Age is not a predictor of patent foramen ovale with right-to-left shunt in patients with cerebral ischemic events

BACKGROUND: Patent foramen ovale (PFO) with or without atrial septal aneurysm (ASA) is highly associated with cerebral ischemic events in young patients. The prevalence of PFO and ASA in elderly patients with cerebral ischemic events is not well described. OBJECTIVE: Our study is to evaluate the frequencies of PFO with right-to-left shunt (RLS) and ASA in elderly patients and to determine whether age is a predictor of flow-reversed PFO with RLS in cerebral ischemic events. METHODS: A prospective registry for all consecutive patients with cerebral ischemic events who were evaluated by transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) for the detection of possible cardiac source of embolization was established and maintained in a university hospital. Patients' demographics including age, gender, ethnic origin, cerebrovascular risk factors, and all positive TEE data were collected from July 2000 to August 2001 for statistical analysis. A univariate and multivariate stepwise logistic regression analysis was performed. RESULTS: In older patients the prevalence of PFO with RLS, PFO, and ASA was 25/118 (20%), 28/118 (24%), and 38/118 (32%), respectively, as opposed to younger patients, in whom it was 35/119 (30%), 39/119 (33%), and 38/119 (32%), respectively. Older patients had higher frequencies of hypertension (59; 69%), CAD (25; 21%), and prior history of stroke (23; 20%) as opposed to younger patients. Younger age (<60 years), gender, smoking history, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, CAD, and prior history of stroke were not associated with higher prevalence of PFO with RLS. Patent foramen ovale was associated with ASA (P < 0.001) and LVH (P < 0.019) in patients with TIA and stroke. In multivariate analysis only ASA (P < 0.001) remained significant with PFO, with RLS controlling for age, gender, and LVH. CONCLUSIONS: PFO with RLS and ASA are frequently present in elderly stroke and/or TIA patients and age is not a predictor for PFO. Transesophageal echocardiography should be considered for all stroke and/or TIA patients irrespective of their age.     

Failure of recombinant human interleukin-3 therapy to induce erythropoiesis in patients with refractory Diamond-Blackfan anemia [see comments]

In two previous studies, we observed that recombinant human interleukin- 3 (IL-3) induced an increase in marrow burst-forming unit-erythroid- derived colonies in vitro in some patients with Diamond-Blackfan anemia (DBA). To determine whether a similar erythropoietic response could be induced in vivo, we treated 13 patients with DBA (aged 4 to 19 years) with two preparations of IL-3. All patients had absent absolute reticulocyte counts and markedly reduced to absent recognizable bone marrow erythroid elements; patients with circulating reticulocytes in the previous 12 months were excluded from study. All patients except 1 had failed steroid therapy and had been transfusion-dependent since infancy; 1 patient was maintained on high-dose prednisone at the time of enrollment. On the first arm of the study, IL-3 (Immunex Corp, Seattle, WA) was administered subcutaneously using a dose escalation regimen of 125 to 500 micrograms/m2/day in divided dosage at 12-hour intervals, coadministered with 1.5 mg/kg/d of oral ferrous sulphate. Of the 13 patients that entered the trial, 4 stopped prematurely because of adverse side effects. In the other 9 evaluable cases, reticulocytes increased transiently in 1 patient from 0 to 65 x 10(9)/L after 35 days of IL-3 therapy at 250 micrograms/m2, but transfusion dependency persisted. One transient peak in absolute reticulocyte count was noted in 6 other patients, but no erythroid response was observed after completion of a full course of IL-3. Oral prednisone at 0.5 mg/kg/d was then coadministered with IL-3 at 500 micrograms/m2 to 5 of the patients without effect, and treatment was stopped. In 2 patients, a second preparation of IL-3 (Sandoz Canada Inc, Dorval, Quebec, Canada) was initiated in a dose escalation regimen of 2.5 to 10 micrograms/kg and was coadministered with ferrous sulphate. No erythroid response was observed in either patient, and in one of the two, alternate-day subcutaneous recombinant erythropoietin at 300 U/kg was administered for 3 weeks in combination with daily IL-3 at 10 micrograms/kg, but no increased erythropoiesis was seen. Significant increases in white blood cell and eosinophil counts during administration of both preparations of IL-3 were observed in all patients. These data show that the response of DBA patients to IL-3 in vivo is heterogeneous and cannot be predicted from in vitro studies. The absence of a corrective effect of IL-3 in these patients with DBA indicates that a deficiency of the cytokine is not central in the pathogenesis of the disorder.     

Active tuberculosis in inflammatory bowel disease patients under treatment from an endemic area in Latin America

BACKGROUNDThere has been an increase in cases of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in recent years. There is also greater access and availability of immunosuppressive and biological agents, which increase the risk of opportunistic infection despite improving the quality of life and promoting mucosal healing. Tuberculosis (TB) remains a public health problem, and it has a high incidence in several countries. Therefore, knowledge of the risk of developing TB in patients with IBD is important.AIMTo evaluate the risk of active TB in patients with IBD under treatment from an endemic area in Latin America.METHODSA standard questionnaire included demographic variables, clinical aspects of IBD disease, history of active TB during treatment, active TB characteristics and evolution, initial screening and results and time from the start of anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) to TB development.RESULTSAzathioprine, anti-TNFα and the combination of these two drugs were associated with a higher risk of active TB incidence. The TNFα blockers increased the relative risk of developing active TB compared to other treatments. All four multivariable models showed that the use of TNFα blockers alone or in combination with azathioprine was an important risk factor for the incidence of active TB. After adjustment for sex, age, type of IBD and latent TB, anti-TNFα with azathioprine increased the relative risk to 17.8 times more than conventional treatment. Late TB, which was diagnosed 3 mo after the start of anti-TNFα, was the most frequent.CONCLUSIONTreatment with anti-TNFα increased the risk of active TB in IBD patients from an endemic area in Latin America. This risk was increased when anti-TNFα was combined with azathioprine. The time from the beginning of the treatment to the active TB diagnosis suggests a new TB infection.     

Parkinson’s disease: considerations for dental hygienists

Abstract: The prevalence of Parkinson’s disease (PD) is expected to double over the next 20 years owing to the increase in life expectancy. This progressive disease has several implications relating to oral health, and many are manageable with proper awareness and knowledge about the disease. This article reviews the epidemiology, pathophysiology, and characteristics of PD, as well as the treatments and oral health considerations to enable dental hygienists to undertake an informed approach to patient management strategies and provide optimal care.     

New insights in the physicochemical investigation of the vitamin B12 nucleus using statistical physics treatment: interpretation of experiments and surface properties

In this research paper, the equilibrium isotherms for the adsorption of cobalt(ii)nitrate and cobalt(ii)chloride on tetrakis(4-tolylphenyl)porphyrin (H₂TTPP) were obtained at four temperatures for modeling analysis. The experimental data describing the adsorbed quantity of cobalt particles were measured using the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) strategy. Then, statistical physics formalism was employed to interpret the complexation mechanism by applying the real gas law that contemplates the interaction between the adsorbate particles in the free state. Advanced models treated with the law of van der Waals were applied for the single and L.B.L adsorptions of Co²⁺ at various temperatures (288–318 K). The experimental adsorption data of CoCl₂ on porphyrins were satisfactorily fitted with the monolayer equation, showing that the chlorine particles had no effect on the complexation system, while the nitrate particles were involved in the adsorption of Co(NO₃)₂ and contributed to the layer formation. The physicochemical parameters of statistical physics models were estimated and used to compare the complexation mechanisms of both adsorbates. The study of the cohesion pressure (a) and the co-volume (b) confirmed that cobalt chloride guaranteed more stability during the formation of the vitamin B₁₂ nucleus. Deeper energetic analysis demonstrated that cobalt ions were complexed by ionic or covalent bonds in the case of cobalt chloride (complexation energy (–E_1/2) varies from −48.2 to −50.3), while a physisorption process took place in the case of cobalt nitrate ((–E₁) varies from −33.6 to −36.1), thus indicating that CoCl₂–H₂TTPP was the most stable complex. The statistical physics models were also used to investigate two thermodynamic functions that govern the adsorption mechanisms, namely, the configurational entropy and the Gibbs free enthalpy.

Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) setup for the measurement of adsorption isotherms of cobalt(ii)nitrate and cobalt(ii)chloride on tetrakis(4-tolylphenyl)porphyrin (H₂TTPP).