This condition should therefore be a target for new treatment strategies. (C) 2014 by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.”
“What is known and objective find more Transthyretin

(TTR) is a representative amyloidogenic protein in humans. Rate-limiting tetramer dissociation and rapid monomer misfolding and misassembly of variant TTR result in autosomal dominant familial amyloidosis. Analogous misfolding of wild-type TTR results in senile systemic amyloidosis (SSA) presenting as sporadic amyloid disease in the elderly. The objective of this review is to summarize recent progress in our understanding and treatment of TTR amyloidosis. Methods Literature searches were conducted on the topics of transthyretin, familial amyloid polyneuropathy and clinical trials, using PubMed, the United States clinical trials directory, pharmaceutical company websites and news reports.

The information was collected, evaluated for relevance and quality, critically assessed and summarized. Results and discussion The current standard first-line treatment of familial TTR amyloidosis is liver transplantation. However, large numbers of patients are not suitable transplant candidates. Recently, the clinical effects of TTR tetramer stabilizers, tafamidis and diflunisal, were demonstrated in randomized clinical trials, and tafamidis has been approved for the treatment of FAP in European countries and Japan. In addition, gene therapies with antisense oligonucleotides and small interfering RNAs are promising strategies to ameliorate LOXO-101 order TTR amyloidoses and are currently in clinical trials. What is new www.selleckchem.com/products/z-ietd-fmk.html and conclusions Liver transplantation to treat the familial TTR amyloidosis will likely be replaced by other less invasive therapies, such as TTR tetramer stabilizers and possibly gene therapy approaches. These newly developed therapies are expected to be effective for not only familial TTR amyloidosis but also SSA, based on their mechanisms of action.”
“Introduction The ability to use the anterolateral thigh (ALT) flap as a vascularized fascial flap, without skin or muscle, was first documented by Koshima et al in 1989. The authors mention the possibility of using the fascia alone for dural reconstruction. Despite its description

more than 20 years ago, little literature exists on the application of the ALT flap as a vascularized fascial flap. In our experience, the ALT flap can be used as a fascia-only flap for thin, pliable coverage in extremity reconstruction. Methods After approval from the institutional review board, the medical records and photographs of patients who had undergone fascia-only ALT free flaps for extremity reconstruction were reviewed. Photographic images of patients were then matched to patients who had undergone either a muscle-only or a fasciocutaneous free flap reconstruction of an extremity. Photographs of the final reconstruction were then given to medical and nonmedical personnel for analysis, focusing on aesthetics including color and contour.