to 44.8 months), 79 patients (83%) had recurrence: inside the RT field in 57 patients (72.2%), outside in 17 patients (21.5%), and at RT margin in five patients (6.3%). MGMT status was correlated with the site of recurrence, which occurred inside, or at the margin of, the RT field in 51 patients (85%) with MGMT unmethylated status and in 11 patients (57.9%) with MGMT methylated status (P = .01). Recurrences outside the RT field occurred after a longer time interval than those inside the RT field (14.9 v 9.2 months, P = .02). CONCLUSION: After the administration of TMZ concomitant with and adjuvant to RT in patients with GBM, the pattern of, and time to, recurrence are strictly correlated with MGMT methylation status.

CONTEXT: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) are conditions at high risk for the development of hypopituitarism. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to clarify whether pituitary deficiencies and normal pituitary function recorded at 3 months would improve or worsen at 12 months after the brain injury. DESIGN AND PATIENTS: Pituitary function was tested at 3 and 12 months in patients who had TBI (n = 70) or SAH (n = 32). RESULTS: In TBI, the 3-month evaluation had shown hypopituitarism (H) in 32.8%. Panhypopituitarism (PH), multiple (MH), and isolated (IH) hypopituitarism had been demonstrated in 5.7, 5.7, and 21.4%, respectively. The retesting demonstrated some degree of H in 22.7%. PH, MH, and IH were present in 5.7, 4.2, and 12.8%, respectively. PH was always confirmed at 12 months, whereas MH and IH were confirmed in 25% only. In 5.5% of TBI with no deficit at 3 months, IH was recorded at retesting. In 13.3% of TBI with IH at 3 months, MH was demonstrated at 12-month retesting. In SAH, the 3-month evaluation had shown H in 46.8%. MH and IH had been demonstrated in 6.2 and 40.6%, respectively. The retesting demonstrated H in 37.5%. MH and IH were present in 6.2 and 31.3%, respectively. Although no MH was confirmed at 12 months, two patients with IH at 3 months showed MH at retesting; 30.7% of SAH with IH at 3 months displayed normal pituitary function at retesting. In SAH, normal pituitary function was always confirmed. In TBI and SAH, the most common deficit was always severe GH deficiency. CONCLUSION: There is high risk for H in TBI and SAH patients. Early diagnosis of PH is always confirmed in the long term. Pituitary function in brain-injured patients may improve over time but, although rarely, may also worsen. Thus, brain-injured patients must undergo neuroendocrine follow-up over time.

Gemcitabine, a pyrimidine nucleoside antimetabolite, is one of the most promising new cytotoxic agents. The drug has shown activity in a variety of solid tumors, and has been approved for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer, pancreatic, bladder, and breast cancer. Recent data showed that gemcitabine is also active against ovarian cancer. Gemcitabine has a good toxicity profile, with myelosuppression being the most common side effect, while non-hematological events are relatively uncommon. The low toxicity profile makes the drug a valid option for unfit and elderly patients. Due to the synergistic activity with other chemotherapeutic compounds, mainly cisplatinum, several trials have been conducted to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of gemcitabine in combination with other cytotoxic agents. Current clinical trials are evaluating the role of gemcitabine in combination with new targeted therapies.

Several studies suggest that type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is often associated with male hypogonadism. Despite the well-known link, the role of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) in T2DM has not been completely clarified. The aim of the present study was to analyse systematically the relationship between androgen levels and T2DM by reviewing and meta-analysing available prospective and cross-sectional studies. In addition, a specific meta-analysis on the metabolic effects of TRT in available randomized clinical trials (RCTs) was performed. An extensive Medline search was performed including the following words: 'testosterone', 'type 2 diabetes mellitus' and 'males'. Of 742 retrieved articles, 37 were included in the study. In particular 28, 5 and 3 were cross-sectional, longitudinal and interventional studies, respectively. A further unpublished RCT was retrieved from http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. T2DM patients showed significantly lower testosterone plasma levels in comparison with non-diabetic individuals. Similar results were obtained when T2DM subjects with and without erectile dysfunction were analysed separately. Meta-regression analysis demonstrated that ageing reduced, while obesity increased, these differences. However, in a multiple regression model, after adjusting for age and body mass index (BMI), T2DM was still associated with lower total testosterone (TT) levels (adjusted r = -0.568; p < 0.0001). Analysis of longitudinal studies demonstrated that baseline TT was significantly lower among patients with incident diabetes in comparison with controls (HR = -2.08[-3.57;-0.59]; p < 0.001). Combining the results of RCTs, TRT was associated with a significant reduction in fasting plasma glucose, HbA1c, fat mass and triglycerides. Conversely, no significant difference was observed for total and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, blood pressure and BMI. The meta-analysis of the available cross-sectional data suggests that T2DM can be considered independently associated with male hypogonadism. Although only few RCTs have been reported, TRT seems to improve glycometabolic control as well as fat mass in T2DM subjects.

BACKGROUND: Gefitinib, a specific epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor, has activity against approximately 10% of unselected non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase (PI3K)/Akt and Ras/Raf/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), the two main EGFR-signaling pathways, mediate EGFR effects on proliferation and survival. Because activation of these pathways is dependent on the phosphorylation status of the components, we evaluated the association between phosphorylation status of Akt (P-Akt) and MAPK (P-MAPK) and gefitinib activity in patients with advanced NSCLC. METHODS: Consecutive patients (n = 106) with NSCLC who had progressed or relapsed on standard therapy received gefitinib (250 mg/day) until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity, or patient refusal. P-Akt and P-MAPK positivity was determined with immunohistochemistry using tumor tissues obtained before any anticancer treatment. Association of P-Akt and time to progression was determined by univariable and multivariable analyses. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS: Of the 103 evaluable patients, 51 (49.5%) had tumors that were positive for P-Akt, and 23 (22.3%) had tumors that were positive for P-MAPK. P-Akt-positivity status was statistically significantly associated with being female (P<.001), with never-smoking history (P =.004), and with bronchioloalveolar carcinoma histology (P =.034). Compared with patients whose tumors were negative for P-Akt, patients whose tumors were positive for P-Akt had a better response rate (26.1% versus 3.9%; P =.003), disease control rate (60.9% versus 23.5%; P<.001), and time to progression (5.5 versus 2.8 months; P =.004). Response rate, disease control rate, and time to progression did not differ according to P-MAPK status. The multivariable analysis showed that P-Akt positivity was associated with a reduced risk of disease progression (hazard ratio = 0.58, 95% confidence interval = 0.35 to 0.94). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with P-Akt-positive tumors who received gefitinib had a better response rate, disease control rate, and time to progression than patients with P-Akt-negative tumors, suggesting that gefitinib may be most effective in patients with basal Akt activation.

AIMS: Hereditary transthyretin (TTR)-related amyloidosis (ATTR) is mainly considered a neurologic disease. We assessed the phenotypic and genotypic spectra of ATTR in a Caucasian area and evaluated the prevalence, genetic background, and disease profile of cases with an exclusively cardiac phenotype, highlighting possible hints for the differential diagnosis with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and senile systemic amyloidosis (SSA). METHODS AND RESULTS: In this Italian multicentre study, 186 patients with ATTR were characterized at presentation. Thirty patients with SSA and 30 age-gender-matched HCM patients were used for comparison. Phenotype was classified as exclusively cardiac (n = 31, 17%), exclusively neurologic (n = 46, 25%), and mixed cardiac/neurologic (n = 109, 58%). Among the eight different mutations responsible for an exclusively cardiac phenotype, Ile68Leu was the most frequent. Five patients with an exclusively cardiac phenotype developed mild abnormalities at neurological examination, but no symptoms during a 36-month follow-up (range: 14-50). Exclusively cardiac phenotype was characterized by male gender, age >65 years, heart failure symptoms, symmetric left ventricular (LV) 'hypertrophy', and moderately depressed LV ejection fraction. This profile was similar to SSA, but relatively distinct from HCM. Compared with patients with a mixed phenotype, patients with an exclusively cardiac phenotype showed a more pronounced cardiac involvement on both echocardiogram and electrocardiogram (ECG). CONCLUSION: A clinically relevant subset of Caucasian ATTR patients present with an exclusively cardiac phenotype, mimicking HCM or SSA. Echocardiographic and ECG findings are useful to differentiate ATTR from HCM but not from SSA. The role of liver transplantation in these patients should be reconsidered.

In a series of 145 patients with brain cavernous angiomas treated at our hospital in the last 16 years, the angiomas of 18 patients exhibited aggressive biological behavior characterized by recurrent overt bleeding, growth, or de novo appearance. The cavernomas were in the cerebellum in three patients, in the brain stem in one, in the thalamus in four, in the caudate nucleus in two, in the diencephalon in one, and in the white matter of the cerebral hemispheres in seven. Three of these patients suffered from the familial or multiple form of the disease, two were pregnant, three had previously been irradiated for other tumors, and one had been treated by radiosurgery in the past. Overall, new cavernous malformations not previously shown were discovered in six patients. In 10 patients (3 male and 7 female) presenting with recurrent hemorrhages, the mean period of time between bleedings was 11 months (range, 1 wk-3 yr). Eleven patients were treated by definitive surgery, and seven were conservatively treated. One patient with a diencephalic cavernoma died from progressive hypothalamic dysfunction; three patients in the nonsurgical group had repeated symptoms and were left with additional neurological deficits. The outcome of the surgical group was the same (seven patients) or improved (four patients). Risk factors favoring an aggressive behavior included pregnancy, familial or multiple form of the disease, previous whole brain or stereotactic radiotherapy, incomplete removal, brain location, and associated venous malformation. The female preponderance (female to male ratio, 13:5) may also suggest some role of hormonal factors in influencing the biological behavior of cavernous malformations.

Oncocytic tumors are a distinctive class of proliferative lesions composed of cells with a striking degree of mitochondrial hyperplasia that are particularly frequent in the thyroid gland. To understand whether specific mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations are associated with the accumulation of mitochondria, we sequenced the entire mtDNA in 50 oncocytic lesions (45 thyroid tumors of epithelial cell derivation and 5 mitochondrion-rich breast tumors) and 52 control cases (21 nononcocytic thyroid tumors, 15 breast carcinomas, and 16 gliomas) by using recently developed technology that allows specific and reliable amplification of the whole mtDNA with quick mutation scanning. Thirteen oncocytic lesions (26%) presented disruptive mutations (nonsense or frameshift), whereas only two samples (3.8%) presented such mutations in the nononcocytic control group. In one case with multiple thyroid nodules analyzed separately, a disruptive mutation was found in the only nodule with oncocytic features. In one of the five mitochondrion-rich breast tumors, a disruptive mutation was identified. All disruptive mutations were found in complex I subunit genes, and the association between these mutations and the oncocytic phenotype was statistically significant (P=0.001). To study the pathogenicity of these mitochondrial mutations, primary cultures from oncocytic tumors and corresponding normal tissues were established. Electron microscopy and biochemical and molecular analyses showed that primary cultures derived from tumors bearing disruptive mutations failed to maintain the mutations and the oncocytic phenotype. We conclude that disruptive mutations in complex I subunits are markers of thyroid oncocytic tumors.

The transsphenoidal route is the most widely used technique for pituitary adenoma surgery due to its rapidity, good tolerance, effectiveness and low complication rate. These are the parameters we utilized in comparing endoscopic with microscopic transsphenoidal surgery. We reviewed the medical records of 418 patients affected by pituitary adenomas who underwent endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery between May 1998 and December 2004, and in this paper, we present the results of 381 patients who fulfilled the follow-up criteria after a minimum period of 15 months. Our experience confirms the previous data on the rapidity and satisfactory tolerance of the endoscopic procedure. We also confirm the low complication rate, specifying that complications characteristic of the approaching phase were certainly reduced; instead, complications characteristic of tumor removal still remained similar to those reported in the microsurgical literature. The results were comparable with those of the best microsurgical series regarding endosellar lesions, but tumor removal was notably superior when dealing with tumors having an extrasellar extension. The improvement may be explained by the excellent vision of the deep surgical fields due to the endoscope and by the extreme flexibility of the surgical trajectory, mainly due to the absence of the divaricator, giving access to the ramifications of the tumor, otherwise difficult to reach.

OBJECTIVE: The long-term outcome of non-functioning pituitary adenoma (NFPA) patients is not clearly established, probably due to the low annual incidence and prolonged natural history of these rare tumors. The aim of this study was to evaluate clinical data at presentation and long-term post-surgery and radiotherapy outcome in a cohort of patients with NFPA. DESIGN AND METHODS: A computerized database was developed using Access 2000 software (Microsoft Corporation, 1999). Retrospective registration of 295 NFPA patients was performed in seven Endocrinological Centers of North West Italy. Data were analyzed by STATA software. RESULTS: The main presenting symptoms were visual defects (67.8%) and headache (41.4%) and the most frequent pituitary deficit was hypogonadism (43.3%), since almost all tumors were macroadenomas (96.5%). Surgery was the first choice treatment (98% of patients) and total debulking was achieved in 35.5%. Radiotherapy was performed as adjuvant therapy after surgery in 41% of patients. At the follow-up, recurrence occurred in 19.2% of patients without post-surgical residual tumor after 7.5 +/- 2.6 years, regrowth in 58.4% of patients with post-surgical remnant after 5.3 +/- 4.0 years and residue enlargement in 18.4% of patients post-surgically treated with radiotherapy after 8.1 +/- 7.3 years. CONCLUSIONS: Our database indicates that the goal of a definitive surgical cure has been achieved during the last decade in a low percentage of patients with NFPA. This tumor database may help to reduce the delay between symptom onset and diagnosis, to assess prognostic parameters for the follow-up of patients with different risk of recurrence and to define the efficacy and safety of different treatments and their association with mortality/morbidity.

BACKGROUND: Hyponatremia is the most common electrolyte disorder in clinical practice, and evidence to date indicates that severe hyponatremia is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The aim of our study was to perform a meta-analysis that included the published studies that compared mortality rates in subjects with or without hyponatremia of any degree. METHODS AND FINDINGS: An extensive Medline, Embase and Cochrane search was performed to retrieve the studies published up to October 1st 2012, using the following words: "hyponatremia" and "mortality". Eighty-one studies satisfied inclusion criteria encompassing a total of 850222 patients, of whom 17.4% were hyponatremic. The identification of relevant abstracts, the selection of studies and the subsequent data extraction were performed independently by two of the authors, and conflicts resolved by a third investigator. Across all 81 studies, hyponatremia was significantly associated with an increased risk of overall mortality (RR = 2.60[2.31-2.93]). Hyponatremia was also associated with an increased risk of mortality in patients with myocardial infarction (RR = 2.83[2.23-3.58]), heart failure (RR = 2.47[2.09-2.92]), cirrhosis (RR = 3.34[1.91-5.83]), pulmonary infections (RR = 2.49[1.44-4.30]), mixed diseases (RR = 2.59[1.97-3.40]), and in hospitalized patients (RR = 2.48[2.09-2.95]). A mean difference of serum [Na(+)] of 4.8 mmol/L was found in subjects who died compared to survivors (130.1 ± 5.6 vs 134.9 ± 5.1 mmol/L). A meta-regression analysis showed that the hyponatremia-related risk of overall mortality was inversely correlated with serum [Na(+)]. This association was confirmed in a multiple regression model after adjusting for age, gender, and diabetes mellitus as an associated morbidity. CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis shows for the first time that even a moderate serum [Na(+)] decrease is associated with an increased risk of mortality in commonly observed clinical conditions across large numbers of patients.

Point mutations of the CACNA1A gene coding for the alpha 1A voltage-dependent calcium channel subunit are responsible for familial hemiplegic migraine (FHM) and episodic ataxia type 2 (EA2). In addition, expansions of the CAG repeat motif at the 3' end of the gene, smaller than those responsible for dynamic mutation disorders, were found in patients with a progressive spinocerebellar ataxia, named SCA6. In the present work, the analysis of two new families with small CAG expansions of the CACNA1A gene is presented. In one family, with a clinical diagnosis of EA2, a CAG23 repeat allele segregated in patients showing different interictal symptoms, ranging from nystagmus only to severe progressive cerebellar ataxia. No additional mutations in coding and intron-exon junction sequences in disequilibrium with the CAG expansion were found. In the second family, initially classified as autosomal dominant cerebellar ataxia of unknown type, an inter-generational allele size change showed that a CAG20 allele was associated with an EA2 phenotype and a CAG25 allele with progressive cerebellar ataxia. These results show that EA2 and SCA6 are the same disorder with a high phenotypic variability, at least partly related to the number of repeats, and suggest that the small expansions may not be as stable as previously reported. A refinement of the coding and intron-exon junction sequences of the CACNA1A gene is also provided.