Mothers in Need of Lactation Support May Benefit from Early Postnatal Galactagogue Administration: Experience from a Single Center

Background: Galactagogues are substances that promote lactation, although data on their effects on humans remain limited. We investigated the efficacy of Silitidil to increase milk supply and duration of breastfeeding of a specific subgroup of mothers in need of lactation support. Methods: 161 mothers from November 2018 until January 2021 were the study subjects in this retrospective study; during their hospitalization, due to neonatal or maternal factors that inhibited lactation, they were prescribed galactagogues. Mothers were surveyed by telephone interview via a 13-item questionnaire. Results: 73.91%, were primigravidas, 78.26% gave birth by cesarean section (CS) and 72.05% continued to take galactagogues after hospital discharge. Of the neonates, 24.22% were preterm ≤37 weeks of gestation, and 55.9% had birth weight (BW) between 2500 and 3500 g. With respect to breastfeeding rates, 100% were breastfed during their first week, 98.8% breastfed during the first month, 87% during the first 4 months, dropping to 56.5% at 6 months, 41% at 1 year and 19.3% over 1 year of age. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that administration of a galactagogue containing Silitidil (Piulatte-Humana) improves breastfeeding rates at from 1 until 12 months of life in mothers with low milk supply during their hospital stay. Further studies are needed to generate evidence-based strategies to improve breastfeeding outcomes.

Mental Health Problems in Girls Who Committed Sexual Offenses: Similarities and Differences Compared to Girls With Non-sex Offenses and Boys With Sex Offenses

Female juvenile offenders have only recently shifted into the focus of research. Moreover, a specific subgroup, female juveniles who sexually offended (JSO) are greatly overlooked. Therefore, there is a dearth of knowledge regarding the characteristics of female JSOs. The aim of the current study was to explore mental health problems (MHP) of female JSOs in more detail. Moreover, we compared their mental health with female juveniles who committed non-sexual offenses (JNSOs) and male JSOs. The sample comprised 33 female JSOs (Mean age 14.5, SD 1.8), 33 age-matched female JNSOs, and 33 age-matched male JSOs. We used the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument-version 2 to examine MHP. Although both internalizing and externalizing MHP were not uncommon in female JSOs, they reported fewer problems than female JNSOs. No differences were found between female and male JSOs. With regard to their mental health profile, female JSOs resemble male JSOs more than female JNSOs. These results should be taken into account in the assessment and treatment of this group. However, more research is needed.

Brief Report: Alexithymia Trait Severity, not Autistic Trait Severity, Relates to Caregiver Reactions to Autistic Children's Negative Emotions

Alexithymia impacts an individual’s ability to recognize and understand emotions and frequently co-occurs with autism. This study investigated the relationship between children’s alexithymia, autistic traits, and caregiver reactions to their child’s negative emotions. Caregivers of 54 autistic and 51 non-autistic children between the ages of 7 and 12 years rated their child’s alexithymia and autistic trait severity and their reactions to their child’s negative emotions. Caregivers of autistic children reported greater supportive reactions and fewer restrictive/controlling reactions to their child’s negative emotions when their child had more alexithymia traits. This study extends previous research by demonstrating that caregivers of autistic children with co-occurring alexithymia traits represent a specific subgroup of caregivers that respond more positively to their child’s negative emotions.

PATH-15. NON-CANONICAL IDH 1 AND IDH 2 MUTATIONS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH IMPROVED SURVIVAL IN PATIENTS WITH GLIOMAS: RESULTS OF A META-ANALYSIS

BACKGROUND Non-canonical isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) mutations are uncommon among patients with grade 2 and 3 gliomas and their clinical significance is still unclear. METHOD We carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the prognostic impact of IDH1 and IDH2 non-canonical mutations. We searched English-written articles published on PubMed/Medline, Cochrane library, and Scopus until the 1st May 2021. Keywords adopted for the research were: ‘’IDH’’ OR ‘’IDH1’’ OR ‘’IDH2’’ OR ‘’Isocitrate dehydrogenase’’ AND ‘’glioma’’. RESULTS We selected 13 of 3513 studies reporting data of 4007 patients with a diagnosis of grade 2 and grade 3 including 3091 patients with a molecular proven IDH 1 or IDH 2 mutations. Between patients with IDH mutated gliomas, 479 (15.5%) patients showed non-canonical IDH 1 or IDH 2 mutations. The presence of IDH 1 non-canonical mutation occurred in younger age and in non codeleted 1p19q as compared to canonical IDH 1 mutation. However, patients with IDH 2 mutations showed more frequently 1p19q codeletion as compared to those with canonical IDH 1 mutated glioma. Four studies reported complete data survival for patients with non-canonical (n= 160) and canonical mutations (n= 1019). The pooled HR of these studies was 0.47 (95% CI, 0.28-0.81) confirming a positive prognostic role for non-canonical IDH 1 and IDH 2 mutations. CONCLUSION The presence of non-canonical IDH 1 and IDH 2 mutations defines a specific subgroup of gliomas occurring at younger age with improved survival. Patients with a non-canonical IDH 1 mutation showed less frequently 1p19q codeletion as compared to those patients harboring a canonical or IDH 2 mutation.

Innovative strategies in metastatic gastric cancer: a short review

SummaryRecent innovative advances, especially concerning immunotherapeutic agents and targeted therapies, have changed the face of modern oncology. The year 2020 represents a milestone in the treatment of gastroesophageal cancer because several trials showed promising survival benefits, at least for a specific subgroup of patients. Not only immunotherapeutic agents, but also targeted therapies seem to be beneficial, particularly when the target is well defined and the threshold value is selected appropriately. Thus, many new innovative treatment strategies are underway and might lead to a further paradigm change in the therapy of patients with advanced gastric tumors. This review gives a concise overview of these new therapeutic options and recently approved strategies as well as ongoing studies.

Transcriptome Analysis Identified 2 New lncRNAs Associated with the Metastasis of Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) is a specific subgroup of papillary thyroid carcinoma and defined with the dimension ≤1 cm by the WHO. Although it shows a relatively high 10-year livability, the metastasis of PTMC into other tissues and organs seriously affects the daily life of patients with relatively high mortality. Therefore, the genetic basis for the metastasis of PTMC needs to be explored for effective therapeutic targets. Here, we conducted a series of comparative analysis of the transcriptional expression profile between PTMC patients with and without lymph node metastasis. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Gene expression profile and gene function were analyzed using RNA extracted from pathological tissues of 12 patients with PTMC, and the core biomarkers closely related to its metastasis were identified. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Our results showed that 7,507 genes and 42 RNAs showed remarkably different expression patterns. More sophisticated analysis showed that the high expression of 2 lncRNAs (T077499 and T004533) resulted in the metastasis of PTMC, which suggests that the expression pattern of the 2 lncRNAs may act as a potential biomarker for pathogenesis and prognosis of PTMC metastasis. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Our findings preliminarily reveal the molecular mechanisms for PTMC metastasis, which will provide vital reference for subsequent studies about the genetic basis and molecular targeted therapy for PTMC metastasis.

Phylogenetic relationships of sucrose transporters (SUTs) in plants and genome-wide characterization of SUT genes in Orchidaceae reveal roles in floral organ development

Sucrose is the primary form of photosynthetically produced carbohydrates transported long distance in many plant species and substantially affects plant growth, development and physiology. Sucrose transporters (SUTs or SUCs) are a group of membrane proteins that play vital roles in mediating sucrose allocation within cells and at the whole-plant level. In this study, we investigated the relationships among SUTs in 24 representative plant species and performed an analysis of SUT genes in three sequenced Orchidaceae species: Dendrobium officinale, Phalaenopsis equestris, and Apostasia shenzhenica. All the SUTs from the 24 plant species were classified into three groups and five subgroups, subgroups A, B1, B2.1, B2.2, and C, based on their evolutionary relationships. A total of 22 SUT genes were identified among Orchidaceae species, among which D. officinale had 8 genes (DoSUT01-08), P. equestris had eight genes (PeqSUT01-08) and A. shenzhenica had 6 genes (AsSUT01-06). For the 22 OrchidaceaeSUTs, subgroups A, B2.2 and C contained three genes, whereas the SUT genes were found to have significantly expanded in the monocot-specific subgroup B2.1, which contained 12 genes. To understand sucrose partitioning and the functions of sucrose transporters in Orchidaceae species, we analyzed the water-soluble sugar content and performed RNA sequencing of different tissues of D. officinale, including leaves, stems, flowers and roots. The results showed that although the total content of water-soluble polysaccharides was highest in the stems of D. officinale, the sucrose content was highest in the flowers. Moreover, gene expression analysis showed that most of the DoSUTs were expressed in the flowers, among which DoSUT01,DoSUT07 and DoSUT06 had significantly increased expression levels. These results indicated that stems are used as the main storage sinks for photosynthetically produced sugar in D. officinale and that DoSUTs mainly function in the cellular machinery and development of floral organs. Our findings provide valuable information on sucrose partitioning and the evolution and functions of SUT genes in Orchidaceae and other species.

Syphilis Testing as a Proxy Marker for a Subgroup of Men Who Have Sex With Men With a Central Role in HIV-1 Transmission in Guangzhou, China

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to distinguish the role of men who have sex with men (MSM) with or without syphilis testing in HIV-1 transmission and to provide molecular evidence of syphilis testing as a proxy marker for identifying the subgroup of MSM.Methods: HIV-1 transmission clusters were constructed by HIV-TRACE and Cluster Picker using HIV-1 pol sequences from 729 newly diagnosed HIV-infected MSM from 2008 to 2012 in Guangzhou, China. The role of MSM in HIV-1 transmission networks was determined by a node influence measurement and centrality analysis. The association between syphilis testing and factors related to HIV-1 transmission and antiretroviral treatment (ART) were analyzed by the Cox regression model.Results: Among HIV-infected MSM, 56.7% did not test for syphilis at the time of HIV-1 diagnosis. MSM without syphilis testing was a specific subgroup of MSM with a larger closeness centrality and clustering coefficient than the recipients of syphilis testing (P &lt; 0.001), indicating their central position in the HIV-1 transmission networks. The median degree and radiality within HIV-1 transmission networks as well as the median K-shell scores were also greater for MSM without syphilis testing (P &lt; 0.001), suggesting their relatively greater contribution in transmitting HIV-1 than the receipts of syphilis testing. MSM with syphilis testing usually did not disclose their occupation or were more likely to be unemployed or to take non-skilled jobs, to have a history of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and to be AIDS patients when diagnosed with HIV-1 infection (P &lt; 0.05). Multivariable Cox regression analysis indicated that syphilis testing per se did not promote the engagement of ART (P = 0.233) or affect the speed of CD4+ T cell count recovery after treatment (P = 0.256).Conclusions: Our study identifies syphilis testing as a proxy marker of a specific subgroup of HIV-infected MSM who refuse syphilis testing during HIV-1 diagnosis with an important role in HIV-1 transmission. Specific prevention and intervention targeting MSM without syphilis testing during HIV-1 care are urgently needed.

The role of radiotherapy for early-stage pancreatic malignancies: a population-based analysis of the SEER-Medicare database

Background To investigate the role of adjuvant radiotherapy in patients with pancreatic cancer. Methods and patients The patients with pancreatic cancer from 18 registered institutions in the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database were retrospectively analyzed. The characteristics of patients who would benefit from adjuvant radiotherapy were screened, as well as whether neoadjuvant or adjuvant radiotherapy conferred to a better clinical outcome. Propensity score matching was used to control for confounding features. Results Thirty thousand two hundred and forty-nine patients were included in this study (21,295 vs 8954 in surgery and adjuvant radiotherapy group); 1150 patients were matched in two groups. The median survivals in the surgery (S) group and adjuvant radiotherapy (S + R) group were 24 and 21 months, respectively. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival (OS) rates in the S group and S + R group were 68%, 40%, 31%, and 75%, 30%, 20%, respectively (p < 0.001), and the median OS was 22 and 25 months in S and S + R group after PSM, the former 1-, 2-, 3-, and 5-year OS were 73%, 45%, 30%, and 19%, and the later were 81%, 52%, 37%, and 24% (p = 0.0015), respectively; stratified analysis showed patients whose carcinoma located at pancreatic head with II stage infiltrating duct carcinoma (22 vs 25, p = 0.0276), T4 adenocarcinoma (28 vs 33, p = 0.0022), N1 stage adenocarcinoma (20 vs 23, p = 0.0203), and patients with infiltrating duct carcinoma received regional resection (23 vs 25, p = 0.028) and number of resected lymph node were ≥ 4 (22 vs 25, p = 0.009) had better OS after additional radiotherapy than surgery alone. Patients with pancreatic body/tail carcinoma III stage adenocarcinoma (13 vs, p = 0.0503) and T4 adenocarcinoma (14 vs, p = 0.0869) had survival advantage within 24 months for additional radiotherapy. However, patients with T2 stage adenocarcinoma located in pancreatic body/tail had better OS in surgery group than that in R + S group. Conclusions Additional radiotherapy may contribute to improved prognosis for patients with pancreatic head II stage infiltrating duct carcinoma, III stage adenocarcinoma, T4 stage carcinoma, N1 stage adenocarcinoma, regional resection, or number of lymphadenectomy ≥ 4 in infiltrating duct carcinoma. A specific subgroup of patients with specific stage and histological type pancreatic cancer should be considered for additional radiotherapy.