Does gradual detorsion protect the ovary against ischemia–reperfusion injury in rats?

Aim

Adnexal torsion is an infrequent and serious gynecologic surgical emergency. Adnexal torsion may result from pre-existing tubal or ovarian pathology or hyperstimulation of the ovary during ovulation. Early diagnosis and emergency surgical treatment (detorsion) are important to preserve fertility and to prevent peritonitis or loss of the adnexa. However, during reperfusion, tissue damage is more severe than during ischemia because of oxygen-derived radicals. The present study aimed to investigate the protective effect of gradual detorsion on adnexal torsion.

Materials and methods

Twenty-one adult female rats were divided into three groups as sham-operated (Sh group, n = 7); torsion + detorsion (TD group, n = 7); and torsion + gradual detorsion (TGD group, n = 7). A midline laparotomy was performed under anesthesia. In the TD and TGD groups, the left adnexa along with tubal and ovarian vessels were twisted three times in a clockwise direction and fixed to the abdominal wall. After 30 h, detorsion was performed on the mesenteries of both TD and TGD groups. In the TGD group, however, detorsion was performed gradually: the ovarian mesentery was detorsioned 360°, followed by a 5-min pause, then a repeat of the cycle until full detorsion was achieved. Rats were killed 1 week later. Left ovaries were removed and evaluated histopathologically.

Results

The histopathological mean grade was significantly higher in the TD than in the TGD group (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

Gradual detorsion can reduce reperfusion injury in a rat model of ovarian torsion. This method is easily applicable and may be a useful method for human patients with ovarian torsion.     

Apomorphine formulation may influence subcutaneous complications from continuous subcutaneous apomorphine infusion in Parkinson’s disease

Journal of Neurology - Continuous subcutaneous (s.c.) apomorphine infusion is an effective therapy for Parkinson’s disease (PD), but a limitation is the formation of troublesome s.c. nodules....     

Tractostorm: The what,why, and how of tractography dissection reproducibility

Investigative studies of white matter (WM) brain structures using diffusion MRI (dMRI) tractography frequently require manual WM bundle segmentation, often called “virtual dissection.” Human errors and personal decisions make these manual segmentations hard to reproduce, which have not yet been quantified by the dMRI community. It is our opinion that if the field of dMRI tractography wants to be taken seriously as a widespread clinical tool, it is imperative to harmonize WM bundle segmentations and develop protocols aimed to be used in clinical settings. The EADC‐ADNI Harmonized Hippocampal Protocol achieved such standardization through a series of steps that must be reproduced for every WM bundle. This article is an observation of the problematic. A specific bundle segmentation protocol was used in order to provide a real‐life example, but the contribution of this article is to discuss the need for reproducibility and standardized protocol, as for any measurement tool. This study required the participation of 11 experts and 13 nonexperts in neuroanatomy and “virtual dissection” across various laboratories and hospitals. Intra‐rater agreement (Dice score) was approximately 0.77, while inter‐rater was approximately 0.65. The protocol provided to participants was not necessarily optimal, but its design mimics, in essence, what will be required in future protocols. Reporting tractometry results such as average fractional anisotropy, volume or streamline count of a particular bundle without a sufficient reproducibility score could make the analysis and interpretations more difficult. Coordinated efforts by the diffusion MRI tractography community are needed to quantify and account for reproducibility of WM bundle extraction protocols in this era of open and collaborative science.     

Two novel loci,COBL and SLC10A2, for Alzheimer's disease in African Americans

Introduction

African Americans' (AAs) late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) genetic risk profile is incompletely understood. Including clinical covariates in genetic analyses using informed conditioning might improve study power.

Medulloblastoma in a patient successfully treated for immature teratoma of the ovary

We report a case of medulloblastoma as a secondary malignancy in a patient treated for immature teratoma of the ovary (ITO). ITO is a rare but curable tumor of the ovary using combination chemotherapy. There is a great deal of interest in the long-term effects of chemotherapy in these patients. Once regarded as fatal not many series of patients with ITO have been reported with the long follow up as in the present case. This case may start a debate on the susceptibility of central nervous system tumors following chemotherapy in patients with ITO.     

Pseudo-accommodation with intraocular lenses implanted in the bag

PURPOSE: To evaluate the accommodation potential in eyes after intraocular lens in-the-bag implantation. METHODS: Fifty-one consecutive patients were included in the study. Group 1 included 26 eyes that had phacoemulsification with continuous curvilinear capsulorhexis and in-the-bag implanted foldable IOL. Twenty-five eyes in Group 2 had capsulotomy with extracapsular cataract extraction and were implanted with polymethylmethacrylate IOL. Time elapsed from surgery was at least 6 months. There was no significant difference for age or gender between groups (P > .05). We measured accommodation amplitude and depth of the anterior chamber at distance and near fixation with an ultrasonic biometry device. The results were compared using the unpaired Student t-test. RESULTS: The anterior chamber depths while fixating at a distant object were not significantly different between groups (P>.05), however, at near the difference was statistically significant (P=.008). The change in depths between far and near fixation was significantly different (P=.002) and was more pronounced in the the capsulorhexis group (P < .001). The accommodation amplitudes in this group were significantly greater than in the capsulotomy group (P = .025). CONCLUSION: Patients who had uncomplicated small incision phacoemulsification surgery with continuous curvilinear capsulorhexis and in-the-bag implanted lens seemed to preserve some pseudo-accommodation after surgery.     

Role of the psychiatrist in the care of patients with hepatitis C and HIV/AIDS

Hepatitis C and HIV/AIDS are among the most significant infectious diseases of our time. Psychiatric patients are often part of the higher risk population to contract these diseases, and patients who have contracted these diseases experience a wide variety of psychiatric problems associated with the underlying infection and with its treatment. The authors provide an overview of these infectious diseases and then describe the varying roles psychiatrists have in caring for these patients in the various settings of their work. The complexity of these patients presents a unique challenge to, and opportunity for, psychiatrists to integrate and coordinate their interventions with those of other medical providers and thereby enhance the patient's cooperation with all aspects of care.