Sustainable positive effects of Ramadan intermittent fasting in rheumatoid arthritis

Clinical Rheumatology - The short-term positive effects of intermittent fasting during the month of Ramadan on rheumatic inflammatory diseases have been previously evaluated. The objective of this...     

The potential effect of Ramadan fasting on musculoskeletal diseases: new perspectives

Clinical Rheumatology - Ramadan, the ninth month of the Muslim lunar calendar, is a period of intermittent fasting alternated with moments of refeeding. The last decades have seen a growing number...     

Length-dependent retention of carbon nanotubes in the pleural space of mice initiates sustained inflammation and progressive fibrosis on the parietal pleura

The fibrous shape of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) raises concern that they may pose an asbestos-like inhalation hazard, leading to the development of diseases, especially mesothelioma. Direct instillation of long and short CNTs into the pleural cavity, the site of mesothelioma development, produced asbestos-like length-dependent responses. The response to long CNTs and long asbestos was characterized by acute inflammation, leading to progressive fibrosis on the parietal pleura, where stomata of strictly defined size limit the egress of long, but not short, fibers. This was confirmed by demonstrating clearance of short, but not long, CNT and nickel nanowires and by visualizing the migration of short CNTs from the pleural space by single-photon emission computed tomographic imaging. Our data confirm the hypothesis that, although a proportion of all deposited particles passes through the pleura, the pathogenicity of long CNTs and other fibers arises as a result of length-dependent retention at the stomata on the parietal pleura.     

Basal fsh level is only predictive of the quantitative aspect of the ovarian response

Background: Determination FSH and LH at day 3 of the menstrual cycle predicts the response to stimulation. Aim: To evaluate the value of FSH and LH measurements compared with women's age in predicting qualitative and quantitative ovarian response to gonadotrophin stimulation. Methods: 305 patients underwent at least one intra cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycle. The levels of FSH and LH at day 3 were determined in an earlier cycle. A qood quantitative ovarian response was defined as 33 oocytes retrieved and 3 embryos obtained. A good qualitative ovarian response was defined as a pourcentage of mature oocytes 375% and immature ones215% of the total number of oocytes retrieved with at least one top quality embryo obtained. Results: Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were generated for FSH, LH and female age. FSH is better than female age in predicting the number of oocytes retrieved (respectively ROCAUC=0.77, p=10-3 versus ROCAUC=0.73, p=10-3) and the number of embryos obtained (ROCAUC=0.69, p=10-3 versus ROCAUC=0.66, p=10-3). LH is non predictive. None of the three tested parameters was predictive of the fertilization and pregnancy rates. An FSH cutoff was calculated and a value of 7.8mUI/ml is associated with a sensitivity of 73% and a specificity of 70% for the prediction of ovarian response to controlled stimulation. Conclusion: Basal FSH level predicts good quantitative rather than qualitative response. LH is non predictive. FSH and LH do not predict pregnancy rate. Patients having high FSH levels should not be excluded from IVF/ICSI treatment.     

Sulprostone in the treatment of uterine inertia. Report of 60 cases

The serious haemorrhages of the delivery still one of the first causes of maternal mortality. We report an analytical study over a period of 18 months and gathering 60 cases of haemorrhage of the delivery by uterine inertia having imposed the recourse to the sulprostone. The average age of the patients was 31 years, the average parity wasv1.9, the rate of childbirth per Caesarean was 65%. The uterine surdistension was the principal etiology of the uterine inertia. The average time of administration of the sulprostone was 10 mn. No complication related to the product was noted. The effectiveness of the treatment was observed in 93.3% of the cases, with 4 cases of failure.     

Antibiotic sensitivity of Streptococcus pneumoniae in Tunisia: results of a multicenter study (1998-1999)

We report the results of a multicenter tunisian study, performed over a two-year period (1998-1999), to determine the susceptibility pattern of Streptococcus pneumoniae in our country. A total of 146 S. pneumoniae were collected during the study period. 76 were recovered from adults and 70 from children. 53% of isolates have decreased susceptibility to penicillin, 24% with low level resistance, and 11% with high level resistance. Amoxicillin and cefotaxime decreased susceptibility rates were: 12% (low level resistance exclusively). and 14% (10% with low level resistance and 4% with high level resistance) respectively. Strains isolated from children, showed higher resistance to b lactams than those isolated from adults. Resistance rates to other antibiotics were as follow: erythromycin 28%, choramphenicol 14%, cyclins 23%, thrimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole 28% and rifampin 1%. No vancomycin resistant strain was found. The acquire resistance rates of Streptococcus pneumoniae in Tunisia are worrying, essentially for penicillin and erythomycin. Amoxicillin and cefotaxime have conserved a good activity.     

Ring chromosome 20 syndrome without deletions of the subtelomeric and CHRNA4--KCNQ2 genes loci

Ring chromosome 20 [r(20)] syndrome is a rare disease characterized by refractory epilepsy, moderate mental retardation and particular electroencephalographic disorder with non-convulsive status epilepticus. Here, we report a new case of r(20) syndrome in a 12 year old female who presented minimal dysmorphism, generalised tonic–clonic and absence seizures refractory to medical therapy and behavioural troubles.

Among 20 cytogenetically analysed cells, 14 (70%) exhibited a 46,XX,r(20)(p13q13.3) karyotype and 6 (30%) showed a normal 46,XX caryotype. Interphasic FISH using centromeric probe of chromosome 20 detects the presence of a chromosome 20 monosomy in 7% and a duplicated ring chromosome 20 in 8% of studied cells. Metaphase FISH using chromosome 20 telomeric probes and specific probes of CHRNA4 and KCNQ2 genes detects the absence of any deletion in the ring chromosome 20.

Clinical symptoms of r(20) syndrome are attributed to telomeric partial monosomy generated by ring chromosome and causing an haploinsufficiency of two epilepsy genes CHRNA4 and KCNQ2. However, our patient presents the typical epilepsy disorder but no detectable deletion in the ring chromosome 20. We speculate that clinical features of ring chromosome 20 syndrome are caused by low mosaicism of chromosome 20 monosomy caused by the loss of the ring chromosome 20.