Concordant localization of functional urotensin II and urotensin II‐related peptide binding sites in the rat brain: Atypical occurrence close to the fourth ventricle

Urotensin II (UII) and Urotensin II‐related peptide (URP) are structurally related paralog peptides that exert peripheral and central effects. UII binding sites have been partly described in brain, and those of URP have never been reported. We exhaustively compared [¹²⁵I]‐UII and ‐URP binding site distributions in the adult rat brain, and found that they fully overlapped at the regional level. We observed UII/URP binding sites in structures lining ventricles, comprising the sphenoid nucleus and cell rafts scattered on a line joining the fourth ventricle and its lateral recess. After injection of UII and URP in the lateral ventricle, we observed c‐Fos‐positive cell nuclei in areas close to the fourth ventricle, indicating that these receptors are functional. Different c‐Fos‐containing cell populations were activated. They were all positive for vimentin and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), excluding the possibility of an ependymal nature. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that UII and URP binding sites are totally overlapping and that these sites were functional in regions bordering the fourth ventricle. These data support a role for UII/URP at the interface between brain parenchyma and cerebrospinal fluid. J. Comp. Neurol. 522:2634–2649, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Angiographic fate of side branch dissections in bifurcation lesions treated with a provisional single stenting strategy: A post‐hoc analysis of the international multicenter randomized DEBIUT study

Intervention to treat infrapopliteal arterial disease can be challenging because the patients' comorbidities, the anatomic variables, and the limitations of our techniques. Clinical scenarios based on anatomic and clinical variables are presented. Recommendations regarding intervention (appropriate care, may be appropriate care, rarely appropriate care) are made based on best evidence.© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

La maladie de Trevor: à propos de deux nouvelles observations

Trevor’s disease is a rare skeletal developmental disorder affecting the epiphysis in children. It usually affects a lower limb and involves one or more than one epiphysis. We report two new cases of Trevor’s disease of knee and ankle in 8 and 14 years old boys respectively. The treatment was surgical excision. We discuss the modalities of recognition and the treatment of this rare disease.     

Phytochemical,antioxidant and protective effect of cactus cladodes extract against lithium-induced liver injury in rats

Context: Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill. (Castaceae) (cactus) is used in Tunisian medicine for the treatment of various diseases.

Objective: This study determines phytochemical composition of cactus cladode extract (CCE). It also investigates antioxidant activity and hepatoprotective potential of CCE against lithium carbonate (Li₂CO₃)-induced liver injury in rats.

Materials and methods: Twenty-four Wistar male rats were divided into four groups of six each: a control group given distilled water (0.5?mL/100?g b.w.; i.p.), a group injected with Li₂CO₃ (25?mg/kg b.w.; i.p.; corresponding to 30% of the LD₅₀) twice daily for 30 days, a group receiving only CCE at 100?mg/kg of b.w. for 60 days and then injected with distilled water during the last 30 days of CCE treatment, and a group receiving CCE and then injected with Li₂CO₃ during the last 30 days of CCE treatment. The bioactive components containing the CCE were identified using chemical assays.

Results: Treatment with Li₂CO₃ caused a significant change of some haematological parameters including red blood cells (RBC), white blood cells (WBC), haemoglobin content (Hb), haematocrit (Ht) and mean corpuscular volume (VCM) compared to the control group. Moreover, significant increases in the levels of glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides and of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activities were observed in the blood of Li₂CO₃-treated rats. Furthermore, exposure to Li₂CO₃ significantly increased the LPO level and decreased superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities in the hepatic tissues.

Conclusion: CCE possesses a significant hepatoprotective effect.     

Osteotomy of the spine for multifocal deformities

Introduction

When a deformity involves more than one area of the spine, it becomes a multifocal deformity; such a deformity could either be extending on two adjacent segments, or be two separated deformities on two non-adjacent segments.

Materials and methods

The surgical management of multifocal spinal deformities is challenging and must be done through a thorough preoperative planning where spinal and pelvic parameters should accurately be determined. Different strategies should be applied depending on the type of the multifocal deformity, the area involved, the angulation and stiffness of the spine in that area, and the presence of either a pure sagittal malalignment or a combined coronal and sagittal malalignment. This paper discusses these strategies and gives guidelines regarding the use of the different osteotomy techniques depending on each different situation that the deformity spine surgeon may encounter. For instance, where is the ideal level to perform a pedicle subtraction osteotomy (PSO) in a multifocal deformity? How does one take advantage of the remaining high discs to increase the correction without the need for a second PSO? When and where does one perform an asymmetrical PSO? When and where does one perform two PSOs? How does navigation help the spine surgeon to push the surgical limits further in these complex cases?

Conclusion

All these questions about the management of multifocal deformities will be discussed and answered with technical details and concrete examples of the different situations that may be encountered.

     

White matter tracts lesions and decline of verbal fluency after deep brain stimulation in Parkinson's disease

Decline of verbal fluency (VF) performance is one of the most systematically reported neuropsychological adverse effects after subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN‐DBS). It has been suggested that this worsening of VF may be related to a microlesion due to the electrode trajectories. We describe the disruption of surrounding white matter tracts following electrode implantation in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients with STN‐DBS and assess whether damage of fiber pathways is associated with VF impairment after surgery. We retrospectively analyzed 48 PD patients undergoing bilateral STN DBS. The lesion mask along the electrode trajectory transformed into the MNI 152 coordinate system, was compared with white matter tract atlas in Tractotron software, which provides a probability and proportion of fibers disconnection. Combining tract‐ and atlas‐based analysis reveals that the trajectory of the electrodes intersected successively with the frontal aslant tract, anterior segment of arcuate tract, the long segment of arcuate tract, the inferior longitudinal fasciculus, the superior longitudinal fasciculus, the anterior thalamic radiation, and the fronto striatal tract. We found no association between the proportion fiber disconnection and the severity of VF impairment 6 months after surgery. Our findings demonstrated that microstructural injury associated with electrode trajectories involved white matter bundles implicated in VF networks.