Giant right atrium and subvalvular pulmonary stenosis: A case report of an interesting combination

A 20‐year‐old Congolese woman presented with presyncope, dyspnea, and anasarca. Past medical history was unremarkable. Echocardiography revealed a rare combination of giant right atrium (RA), a dilated and hypertrophied right ventricle, subvalvular pulmonary stenosis (subPS), severe tricuspid regurgitation (TR), pericardial effusion and what appeared to be a spontaneously closed ventricular septal defect (VSD). Cardiac Magnetic Resonance and Cardiac Computed Tomography confirmed the findings excluding the presence of intra‐cardiac and extra‐cardiac shunt and other associated congenital anomalies. The patient underwent subPS resection, right atrioplasty, and tricuspid annuloplasty. Multimodality approach facilitated the detection of the abnormalities and provided clarity when determining the optimal surgical strategy.     

Low bone mineral density in ambulatory persons with cerebral palsy? A systematic review

Purpose: Non-ambulatory persons with cerebral palsy are prone to low bone mineral density. In ambulatory persons with cerebral palsy, bone mineral density deficits are expected to be small or absent, but a consensus conclusion is lacking. In this systematic review bone mineral density in ambulatory persons with cerebral palsy (Gross Motor Function Classification Scales I–III) was studied.

Materials and methods: Medline, Embase, and Web of Science were searched. According to international guidelines, low bone mineral density was defined as Z-score?≤??2.0. In addition, we focused on Z-score?≤??1.0 because this may indicate a tendency towards low bone mineral density.

Results: We included 16 studies, comprising 465 patients aged 1–65?years. Moderate and conflicting evidence for low bone mineral density (Z-score?≤??2.0) was found for several body parts (total proximal femur, total body, distal femur, lumbar spine) in children with Gross Motor Function Classification Scales II and III. We found no evidence for low bone mineral density in children with Gross Motor Function Classification Scale I or adults, although there was a tendency towards low bone mineral density (Z-score?≤??1.0) for several body parts.

Conclusions: Although more high-quality research is needed, results indicate that deficits in bone mineral density are not restricted to non-ambulatory people with cerebral palsy.

• Implications for Rehabilitation

• Although more high-quality research is needed, including adults and fracture risk assessment, the current study indicates that deficits in bone mineral density are not restricted to non-ambulatory people with CP.

• Health care professionals should be aware that optimal nutrition, supplements on indication, and an active lifestyle, preferably with weight-bearing activities, are important in ambulatory people with CP, also from a bone quality point-of-view.

• If indicated, medication and fall prevention training should be prescribed.

     

Experience of detection of rubella markers during local outbreaks in West Siberia

This paper presents an analysis of samples from 75 patients for the presence of rubella virus, viral RNA, and specific antibodies. For all samples, RNA detection was higher than virus isolation. It was found that it was not possible to isolate rubella virus in every sixth clinical sample containing the viral RNA. Primary structures of the site (from the 8072nd to 8291st nucleotide) of the rubella virus genome from 14 samples were determined. This paper shows that all the samples of rubella virus belong to the first genotype, subgroups 1h, and very likely to subgroups 1a and 1F. For the first time, the circulation of rubella virus of the genotype has been shown both prior to the start of mass vaccination in Western Siberia and after.     

Absence of FGFR3–TACC3 rearrangement in hematological malignancies with numerical chromosomal alteration

FGFR–TACC, found in different tumor types, is characterized by the fusion of a member of fibroblast grown factor receptor (FGFR) tyrosine kinase (TK) family to a member of the transforming acidic coiled-coil (TACC) proteins. Because chromosome numerical alterations, hallmarks of FGFR–TACC fusions are present in many hematological disorders and there are no data on the prevalence, we studied a series of patients with acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome who presented numerical alterations using cytogenetic traditional analysis. None of the analyzed samples showed FGFR3–TACC3 gene fusion, so screening for this mutation at diagnosis is not recommended.     

Therapeutic Effect of Dimethyl Dimethoxy Biphenyl Dicarboxylate on Collagen-Induced Arthritis in Rats

Objective:To study the effect of oral administration of dimethyl dimethoxy biphenyl dicarboxylate(DDB) on adjusting angiogeneic/inflammatory mediators and ameliorating the pathology of bones in rats with collagen-induced arthritis(CIA).Methods:Wistar rat model of CIA was set up using bovine collagen type Ⅱ.Fifty rats were divided into five groups randomly:normal,CIA model,DDB treatment,methotrexate(MTX) treatment,and combined DDB+MTX treatment.Ankle joints of rats were imaged with digital X-ray machine to show the destruction of joints.Fore and hind paw and knee joints were removed above the ankle joint then processed for haematoxylin and eosin staining.Plasma levels of vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF),platelet derived growth factor,interleukin-8(IL-8),IL-4,tumor necrosis factor α(TNF-α),and cyclooxygenase-2(COX-2) were quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Nitric oxide levels were detected by Griess reagent.Results:Compared with the CIA model group,a remarkable reduction in various angiogenic(VEGF and IL-8) and inflammatory mediators(TNF-α,IL-4 and COX-2) after treatment with DDB either alone or combined with MTX(P0.05 or P0.01).Histopathological and X-ray findings were confirmatory to the observed DDB anti-arthritic effect.The DDB-treated group showed amelioration in signs of arthritis which appeared essentially similar to normal.Conclusion:Our data shed light on the therapeutic efficacy of DDB in experimental rheumatoid arthritis(RA) compared with a choice drug(MTX) and it may be offered as a second-line drug in the treatment of RA.