(C) 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All Crenigacestat in vivo rights reserved.”
“A course of one to three large fractions of high dose rate (HDR) interstitial brachytherapy is an attractive alternative to intensity

modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for delivering boost doses to the prostate in combination with additional external beam irradiation for intermediate risk disease. The purpose of this work is to quantitatively compare single-fraction HDR boosts to biologically equivalent fractionated IMRT boosts, assuming idealized image guided delivery (igIMRT) and conventional RG-7388 in vivo delivery (cIMRT). For nine prostate patients, both seven-field IMRT and HDR boosts were planned. The linear-quadratic model was used to compute biologically equivalent dose prescriptions. The cIMRT plan was evaluated as a static plan and with simulated random and setup errors. The authors conclude that HDR

delivery produces a therapeutic ratio which is significantly better than the conventional IMRT and comparable to or better than the igIMRT delivery. For the HDR, the rectal gBEUD analysis is strongly influenced by high dose DVH tails. A saturation BED, beyond which no further injury can occur, must be assumed. Modeling of organ motion

uncertainties yields mean outcomes similar to static plan outcomes. (C) 2009 American Association of Physicists in Medicine. [DOI: 10.1118/1.3187224]“
“Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is highly prevalent in morbidly obese patients, and a high body mass index (BMI) is a risk factor for the development of GERD. However, the mechanism by which the BMI affects esophageal acid exposure MK-8931 chemical structure is not completely understood. Although many advances have been made in the understanding of the pathophysiology of GERD, many aspects of the pathophysiology of this disease in morbidly obese patients remain unclear. The following review describes the current evidence linking esophageal reflux to obesity, covering the pathophysiology of the disease and the implications for treatment of GERD in the obese patient.