Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown on the Nasopharyngeal Microbiota of Children and Adults Self-Confined at Home

The increased incidence of COVID-19 cases and deaths in Spain in March 2020 led to the declaration by the Spanish government of a state of emergency imposing strict confinement measures on the population. The objective of this study was to characterize the nasopharyngeal microbiota of children and adults and its relation to SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 severity during the pandemic lockdown in Spain. This cross-sectional study included family households located in metropolitan Barcelona, Spain, with one adult with a previous confirmed COVID-19 episode and one or more exposed co-habiting child contacts. Nasopharyngeal swabs were used to determine SARS-CoV-2 infection status, characterize the nasopharyngeal microbiota and determine common respiratory DNA/RNA viral co-infections. A total of 173 adult cases and 470 exposed children were included. Overall, a predominance of Corynebacterium and Dolosigranulum and a limited abundance of common pathobionts including Haemophilus and Streptococcus were found both among adults and children. Children with current SARS-CoV-2 infection presented higher bacterial richness and increased Fusobacterium, Streptococcus and Prevotella abundance than non-infected children. Among adults, persistent SARS-CoV-2 RNA was associated with an increased abundance of an unclassified member of the Actinomycetales order. COVID-19 severity was associated with increased Staphylococcus and reduced Dolosigranulum abundance. The stringent COVID-19 lockdown in Spain had a significant impact on the nasopharyngeal microbiota of children, reflected in the limited abundance of common respiratory pathobionts and the predominance of Corynebacterium, regardless of SARS-CoV-2 detection. COVID-19 severity in adults was associated with decreased nasopharynx levels of healthy commensal bacteria.     

Acute assessment of subjective appetite and implicated hormones after a hypnosis-induced hallucinated meal: a randomized cross-over pilot trial

Reviews in Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders - The use of hypnosis can generate hallucinatory phenomena, which ranged from vivid/auditory imagery to fully developed “hallucinations” in...     

Identification of potentially druggable molecular alterations in skin adnexal malignancies

Skin adnexal cancers (SAC) are a heterogeneous group of rare malignancies with histological differentiation towards epithelial adnexa, which lack effective systemic treatments. The aim of this work is to identify any potentially druggable genomic alterations for possible targeted therapies. Cases of primary or recurrent/metastatic (RM) SAC between 2002 and 2014 were identified by searching the institutional cancer registration database. Histological sections of all referral cases were reviewed by a dedicated pathologist to confirm diagnosis. Immunohistochemistry was performed to assess the expression of androgen receptors (AR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2 (HER2). Targeted next‐generation sequencing (T‐NGS) was performed to identify targetable mutations (panel of 50 genes analyzed by Cancer Hotspot Panel, Ion‐Torrent Personal Genome Machine). Mutational analysis of the PTCH1 gene not present in the T‐NGS panel was assessed by Sanger sequencing. A total of 45 cases with available histological samples were identified (35 primary, 10 RM). The most frequent histological type was porocarcinoma (n = 12). Globally, 14 cases (31%) were AR+ (6/10 RM, 60%; 8/35 primary, 23%). HER2 was shown as 2+ in eight of 42 (19%) cases (2/9 RM, 22%; 6/33 primary, 18%). DNA was adequate for T‐NGS analysis in 25 cases. In the majority of cases (17 cases, 68%) at least one mutation in oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes was found: the most frequent ones involved TP.53 (13 cases, 76% of mutated SAC) and PIK3CA (three cases, 18%). The rate of PTCH1 mutation was 30%. These findings support the use of molecular screening in patients with advanced SAC.     

Inducible nitric oxide synthase inhibition attenuates lung tissue responsiveness and remodeling in a model of chronic pulmonary inflammation in guinea pigs

We evaluated the influence of iNOS-derived NO on the mechanics, inflammatory, and remodeling process in peripheral lung parenchyma of guinea pigs with chronic pulmonary allergic inflammation. Animals treated or not with 1400 W were submitted to seven exposures of ovalbumin in increasing doses. Seventy-two hours after the 7th inhalation, lung strips were suspended in a Krebs organ bath, and tissue resistance and elastance measured at baseline and after ovalbumin challenge. The strips were submitted to histopathological measurements. The ovalbumin-exposed animals showed increased maximal responses of resistance and elastance (p < 0.05), eosinophils counting (p < 0.001), iNOS-positive cells (p < 0.001), collagen and elastic fiber deposition (p < 0.05), actin density (p < 0.05) and 8-iso-PGF2α expression (p < 0.001) in alveolar septa compared to saline-exposed ones. Ovalbumin-exposed animals treated with 1400 W had a significant reduction in lung functional and histopathological findings (p < 0.05). We showed that iNOS-specific inhibition attenuates lung parenchyma constriction, inflammation, and remodeling, suggesting NO-participation in the modulation of the oxidative stress pathway.     

Recurrent renal cell cancer: 10 years or more after nephrectomy

Localized renal cell carcinoma (RCC) responds well to surgery. Patients often question how long they have to be on surveillance after their surgery. Several follow-up patterns have been described in the literature. Until 2009, no published established Canadian guidelines existed to assist Canadian health-care practitioners in the surveillance of these patients. We present 3 cases of RCC that recurred 10 years or longer after the initial nephrectomy. These cases emphasize the need for careful long-term follow-up, as recommended in the Canadian Urological Association guidelines. We also discuss the optimism of prolonged disease survival in the era of novel therapeutic agents that target angiogenesis.     

Impact of a hospital-wide antimicrobial formulary intervention on the incidence of multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria

We examined the impact of an antimicrobial formulary change, based on reduction in third-generation cephalosporin use, on resistant gram-negative pathogens in a tertiary hospital. No significant changes were demonstrated in their incidence per 1000 patient-days. Otherwise, there was a significant decrease in rate of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (63.1% to 52.5%, P = .04) and third-generation cephalosporin-resistant Enterobacter species (31.4% to 25%, P = .04) between the 2 study periods. On the other hand, there was also a significant increase in rate of ampicillin-sulbactam-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (8% to 47%, P = .01) after the implementation of the formulary intervention.     

Combining cell and gene therapy to advance cardiac regeneration

Introduction: The characterization of multipotent endogenous cardiac stem cells (eCSCs) and the breakthroughs of somatic cell reprogramming to boost cardiomyocyte replacement have fostered the prospect of achieving functional heart repair/regeneration.

Areas covered: Allogeneic CSC therapy through its paracrine stimulation of the endogenous resident reparative/regenerative process produces functional meaningful myocardial regeneration in pre-clinical porcine myocardial infarction models and is currently tested in the first-in-man human trial. The in vivo test of somatic reprogramming and cardioregenerative non-coding RNAs revived the interest in gene therapy for myocardial regeneration. The latter, together with the advent of genome editing, has prompted most recent efforts to produce genetically-modified allogeneic CSCs that secrete cardioregenerative factors to optimize effective myocardial repair.

Expert opinion: The current war against heart failure epidemics in western countries seeks to find effective treatments to set back the failing hearts prolonging human lifespan. Off-the-shelf allogeneic-genetically-modified CSCs producing regenerative agents are a novel and evolving therapy set to be affordable, safe, effective and available at all times for myocardial regeneration to either prevent or treat heart failure.     

Evaluating the clinical accuracy of GlucoMen®Day: a novel microdialysis-based continuous glucose monitor

Background

The objective of this work was to determine the clinical accuracy of GlucoMen®Day, a new microdialysis-based continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS) from A. Menarini Diagnostics (Florence, Italy). Accuracy evaluation was performed using continuous glucose-error grid analysis (CG-EGA), as recommended by the Performance Metrics for Continuous Interstitial Glucose Monitoring; Approved Guideline (POCT05-A).

Methods

Two independent clinical trials were carried out on patients with types 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus, the glycemic levels of whom were monitored in an in-home setting for 100-hour periods. A new multiparametric algorithm was developed and used to compensate in real-time the GlucoMen®Day signal.The time lag between continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) and reference data was first estimated using the Poincaré plot method. The entire set of CGM/reference data pairs was then evaluated following the CG-EGA criteria, which allowed an estimation of the combined point and rate accuracy stratified by glycemic ranges.

Results

With an estimated time lag of 11 minutes, the linear regression analysis of the CGM/reference glucose values yielded r = 0.92. The mean absolute error (MAE) was 11.4 mg/dl. The calculated mean absolute rate deviation (MARD) was 0.63 mg/dl/min. The data points falling within the A+B zones of CG-EGA were 100% in hypoglycemia, 95.7% in euglycemia, and 95.2% in hyperglycemia.

Conclusions

The GlucoMen®Day system provided reliable, real-time measurement of subcutaneous glucose levels in patients with diabetes for up to 100 hours. The device showed the ability to follow rapid glycemic excursions and detect severe hypoglycemic events accurately. Its accuracy parameters fitted the criteria of the state-of-the-art consensus guideline for CGMS, with highly consistent results from two independent studies.