Comparable Outcome of Out‐of‐Hospital Cardiac Arrest and In‐Hospital Cardiac Arrest Treated With Extracorporeal Life Support

Extracorporeal life support (ECLS) has shown benefits in the management of refractory in‐hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) by improving survival. Nonetheless, the results concerning out‐of‐hospital refractory cardiac arrests (OHCA) remain uncertain. The aim of our investigation was to compare survival between the two groups. We realized a single‐center retrospective, observational study of all patients who presented IHCA or OHCA treated with ECLS between 2011 and 2015. Multivariate analysis was realized to determine independent factors associated with mortality. Over the 4‐year period, 65 patients were included, 43 in the IHCA group (66.2%), and 22 (33.8%) in the OHCA group. The duration of low flow was significantly longer in the OHCA group (60 vs. 90 min, P = 0.004). Survival to discharge from the hospital was identical in the two groups (27% in the OHCA group vs. 23% in the IHCA group, P = 0.77). All surviving patients in the OHCA group had a cerebral performance categories score of 1–2. In multivariate analysis, we found that the initial lactate level and baseline blood creatinine were independently associated with mortality. We found comparable survival and neurological score in patients who presented IHCA and OHCA treated with ECLS. We believe that appropriate selection of patients and optimization of organ perfusion during resuscitation can lead to good results in patients with OHCA treated with ECLS.     

Bacterial meningitis following combined spinal–epidural analgesia for labour

We report a case of Streptococcus salivarius meningitis following combined spinal–epidural analgesia for labour. Although rare, bacterial meningitis following combined spinal–epidural anaesthesia is being increasingly described. We review the previously reported cases and discuss the possible aetiological causes and the aseptic precautions likely to reduce the incidence of infectious complications.     

Maintenance of functional human cancellous bone and human hematopoiesis in NOD/SCID mice

Attempts were made to establish models to study interactions between marrow stromal cells and hematopoietic cells in vivo. The approach was to create a NOD-SCID-hu murine model of long-term human hematopoiesis by implantation of a human adult bone fragment. Nine to 12 weeks posttransplantation, human CD45+ cells were detected in the blood and the spleen of some mice. The histology of the human transplant showed that human bone fragment was viable at 9 weeks. Moreover, vessels of human origin, as assessed by immunohistochemical detection of human beta2-microglobulin, were observed in the mouse tissue surrounding the transplanted human fragment.     

The antimicrobial peptide dermaseptin S4 inhibits HIV-1 infectivity in vitro

Most of HIV-1 infections are acquired through sexual contact. In the absence of a preventive vaccine, the development of topical microbicides that can block infection at the mucosal tissues is needed. Dermaseptin S4 (DS4) is an antimicrobial peptide derived from amphibian skin, which displays a broad spectrum of activity against bacteria, yeast, filamentous fungi, and herpes simplex virus type 1. We show here that DS4 inhibits cell-free and cell-associated HIV-1 infection of P4-CCR5 indicator cells and human primary T lymphocytes. The peptide is effective against R5 and X4 primary isolates and laboratory-adapted strains of HIV-1. Its activity is directed against HIV-1 particles by disrupting the virion integrity. Increasing the number of DS4-positive charges reduced cytotoxicity without affecting the antiviral activity. The modified DS4 inhibited HIV-1 capture by dendritic cells and subsequent transmission to CD4(+) T cells, as well as HIV-1 binding on HEC-1 endometrial cells and transcytosis through a tight epithelial monolayer.     

Effect of chemotherapy on autoimmune hepatitis in thymoma： a case report and literature review

Autoimmune hepatitis （AIH） has rarely been described as an autoimmune paraneoplastic syndrome ofthymoma. This case is the seventh case of AIH revealed by cholestasis few years after the diagnosis of thymoma and the first case treated with chemotherapy alone. We report in this paper a new approach to this rare severe condition. A 29 year-old man presented with chest pain and dyspnea with a history of thymoma surgically removed 4 years ago. CT scan showed the recurrence of an anterior mediastinal mass. Biology showed elevated liver enzymes and profound cholestasis. No sign of viral or toxic hepatitis or bile duct abnormalities were observed. Autoimmune antibodies, except for the anti-nuclear antibody, were negative. Liver biopsy showed active chronic AIH. The patient was diagnosed with recurrent thymoma with AIH and underwent 6 cycles of chemotherapy. A complete response on thymoma and cholestasis was obtained after 10 months of follow-up. Steroids and immunosuppressors are the standard treatment for AIH. The effect of chemotherapy as a specific treatment of this paraneoplastic syndrome needs to be considered.     

Preliminary evaluation of plasticizer and BPA in Tunisian cosmetics and investigation of hazards on human skin cells

In this study, 18 plasticizer (phthalates, adipates, sebacates, and others) and BPA residues in some cosmetic samples collected from Tunisian market are evaluated by micro-matrix solid-phase dispersion combined with GC-MS. In parallel, the impact of these molecules and the cosmetics in the human epithelial cell lines is investigated. The cytotoxic activity of cosmetic extracts is evaluated in vitro against B16 and Hep-2 human skin cell lines using the 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide assay.

This study shows that the tested cosmetic products could constitute a hazard to the consumer health and wellness and that strict safety analysis on cosmetic products needs to be carried out before they are marketed.