European council of legal medicine (ECLM) guidelines for the examination of suspected elder abuse

International Journal of Legal Medicine - Article 25 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (adopted in Nice on 7 December 2000) recognizes and respects the rights of older...     

Development and validation of an instrument for measuring parkinsonian motor impairment: TRAPS-D

Neurological Sciences - Parkinson’s disease is incurable, idiopathic, degenerative, and progressive, and affects about 1% of the elderly population. Multidisciplinary clinical treatment is...     

Serum nitrate and NOx levels in preeclampsia are higher than in normal pregnancy

Objectives: To compare nitric oxide (NO) serum levels in women with and without preeclampsia. Methods: 106 women were classified into preeclampsia group (n = 40) and normotensive group (n = 66). NO content was measured in the serum. Clinical and laboratorial data were recorded for comparison. Results: Preeclampsia presented a significant increase in nitrate and NOx levels compared to the control group. Uric acid, gestational age, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and creatinine showed correlation with nitrates and NOx. Conclusion: Increase of NO was observed in preeclampsia women. Failure in the mechanism of action, dependent on cyclic GMP, may justify this finding.     

Nasal Administration of Cationic Nanoemulsions as Nucleic Acids Delivery Systems Aiming at Mucopolysaccharidosis Type I Gene Therapy

Purpose

This study demonstrates the nasal administration (NA) of nanoemulsions complexed with the plasmid encoding for IDUA protein (pIDUA) as an attempt to reach the brain aiming at MPS I gene therapy.

Methods

Formulations composed of DOPE, DOTAP, MCT (NE), and DSPE-PEG (NE-PEG) were prepared by high-pressure homogenization, and assessed in vitro on human fibroblasts from MPS I patients and in vivo on MPS I mice for IDUA production and gene expression.

Results

The physicochemical results showed that the presence of DSPE-PEG in the formulations led to smaller and more stable droplets even when submitted to dilution in simulated nasal medium (SNM). In vitro assays showed that pIDUA/NE-PEG complexes were internalized by cells, and led to a 5% significant increase in IDUA activity, besides promoting a two-fold increase in IDUA expression. The NA of pIDUA/NE-PEG complexes to MPS I mice demonstrated the ability to reach the brain, promoting increased IDUA activity and expression in this tissue, as well as in kidney and spleen tissues after treatment. An increase in serum IL-6 was observed after treatment, although with no signs of tissue inflammatory infiltrate according to histopathology and CD68 assessments.

Conclusions

These findings demonstrated that pIDUA/NE-PEG complexes could efficiently increase IDUA activity in vitro and in vivo after NA, and represent a potential treatment for the neurological impairment present in MPS I patients.

     

Self-inflicted oral trauma in a baby with Moebius syndrome

Moebius syndrome (MS) is a rare disorder mainly characterized by bi- or unilateral palsy of the facial and abducens nerves. Among the various orofacial characteristics related to this syndrome, the following are pointed out, difficulty with sucking, tongue malformation, mandibular hypoplasia, saliva drooling, arched palate and micrognathia. In spite of the diversity of oral features described for these patients, self-inflicted oral trauma has not yet been reported. Therefore, the purposes of the present report were to describe an unusual case of a baby with Moebius syndrome who had a parafunctional habit that resulted in a persistent traumatic lesion of the lower lip, and discuss the treatment performed.     

DENTAL MATURITY AS AN INDICATOR OF CHRONOLOGICAL AGE: RADIOGRAPHIC ASSESSMENT OF DENTAL AGE IN A BRAZILIAN POPULATION

Objective:

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the applicability of the methods proposed by Nolla and by Nicodemo and colleagues for assessing dental age and its correlation to chronological age.

Methods:

Panoramic radiographs of 360 patients from the city of Fortaleza (CE, Brazil) aged 7-15 years were used to assess the associations between dental and chronological age. Data were submitted to statistical analysis using the BioEstat 2.0 (2000) software. Student-Neuman-Keuls test was performed and Pearson''s correlation coefficients were calculated at 5% significance level.

Results:

When the Nolla method was applied, the mean difference between true and estimated age for males and females was underestimated. The use of the method proposed by Nicodemo and colleagues also resulted in underestimation, although it was more evident in male subjects. The correlation coefficients between chronological age and estimated dental age were high, with mean values ranging between 0.87 and 0.91 for males and between 0.84 and 0.93 for females.

Conclusion:

Although both methods proved to be reliable in estimating age, the use of correction factors is recommended.