Two cases of Kallmann syndrome associated with empty sella

Kallmann syndrome (KS) is a developmental disease characterized by the association of isolated hypogonadotropic hypogonadism and anosmia/hyposmia. We report an unusual presentation of two females with KS and empty sella. These females, aged at 20 and 29-year-old, presented primary amenorrhea with prepubertal estradiol and low gonadotropin levels. No other significant clinical signs were observed. Empty sella was observed on MRI in both cases. Sequencing of FGFR1 gene, recently implicated in autosomal form of KS, was performed and one splicing mutation (IVS14 + 1G > A) was identified in one patient.     

Heterogeneity of Randomized Controlled Trials of Fecal Microbiota Transplantation in Recurrent Clostridioides difficile Infection

Digestive Diseases and Sciences - Clinical trials have demonstrated the efficacy of FMT for reduction in CDI recurrences (rCDI), but this treatment and its reporting in the literature has...     

Lymphocytic myocarditis in an overlap syndrome of systemic sclerosis and polymyositis

Clinical Rheumatology -     

The effects of resistance training in patients with primary Sjogren’s syndrome

Clinical Rheumatology - Resistance training (RT) is well tolerated and has shown promise for decreasing fatigue. However, the effects of RT have never been examined in primary Sjogren’s...     

Fungi predatory activity on embryonated <Emphasis Type="Italic">Toxocara canis</Emphasis> eggs inoculated in domestic chickens (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Gallus gallus domesticus</Emphasis>) and destruction of second stage larvae

The objective of this study was to evaluate the infectivity of Toxocara canis eggs after interacting with isolated nematophagous fungi of the species Duddingtonia flagrans (AC001) and Pochonia chlamydosporia (VC4), and test the predatory activity of the isolated AC001 on T. canis second stage larvae after 7 days of interaction. In assay A, 5000 embryonated T. canis eggs previously in contact with the AC001 and VC4 isolated for 10 days were inoculated into domestic chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus), and then these animals were necropsied to collect material (digested liver, intestine, muscles and lungs) at 3-, 7-, 14-, and 21-day intervals after inoculation. In assay A, the results demonstrated that the prior interaction of the eggs with isolated AC001 and VC4 decreases the amount of larvae found in the collected organs. Difference (p?<?0.01) was observed in the medium larvae counts recovered from liver, lung, intestine, and muscle of animals in the treated groups when compared to the animals in the control group. At the end of assay A, a percentage reduction of 87.1 % (AC001) and 84.5 % (VC4) respectively was recorded. In the result of assay B, the isolated AC001 showed differences (p?<?0.01) compared to the control group, with a reduction of 53.4 % in the recovery of L₂. Through these results, it is justified to mention that prior interaction of embryonated T. canis eggs with the tested fungal isolates were efficient in reducing the development and migration of this parasite, in addition to the first report of proven predatory activity on L₂.     

Insufficient tissue ablation by rotational atherectomy leads to worse long-term results in comparison with balloon angioplasty alone for the treatment of diffuse in-stent restenosis: insights from the intravascular ultrasound substudy of the ARTIST randomized multicenter trial.

The ARTIST trial demonstrated a worse outcome for patients with in-stent restenosis (ISR) treated with rotational atherectomy (RA) and adjunctive balloon angioplasty (PTCA) as compared to PTCA alone. This intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) substudy compares effects of lumen enlargement and examines reasons for failure of RA in this setting. IVUS (n = 56) was performed after each interventional step and at follow-up. Volumetric lumen gain measured 79 +/- 68 mm(3) after PTCA (13 +/- 4 atm) as compared to 44 +/- 26 mm(3) after RA and adjunctive PTCA (7 +/- 3 atm; P < 0.0001). RA itself enlarged lumen by only 19 +/- 17 mm(3) and stent volume was 47% smaller as compared to high-pressure PTCA. Low-pressure strategy after RA did not prevent tissue growth during follow-up (19 +/- 25 vs. 36 +/- 38 mm(3); RA vs. PTCA; P = 0.09). Consequently, net lumen gain after PTCA was 82% higher compared to RA (46 +/- 54 vs. 25 +/- 24 mm(3); P = 0.09). Further stent expansion is the key mechanism to achieve luminal gain by PTCA of ISR. Neointimal ablation by RA has only minor effects. Low-pressure PTCA does not prevent recurrent tissue growth and failed for treatment of ISR due to insufficient stent expansion.     

Impact of ST-segment resolution after primary angioplasty on outcomes after myocardial infarction in elderly patients: an analysis from the CADILLAC trial

Background

Age is a strong independent predictor of outcomes after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Whether lower rates of reperfusion success contribute to the poor prognosis in elderly patients is unknown.

Methods

A formal ST-segment analysis substudy was performed in 695 patients undergoing primary PCI for AMI in the Controlled Abciximab and Device Investigation to Lower Late Angioplasty Complications (CADILLAC) trial. Reperfusion success (determined by the magnitude of ST-segment elevation resolution [STR] after PCI) was evaluated in 4 age groups: <50 years (n = 163), ≥50 to <60 years (n = 187), ≥60 to <70 years (n = 194), and ≥70 years (n = 151).

Results

There were no differences in the age groups for angiographic procedural success >91% in all, P = .6), postprocedural Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction grade 3 flow >94%, P = .8), and the proportions of patients with complete, partial, or absent STR (P >.8). However, rates of 30-day mortality (0.6%, 1.1%, 3.6%, 6.0%, respectively) and major adverse cardiac events (MACE; 2.5%, 4.8%, 6.2% 9.3%, respectively) increased with age. Rates of mortality and MACE were also inversely related to the magnitude of STR. Absent STR (hazard ratio, 3.00; 95% CI, 1.37-6.58; P = .006) and age (hazard ratio, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.01-1.77; P = .04) were independent predictors of 30-day MACE by using multivariable modeling.

Conclusions

Lack of effective myocardial reperfusion is not a contributory mechanism responsible for the high morbidity and mortality rates observed in elderly patients. Nevertheless, advanced age and absent STR are both independent predictors of adverse outcomes after primary PCI, emphasizing the importance of successful reperfusion in the elderly population.     

Red cell membrane stiffness in iron deficiency

The purpose of this study was to characterize red blood cell (RBC) deformability by iron deficiency. We measured RBC deformability to ektacytometry, a laser diffraction method for determining the elongation of suspended red cells subjected to shear stress. Isotonic deformability of RBC from iron-deficient human subjects was consistently and significantly lower than that of normal controls. In groups of rats with severe and moderate dietary iron deficiency, RBC deformability was also reduced in proportion to the severity of iron deficiency. At any given shear stress value, deformability of resealed RBC ghosts from both iron-deficient humans and rats was lower than that of control ghosts. However, increase of applied shear stress resulted in progressive increase in ghost deformation, indicating that ghost deformability was primarily limited by membrane stiffness rather than by reduced surface area-to-volume ratio. This was consistent with the finding that iron-deficient cells had a normal membrane surface area. In addition, the reduced mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) and buoyant density of the iron-deficient rat cells indicated that a high hemoglobin concentration was not responsible for impaired whole cell deformability. Biochemical studies of rat RBC showed increased membrane lipid and protein crosslinking and reduced intracellular cation content, findings that are consistent with in vivo peroxidative damage. RBC from iron-deficient rats incubated in vitro with hydrogen peroxide showed increased generation of malonyldialdehyde, an end-product of lipid peroxidation, compared to control RBC. Taken together, these findings suggest that peroxidation could contribute in part to increased membrane stiffness in iron- deficient RBC. This reduced membrane deformability may in turn contribute to impaired red cell survival in iron deficiency.