“
“. Therapeutic options in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related vasculitis may target the viral trigger using antiviral therapy

[pegylated interferon plus ribavirin (PEG-IFN/RBV)], and/or the downstream B-cell arm of autoimmunity with rituximab (RTX). To date, no study has compared the efficacy of RTX combined with PEG-IFN/RBV on biomarkers of liver insufficiency in patients with severe liver fibrosis. Twenty-eight untreated HCV-related vasculitis patients with severe liver fibrosis (Metavir F3F4) were included: 14 patients received RTX plus PEG-IFN/RBV and 14 patients PEG-IFN/RBV. The main clinical and biological data were recorded and compared at baseline, month 3 (M3), M12 and M24 of follow-up. Baseline epidemiological, clinical, virological HKI-272 concentration and immunological features were similar between the groups. The virological response did not differ between cases and controls. The alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level and HCV viral load did not increase in patients treated with RTX. Serum albumin levels increased in patients treated with RTX at M3 and M6 (108% and 111% of baseline

value; P = 0.06 and P = 0.13), whereas it was stable in patients treated without RTX. FibroTest values decreased from 0.70 at baseline to 0.59 at M3 (P = 0.5) and returned to 0.69 at M24 CDK inhibitor in the RTX-PEG-IFN/RBV group, whereas they were stable in the PEG-IFN/RBV group. RTX is safe in patients with severe HCV liver fibrosis and vasculitis. No beneficial effects of RTX were evidenced on liver fibrosis progression, but we found interesting correlations with the serum albumin level, FibroTest values and B-cell count.”
“Breast masses occur in men far less commonly than women. Papillary lesions of the male breast are rare and comprise a spectrum of lesions ranging from benign intraductal papilloma to intraductal papillary carcinoma and invasive papillary carcinoma. In this case report, a 78-year-old

man presented with a subareolar painless mass. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) was performed. Cytologic Microbiology inhibitor examination revealed a cellular aspirate. A diagnosis of papillary lesion favoring papillary carcinoma was rendered. The patient underwent modified radical mastectomy, which showed invasive papillary carcinoma. As far as we know, only a few cases of invasive papillary carcinoma of the male breast have been published in the literature. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of invasive papillary carcinoma of male breast in Malaysia. In this purview, we discuss papillary carcinoma of male breast with review of the relevant literature.”
“Crocetin is a natural carotenoid compound of gardenia fruits and saffron, which has various effects in biological systems. In this study, we investigated the antioxidant effects of crocetin on reactive oxygen species such as hydroxyl radical using in vitro X-band electron spin resonance and spin trapping.