Cec and You Shall Find: Cecal Perforation in a Patient with COVID-19

Digestive Diseases and Sciences -     

Treating pulmonary hypertension in the elderly

ABSTRACT

Introduction

Despite an increasingly older pulmonary hypertension (PH) population, data on PH treatments in these patients are limited because there exist no clinical studies dedicated to geriatric groups. Furthermore, elderly patients with comorbidities have been systematically excluded from clinical trials, limiting the evidence base for drugs approved for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).     

Clinical Quest for Associated Cognitive Impairment in Major Depressed Patients

Psychiatric Quarterly - Patients diagnosed with unipolar disorder usually experience impaired cognitive functioning during an acute depressive episode. The purpose of the current study was to...     

A National Analysis of Minimally Invasive Vs Open Segmentectomy for Stage IA Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer

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Autologous mesenchymal stem cells applied on the pressure ulcers had produced a surprising outcome in a severe case of neuromyelitis optica

Recent studies provided evidence that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have regenerative potential in cutaneous repair and profound immunomodulatory properties making them a candidate for therapy of neuroimmunologic diseases. Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is an autoimmune, demyelinating central nervous system disorder characterized by a longitudinally extensive spinal cord lesion. A 46-year-old male diagnosed with NMO had relapses with paraplegia despite treatment and developed two stage IV pressure ulcers (PUs) on his legs. The patient consented for local application of autologous MSCs on PUs. MSCs isolated from the patient''s bone marrow aspirate were multiplied in vitro during three passages and embedded in a tridimensional collagen-rich matrix which was applied on the PUs. Eight days after MSCs application the patient showed a progressive healing of PUs and improvement of disability. Two months later the patient was able to walk 20 m with bilateral assistance and one year later he started to walk without assistance. For 76 months the patient had no relapse and no adverse event was reported. The original method of local application of autologous BM-MSCs contributed to healing of PUs. For 6 years the patient was free of relapses and showed an improvement of disability. The association of cutaneous repair, sustained remission of NMO and improvement of disability might be explained by a promotion/optimization of recovery mechanisms in the central nervous system even if alternative hypothesis should be considered. Further studies are needed to assess the safety and efficacy of mesenchymal stem cells in NMO treatment.     

Consensus Communication on Early Peanut Introduction and Prevention of Peanut Allergy in High‐Risk Infants

The purpose of this brief communication is to highlight emerging evidence regarding potential benefits of supporting early rather than delayed peanut introduction during the period of complementary food introduction in infants. This document should be considered as interim guidance based on consensus among the following organizations: American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Israel Association of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Japanese Society for Allergology, Society for Pediatric Dermatology, and World Allergy Organization. More formal guidelines regarding early‐life, complementary feeding practices and the risk of allergy development will follow in the next year from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases—sponsored Working Group and the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.     

The molecular phenotypes of ureteral telocytes are layer-specific

Telocytes (TC) are the delicate interstitial (stromal) cells defined by their long, thin and moniliform processes termed telopodes. Numerous studies determined that different subsets of telocytes populate almost all tissues and attempted to relate these subsets to various functions, from cell signaling to tissue repair and regeneration. Extremely few studies addressed the urinary tract though few data on the molecular pattern of the urinary TCs actually exist. We therefore hypothesized that subsets of urinary TCs co-localize within the human ureter and we aimed at performing an immunohistochemical study to evaluate the tissue-specific molecular pattern of TCs. On sample tissues of proximal ureter drawn from ten human adult patients during surgery were applied primary antibodies against CD34, CD105, von Willebrand Factor, the heavy chain of smooth muscle myosin (SMM) and c-erbB-2. The molecular pattern indicated three different subsets of ureteral TCs which are neither endothelial nor epithelial in nature: (a) type I: the CD34-/CD105+ TCs of the superficial layer of lamina propria; (b) type II: the CD34+/CD105± myoid TCs of the deep layer of lamina propria and (c) type III: the CD34+/CD105+ perivascular TCs. Although apparently different, all these subsets of TCs could belong to the stem/progenitor niche of the ureter.