Oxidative Stress in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Case Control Study

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders - Oxidative stress has been proposed as being important in the pathophysiology of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and heightened levels of oxidative...     

Systematic identification and stratification of help-seeking school-aged youth with mental health problems: a novel approach to stage-based stepped-care

We investigated whether a novel visitation model for school-aged youth with mental health problems based on a stage-based stepped-care approach facilitated a systematic identification and stratification process without problems with equity in access. The visitation model was developed within the context of evaluating a new transdiagnostic early treatment for youth with anxiety, depressive symptoms, and/or behavioural problems. The model aimed to identify youth with mental health problems requiring an intervention, and to stratify the youth into three groups with increasing severity of problems. This was accomplished using a two-phase stratification process involving a web-based assessment and a semi-structured psychopathological interview of the youth and parents. To assess problems with inequity in access, individual-level socioeconomic data were obtained from national registers with data on both the youth participating in the visitation and the background population. Altogether, 573 youth and their parents took part in the visitation process. Seventy-five (13%) youth had mental health problems below the intervention threshold, 396 (69%) were deemed eligible for the early treatment, and 52 (9%) had symptoms of severe mental health problems. Fifty (9%) youth were excluded for other reasons. Eighty percent of the 396 youth eligible for early treatment fulfilled criteria of a mental disorder. The severity of mental health problems highlights the urgent need for a systematic approach. Potential problems in reaching youth of less resourceful parents, and older youth were identified. These findings can help ensure that actions are taken to avoid equity problems in future mental health care implementations.

     

Forensic postmortem computed tomography: volumetric measurement of the heart and liver

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate the utility of postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) images in estimating organ sizes and to examine the use of the cardiothoracic ratio (CTR).

Methods

We included 45 individuals (19 females), who underwent a medico-legal autopsy. Using the computer software program Mimics^®, we determined in situ heart and liver volumes derived from linear measurements (width, height and depth) on a whole body PMCT-scan, and compared the volumes with ex vivo volumes derived by CT-scan of the eviscerated heart and liver. The ex vivo volumes were also compared with the organ weights. Further, we compared the CTR with the ex vivo heart volume and a heart weight-ratio (HWR). Intra- and inter-observer analyses were performed.

Results

We found no correlation between the in situ and ex vivo volumes of the heart and liver. However, a highly significant correlation was found between the ex vivo volumes and weights of the heart and liver. No correlations between CTR and the ex vivo heart volume nor with HWR was found. Concerning cardiomegaly, we found no agreement between the CTR and HWR. The intra- and inter-observer analyses showed no significant differences.

Conclusions

Noninvasive in situ PMCT methods for organ measuring, as performed in this study, are not useful tools in forensic pathology. The best method to estimate organ volume is a CT-scan of the eviscerated organ. PMCT-determined CTR seems to be useless for ascertaining cardiomegaly, as it neither correlated with the ex vivo heart volume nor with the HWR.

     

The promise of urethral pressure reflectometry: an update

Introduction and hypothesis

The urethral closure mechanism in women is incompletely understood. Measuring closure function in a collapsed urethral tube without distending the tube and changing its natural shape is impossible with conventional methods. Over the last decade, studies with urethral pressure reflectometry (UPR), a method that measures pressure and the corresponding cross-sectional area along the entire length of the urethra continuously by means of acoustic reflectometry, have been performed. The studies have mainly been performed on patients with stress urinary incontinence (SUI).

Methods

Our aim was to provide an overview of the studies conducted with UPR, establishing whether the method may be used in clinical practice. We reviewed all literature published on UPR.

Results

Urethral pressure reflectometry is easily performed with limited bother for the patient. The catheter consists of a 45-cm-long PVC tube connected to a thin and highly flexible polyurethane bag, which is placed in the urethra. When inserted, the bag only occupies 0.4 mm² of the urethra, respecting the natural shape and orientation of the urethra and, most importantly; respecting the laws of physics when measuring urethral pressure. UPR can discriminate patients with SUI from continent women and separate assessment of the sphincter function and support system is possible. Also, UPR has revealed statistically significant differences in urethral pressures after drug therapy for SUI.

Conclusions

We conclude that UPR has a place in clinical practice. The method has shown groundbreaking potential in the understanding of urethral dysfunction in SUI patients.

     

Biological Trojan horse: Antigen 43 provides specific bacterial uptake and survival in human neutrophils

Escherichia coli is a versatile pathogen causing millions of infections in humans every year. This bacterium can form multicellular aggregates when it expresses a self-associating protein, antigen 43 (Ag43), on its surface. We have discovered that Ag43-expressing E. coli cells are efficiently taken up by human defense cells, polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs), in an opsonin-independent manner. Surprisingly, the phagocytosed bacteria were not immediately killed but resided as tight aggregates within the PMNs. Our observations indicate that Ag43-mediated uptake and survival in PMNs constitute a mechanism to subvert one of the primary defense mechanisms of the human body.     

Cytopathic effects of chum salmon reovirus to salmonid epithelial, fibroblast and macrophage cell lines

The cytopathic effect (CPE) of chum salmon reovirus (CSV), an aquareovirus, was studied in three salmonid cell lines: epithelial-like CHSE-214 from Chinook salmon embryo, fibroblast-like RTG-2, and monocyte/macrophage-like RTS11, both from rainbow trout. CHSE-214 and RTG-2 supported syncytia formation with more dramatic syncytia being observed in CHSE-214 cultures, while CSV induced homotypic aggregation (HA) in RTS11. Syncytia and HA formation were blocked by cycloheximide and ribavirin but not actinomycin D, suggesting that expression of CSV genes were required for both phenomena. Cultures with syncytia underwent a decline in cell viability, which appeared to be via apoptosis, as determined by intranucleosomal fragmentation and caspase dependence assays using the pan-caspase inhibitor, zVAD-fmk. In the presence of zVAD-fmk, CHSE-214 cultures continued to form syncytia and show diminished energy metabolism, but DNA fragmentation, the loss of membrane integrity, and the release of infectious CSV were considerably blocked. These results suggest that the formation of syncytia triggers apoptosis and a leaky plasma membrane, which enhances viral release. By contrast, RTS11 cultures undergoing HA showed no loss of cell viability. The significance of HA is unclear, but the response suggests that macrophage behaviour in rainbow trout potentially could be modulated by CSV.