Rejected

Describe a series of cases of idiopathic chronic auricular chondritis refractory to antibiotics and steroids treated successfully with surgery.

Small fiber neuropathies (SFNs) are disorders of skin nerve endings inducing pruritus, burning pain, numbness, and paresthesia. The aims of this study were to search for putative etiologies of SFN and their occurrence in a cohort of patients and to compare patients with SFN to a group of patients without SFN to highlight potential factors associated with SFN.

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) infection in humans is rarely fatal but is often associated with chronic joint and muscle pain. Chronic CHIKV disease is highly debilitating and is associated with viral persistence. To date, there are no approved vaccines or therapeutics to prevent or treat CHIKV infections once they are established. Current palliative treatments aim to reduce joint inflammation and pain associated with acute and chronic CHIKV disease. Development of novel therapeutics that reduces viral loads should positively impact virus inflammatory disease and improve patient outcomes following CHIKV infection. Therapies that target multiple aspects of CHIKV replication cycle should be developed since the virus is capable of rapidly mutating around any single therapeutic. This review summarizes the current status of small molecule inhibitor development against CHIKV.

Chronic pain (CP), a complex biopsychosocial disorder with a global prevalence of up to 33%, can be treated by following multidisciplinary approaches that may include cannabis-based medicine (CBM). However, because CBM continues to be a new treatment, questions remain regarding the ideal duration for CBM and its psychosocial determinants, including mental comorbidities.

The use of cannabinoids in both veterinary and human medicine is controversial for legal and ethical reasons. Nonetheless, the availability and therapeutic use of naturally occurring or synthetic phytocannabinoids, such as Δ-tetrahydrocannabidiol and cannabidiol, have been the focus of attention in studies regarding their medical uses. This review aims to examine the role of cannabinoids in pain modulation by analyzing scientific findings regarding the signaling pathways of the endocannabinoid system and discussing the analgesic effects of synthetic cannabinoids compared to cannabinoid extracts and the extent and involvement of their receptors. In animals, studies have shown the analgesic properties of these substances and the role of the cannabinoid binding -1 (CB1) and cannabinoid binding -2 (CB2) receptors in the endocannabinoid system to modulate acute, chronic and neuropathic pain. This system consists of three main components: endogenous ligands (anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol), G protein-coupled receptors and enzymes that degrade and recycle the ligands. Evidence suggests that their interaction with CB1 receptors inhibits signaling in pain pathways and causes psychoactive effects. On the other hand, CB2 receptors are associated with anti-inflammatory and analgesic reactions and effects on the immune system. Cannabis extracts and their synthetic derivatives are an effective therapeutic tool that contributes to compassionate pain care and participates in its multimodal management. However, the endocannabinoid system interacts with different endogenous ligands and neurotransmitters, thus offering other therapeutic possibilities in dogs and cats, such is the case of those patients who suffer from seizures or epilepsy, contact and atopic dermatitis, degenerative myelopathies, asthma, diabetes and glaucoma, among other inflammatory diseases. Moreover, these compounds have been shown to possess antineoplastic, appetite-stimulating, and antiemetic properties. Ultimately, the study of the endocannabinoid system, its ligands, receptors, mechanism of action, and signaling, has contributed to the development of research that shows that hemp-derived and their synthetic derivatives are an effective therapeutic alternative in the multimodal management of pain in dogs and cats due to their ability to prevent peripheral and central sensitization.

Situs inversus totalis is a rare congenital anatomical anomaly that causes some difficult problems for surgeons when performing an operation. However, without histopathology specimens from surgery, a misdiagnosis of cancer may be unavoidable, in addition to affecting the improvement of prognosis. This study reports a rare patient with situs inversus totalis who presented with the main complaints of pruritus and vague abdominal pain. She was first misdiagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma and was finally diagnosed with duodenal papilla adenocarcinoma laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy. Situs inversus totalis was not a contraindication for surgery. Skilled surgeons and complete preparation during the perioperative period are two important keys to successful surgeries. Performing laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy for patients with situs inversus totalis to avoid misdiagnosis of cancer and tailor appropriate therapy plans is cost-effective.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common and aggressive primary intracranial tumor. Despite modern therapies, it is still fatal with tremendously poor prognosis with a median survival of 14 months. Even though mean survival and progression-free survival (PFS) are considered as primary response measure, it is important to assess the effects of therapies on disease burden and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Changes in quality of life (QoL) indicates the impact of cytotoxic therapy and may aid in defining response in the absence of quantifiable endpoints like tumor regression. The objective was to assess 2-year survival and quality of life in GBM patients who underwent primary surgery followed by chemo-radiotherapy and 6-month adjuvant chemotherapy with temozolomide.

Eosinophilic fasciitis (EF) is a rare connective tissue disorder causing inflammation and fibrosing of fascia. In this study, we present a very rare case of an immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-induced EF revealed by F-fluorodesoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET/CT) 20 months after the initiation of Pembrolizumab treatment of a relapsed non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This study presents a 52-year-old Caucasian woman clinically presenting asthenia, inflammatory muscle, and joint pain associated with subcutaneous nodules and symmetrical edema of the lower limbs. Iterative FDG-PET/CT scans allow us to guide the therapeutic strategy due to this atypical ICI adverse event.

Tentorial meningiomas (TM) are complex entities with distinguished clinical, radiological and surgical considerations. They comprise approximately 3 – 6% of all intracranial meningiomas1. TM have been classified in 5 subgroups according to the modified Yasargil's classification, based on their location 2 and 3. Those located at the free margin of the tentorium are still challenging for neurosurgeons, with high morbidity and mortality. Atypical trigeminal neuralgia (ATN) is a type of trigeminal neuralgia that is identified by the constancy of symptoms. They experience less intense pain, but a constant dull aching or burning pain, and it is frequently misdiagnosed. Although it is well known that typical trigeminal (TN) neuralgia responds very well to medical treatment and are related with posterior fossa tumors, ATN is less likely. In this video we demonstrate the microsurgical resection of group 1 tentorial meningioma in the treatment of atypical trigeminal neuralgia.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a gel made with amniotic fluid (AF) formulation on wound healing in diabetic foot ulcers.