Age-related changes of catecholamines and their metabolites content in the visual system of the rat

The changes in the content of the catecholamines in each structure of the geniculate and extrageniculate visual system of the rat during the aging period (6-30 months) have been studied. Dopamine was found at lower levels than noradrenaline in all the structures. The dopamine and noradrenaline showed different developmental profiles. Dopamine and its metabolite levels decreased in the lateral geniculate and visual cortex and increased in superior colliculus and posterior thalamus. Noradrenaline and its metabolites increased in all structures during the aging period. However, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol/noradrenaline and normetanephrine/noradrenaline ratios decreased in all structures except in superior colliculus. These results suggest age-related changes in the catecholamines in the visual system of the rat.     

Autosomal dominant inheritance of adducted thumbs and other digital anomalies

Isolated adducted thumbs is an uncommon malformation that occurs sporadically in the majority of cases although some affected families have been reported. Previously, autosomal dominant inheritance was suggested in two familial cases, but this mode of inheritance has not been confirmed. Here we describe a family with adducted thumbs and other digital anomalies in which seven members (six females and one male) are affected in three consecutive generations. Additionally, the patients showed mild abnormalities of fingers 2nd–4th bilaterally and hypoplasia of the middle phalanx of the 5th fingers. This family represents an autosomal dominant condition that apparently has not been previously reported.     

Single fiber electromyography (SFEMG) in mitochondrial diseases (MD)

Conventional EMG, nerve conduction studies and SFEMG were performed in 18 patients with various phenotypes of MD. 14 cases showed findings consistent with mild myopathy, 2 patients signs of sensory-motor axonal neuropathy and 2 cases a mixture of myopathy and axonal neuropathy. Motor unit fiber density was mild increased in 8 out of 13 tested cases. Jitter was abnormal in 10 out of 18 tested patients. Jitter abnormalities were not related to myopathic or neurogenic features in the EMG study, and may be observed in muscles without clinical weakness. The results suggest the existence of neuromuscular transmission disturbances in patients with MD.     

Body Composition Changes after a Weight Loss Intervention: A 3-Year Follow-Up Study

Studies comparing different types of exercise-based interventions have not shown a consistent effect of training on long-term weight maintenance. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of exercise modalities combined with diet intervention on body composition immediately after intervention and at 3 years’ follow-up in overweight and obese adults. Two-hundred thirty-nine people (107 men) participated in a 6-month diet and exercise-based intervention, split into four randomly assigned groups: strength group (S), endurance group (E), combined strength and endurance group (SE), and control group (C). The body composition measurements took place on the first week before the start of training and after 22 weeks of training. In addition, a third measurement took place 3 years after the intervention period. A significant interaction effect (group × time) (p = 0.017) was observed for the fat mass percentage. It significantly decreased by 5.48 ± 0.65%, 5.30 ± 0.65%, 7.04 ± 0.72%, and 4.86 ± 0.65% at post-intervention for S, E, SE, and C, respectively. Three years after the intervention, the fat mass percentage returned to values similar to the baseline, except for the combined strength and endurance group, where it remained lower than the value at pre-intervention (p < 0.05). However, no significant interaction was discovered for the rest of the studied outcomes, neither at post-intervention nor 3 years later. The combined strength and endurance group was the only group that achieved lower levels of fat mass (%) at both post-intervention and 3 years after intervention, in comparison with the other groups.     

Evaluating Differences in Whole Blood,Serum, and Urine Screening Tests for Zika Virus,Puerto Rico,USA, 2016

We evaluated nucleic acid amplification testing (NAAT) for Zika virus on whole-blood specimens compared with NAAT on serum and urine specimens among asymptomatic pregnant women during the 2015–2016 Puerto Rico Zika outbreak. Using NAAT, more infections were detected in serum and urine than in whole blood specimens.     

Disrespect and Abuse in Obstetric Care in Mexico: An Observational Study of Deliveries in Four Hospitals

Maternal and Child Health Journal - To identify and describe the frequency and characteristics of disrespect and abuse practices towards women during facility-based delivery in four hospitals in...     

Liver-First Approach for Synchronous Colorectal Metastases: Analysis of 7360 Patients from the LiverMetSurvey Registry

Annals of Surgical Oncology - The liver-first approach in patients with synchronous colorectal liver metastases (CRLM) has gained wide consensus but its role is still to be clarified. We aimed to...     

Cytomegalovirus DNAemia and risk of mortality in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: Analysis from the Spanish Hematopoietic Transplantation and Cell Therapy Group

The net impact of cytomegalovirus (CMV) DNAemia on overall mortality (OM) and nonrelapse mortality (NRM) following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) remains a matter of debate. This was a retrospective, multicenter, noninterventional study finally including 749 patients. CMV DNA monitoring was conducted by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays. Clinical outcomes of interest were OM and NRM through day 365 after allo-HSCT. The cumulative incidence of CMV DNAemia in this cohort was 52.6%. A total of 306 out of 382 patients with CMV DNAemia received preemptive antiviral therapy (PET). PET use for CMV DNAemia, but not the occurrence of CMV DNAemia, taken as a qualitative variable, was associated with increased OM and NRM in univariate but not in adjusted models. A subcohort analysis including patients monitored by the COBAS Ampliprep/COBAS Taqman CMV Test showed that OM and NRM were comparable in patients in whom either low or high plasma CMV DNA threshold (<500 vs ≥500 IU/mL) was used for PET initiation. In conclusion, CMV DNAemia was not associated with increased OM and NRM in allo-HSCT recipients. The potential impact of PET use on mortality was not proven but merits further research.     

Changes in humoral immune response after SARS-CoV-2 infection in liver transplant recipients compared to immunocompetent patients

The protective capacity and duration of humoral immunity after SARS-CoV-2 infection are not yet understood in solid organ transplant recipients. A prospective multicenter study was performed to evaluate the persistence of anti-nucleocapsid IgG antibodies in liver transplant recipients 6 months after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) resolution. A total of 71 liver transplant recipients were matched with 71 immunocompetent controls by a propensity score including variables with a well-known prognostic impact in COVID-19. Paired case–control serological data were also available in 62 liver transplant patients and 62 controls at month 3 after COVID-19. Liver transplant recipients showed a lower incidence of anti-nucleocapsid IgG antibodies at 3 months (77.4% vs. 100%, p < .001) and at 6 months (63.4% vs. 90.1%, p < .001). Lower levels of antibodies were also observed in liver transplant patients at 3 (p = .001) and 6 months (p < .001) after COVID-19. In transplant patients, female gender (OR = 13.49, 95% CI: 2.17–83.8), a longer interval since transplantation (OR = 1.19, 95% CI: 1.03–1.36), and therapy with renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system inhibitors (OR = 7.11, 95% CI: 1.47–34.50) were independently associated with persistence of antibodies beyond 6 months after COVID-19. Therefore, as compared with immunocompetent patients, liver transplant recipients show a lower prevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and more pronounced antibody levels decline.     

The normal vascularization of the intradural filum terminale in man

Summary The arterial and venous blood-supply of the intradural filum terminale was studied microscopically in 18 fresh cadavers after removing the dorsolumbar spinal cord in one piece, with the roots and the filum in their dural sheath. The arteries were examined after manual injection of the artery of the lumbar enlargement, while study of the veins was made without injection since their bluish-black color made them easily identifiable. After gross examination, each specimen was fixed and then sectioned at 12 different levels from the medullary conus to the bottom of the dural sac for histologic study. The distribution of the vascularization the filum terminale appeared constant. A single artery, the artery of the filum, arises from the termination of the anterior spinal axis, either by trifurcation or from the proximal part of one of the 2 branches of the anastomotic ansa of the conus. The artery travels in front of the filum, with rapidly diminishing caliber; rarely, it can be followed into the sacral canal. The vein of the filum travels in front of that structure but behind the artery, as in the cord; its caliber is uniform but varies from subject to subject. It traverses the dura below and continuous with the anterior spinal vein above. No vessels were found on the dorsal aspect of the filum. While the artery of the filum is of a caliber proportional to that of the filum and appears to be a nutrient vessel, the vein has a caliber unrelated to that of the filum and appears rather as an intradural drainage route continuous with the anterior spinal vein. Several cases of disease of the filum terminale confirm this anatomic appearance and also show that, because of the existing hyperpressure in the vein of the filum, the posterior spinal vein also shares in the drainage of the latter and that entire system may function in both ascending and descending directions.

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La vascularisation normale du filum terminale intradural chez l'homme

Résumé La vascularisation artérielle et veineuse du filum terminale intradural a été étudiée sur 18 cadavres frais, sous microscope, après prélèvement en monobloc de la moelle épinière dorso-lombaire, des racines et du filum dans leur étui dural. L'examen des artères a été fait après injection manuelle de l'artère du renflement lombaire, tandis que l'étude des veines s'est faite sans injection compte tenu d'une coloration bleu-noir spontanée qui les rendent aisément identifiables. Après étude macroscopique, chaque pièce a été fixée, puis coupée à 12 niveaux différents depuis le cône médullaire jusqu'au fond du cul-de-sac dure-mérien, pour étude histologique. La distribution de la vascularisation du FT apparaît constante. Une artère unique, l'artère du FT, naît de la terminaison de l'axe spinal antérieur, soit par trifurcation, soit de la partie proximale d'une des 2 branches de l'anse anastomotique du cône. L'artère chemine devant le FT; son calibre diminue rapidement; rarement, elle a pu être suivie jusque dans le canal sacré. Une veine, la veine du FT, chemine en avant du FT mais en arrière de l'artère, comme au niveau médullaire. Son calibre est uniforme mais variable d'un sujet à l'autre. Elle traverse la dure-mère en bas; elle se continue avec la veine spinale antérieure en haut. Aucun vaisseau n'a été retrouvé à la face dorsale du FT. Si l'artère du FT a un calibre qui est proportionnel à celui du filum et apparaît comme un vaisseau nourricier, la veine a un calibre sans aucun rapport avec le volume de celui-ci et apparaît davantage comme une voie de drainage intradural en continuité avec la veine spinale antérieure. Quelques cas de pathologie du FT confirment cet aspect anatomique et montrent aussi qu'en raison de l'hyperpression veineuse régnant dans la veine du FT, la veine spinale postérieure participe également au drainage de celle-ci et que l'ensemble peut fonctionner dans les 2 sens ascendant ou descendant.