The aim of this study was to compare five types of compression therapy in venous leg ulcers (intermittent pneumatic vs. stockings vs. multi layer vs. two layer short stretch bandages vs. Unna boots). Primary study endpoints were analysis of changes of the total ulcer surface area, volume and linear dimensions inside observed groups. The secondary end points were comparisons between all groups the number of completely healed wounds (ulcer healing rates), Gilman index and percentage change of ulcer surface area. In total, 147 patients with unilateral venous leg ulcers were included to this study. Participants were randomly allocated to the groups: A, B, C, D and E. After two months the healing rate was the highest in group A (intermittent pneumatic compression) - 57.14%, 16/28 patients, B (ulcer stocking system) - 56.66%, 17/30 patients and C (multi layer short stretch bandage) - 58.62%, 17/29 patients. Significantly much worse rate found in group D (two layer short stretch bandages) - only 16.66%, 5/30 patients and E (Unna boots) - 20%, 6/30 patients. The analysis of changes of the percentage of Gilman index and wound total surface area confirmed that intermittent pneumatic compression, stockings and multi layer bandages are the most efficient. The two layer short - stretch bandages and Unna boots appeared again much less effective.

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Pheochromocytomas are rare neoplasias of neural crest origin arising from chromaffin cells of the adrenal medulla and sympathetic ganglia (extra-adrenal pheochromocytoma). Pheochromocytoma that develop in rats homozygous for a loss-of-function mutation in p27Kip1 (MENX syndrome) show a clear progression from hyperplasia to tumor, offering the possibility to gain insight into tumor pathobiology. We compared the gene-expression signatures of both adrenomedullary hyperplasia and pheochromocytoma with normal rat adrenal medulla. Hyperplasia and tumor show very similar transcriptome profiles, indicating early determination of the tumorigenic signature. Overrepresentation of developmentally regulated neural genes was a feature of the rat lesions. Quantitative RT-PCR validated the up-regulation of 11 genes, including some involved in neural development: Cdkn2a, Cdkn2c, Neurod1, Gal, Bmp7, and Phox2a. Overexpression of these genes precedes histological changes in affected adrenal glands. Their presence at early stages of tumorigenesis indicates they are not acquired during progression and may be a result of the lack of functional p27Kip1. Adrenal and extra-adrenal pheochromocytoma development clearly follows diverged molecular pathways in MENX rats. To correlate these findings to human pheochromocytoma, we studied nine genes overexpressed in the rat lesions in 46 sporadic and familial human pheochromocytomas. The expression of GAL, DGKH, BMP7, PHOX2A, L1CAM, TCTE1, EBF3, SOX4, and HASH1 was up-regulated, although with different frequencies. Immunohistochemical staining detected high L1CAM expression selectively in 27 human pheochromocytomas but not in 140 nonchromaffin neuroendocrine tumors. These studies reveal clues to the molecular pathways involved in rat and human pheochromocytoma and identify previously unexplored biomarkers for clinical use. Cdkn1b | rat model | transcriptome analysis | progenitor signature

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BackgroundPre-procurement pancreas suitability score (P-PASS) and pancreas donor risk (PDRI) index are scoring systems believed to predict suitability of pancreatic grafts. Most European countries and the United States apply PDRI, while Poltransplant keeps using P-PASS: more than 16 points raises a red flag for graft use. Recent data discourage use of PDRI to predict pancreas graft survival. The aim of the present study was to assess PDRI and P-PASS as predictors of transplanted pancreas survival in a Polish population.Material/MethodsFrom February 1998 to September 2015, 407 pancreas transplantations were performed in Poland: 370 (90.9%) simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation and 37 (9.1%) pancreas transplantation alone or pancreas after kidney. The endpoint was death-uncensored 12-month graft survival with satisfactory glycemic control without insulin.ResultsAverage P-PASS was 15.9±2.66 and PDRI was 0.96±0.37. Recipients who survived 12 months with good graft function had an average P-PASS score of 15.7 and PDRI of 0.95. Recipients with death-uncensored graft loss had a mean P-PASS of 16.4 and PDRI of 0.99. Univariate analysis revealed donor age, body mass index (BMI), and P-PASS to be significant risk factors for 1-year pancreas graft survival.ConclusionsP-PASS, but not PDRI, is a reliable tool to predict pancreas graft survival in the Polish population.