SummaryNitric oxide (NO) plays an established role in numerous physiological and pathological processes, but the specific cellular sources of NO in disease pathogenesis remain unclear, preventing the implementation of NO-related therapy. Argininosuccinate lyase (ASL) is the only enzyme able to produce arginine, the substrate for NO generation by nitric oxide synthase (NOS) isoforms. Here, we generated cell-specific conditional ASL knockout mice in combination with genetic and chemical colitis models. We demonstrate that NO derived from enterocytes alleviates colitis by decreasing macrophage infiltration and tissue damage, whereas immune cell-derived NO is associated with macrophage activation, resulting in increased severity of inflammation. We find that induction of endogenous NO production by enterocytes with supplements that upregulate ASL expression and complement its substrates results in improved epithelial integrity and alleviation of colitis and of inflammation-associated colon cancer.

The endoscopic endonasal approach is being increasingly used for the resection and reconstruction of anterior skull base (ASB) lesions. Vascularized nasoseptal flaps (NSF) have become the workhorse for the reconstruction of ASB defects, resulting in a significant decrease in the incidence of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks. The objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of NSF in children. This is a retrospective analysis of the medical records of all patients under the age of 18 years who underwent endoscopic repair of ASB lesions with the use of NSF at our tertiary medical center between 1/2011 and 8/2016. Twelve children underwent ASB defect repair for both benign and malignant neoplasms using the endoscopic endonasal NSF technique. Four children had previously undergone ASB surgery. The male-to-female ratio was 1:1, the average age was 12.3 years, the average hospitalization time was 8.3 days, and the maximum follow-up period was 24 months, during which craniofacial growth appeared to be unimpaired. A lumbar drain was used postoperatively in six cases. Crust formation and synechia were observed in two cases. There was one case of a major long-term complication (a CSF leak followed by meningitis). Endoscopic endonasal NSF was both an effective and a safe technique for ASB defect reconstruction in 12 children for both benign and malignant neoplasms. It had a high success rate and a low complication rate. No apparent negative influence on craniofacial growth was observed in our series.

The results of the present study indicate that reflexology may have a positive effect on fatigue, quality of sleep, pain, and quality of life in breast cancer patients during radiation therapy. Reflexology prevented the decline in quality of life and significantly ameliorated the fatigue and quality of sleep of these patients. An encouraging trend was also noted in amelioration of pain levels.

Background The diagnostic yield of core needle biopsies (CNB) in cervical lymphadenopathy for lymphoma diagnosis is controversial. The aim of this study was to calculate the accuracy of cervical CNB in diagnosing lymphoma. Methods We conducted a meta‐analysis of all studies on patients presenting with cervical lymphadenopathy and referred to CNB. Patients with a diagnosis other than lymphoma were excluded. All cases diagnosed with lymphoma sufficient to guide treatment based on CNB outcome were considered accurate (actionable) results. A separate meta‐analysis was performed for various lymphoma subtypes. Results Three prospective and 19 retrospective studies, comprising 1120 patients, met the inclusion criteria. The rate of actionable lymphoma diagnoses following CNB ranged from 30% to 96.3%, with a random‐effects model of 82.45% (95% confidence interval [CI] =0.76‐0.88) and a fixed‐effects model of 78.3% (95% CI =0.75‐0.80). Conclusion CNB for cervical lymphadenopathy in lymphoma cases is relatively accurate in guiding treatment.