Twins prematurity – the influence of prenatal surveillance

Objective: To evaluate the influence of the local prenatal surveillance of twin pregnancies in the obstetrical results.

Methods: A prospective cohort study of multiple pregnancies delivered over a period of 16 years in a tertiary centre was conducted. In this study 861 twin pregnancies were included. They were compared for obstetric complications, gestational age at delivery, mode of delivery and birthweight, according to the place of the surveillance.

Results: Of the 861 cases examined, the following obstetric complications were significantly different: metrorrhagia (p?=?0.039), infections (p?p?=?0.007), PROMPT (p?p?=?0.024). The mode of delivery was similar but occurred mostly ≤32 weeks (p?p?Conclusion: Our results demonstrate the crucial importance of prenatal surveillance be carried in a differentiated referral centers with specific/strict protocols or the urgent implementation of same protocols in all other places of surveillance, since this straight surveillance greatly reduces the occurrence of prenatal complications, mainly PROMPT, PTD.     

Hepatocellular carcinoma risk after viral response in hepatitis C virus-advanced fibrosis: Who to screen and for how long?

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) chronic infection is associated with fibrosis progression, end-stage liver complications and HCC. Not surprisingly, HCV infection is a leading cause of liver-related morbidity and mortality worldwide. After sustained virological response (SVR), the risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma is not completely eliminated in patients with established cirrhosis or with advanced fibrosis. Therefore, lifelong surveillance is currently recommended. This strategy is likely not universally cost-effective and harmless, considering that not all patients with advanced fibrosis have the same risk of developing HCC. Factors related to the severity of liver disease and its potential to improve after SVR, the molecular and epigenetic changes that occur during infection and other associated comorbidities might account for different risk levels and are likely essential for identifying patients who would benefit from screening programs after SVR. Efforts to develop predictive models and risk calculators, biomarkers and genetic panels and even deep learning models to estimate the individual risk of HCC have been made in the direct-acting antiviral agents era, when thousands of patients with advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis have reached SVR. These tools could help to identify patients with very low HCC risk in whom surveillance might not be justified. In this review, factors affecting the probability of HCC development after SVR, the benefits and risks of surveillance, suggested strategies to estimate individualized HCC risk and the current evidence to recommend lifelong surveillance are discussed.     

Liver Involvement in Obese Children (Ultrasonography and Liver Enzyme Levels at Diagnosis and During Follow-up in an Italian Population)

Our aim was to evaluate incidence and riskfactors of liver involvement in obese Italian childrenas assessed by both ultrasonographic and biochemicalparameters. In seventy-five consecutive obese children (age 9.5 ± 2.9 years, males/females41/34), serum levels of enzymes and ultrasonography ofthe liver were evaluated. Tests were repeated one,three, and six months after starting a moderatehypocaloric diet and an exercise program. Three obese childrenwho were found to have chronic viral hepatitis wereexcluded from the study. Thirty-eight of 72 (53%) obesechildren had an ultrasonographic image of bright liver consistent with liver steatosis. Thelatter was severe in nine children, moderate in 16, andmild in 13. Eighteen obese children (25%) had elevatedtransaminase levels. Bright liver andhypertransaminasemia were not due to any of the most common causesof liver disease. Both were rapidly responsive to lossof weight, confirming that liver involvement wassecondary to obesity and that steatosis orsteatohepatitis rather than fibrosis were involved. Obesityduration not more than three years (odds ratio = 4.77),a higher degree of obesity (odds ratio = 2.09), andhypertransaminasemia (odds ratio = 2.15) appeared asimportant predictive factors of liver involvement atultrasonography. Incidence of liver involvement assessedby means of ultrasonography is significantly higher thanthat revealed by measurement of serum liver enzymes. A short duration of obesity emerged as apotentially new risk factor of liver involvement in thepediatric obese population and needs to be confirmed infuture studies.     

Defective expression and function of the ILT2/CD85j regulatory receptor in dendritic cells from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

Dendritic cells (DCs) play an important role in inducing immune tolerance. Inhibitory receptors, such as ILT2/CD85j, are involved in the tolerogenic effect of DCs and previous studies have indicated the important role of these receptors on the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression and function of ILT2 in DCs from SLE patients. Peripheral blood from fifty patients with SLE and 38 healthy volunteers was obtained. ILT2 expression was assessed by flow cytometry. DCs were generated in the absence or presence of an anti-ILT2 antibody. The effect of ILT2 in the immunogenic ability of SLE DCs was also evaluated. We observed that SLE patients had significant higher levels of circulating plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs), and that these levels correlated with disease activity. In contrast, the expression of ILT2 was diminished in both pDCs and myeloid DCs (mDCs) from these patients. However, under our experimental conditions, the in vitro differentiation of DCs was not apparently affected by ILT2 engagement. In contrast, the immunogenic capability of monocyte-derived DCs was not down-regulated by ILT2 cross-linking in a significant proportion of SLE patients. Our results suggest that ILT2 participates in the defective immune-regulation observed in patients with SLE.     

Activation profile of dorsal root ganglia Iba-1 (+) macrophages varies with the type of lesion in rats

The interactions between neurons, immune and immune-like glial cells can initiate the abnormal processes that underlie neuropathic pain. In the peripheral nervous system the resident macrophages may play an important role. In this study we investigated in experimental adult Sprague-Dawley rats how Iba-1 (ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule 1) (+) resident macrophages in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) are activated after a spinal nerve ligation (SNL) or streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes. The activation profile was defined by comparing the responses of resident macrophages against microglia in the spinal cord as they share a common origin. After SNL, the Iba-1 (+) macrophages in L5 DRG reached their activation peak 5 days later, clustered as satellite cells around large A-neurons, expressed the MHC-II marker, but did not show p-p38 and p-ERK1/2 activation and did not secrete IL-18. After STZ-induced diabetes, the Iba-1 (+) macrophages reached their activation peak 1 week later in L4 and L5 DRG, remained scattered between neurons, expressed the MHC-II marker only in L5 DRG, did not show p-p38 and p-ERK1/2 activation and did not secrete any of the investigated cytokines/chemokines. These responses suggest that depending on the type of lesion DRG Iba-1 (+) resident macrophages have different activation mechanisms, which are dissimilar to those in microglia.     

Social Camouflaging in Females with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with increasing prevalence, and a male-to-female ratio of 4:1. Research has been suggesting that discrepancy in prevalence may be due to the fact that females camouflage their symptoms. In this study, we aimed to systematically review evidence on the camouflage effect in females with ASD. Following the PRISMA guidelines, we reviewed empirical research published from January 2009 to September 2019 on PubMed, Web of Science, PsychInfo and Scopus databases. Thirteen empirical articles were included in this review. Overall, evidence supports that camouflaging seems to be an adaptive mechanism for females with ASD, despite the negative implications of these behaviours in their daily life.

     

Pathology,pathophysiology, and treatment strategies of endocrine disorders and their cardiac complications

The cardiovascular system is affected by a multitude of endocrine disorders, including dysfunction of the thyroid, calcium, glucocorticoids, insulin/glucose, and growth hormone axes. Since most of these changes in the cardiovascular system are reversible when treated, early diagnosis is important, as if left untreated, they may become fatal. This review focuses on the pathophysiology, clinical presentation, pathology, and treatment of patients with these endocrine diseases who present with a variety of cardiovascular manifestations. Neuroendocrine tumors presenting with the carcinoid syndrome and their cardiovascular manifestations are also discussed.     

Naegleria fowleri glycoconjugates with residues of α-d-mannose are involved in adherence of trophozoites to mouse nasal mucosa

We analyzed the possible role of glycoconjugates containing α-d-mannose and α-d-glucose residues in adherence of trophozoites to mouse nasal epithelium. Trophozoites incubated with 20 μg of one of three different lectins which preferentially recognized these residues were inoculated intranasally in Balb/c mice. Mouse survival was 40 % with Pisum sativum and Canavalia ensiformis and 20 % with Galanthus nivalis amebic pretreatment, compared with 0 % survival for control animals administered trophozoites without pretreatment. Possibly some of the glycoproteins found in Naegleria fowleri represent an adherence factor. Differences in the saccharide sequences of the Naegleria species, even on the same glycoconjugate structure, could explain the different results corresponding to the distinct pretreatments (C. ensiformis, G. nivalis, and P. sativum). We found a higher expression of glycoconjugates recognized by P. sativum in Naegleria lovaniensis than N. fowleri, probably due to the higher number of oligosaccharides containing an α-1,6-linked fucose moiety expressed on the former species.