Medicina, Volume 48, Issue 1 (January 2012) – 8 articles

Background and Objective. There is a need for objective semiquantitative indexes for the evaluation of results of single-photon emission tomography (SPECT) in patients with brain glioma. The aim of this study was to validate the total size index (TSI) and total intensity index (TII) based on technetium-99m-methoxyisobutylisonitrile (^99mTc-MIBI) SPECT scans to discriminate the patients with high-grade glioma versus low-grade glioma and to evaluate the changes of viable glioma tissue by the means of TSI and TII after surgery and after radiation treatment.
Material and Methods. Thirty-two patients (mean age, 55 years [SD, 18]; 20 men) underwent a ^99mTc-MIBI-SPECT scan before surgery. Of these patients, 27 underwent a postoperative ^99mTc- MIBI-SPECT scan and 7 patients with grade IV glioma underwent a third ^99mTc-MIBI-SPECT scan after radiation treatment. TII that corresponds to the area and intensity of tracer uptake and TSI that corresponds to the area of tracer uptake were calculated before surgery, after surgery, and after radiation treatment.
Results. The TII and TSI were found to be valid in discriminating the patients with high-grade versus low-grade glioma with optimal cutoff values of 3.0 and 2.5, respectively. Glioma grade correlated with the preoperative TSI score (r=0.76, P<0.001) and preoperative TII score (r=0.64, P<0.001). There was a significant decrease in the TII and TSI after surgery in patients with grade IV glioma. After radiation treatment, there was a significant increase in the TII in patients with grade IV glioma.
Conclusions. TSI and TII were found to be reliable in discriminating the patients with high-grade versus low-grade glioma and allowed for the semiquantitative evaluation of change in viable glioma tissue after surgery and after radiation treatment in patients with grade IV glioma. Full article

This report presents a case of a neck epithelioid sarcoma in a 20-year-old man with poor prognosis. The patient underwent surgery followed by external beam radiotherapy and brachytherapy performed as a boost. The treatment was well-tolerated, and there was no local recurrence or distant metastasis. Full article

The aim of this study was to analyze all deaths from A (H1N1) in Estonia during the 2009–2010 epidemic to find out the reasons of high mortality and optimize management strategies for future influenza epidemics.
Material and Methods. A retrospective review of medical records, autopsy reports, and reassessment of autopsy slides of all fatal cases of proven A (H1N1) influenza in Estonia from October 2009 to May 2010 was carried out.
Results. There were a total of 21 proven fatal cases (median age, 57 years); the population mortality rate of 1.56 per 100 000 inhabitants was one of the highest in the world. Altogether, 18 of the 21 patients had known risk factors for influenza, and 3 patients were previously healthy children. Three decedents had received antiviral treatment, and none had been immunized. There were 19 decedents autopsied, with viral pneumonia (58%) being the most frequent pathological finding; 40% had evidence of bacterial superinfection. In 4 cases, influenza was not clinically suspected and was diagnosed postmortem. Influenza was the primary cause of death in 15 decedents, while in 9 cases, comorbidities played a significant role in fatal outcome. In the remaining 4 cases, another illness was considered the primary cause of death with influenza as an accompanying factor.
Conclusions. High autopsy rate and liberal postmortem PCR testing enables the detection of additional A (H1N1) influenza cases, yet it might lead to overestimation of the population mortality rates, especially in a small population with low number of events. Increased vaccine coverage, vigilant diagnosing including wide PCR testing, and early more liberal use of antiviral medications during the influenza A (H1N1) epidemic may hold the potential of lowering population mortality. Full article

The aim of our study was to evaluate left ventricular (LV) longitudinal, radial, and rotational function and its relationship with conventional LV parameters of systolic and diastolic function in patients with aortic regurgitation (AR) by speckle-tracking echocardiography.
Material and Methods. A total of 26 asymptomatic patients with moderate AR, 34 patients with severe AR, and 28 healthy controls were included into the study. LV rotation and longitudinal and radial strain were measured offline using speckle-tracking imaging.
Results. The systolic longitudinal strain (–18.3% [SD, 2.18%] vs. –21.0% [SD, 2.52%], P<0.05) and strain rate (–1.08 s^–1 [SD, 0.13 s^–1] vs. –1.27 s^–1 [SD, 0.15 s^–1], P<0.05) were significantly lower and apical rotation (11.3° [SD, 4.99°] vs. 8.30° [SD, 4.34°], P<0.05) as well as rotation rate (82.72°/s [SD, 28.24 °/s] vs. 71.00°/s [SD, 28.04 °/s], P<0.05) were significantly higher in the patients with moderate AR compared with the control patients. The LV systolic basal rotation, systolic radial strain, and diastolic radial strain rate were significantly reduced in the patients with severe AR compared with the control patients. The global longitudinal, radial strain, and LV systolic diameter were the independent predictors of LV ejection fraction in the patients with AR (R2=0.77). The LV systolic basal rotation in the control patients, diastolic longitudinal strain rate and systolic longitudinal strain in the patients with moderate and severe AR, respectively, were independent predictors of LV diastolic filling.
Conclusions. LV long-axis dysfunction with an increased apical rotation was present in the patients with moderate AR, while LV radial function and systolic basal rotation were found to be reduced in more advanced disease. LV diastolic filling depended on diastolic and systolic LV strain and rotation components in the patients with AR. Full article

The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) types 16, 18, and 45 in women with cervical intraepithelial changes caused by high-risk HPV in relation to colposcopic and histological findings.
Material and Methods. A prospective study of 393 women with cervical cytologic changes confirmed by the Papanicolaou test was undertaken from April 3, 2006, to April 3, 2007. The Hybrid Capture 2 assay was performed. HPV-positive women underwent genotyping for types 16, 18, and 45. Colposcopy and biopsy were performed in 317 (80.7%) and 249 women (63.4%), respectively. The results were analyzed by age groups.
Results. Of all the women with cervical intraepithelial changes, 59% were positive for HR HPV, and 62% were positive for HPV types 16, 18, and 45. HPV types 16, 18, and 45 were detected in 54.8% of women with ASC-US/AGUS/ASC-H, 50.0% of women with LSIL, and 75.6% of women with HSIL. After confirmation of any histological and colposcopic changes, HPV types 16, 18, and 45 were detected in 68.0% and 69.0% of women, respectively. Moreover, 84.2% of the women with HSIL and high-grade colposcopic changes, and 78.5% of the women with HSIL and CIN 2/ CIN 2-3/CIN 3/carcinoma in situ were positive for HPV types 16, 18, and 45. The sensitivity of the Papanicolaou test together with the Hybrid Capture 2 test compared with the Papanicolaou test together with the HPV 16/18/45 test diagnosing CIN 2+ changes did not differ (96.7% vs. 97.1%), but the specificity was higher (40.3% vs. 8.0%).
Conclusions. The majority of the cytologic, colposcopic, and histological changes were caused by HPV types 16, 18, and 45. Despite the high prevalence of HPV types 16, 18, and 45, testing for these genotypes together with the Papanicolaou test did not improve the diagnosis of high-grade cervical intraepithelial lesions. Full article

Dementia with Lewy bodies was first recognized as a separate entity about 30 years ago. The prevalence varies from 0% to 5% in the general population, and this disease accounts for 0% to 30.5% of all dementia cases. Dementia with Lewy bodies is considered the second most common cause of degenerative dementia after Alzheimer’s disease. The disease is characterized by alpha-synuclein immunoreactive protein deposits in both neurons and glial cells. The protein deposits are especially prominent in dopaminergic neurons, where they can be detected using conventional histological stains, such as hematoxylin and eosin, and are commonly referred to as Lewy bodies. The diagnosis of dementia with Lewy bodies is based on the presence of dementia as well as 2 of the following 3 core diagnostic features: 1) fluctuating cognition, 2) visual hallucinations, and 3) movement disorder. Diagnostic tests include laboratory data, structural and functional imaging, and electroencephalography. Differential diagnosis of dementia with Lewy bodies focuses on other later life dementia syndromes, other parkinsonian diseases (Parkinson’s disease, progressive supranuclear palsy, corticobasal degeneration), and primary psychiatric illnesses. There is type 1b evidence to support treatment with cholinesterase inhibitors. Glutamatergic and dopaminergic therapies are used as well. Standard neuroleptics are contraindicated, and atypical agents should be used cautiously. Nonpharmacologic measures – therapeutic environment, psychological and social support, physical activity, behavioral management strategies, caregivers’ education and support, and different services – could be suggested. Full article

Background and Objective. A novel noninvasive monitor is presented by demonstrating its capabilities to perform the real-time estimation of dynamics in cerebrovascular autoregulation in athletes during their training. The aim was to explore the characteristics of human cerebrovascular autoregulation by performing the monitoring of cerebrovascular autoregulation responses to resistance exercises in healthy volunteer athletes.
Material and Methods. Cerebrovascular autoregulation status was monitored in 20 amateur and 20 elite male athletes (weightlifters and bodybuilders) in the supine position at rest during and after the resistance exercises by using a novel noninvasive monitor “Vittamed.” Blood pressure and heart rate were also measured noninvasively. During the exercises, the athletes lifted 50 kg and 80% of 1RM (repetition maximum) weights in a dynamic and static manner in separate tests.
Results. The cerebrovascular autoregulation reactivity index showed a temporal improvement in the cerebrovascular autoregulation status for almost all sportsmen after the exercises. No disturbances of cerebrovascular autoregulation response occurred in the weightlifters and amateur athletes after the static and dynamic exercises. However, an unstable status of cerebrovascular autoregulation was observed for the elite bodybuilders during the interval of 400 to 600 s after the exercises.
Conclusions. The data of this study demonstrated significant differences in cerebrovascular autoregulation response to the resistance exercises between the elite bodybuilders and other subjects (amateurs and weightlifters) – a temporarily unstable status of cerebrovascular autoregulation was observed in the group of elite bodybuilders. This study also demonstrated the applicability of the noninvasive device for exploring the physiology of cerebrovascular autoregulation mechanism in elite athletes and healthy volunteers. Full article

The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of HLA-DRB1 alleles on the genetic susceptibility to multiple sclerosis in the Lithuanian population.
Material and Methods. A total of 120 patients with multiple sclerosis and 120 unrelated healthy controls were enrolled in this case-control study. Allelic frequencies were compared between the groups. HLA-DRB1 alleles were genotyped using the polymerase chain reaction.
Results. HLA-DRB1*15 was present in 55.8% of the patients with multiple sclerosis and 10.0% of the controls (OR, 5.58; 95% CI, 3.19–9.77; P<0.0001). The protective alleles that were found to be more prevalent among the controls compared with the patients with multiple sclerosis were HLADRB1* 01 (26.7% vs. 7.5%, P<0.0001), *03 (17.5% vs. 8.3%, P=0.034), and *16 (11.7% vs. 3.3%, P=0.014). HLA-DRB1*15 was more common among the female patients with multiple sclerosis than among the male patients (68.4% vs. 34.1%; OR, 4.18; 95%, CI 1.90–9.22; P=0.001). The heterozygous inheritance of HLA-DRB1*15 allele was more common in the patients with a history of maternal multiple sclerosis than in those with a history of paternal multiple sclerosis (29.4% vs. 9.8%; P=0.045).
Conclusions. HLA-DRB1*15 was found to be associated with multiple sclerosis in the Lithuanian population. This allele was more prevalent among the female patients with multiple sclerosis. Maternal multiple sclerosis was more common than paternal multiple sclerosis, but the relationship with HLA-DRB1*15 allele was not established. HLA-DRB1*01, *03, and *16 appeared to be the protective alleles in this series. Full article