Etiology and clinical course of meningitis in children

The aim of the paper was to pinpoint the etiological factors which caused meningitis, and to describe the course of the illness in the patients hospitalized in the years 1991-2000 at the observation ward of the Paediatrics Propaedeutics Clinic of the Paediatrics Institute. Etiological factors were determined in 42 of 80 cases included in the study: in 32 out of 62 purulent meningitis cases and 10 out of 18 aseptic meningitis cases. In purulent meningitis the most commonly isolated pathogens were N. meningitidis (16%), S. pneumoniae (8.1%), K. pneumoniae (4.9%) and H. influenzae type B (4.9%), where as in aseptic meningitis--mumps and herpes viruses. Despite appropriate treatment in 47% of cases there were observed complications such as hydrocephalus, brain oedema, ependymitis as well as hearing or vision impairment and failure to thrive.     

Directional and fluctuating asymmetry in finger and <Emphasis Type="Italic">a-b</Emphasis> ridge counts in psychosis: a case-control study

Background  

Several studies have reported alterations in finger and a-b ridge counts, and their derived measures of asymmetry, in schizophrenia compared to controls. Because ridges are fully formed by the end of the second trimester, they may provide clues to disturbed early development. The aim of this study was to assess these measures in a sample of patients with psychosis and normal controls.     

Rat behavior in two models of anxiety and brain [3H]muscimol binding: pharmacological, correlation, and multifactor analysis

The contribution of GABAergic mechanisms to rat emotional behavior in two animal models of anxiety (open field test of neophobia and aversively conditioned freezing reaction), was confirmed by pharmacological analysis, using anxiolytic (midazolam) and anxiogenic (picrotoxin) compounds. Both substances are known to modulate GABA(A) receptors' activity in a positive or negative manner, respectively. It seemed, therefore, worthwhile to check whether the behavioral parameters measured in these animal models of anxiety correlate with [3H]muscimol binding (a highly selective GABA(A) receptor ligand) in different brain structures of nai;ve rats, with a view to establish the role of genetically determined expression of local GABA(A) receptors in the organization of rat emotional and motor behavior. Correlation analysis revealed no links between individually determined expression of GABA(A) receptors (quantitative receptor autoradiography) in the brain structures, and the emotional behavior of nai;ve, drug-free animals, in both tests. Factor analysis confirmed that animal behavior in both tests was under control of different central processes. Moreover, none of the behavioral and ligand binding parameters loaded on the same factor, confirming the negative results of the correlation study. The present results indicate that the origin of emotions is a complex phenomenon, probably involving the interaction between GABA-ergic innervation of many brain structures.     

Effectiveness of neuroendoscopic procedures in the treatment of complex compartmentalized hydrocephalus in children

OBJECTIVE: The main object of the work is to assess the suitability of neuroendoscopic techniques for the treatment of complex compartmentalized hydrocephalus. METHODS: For this purpose the authors compared two groups of children treated in the Research Institute of the Polish Mother's Memorial Hospital from March 1997 to January 2002. The first group of 47 children, treated using neuroendoscopic procedures, was compared with the second, which comprised 80 children treated conventionally by complicated shunt implantations. RESULTS: The children treated neuroendoscopically needed on average 1.7660 procedures during the entire therapy, and 1.0232 operations a year. The same parameters in the conventionally-treated group were as follows: the total number of procedures was 7.050, and the rate of reoperation was 3.949 procedures a year. The proportion of patients who suffered from complications connected with operative treatment and who had a bad outcome was higher in the conventionally-treated group than in the neuroendoscopic one.     

Autoimmunity in transfusion babesiosis: A spectrum of clinical presentations

Transfusion‐acquired babesiosis can be an asymptomatic or self‐limited febrile hemolytic illness in a healthy host. A persistent, relapsing, and/or fulminant course with the development of life‐threatening complications may be seen in immunocompromised or splenectomized patients. As in malaria, erythrocyte parasitemia is often associated with nonimmune hemolysis, and can be treated with erythrocytapheresis. Just as warm autoantibodies have been reported in malaria infection, the development of autoantibody‐mediated immune hemolysis has been reported in babesiosis. We treated a previously healthy male with multiple injuries from a motor vehicle accident necessitating massive transfusion. Late in the hospitalization, his blood smear revealed Babesia microti, confirmed by PCR study and serology. This was eventually traced to a unit of blood from an asymptomatic blood donor that was transfused during his initial trauma care. Specific antibiotic therapy was begun, and severe hemolysis from a high parasite burden required red blood cell exchange which led to rapid abatement of the hemolysis. He had a positive DAT (IgG with a pan‐reactive eluate) but no serum autoantibody. This persisted for 10 days following cessation of hemolysis, and became negative while still on antibiotics while his parasite burden became undetectable. Reports of autoimmunity associated with community acquired babesiosis often have severe hemolysis from their autoantibodies, but our case shows that autoantibodies may also follow transfusion‐acquired babesiosis. The nature of the autoantigen is unknown. J. Clin. Apheresis, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Electrooxidation of quercetin at glassy carbon electrode studied by a.c. impedance spectroscopy

The present paper reports cyclic voltammetry and a.c. impedance spectroscopy studies on adsorption and electrooxidation of quercetin (3,3′,4′,5,7-pentahydroxyflavone) compound at glassy carbon electrode surface in 0.1 M sodium acetate–acetic acid buffer in 90% methanol solution. The resulted information provided support for a cascade electrooxidation mechanism, which process commences with oxidation of catechol hydroxyl groups and involves strongly adsorbed reaction intermediate. The significance of each oxidation step is explained through associated charge-transfer resistance (derived for all individual oxidation steps and electrosorption of quercetin) and capacitance parameters. This work also presents an original way to regenerate the surface of glassy carbon electrode (after being blocked by quercetin oxidation products) through voltammetric cycling over the potential range negative to the hydrogen reversible potential. The above is realized by means of in situ evolved hydrogen, which species is capable of electrochemically reducing products formed during the cascade electrooxidation reaction of quercetin.     

Heat shock proteins in children and young adults on chronic hemodialysis

Chronic inflammation, lipid and autoimmune disorders are hallmarks of atherogenesis, and hemodialysis per se may be an additional factor predisposing to accelerated atherosclerosis. Elevated levels of heat shock proteins (HSP) and antibodies against these HSP have been described in adults with atherosclerotic lesions and cardiovascular events, but to date there has been a scarcity of investigations on these parameters in adult and pediatric patients on hemodialysis (HD). We have investigated the HSP profile in hemodialyzed children and the impact of a single HD session on those proteins and their correlations with known risk factors for atherosclerosis. The study group consisted of 17 children and young adults undergoing HD with polysulfone membranes. The control group comprised 15 age-matched subjects with normal kidney function. The serum concentrations of Hsp60, Hsp90alpha, anti-Hsp60, anti-Hsp70, and sE-selectin were assessed by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and serum concentration of high-sensitivity-C-reactive protein was assayed by nephelometry. The serum lipid profile [total cholesterol (CHOL), high-density lipoprotein-CHOL, low-density lipoprotein-CHOL, triglycerides] was also estimated. Compared to the control values, the median values of Hsp60 before the HD session were lower, whereas those of Hsp90alpha and anti-Hsp60 were higher. A single HD session raised the median values of Hsp60 and Hsp90alpha and decreased the concentrations of anti-Hsp60 and anti-Hsp70. In addition, the concentrations of HSPs and the antibodies against them correlated with the lipid markers both before and after HD. The altered HSP and anti-HSP concentrations in HD children, which correlated with the lipid profile and the endothelial markers, suggest a dysfunctional HSP system in this population and the possibility of HSPs being classified as new markers of atherosclerosis.     

Application of the anthropometric discriminant functions in estimation of carrier probabilities in Martin-Bell syndrome

A method of estimating the likelihood ratio and the risk of an individual being affected with Martin Bell syndrome (MBS) from anthropometric measurements is described. The procedure is based on the discriminant functions (one for each sex), generated in our previous study in order to separate the individuals with MBS from the normal individuals. The procedure is illustrated by the examples of estimating the likelihood and the likelihood ratio in four individuals of either sex, belonging to MBS families, where the discriminant score value obtained from each individual is compared with the empirical (normalized) distribution of discriminant scores from the known MBS and normal subjects of a corresponding sex. The ways in which the risk of an individual being MBS is estimated in the general population or in members of the MBS families are indicated. The limitations of the discriminant diagnosis based on body measurements, as well as its particular applications in studies of the Martin-Bell syndrome, are discussed.