Three-dimensional computed tomography-guided excision of an intrathoracic giant thymoma with elongated thymic vessels

We report the case of an intrathoracic giant thymoma with elongated thymic vessels, which was successfully resected under three-dimensional computed tomography guidance. A large, left-sided intrathoracic mass was incidentally found in a 41-year-old woman during a routine work-up for uterine cancer. Six vessels were noted arising from the tumor, five of which were connected to the anterosuperior mediastinum. The vasculature suggested that the tumor originated from the thymus and grew into the left pleural cavity, which pulled and elongated the associated vessels. Preoperative computed tomography imaging demonstrated that these vessels were located behind the tumor, which increased the risk for catastrophic intraoperative bleeding. We created a detailed surgical plan using our preoperative computed tomography data and successfully excised the tumor using intraoperative three-dimensional computed tomography guidance. Histopathological examination revealed a type AB thymoma without capsular invasion. This case highlighted the role of preoperative planning and intraoperative imaging in resecting an intrathoracic giant thymoma safely. In the video, we demonstrate how we performed the procedure under three-dimensional navigation.

Specificity and wealth of autobiographical memories in restrictive and mixed anorexic patients

The reduced specificity of positive and negative autobiographical memories observed in anorexic (AN) patients may reflect a global disturbance in their emotional information processing. However, their emotional difficulties may differ according to the subtype of AN, implying possible differences in the manifestation of autobiographical memory impairments. The aims of the study were (1) to confirm the autobiographical memory deficits in AN patients in terms of specificity and wealth of memories, and (2) to compare autobiographical deficits according to the AN subtype: restrictive type (AR) or binge/purging type (AB). Ninety-five non-clinical (NC) individuals and 95 AN patients including 69 AR and 22 AB patients were administered the Williams’ and Scott’s Autobiographical Memory Test. The results confirmed a lack of specificity regardless of emotional valence in the overall AN patient group without any distinction of subtype, which was linked to the number of hospitalizations. When the AN subtype was considered, AR patients demonstrated reduced specificity for negative memories only, suggesting differences in emotional functioning or in the mechanisms underlying reduced specificity between AR and AB patients. Furthermore, the overall AN group demonstrated lower variability and complexity in their memory content than the NC group. However, this difference in the complexity of recalled memories was only found in response to negative cues. When AN subtypes were considered, AR patients showed fewer complex memories than NC individuals. Beyond a reduced specificity, AN patients also depict a poverty in the range of event recall and a difficulty in developing narrative content. The clinical implications of such autobiographical memory deficits need to be further investigated.

Husband/Wife Joint AB Blood Group is Associated With Clinical Outcomes of IVF/ICSI Treatment in Chinese Women

Background: A number of publications have been studied the relation between blood group and female infertility including ovarian reserve, recurrent miscarriage and live birth, there is a lack of literature investigating joint wife/husband ABO blood type in large cohort. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between couple combinations for ABO blood groups and ART outcomes in patients undergoing IVF/ICSI.Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 30,717 couples underwent IVF cycles between 2010 and 2019. Clinical outcomes of IVF treatment was the primary outcome. History of spontaneous miscarriage, embryo quality, and birth sex, weights, defects rate were also studied. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine the association. Odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for each outcome were estimated.Results: There was no difference in the baseline demographics between the blood type groups. There was a statistically significantly positive association between the combination of female blood type AB and male blood type AB with biochemical pregnancy, clinical pregnancy, and live birth rate (OR 1.36; 95% CI, 1.05-1.78; P 0.02 and OR 1.31; 95% CI, 1.03-1.68; P 0.031 and OR 1.28; 95% CI, 1.01-1.63; P 0.041 respectively). No statistically significant difference was observed between joint wife/husband ABO blood types and high-quality embryo rate, early abortion rate, birth sex, birth weights and birth defects rate.Conclusions: Our findings suggest that husband/wife mating AB blood type may increase the success rate of IVF/ICSI cycles.

Un résumé de la surveillance, de la morbidité et de la microbiologie des cas confirmés en laboratoire de botulisme infantile au Canada, de 1979 à 2019

Contexte : Le botulisme infantile est une maladie toxicoinfectieuse rare causée par la colonisation de l’intestin du nourrisson avec la bactérie clostridia productrice de neurotoxines botuliques (i.e. Clostridium botulinum ou les souches neurotoxiques de C. butyricum ou de C. baratii). Notre objectif était d’examiner les données provenant de cas confirmés en laboratoire de botulisme infantile signalés au Canada afin de résumer l’incidence au fil du temps, en fonction de la répartition géographique par province ou territoire et par sexe, et de comparer ces paramètres avec les données du Système canadien de surveillance des maladies à déclaration obligatoire (SCSMDO). L’âge moyen de l’apparition des symptômes, le sérotype de la neurotoxine botulique (NTBo), les résultats du cas, la durée de l’hospitalisation et la pertinence des échantillons cliniques pour la confirmation en laboratoire ont également été déterminés. Méthodes : Nous avons examiné les dossiers de laboratoire du Service de référence sur le botulisme de Santé Canada et du laboratoire de santé publique du Centre de contrôle des maladies de la Colombie-Britannique. La Base de données sur les congés des patients (BDCP) et la Base de données sur la morbidité hospitalière (BDMH) de l’Institut canadien d’information sur la santé (ICIS) ont été interrogées pour obtenir des données sur les hospitalisations pour des cas de botulisme infantile. Le SCSMDO a été consulté pour obtenir des données sur les cas signalés de botulisme infantile. Résultats : De 1979 à 2019, 63 cas confirmés en laboratoire de botulisme infantile ont été confirmés par le Service de référence sur le botulisme de Santé Canada et le laboratoire de santé publique du Centre de contrôle des maladies de la Colombie-Britannique pour un taux annuel de 4,30 cas par million de naissances vivantes. De 1983 à 2018, 57 cas de botulisme infantile ont été signalés au SCSMDO. Sur les 63 cas confirmés par les laboratoires de référence, l’âge médian de l’apparition des symptômes était de 16 semaines avec un intervalle de deux à 52 semaines. La majorité des cas étaient de type A (76 %) et B (21 %), avec des cas uniques de type F et de type AB. Sur les 23 cas confirmés en laboratoire avec des dossiers hospitaliers jumelés, 13 ont été transférés à des soins spéciaux et huit ont eu besoin du soutien d’un respirateur; aucun décès n’a été signalé. Conclusion : Les spores de C. botulinum sont présentes naturellement dans l’environnement, de sorte que le diagnostic de botulisme infantile ne nécessite pas d’antécédents d’exposition à des aliments à risque élevé comme le miel. Les échantillons de selle sont les échantillons de diagnostic les plus utiles.

ABO genotypes and the risk of esophageal and gastric cancers

Background Blood type has been associated with the risk of gastric cancer, but few studies have examined the association with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Methods We conducted a case-control study using genotyping data of Chinese individuals, including cases of 2022 ESCC, 1189 gastric cardia adenocarcinoma, 1161 gastric noncardia adenocarcinoma, and 2696 controls. Genetic blood type was imputed using three single nucleotide polymorphisms. We used logistic regression to examine the association between blood type and the risk of each cancer. Results Compared to blood type O, the risk of ESCC was significantly elevated for blood type B and AB, with the highest risk for type AB (OR, 95%CI: 1.34, 1.07–1.67). Analysis of genotype suggested that the association of ESCC was from carrying the B allele. Similarly, blood type was significantly associated with gastric noncardia adenocarcinoma (P < 0.001) with risk significantly elevated in type A (1.37, 1.14–1.65) and AB (1.44, 1.10–1.89) compared to type O. Blood type was not associated with gastric cardia adenocarcinoma (P = 0.13). Conclusions This study provides novel insights into the association between blood type and the risk of ESCC and restricted previously observed association to only gastric noncardia cancer, providing important evidence to clarify the pattern of association and suggesting mechanisms of action.