Three-dimensional magnetic resonance reconstruction images before and after surgical therapy of spontaneous canine brain tumors

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Genetic and modifying factors that determine the risk of brain tumors

Some modifying factors may determine the risk of brain tumors. Until now, it could not be attempted to identify people at risk and also to improve significantly disease progression. Current therapy consists of surgical resection, followed by radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Despite of these treatments, the prognosis for patients is poor. In this review, we highlight general aspects concerning genetic alterations in brain tumors, namely astrocytomas, glioblastomas, oligodendrogliomas, medulloblastomas and ependymomas. The influence of these genetic alterations in patients' prognosis is discussed. Mutagen sensivity is associated with cancer risk. The convincing studies that linked DNA damages and DNA repair alterations with brain tumors are also described. Another important modifying factor is immunity. General immune response against cancer, tumor microenvironment and immune response, mechanisms of tumor escape, CNS tumor immunology, immune defects that impair anti-tumor systemic immunity in brain tumor patients and local immunosuppressive factors within CNS are also reviewed. New hope to treatment perspectives, as dendritic-cell-based vaccines is summarized too. Concluding, it seems well established that there is association between brain tumor risk and mutagen sensivity, which is highly heritable. Primary brain tumors cause depression in systemic host immunity; local immunosuppressive factors and immunological characteristics of tumor cells may explain the poor prognosis and DNA damages responses can alert immune system. However, it is necessary to clarify if individuals with both constitutional defects in immune functions and genetic instability have higher risk of developing brain tumors. Cytogenetic prospective studies and gene copy number variations analysis also must be performed in peripheral lymphocytes from brain tumor patients. © 2011 Bentham Science Publishers Ltd.

The Ultrastructural Study of Tumorigenic Cells Using Nanobiomarkers

Despite recent advances, patients with malignant brain tumors still have a poor prognosis. Glioblastoma (WHO grade 4 astrocytoma), the most malignant brain tumor, represents 50% of all astrocytomas, with a median survival rate of <1 year. It is, therefore, extremely important to search for new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for patients with glioblastoma. This study describes the application of superparamagnetic nano-particles of iron oxide, as well as monoclonal antibodies, of immunophenotypic significance, conjoined to quantum dots for the ultrastructural assessment of glioblastoma cells. For this proposal, an immunophenotypic study by flow cytometry was carried out, followed by transmission electron microscopy analysis. The process of tumor cell labeling using nanoparticles can successfully contribute to the identification of tumorigenic cells and consequently for better understanding of glioblastoma genesis and recurrence. In addition, this method may help further studies in tumor imaging, diagnosis, and prognostic markers detection.

Glioma cordoide do terceiro ventrículo: descrição de um novo caso

O glioma cordoide é um tumor cerebral raro, recentemente descrito, localizado na região do terceiro ventrículo e com características histológicas, imuno-histoquímicas e ultraestruturais peculiares. Este estudo ilustra um caso de glioma cordoide do terceiro ventrículo em uma paciente de 59 anos de idade.

Pilomyxoid astrocytoma of the brainstem

A pilomyxoid astrocytoma is a recently described tumor that occurs predominantly in the hypothalamic-chiasmatic region and is rarely found elsewhere. It has similar features as pilocytic astrocytomas, but has distinct histological characteristics and a poorer prognosis. A pilomyxoid astrocytoma is an aggressive tumor, and increased awareness is necessary with a suspect case. We present the first case of a pilomyxoid astrocytoma of the brainstem described after the newest World Health Organization classification of central nervous system tumors. © F.O. Pereira et al., 2013. Licensee PAGEPress, Italy.

Colocações especializadas na área médica extraídas a partir do corpus house MD

À luz da Linguística de Corpus e da Fraseologia, discutiremos aspectos teóricometodológicos que nos possibilitaram o levantamento de colocações e de colocações especializadas na área médica, a partir do corpus formado pelas transcrições dos episódios da série House M.D. Apresentamos também as colocações especializadas formadas com base nos nódulos ‘blood’, ‘brain’, ‘tumor’ e ‘heart’, a fim de exemplificar como as colocações serão organizadas em um glossário bilíngue de colocações especializadas na área médica, que se encontra em fase de compilação.

Investigação do papel de HJURP (Holliday Junction Recognizing Protein) na resistência de células de glioblastoma multiforme à radiação ionizante

Pós-graduação em Biociências e Biotecnologia Aplicadas à Farmácia - FCFAR

Calvarial ectopic meningothelial meningioma

Meningiomas are the most common benign neoplasm of the brain whereas ectopic presentation, although reported, is rare. Among these ectopic tumors, there are a group of purely intraosseous meningiomas, which usually are diagnosed differentially from common primary osseous tumor such as fibrous dysplasia and osteoid osteoma. We report a 62-year-old female with a history of headaches and 6 months of progressive right parietal bulging, with no neurological signs. Parietal craniotomy was performed with immediate titanium cranioplasty of the parietal convexity. Histopathology exams revealed an ectopic intradiploic meningioma without invasion of cortical layers, with positive staining for progesterone receptors and epithelial membrane antigen. Ectopic intraosseous meningiomas remain a rare neoplasm with only a few cases reported. The main theories to justify the unusual topography appear to be embryological remains of neuroectodermal tissue or cellular dedifferentiation. Surgical treatment seems the best curative option.

O cuidador de paciente com neoplasia cerebral maligna primária: os desafios do cuidado

Patients with primary malignant brain tumor endure several motor and cognitive dysfunctions, demanding the presence of a caregiver even more because the time necessary for their assistance increases considerably. Usually this task is performed by a family relative, whose activities include taking care of the patient’s personal hygiene, escorting them to medical appointments, managing their money and performing their housework. All of this overwhelms the caregiver both physical and psychologically. This bibliographic research intends to analyze the role in which a caregiver plays in the quality of life of those kinds of patients, the complications of such task, the caregivers’ needs and the daily life of those terminal patients. It was used CAPES, PubMed and Google Academic databases for researching articles related to family caregivers who assisted adult patients with primary malignant brain tumor. The study concluded that being a caregiver of patients in such conditions harms one’s quality of life, with consequences such as stress, insomnia, financial problems and lack of social support. Theirs needs include: having someone to talk to about the matter, attending programs for reducing stress and increasing their knowledge about the disease. In advanced phases of the condition, the patient shows great mobility problems, aphasia and regular seizures, which end up overwhelming the caregiver. The level of quality of life found was above other types of cancer’s caregivers. Therefore, they represent a group with special needs, which should be especially handled by health professionals.

Características tomográficas de neoplasias encefálicas primárias em cães

Computed tomography (CT) can be considered an important test to identify the presence of primary brain neoplasias in dogs. CT results can help define the type of brain tumor when associated with clinical findings. It allows the identification of lesions and their features, such as size, location, compression and invasion of adjacent tissue. One must analyze the density, mass effect, peritumoral edema, calcification, and image enhancement after intravenous injection of contrast medium. Gliomas, meningiomas and tumors of the choroid plexus and pituitary are the most common primary brain neoplasms diagnosed by CT in dogs. The aim of this paper is to review the literature related to primary brain tumors and report their most important tomographic features, in order to help clinicians achieve a presumptive diagnosis of tumor type.

Clonal chromosome abnormalities found in three non-neoplastic proliferative brain lesions

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)