Sequence Similarities and Evolutionary Relationships of Influenza Virus A Hemagglutinins

This study brings the analysis of amino acid sequences of hemagglutinin (HA) from the influenza virus A that can infect a wide variety of birds and mammals. 191 sequences belonging to all known 15 HA subtypes were compared. The emphasis was given on functional sites (receptor-binding cavity with its right and left edges) and degree of their conservation in each subtype. Three evolutionary trees of 15 avian HA representatives were constructed: one tree based on the alignment of the entire HA sequences and two trees based on the alignment of HA1 and HA2 chains, respectively. The results have shown that, despite low degree of sequence similarity among the 191 sequences of HA1 subunit, the active site is well conserved, and that there are only marginal differences in the clustering of the individual HA subtypes between the two subunit trees. In this respect, the subtype H9 seems to be the most fluctuating example. The proposals of the probable avian HAs that could be the closest relatives to human (mammalian) HAs were also provided for several HA subtypes.     

HIPEC in patients with primary advanced ovarian cancer: Is there a role? A systematic review of short- and long-term outcomes

A systematic review of the studies where HIPEC combined with cytoreductive surgery was used in patients with primary advanced ovarian cancer was performed to understand is there a role for this treatment modality not only in recurrent but in primary advanced ovarian cancer. The results are controversial but there is a strong trend for improvement of the long-term outcomes of patients with primary advanced ovarian cancer after HIPEC.     

Main lymphoid subpopulations and their mitogenic response after lethal irradiation and transplantation of syngeneic bone marrow from young and old donors

The recovery of T-lymphocyte subpopulations depends on the age of the stem cell donor. After transplantation of bone marrow cells from old donors, the CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ cell counts decrease, while the number of cells with the memory cell phenotype (CD4⁺CD44^high) in the CD4⁺-lymphocyte population increases. Lymphocyte proliferation in irradiated mice does not depend on the age of the stem cell donor. Our findings indicate that bone marrow stem cells change with age and transfer information regarding the donor's age. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 122, No. 9, pp. 301–304, September, 1996     

Optimal planning of remote irradiation

Moscow Radiotechnical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences. Translated from Meditsinskaya Tekhnika, No. 6, pp. 12–13, November–December, 1992.     

Small Fiber Neuropathy in Sarcoidosis

Sarcoidosis (SC) is a granulomatous disease of an unknown origin. The most common SC-related neurological complication is a small fiber neuropathy (SFN) that is often considered to be the result of chronic inflammation and remains significantly understudied. This study aimed to identify the clinical and histological correlates of small fiber neuropathy in sarcoidosis patients. The study was performed in 2018–2019 yy and included 50 patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis (n = 25) and healthy subjects (n = 25). For the clinical verification of the SFN, the “Small Fiber Neuropathy Screening List” (SFN-SL) was used. A punch biopsy of the skin was performed followed by enzyme immunoassay analysis with PGP 9.5 antibodies. Up to 60% of the sarcoidosis patients reported the presence of at least one complaint, and it was possible that these complaints were associated with SFN. The most frequent complaints included dysfunctions of the cardiovascular and musculoskeletal systems and the gastrointestinal tract. A negative, statistically significant correlation between the intraepidermal nerve fiber density (IEND) and SFN-SL score was revealed. In patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis, small fiber neuropathy might develop as a result of systemic immune-mediated inflammation. The most common symptoms of this complication were dysautonomia and mild sensory dysfunction.     

Device-based neuromodulation for cardiovascular diseases and patient’ s age

The autonomic nervous system plays an important role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases. With aging, autonomic activity changes, and this impacts the physiological reactions to internal and external signals. Both sympathetic and parasympathetic responses seem to decline, reflecting functional and structural changes in nervous regulation. Although some investigators suggested that both the sympathetic and parasympathetic activities were suppressed, others found that only the parasympathetic activity was suppressed while the sympathetic activity increased. In addition, cardiac innervation progressively diminishes with aging. Therefore, one may suggest that neuromodulation interventions may have different effects, and older age groups can express an attenuated response. This article aims to discuss the effect of device-based neuromodulation in different cardiovascular diseases, depending on the patient’s age. Thus, we cover renal denervation, pulmonary artery denervation, baroreceptor activation therapy, vagus nerve stimulation, spinal cord stimulation, ganglionated plexi ablation for the management of arterial and pulmonary hypertension, heart failure, angina and arrhythmias. The results of many clinical studies appeared to be unconvincing. In view of the low rate of positive findings in clinical studies incorporating neuromodulation approaches, we suggest the underestimation of advanced age as a potential contributing factor to poorer response. Analysis of outcomes between different age groups in clinical trials may shed more light on the true effects of neuromodulation when neutral/ambiguous results are obtained.

The autonomic nervous system (ANS) plays a central role in cardiovascular regulation. In the early stages of cardiovascular diseases, the ANS regulates adaptive resources to unfavorable circumstances and provides a compensatory salvation to functional changes.^[1] However, during further pathological development, the ANS enters into a vicious circle and contributes to cardiovascular deterioration.^[2] Thus, sympathetic overactivity corresponds to the progression of myocardial dysfunction and vascular remodeling. Therefore, approaches to modulate ANS activity, in order to manage many cardiovascular diseases, have been under development for a long time.With aging, autonomic activity changes, and this impacts the physiological reactions to internal and external signals. Both sympathetic and parasympathetic ANS responses seem to decline, reflecting functional and structural changes in nervous regulation.^[3] Although some investigators suggested that both the sympathetic and parasympathetic activities were suppressed,^[3] others found that only the parasympathetic activity was suppressed while the sympathetic activity increased.^[4] In addition, cardiac innervation progressively diminishes with aging.^[5] Therefore, one may suggest that neuromodulation interventions may have different effects, and older age groups can express an attenuated response. Although there is a lack of direct comparison of ANS interventions in the elderly, some clinical studies addressed this issue in their primary or ancillary analyses.Over the last decades, devices that modify the ANS have been developed and tested for the management of conditions, such as systemic and pulmonary hypertension, heart failure, ischemic heart disease, arrhythmias, and hypotension (Figure 1).Open in a separate windowFigure 1Autonomic nervous system modulation in cardiovascular disease and age-related effects.The Figure was partly generated using Servier Medical Art.Here, we present a brief overview of the main clinical studies on the use of device-based ANS modulation in different cardiovascular pathologies. This review focuses specifically on comparing the outcomes of these techniques in patients with advanced age to those in younger patients.     

Porous composite prosthetic pylon for integration with skin and bone

This article presents results of the further development and testing of the "skin and bone integrated pylon" (SBIP-1) for percutaneous (through skin) connection of the residual bone with an external limb prosthesis. We investigated a composite structure (called the SBIP-2) made of titanium particles and fine wires using mathematical modeling and mechanical testing. Results showed that the strength of the pylon was comparable with that of anatomical bone. In vitro and in vivo animal studies on 30 rats showed that the reinforcement of the composite pylon did not compromise its previously shown capacity for inviting skin and bone cell ingrowth through the device. These findings provide evidence for the safe and reliable long-term percutaneous transfer of vital and therapeutic substances, signals, and necessary forces and moments from a prosthetic device to the body.