Symptomatic isolated internal carotid artery occlusion with initial medical management: a monocentric cohort

Journal of Neurology - Symptomatic isolated carotid artery occlusions (ICAO) can lead to disability, recurrent stroke, and mortality, but natural history and best therapeutic management remain...     

Morphometry and localization of the temporal transverse Heschl’s gyrus in magnetic resonance imaging: a guide for cortical stimulation of chronic tinnitus

Purpose

Subjective tinnitus is considered a phantom auditory phenomenon. Recent studies show that electrical or magnetic stimulation of the cortex can alleviate some tinnitus. The usual target of the stimulation is the primary auditory cortex (PAC) on Heschl’s gyrus (HG). The objective of this study was to specify the anatomy of HG by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Methods

Cerebral MRI of 60 patients with chronic tinnitus, carried out before neuronavigated repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation targeting the auditory cortex, were included. 3D-T1 MRI was reformatted in Talairach–Tournoux’s stereotactic space, then the following steps were performed: morphometry of HG, localization of the probabilistic center of the PAC (pcPAC) chosen at the junction between the medial third and the lateral two-thirds of HG, relative to external and cortical landmarks, and identification of its coordinates relative to the bicommissural line (AC-PC).

Results

In relation to external landmarks, the pcPAC was identified around 5 cm above the root of the helix of the ear in the direction of a point on the vertex located 4 cm behind the coronal suture, for both sides. In Talairach–Tournoux’s stereotactic space with the anterior commissure as the origin, the pcPAC coordinates were x = 43, y = ?20, z = 6.8 on the right side, and x = ?42.5, y = ?21.5, and z = 6.5 on the left. Probabilistic maps of the presence of HG pointed to a relative contraction of data in space, despite inter- and intraindividual differences.

Conclusion

The choice of our stimulation target was established in the middle of the theoretical position of the PAC. MRI allows a reliable identification of the target structure.     

Sound production,hearing sensitivity,and in-depth study of the sound-producing muscles in the cowfish (Lactoria cornuta)

The ability to produce sounds has been reported in various Ostraciidae but not deeply studied. In some Ostracion species, two different sound-producing muscles allow these boxfishes to produce two different kinds of sounds in a sequence. This study investigates sound production in another Indo-Pacific species, the longhorn cowfish Lactoria cornuta that also possesses two pairs of sonic muscles associated with the swim bladder: extrinsic sonic muscles (ESMs) and intrinsic sonic muscles (ISMs). The cowfish produces two kinds of sounds called hums and clicks. Hums are made of trains of low amplitude pulses that last for long periods of time, suggesting that they are produced by fatigue-resistant muscles, whereas clicks correspond to shorter sounds with greater amplitude than the hums, suggesting that they result from more powerful contractions. Ultra-structural differences are found between extrinsic and intrinsic sonic muscles. According to features such as long sarcomeres, long I-bands, a high number of mitochondria, and a proliferation of sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR), ESMs would be able to produce fast, strong, and short contractions corresponding to clicks (the shortest sounds with the greatest amplitude). ISMs have the thinnest cells, the smallest number of myofilaments that have long I-bands, the highest volume of mitochondria, and well-developed SR supporting these muscles; these features should generate fast and prolonged contractions that could correspond to the hums that can be produced over long periods of time. A concluding figure shows clear comparisons of the different fibers that were studied in L. cornuta. This study also compared the call features of each sound with the cowfish's hearing ability and supports L. cornuta was more sensitive to frequencies ranging between at least 100 and 400 Hz with thresholds of 128–143 dB re 1 µPa over this range, meaning that they are sensitive to the frequencies produced by conspecifics.     

The prevalence and incidence rate of pulmonary arterial hypertension in systemic sclerosis: Systematic review and meta-analysis

The present study aimed to assess the prevalence and incidence rate of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in Systemic Sclerosis (SSc). The review was undertaken using MEDLINE and SCOPUS from June 1962 to May 2019 and the terms: (“Scleroderma, Systemic”[MesH]) AND “Hypertension, Pulmonary”[MesH]. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) was used for the qualifying assessment. The inverse variance-weighted method was performed. Twenty-four studies were included in the global PAH prevalence study. They comprised data from 9804 SSc patients. The overall PAH prevalence found was 6.4% (95%CI 5%–8.3%). Fourteen studies were included in the PAH prevalence study for lcSSc. They comprised data from 4987 lcSSc patients. The PAH prevalence found in lcSSc was 7.7% (95%CI 5.3%–11.1%). Twelve studies were included in the PAH prevalence study for dcSSc. They comprised data from 1790 dcSSc patients. The PAH prevalence found in dcSSc was 6.3% (95%CI 4.5%–8.9%). Fifteen studies showed PAH incidence of an entire SSc cohort. They comprised data from 5926 SSc patients. The overall PAH incidence found was 18.2 cases per 1000 person-years (95%CI 12–27.4). Eight studies showed PAH incidence for lcSSc. They comprised data from 2721 patients. The overall PAH incidence found in lcSSc was 20.4 cases per 1000 person-years (95%CI 10.1–41.1). Seven studies showed PAH incidence for dcSSc. They comprised data from 942 dcSSc patients. The overall PAH incidence found in dcSSc was 16.6 cases per 1000 person-years (95%CI 8.5–32.1).ConclusionThe overall PAH prevalence found was 6.4% (95%CI 5%–8.3%) and the overall PAH incidence 18.2 cases per 1000 person-years (95%CI 12–27.4).     

Transcultural adaptation of interpersonal psychotherapy in Asia

Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) has been utilized with great efficacy and effectiveness across many cultural settings. The attachment theory upon which IPT rests provides a strong foundation for IPT cross‐culturally: regardless of their geographic location, people are people and their relationships are important. Though the structure of families and individual social roles varies greatly across cultures, people relate to one another. They become distressed when they have problems with interpersonal conflict, change, and loss of relationships. In this article, we review the basics of IPT and then describe the ways in which cultural adaptations can be made for people in Asia. Both are large tasks—to summarize IPT concisely while providing sufficient information is difficult; describing cultural adaptions for people in geographical areas from Russia to China to India to Southeast and Central Asia and all of the ethnic and language groups that area includes is nigh well impossible within a review article. Thus we have restricted our cultural overview to areas in which we have experience clinically and in which we have been active with IPT training, supervision, and implementation. All of the work we describe, however, elaborate on the principles of cultural adaptations which can be used to implement IPT in other local contexts.     

Reciprocal translocations in myelodysplastic syndromes and chronic myelomonocytic leukemias: Review of 5,654 patients with an evaluable karyotype

The infrequency of translocations in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and chronic myelomonocytic leukemias (CMML) makes their identification and reporting interesting for the recognition of the recurrent ones and the genes involved in these neoplasias. The aims of this study were to identify new translocations associated with MDS and CMML and to establish their frequency in a cohort of 8,016 patients from the Spanish Group of MDS database. The karyotype was evaluable in 5,654 (70%) patients. Among those, 2,014 (36%) had chromosomal abnormalities, including 213 (10%) translocations identified in 195 patients. The translocations were balanced in 183 (86%) cases and unbalanced in 30 (14%) cases. All chromosomes were found to be involved in translocations, with the single exception of the Y chromosome. The chromosomes most frequently involved were in decreasing frequency: 3, 1, 7, 2, 11, 5, 12, 6, and 17. Translocations were found in karyotypes as the unique chromosomal abnormality (33%), associated with another chromosomal abnormality (11%), as a part of a complex karyotype (17%), and as a part of a monosomal karyotype (38%). There were 155 translocations not previously described in MDS or CMML and nine of them appeared to be recurrent. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Accuracy of electronic apical functions of a new integrated motor compared to the visual control of the working length—an ex vivo study

Clinical Oral Investigations - To evaluate ex vivo the efficacy of the integrated motor Tri Auto ZX2 in controlling the apical extent of preparation compared to conventional visual control (CVC) of...     

Resistance to Interference and Positive Symptomatology in Schizophrenia

Resistance to disruption by visual distractors seems to be a robust finding in schizophrenic patients, especially those with positive symptoms. This seems to contradict the view that positive symptoms are linked to poor inhibition of distracting stimuli. To help decide between these opposing theories, we assessed the interference effect in the Stroop colour and word test, and its correlation with positive symptomatology in schizophrenic patients. Two hypotheses were pitted against each other: (1) that a positive correlation would be observed between interference and positive symptoms, suggesting that positive symptoms were linked to a deficit in inhibition of nonrelevant stimuli; and (2) that a negative correlation would be observed, suggesting that positive symptoms were linked to resistance to disruption by nonrelevant stimuli. A total 40 patients and 40 normal controls were administered the Stroop test and an index of interference was derived. The amount of interference was not significantly increased in patients. No positive correlation with symptoms was observed, invalidating the first hypothesis. A negative correlation was observed, however, between the amount of interference and the score of hallucinations. This confirmed the second hypothesis (i.e. more hallucinations being associated with more resistance to distractors). This is in agreement with studies showing that resistance to negative priming and latent inhibition was linked to positive symptomatology in schizotypes or schizophrenic patients. It is proposed that resistance to negative priming, to latent inhibition, and to interference in patients with positive symptomatology stem from incomplete processing of distractor information.     

Changes in mitral valve geometry after percutaneous valve repair with the MitraClip® System

The International Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging - The aim of our study was to assess the anatomical changes of the mitral valve apparatus after percutaneous repair with the MitraClip®...