Expert opinion on the management and follow-up of uveitis patients during SARS-CoV-2 outbreak

ABSTRACT

Introduction

Routine medical and ophthalmic care is being drastically curtailed in the context of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. Uveitis patients require particular attention because of their theoretical risk of viral infection, in the context of therapeutic immunosuppression.     

Differences in Adolescents’ Food Habits Checklist (AFHC) Scores before and during Pandemic in a Population-Based Sample: Polish Adolescents’ COVID-19 Experience (PLACE-19) Study

The COVID-19 pandemic is known to influence the dietary habits of adults, but results for adolescents in studies are ambiguous. The present work aimed to analyze the differences in the scores of the Adolescents’ Food Habits Checklist (AFHC) before and during the pandemic in the Polish Adolescents’ COVID-19 Experience (PLACE-19) Study population. The PLACE-19 Study was conducted during the pandemic among a population of 2448 students recruited from secondary schools in all regions of Poland using a random quota sampling. The participants were required to complete an AFHC consisting of 23 items pertaining to food purchase, preparation, and consumption habits. Current habits (during the pandemic) and previous habits were assessed and scored separately. The total (p = 0.001), purchase (p < 0.001), and consumption scores (p = 0.014) indicated that the AFHC scores during the pandemic were higher than before. For questions on purchase habits, a lower number of respondents reported eating in a restaurant, eating takeaway meals, having lunch away from home, or buying pastries, cakes or crisps. For questions on preparation habits, an greater number of respondents reported that they usually avoided eating fried food and tried to keep their overall sugar intake down, but fewer respondents said they tried to have low-fat desserts. For questions on consumption habits, a lower number of respondents reported that they usually ate a dessert or pudding if one were available and a larger number said they made sure to eat at least one serving of vegetables or salad a day and at least three servings of fruit most days. Based on the obtained results, it may be stated that although there was an increase in the AFHC scores during the pandemic, a similar share of respondents showed improved or worsened food habits, and a similar share changed their food habits from healthy to unhealthy and from unhealthy to healthy. At the same time, a majority of changes were associated with purchase habits, which were probably forced by lockdowns and the resultant restrictions in eating out or grocery shopping.     

Reproductive tract immune cells from pregnant women or those using depot medroxyprogesterone acetate show no excess susceptibility to HIV-1: Results of an ex vivo fusion assay

IntroductionEx vivo fusion assays offer an efficient method for studying HIV-1 entry associated with contraceptive use and pregnancy outside of cohort studies of HIV-1 incidence.MethodsWe measured ex vivo HIV-1 fusion to cervical or endometrial immune cells from three groups of women: pregnant, non-pregnant not using hormonal or intrauterine contraception, and using depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA).Results and conclusionsThere was no excess susceptibility to HIV-1 fusion of cells from pregnant women or DMPA users compared to controls. Although the number of target cells in endometrium was higher in DMPA users compared to controls, HIV-1 fusion was lower.ImplicationsIn ex vivo assays, HIV-1 showed no enhanced fusion to cervical immune cells from pregnant women or DMPA users compared to controls, and lower fusion to endometrial immune cells from DMPA users. This assay is useful for studying hormonal and contraceptive effects on HIV-1 entry into reproductive tract immune cells.     

Trans-sternal approach to the cervicothoracic junction

Cervicothoracic junction and upper thoracic spine down to T4 can be reached through anterior approach via sternotomy. Transsternal approach is the best route to gain access to lesions localized within vertebral bodies of the upper thoracic spine allowing for their resection, interbody fusion and replacement with bone cement. Consecutive modifications of transsternal approach evolved toward less extensive osteotomy from full median sternotomy, through manubriotomy with clavicle resection and partial lateral manubriotomy. Less extensive modifications provide limited lateral exposure of the spine and are more demanding technically. We present two cases of upper thoracic spine tumours operated on through full medial sternotomy. We believe that median sternotomy has several advantages over less extensive modifications: it is technically simple to perform for trained thoracic surgeon, safer as it provides better exposure of the mediastinum and thus sufficient control of great vessels including subclavian ones, gives better exposure of T3, T4 and even T5 vertebral bodies, allows perpendicular sight and attack to anterior surface of the upper thoracic spine and therefore good visualizing of the posterior longitudinal ligament and dura, do not destabilize shoulder girdle nor affect function of the upper limb. Additional caudal exposure of the thoracic spine as down as T5 can be obtained by dissecting a plane between the brachiocephalic vein, vena cava superior and ascending aorta.     

Inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2 indirectly potentiates antitumor effects of photodynamic therapy in mice.

PURPOSE: The aim of the present study was to potentiate the antitumor effectiveness of photodynamic therapy (PDT). A cDNA microarray analysis was used to evaluate the gene expression pattern after Photofrin-mediated PDT to find more effective combination treatment with PDT and inhibitor(s) of the identified gene product(s) overexpressed in tumor cells. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Atlas Mouse Stress Array was used to compare the expression profile of control and PDT-treated C-26 cells. The microarray results have been confirmed using Western blotting. Cytostatic/cytotoxic in vitro assay as well as in vivo tumor models were used to investigate the antitumor effectiveness of PDT in combination with cyclooxygenase (COX) 2 inhibitors. RESULTS: PDT induced the expression of 5 of 140 stress-related genes. One of these genes encodes for COX-2, an enzyme important in the tumor progression. Inhibition of COX-2 in vitro with NS-398, rofecoxib, or nimesulide, or before PDT with nimesulide did not influence the therapeutic efficacy of the treatment. Administration of a selective COX-2 inhibitor after PDT produced potentiated antitumor effects leading to complete responses in the majority of treated animals. CONCLUSIONS: COX-2 inhibitors do not sensitize tumor cells to PDT-mediated killing. However, these drugs can be used to potentiate the antitumor effectiveness of this treatment regimen when administered after tumor illumination.     

A High Proliferation Rate is Critical for Reproducible and Standardized Embryoid Body Formation from Laminin-521-Based Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Cultures

When aiming for homogenous embryoid body (EB) differentiation, the use of equal-sized EBs is required to avoid a size-induced differentiation bias. In this study we developed an efficient and standardized EB formation protocol for human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC) cultured in a laminin-521-based xeno-free system. As the cell proliferation rate of the cells growing on laminin-521 strongly affected the efficiency of aggregate formation, we found that recently passaged cells, as well as the addition of ROCK inhibitor, were essential for reproducible EB formation from hPSC single-cell suspensions. EBs could be obtained in a variety of differentiation media, in 96-well round-bottom plates and in hanging drops. Gene expression studies on differentially sized EBs from three individual human embryonic stem cell lines demonstrated that the medium used for differentiation influenced the differentiation outcome to a much greater extent than the number of cells used for the initial EB formation. Our findings give a new insight into factors that influence the EB formation and differentiation process. This optimized method allows us to easily manipulate EB formation and provide an excellent starting point for downstream EB-based differentiation protocols.