Retinal ciliopathies through the lens of Bardet-Biedl Syndrome: Past,present and future

The primary cilium is a highly specialized and evolutionary conserved organelle in eukaryotes that plays a significant role in cell signaling and trafficking. Over the past few decades tremendous progress has been made in understanding the physiology of cilia and the underlying pathomechanisms of various ciliopathies. Syndromic ciliopathies consist of a group of disorders caused by ciliary dysfunction or abnormal ciliogenesis. These disorders have multiorgan involvement in addition to retinal degeneration underscoring the ubiquitous distribution of primary cilia in different cell types. Genotype-phenotype correlation is often challenging due to the allelic heterogeneity and pleiotropy of these disorders. In this review, we discuss the clinical and genetic features of syndromic ciliopathies with a focus on Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS) as a representative disorder. We discuss the structure and function of primary cilia and their role in retinal photoreceptors. We describe the progress made thus far in understanding the functional and genetic characterization including expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) analysis of BBS genes. In the future directions section, we discuss the emerging technologies, such as gene therapy, as well as anticipated challenges and their implications in therapeutic development for ciliopathies.     

Understanding Hispanic Patient Satisfaction with Telehealth During COVID-19

BackgroundRecent studies have described the use of telehealth for pediatric surgical care during the COVID-19 pandemic. We aimed to evaluate equity in telehealth use by comparing rates of utilization and satisfaction with pediatric surgical telemedicine among Hispanic patients.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients seen by a surgical subspecialty provider in the outpatient setting at a quaternary pediatric hospital between April 1 and June 30, 2020. Patients evaluated in the same three-month period in 2019 were analyzed as a historic control. Differences in Family Experience Survey (FES) responses based on race and ethnicity and preferred language of care were assessed using univariable and multivariable generalized linear modeling.ResultsThe pandemic cohort included fewer patients of Hispanic ethnicity and fewer Spanish-speakers. After controlling for visit type, comparison of Spanish-speaking and English-speaking patients revealed that Spanish-speaking families had significantly lower scores for FES items that evaluated healthcare provider explaining (IRR 0.74, 95% CI: 0.61–0.90), listening (IRR 0.76, 95% CI: 0.63–0.92), and time spent with the family (IRR 0.73, 95% CI: 0.60–0.89). There were no differences in FES responses based on insurance status or degree of medical complexity.ConclusionsTelehealth services were less commonly used among Hispanic and Spanish-speaking patients. Language may differentially affect family satisfaction with healthcare and telehealth solutions. Strategies to mitigate these inequities are needed and may include strengthening interpreter services and providing language-concordant care.Level of evidenceLevel IV.     

Rehabilitation in long COVID-19: A mini-review

We have been experiencing multiple waves of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. With these unprecedented waves, we have entered into an era of ‘new normal’. This pandemic has enforced us to rethink the very basics of childhood learning: Habits, health etiquette, and hygiene. Rehabilitation has immense importance during this pandemic considering a few aspects. Multidisciplinary COVID-19 rehabilitation clinics are essential to address the demand. The equitable distribution of COVID-19 rehabilitation services for differently-abled individuals during the pandemic is an important aspect. Rehabilitation needs identification and further studies on various rehabilitation interventions are among the key unmet future research needs.     

Current guidelines in the surgical management of hereditary colorectal cancers

Incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) is on rise. While approximately 70% of all CRC cases are sporadic in nature, 20%-25% have familial aggregation and only < 5% is hereditary in origin. Identification of individuals with hereditary predilection for CRC is critical, as it has an impact on their overall surgical management including surgical timing, approach & technique and determines the role of prophylactic surgery and outcome. This review highlights the concept of hereditary CRC, provides insight into its molecular basis, possibility of its application into clinical practice and emphasizes the current treatment strategies with surgical management, based on the available international guidelines.     

血清miR-210与新生儿呼吸窘迫综合征严重程度和预后的关系

目的 探讨血清微小RNA-210（mircoRNA-210，miR-210）与新生儿呼吸窘迫综合征（neonatalrespiratory distress syndrome，NRDS）严重程度和预后的关系。 方法 收集NRDS患儿104例，根据预后分为生存组与死亡组。所有新生儿根据首次胸部X线片结果与病情严重程度分为轻度组（Ⅰ级、Ⅱ级）与重度组（Ⅲ级、Ⅳ级）。比较死亡组与生存组患儿一般资料，轻度组与重度组血清miR-210水平与新生儿急性生理学评分围生期补充Ⅱ（perinatal supplement of acute physiological score for neonates Ⅱ，SNAPPE-Ⅱ）评分。绘制ROC曲线分析血清miR-210水平对NRDS患儿死亡的预测价值。采用Spearman相关性分析NRDS发生与血清miR-210的相关性。 结果 根据预后分组，104例患儿中预后较好81例（77.88%），死亡23例（22.12%）。生存组miR-210水平、SNAPPE-Ⅱ评分低于死亡组（P＜0.05）；2组性别、胎龄、出生体重、母亲年龄、病因、剖宫产、双胎、羊水异常差异无统计学意义（P＞0.05）。按照胸部X线片表现分组，104例患儿轻度患儿73例，重度患儿31例。轻度组miR-210水平、SNAPPE-Ⅱ评分低于重度组（P＜0.05）。NRDS发生与血清miR-210水平呈正相关（r=0.638，P＜0.001）。血清miR-210与SNAPPE-Ⅱ评分呈正相关（r=0.513，P＜0.05）。血清miR-210的最佳分界值为16.71 ng/L时，曲线下面积为0.763，OR=0.846，95%CI：0.892~1.064，敏感度为82.61%，特异度为86.42%。结论 血清miR-210水平升高与NRDS病情严重程度以及预后密切相关，血清miR-210水平与NRDS病情程度呈正相关性，当血清miR-210临界值为16.71 ng/L时对评估NRDS患儿预后具有较高价值。     

A Case of Refractory Childhood Glaucoma Secondary to Weill-Marchesani Syndrome: Management with Combined CO2 Laser-Assisted Sclerectomy Surgery and Trabeculectomy

A 2-year-old girl was diagnosed as Weill-Marchesani syndrome with typical systemic features of short stature, short and stubby hands and feet, language disorders and mental retardation. He developed bilateral angle closure glaucoma, ectopia lentis and suffered visual loss from the ocular features of Weill-Marchesani syndrome. The child was successfully treated by combined CO₂ laser-assisted sclerectomy surgery and trabeculectomy.