Endovascular repair of complex aortic aneurysms

Since the first published report of a fenestrated endovascular aneurysm repair, we have seen an expansion in the range of custom-made devices used to manage complex aortic aneurysms. Fenestrated devices, branched devices, and chimneys are now frequently used in many centers to repair these aneurysms. Similar to standard endovascular aneurysm repair, the advantages of less operative blood loss, decreased hospital stay, and reduced risk of morbidity and mortality hold true for endovascular repair of complex aneurysms as well. This is contrasted by the requirement for long-term surveillance and increased incidence of secondary interventions.     

Reversibility of acute intermediate phase bilirubin encephalopathy

Aim:  To show the potential for reversing acute intermediate to advanced phase bilirubin encephalopathy.
Methods:  Case studies.
Results:  Six extremely jaundiced infants had symptoms of intermediate to advanced phase acute bilirubin encephalopathy. The infants were treated aggressively. Two patients had brain magnetic resonance imaging showing increased signals in the globus pallidus. On follow-up, all infants are neurologically normal.
Conclusions:  Intermediate-to-advanced stage acute bilirubin encephalopathy may occasionally be reversible. These cases provide a strong argument in favour of rapid and aggressive intervention in infants presenting with extreme jaundice and neurological symptoms.     

Phase Diagrams Map the Properties of Antiviral Agents Directed against Hepatitis B Virus Core Assembly

Assembly effectors are small molecules that induce inappropriate virus capsid assembly to antiviral effect. To identify attributes of hepatitis B virus (HBV) assembly effectors, assembly reaction products (normal capsid, noncapsid polymer, intermediates, and free dimeric core protein) were quantified in the presence of three experimental effectors: HAP12, HAP13, and AT-130. Effectors bound stoichiometrically to capsid protein polymers, but not free protein. Thermodynamic and kinetic effects, not aberrant assembly, correlate with maximal antiviral activity.     

Collection of blood, saliva, and buccal cell samples in a pilot study on the Danish nurse cohort: comparison of the response rate and quality of genomic DNA.

In this study, we compared the response rates of blood, saliva, and buccal cell samples in a pilot study on the Danish nurse cohort and examined the quantity and quality of the purified genomic DNA. Our data show that only 31% of the requested participants delivered a blood sample, whereas 72%, 80%, and 76% delivered a saliva sample, buccal cell sample via mouth swabs, or buccal cell sample on FTA card, respectively. Analysis of purified genomic DNA by NanoDrop and agarose gel electrophoresis revealed that blood and saliva samples resulted in DNA with the best quality, whereas the DNA quality from buccal cells was low. Genotype and PCR analysis showed that DNA from 100% of the blood samples and 72% to 84% of the saliva samples could be genotyped or amplified, whereas none of the DNA from FTA cards and only 23% of the DNA from mouth swabs could be amplified and none of the DNA from swabs and 94% of the DNA from FTA cards could be genotyped. Our study shows that the response rate of self-collection saliva samples and buccal cell samples were much higher than the response rate of blood samples in our group of Danish nurses. However, only the quality of genomic DNA from saliva samples was comparable with blood samples as accessed by purity, genotyping, and PCR amplification. We conclude that the use of saliva samples is a good alternative to blood samples to obtain genomic DNA of high quality and it will increase the response rate considerably in epidemiologic studies.