Optical Coherence Tomography: Clinical Applications in Medical Practice.
Optical Coherence Tomography: Clinical Applications in Medical Practice.
Oman Med J. 2013 Mar; 28(2): 86-91
Al-Mujaini A, Wali UK, Azeem S
Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is a success story of scientific and technological co-operation between a physicist and a clinician. The concept of cross-sectional imaging revolutionalized the applicability of OCT in the medical profession. OCT is a non-contact, topographic, biomicroscopic device that provides high resolution, cross-sectional digital images of live biological tissues in vivo and in real time. OCT is based on the property of tissues to reflect and backscatter light involving low-coherence interferometry. The spatial resolution of as little as 3 microns or even less has allowed us to study tissues almost at a cellular level. Overall, OCT is an invaluable adjunct in the diagnosis and follow up of many diseases of both anterior and posterior segments of the eye, primarily or secondary to systemic diseases. The digitalization and advanced software has made it possible to store and retrieve huge patient data for patient services, clinical applications and academic research. OCT has revolutionized the sensitivity and specificity of diagnosis, follow up and response to treatment in almost all fields of clinical practice involving primary ocular pathologies and secondary ocular manifestations in systemic diseases like diabetes mellitus, hypertension, vascular and neurological diseases, thus benefitting non-ophthalmologists as well. Systemically, OCT is proving to be a helpful tool in substantiating early diagnosis in diseases like multiple sclerosis and drug induced retinopathies by detecting early changes in morphology of the retinal nerve fiber layer. HubMed – drug
Androgen receptor decreases the cytotoxic effects of chemotherapeutic drugs in upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma cells.
Oncol Lett. 2013 Apr; 5(4): 1325-1330
Hsieh TF, Chen CC, Yu AL, Ma WL, Zhang C, Shyr CR, Chang C
Upper urinary tract urothelial carcinomas (UUTUCs) represent relatively uncommon yet devastating tumors that affect more males than females. However, the correlation between gender difference and disease progression remains unclear. Androgen and the androgen receptor (AR) were previously hypothesized to account for the gender difference in the incidence of urothelial carcinomas; however, the role of AR in the development and progression of UUTUCs is not well understood. In addition, although UUTUCs are responsive to chemotherapy, various responses are presented among patients. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to determine the role of AR in the response of UUTUC cells to chemotherapeutic drugs. In this study, AR overexpression in UUTUC cells (BFTC 909) was identified to reduce the cytotoxic effect of chemotherapeutic drugs, including doxorubicin, cisplatin and mitomycin C and protected cells from drug-induced death. The expression of ABCG2, an ATP-binding cassette half-transporter associated with multidrug resistance, was increased in AR-overexpressing BFTC cells. In addition, use of the AR degradation enhancer, ASC-J9(®), repressed the AR effect on increasing cell viability under drug treatment. In summary, results of the present study indicate that the status of AR expression levels in UUTUCs may be a significant factor in affecting the efficacy of chemotherapy and classic chemotherapeutic drugs and AR targeted therapy may provide a novel potential therapeutic approach to improve treatment of UUTUCs. HubMed – drug
Repression of Dicer is associated with invasive phenotype and chemoresistance in ovarian cancer.
Oncol Lett. 2013 Apr; 5(4): 1149-1154
Kuang Y, Cai J, Li D, Han Q, Cao J, Wang Z
Dicer is a key enzyme that processes microRNA (miRNA) precursors into their mature form, enabling them to regulate gene expression. However, the effects of Dicer on the biological behavior of cancer cells remain largely unclear. In this study, it was demonstrated that Dicer down-regulation promoted cell proliferation, migration and cell cycle progression in A2780 and SKOV3 ovarian cancer cells. Furthermore, Dicer expression was significantly decreased in cisplatin-resistant A2780 cells (A2780/DDP) compared with parental A2780 cells. Knockdown of Dicer by RNA interference decreased the sensitivity of A2780 cells to cisplatin. Moreover, EZH2 depletion by short hairpin RNA (shRNA) increased the expression of Dicer in vitro. Our data suggest that Dicer is involved in numerous biological/pathological processes, including drug resistance in ovarian cancer, and that its expression may be regulated by EZH2. HubMed – drug