Improving outcomes of acute myocarditis in children

Acute viral myocarditis may impair prognosis in children of all ages. Its true incidence is underestimated because of heterogeneity of presentation and outcome. Patients may either recover or progress to chronic cardiomyopathy or death. Improving short-term and long-term prognosis is challenging but can probably be achieved by new diagnostic techniques and novel targeted therapies. The objectives of this review are: (1) to detail the current state of knowledge of the pathophysiological mechanisms of acute myocarditis; (2) to provide an update on diagnostic tools such as magnetic resonance imaging and endomyocardial biopsy; and (3) to present new insights in therapeutic strategies, targeted therapies and management of fulminant cases. Options for improving outcomes in acute myocarditis in the pediatric population are discussed.     

Early visual ERPs are influenced by individual emotional skills

Processing information from faces is crucial to understanding others and to adapting to social life. Many studies have investigated responses to facial emotions to provide a better understanding of the processes and the neural networks involved. Moreover, several studies have revealed abnormalities of emotional face processing and their neural correlates in affective disorders. The aim of this study was to investigate whether early visual event-related potentials (ERPs) are affected by the emotional skills of healthy adults. Unfamiliar faces expressing the six basic emotions were presented to 28 young adults while recording visual ERPs. No specific task was required during the recording. Participants also completed the Social Skills Inventory (SSI) which measures social and emotional skills. The results confirmed that early visual ERPs (P1, N170) are affected by the emotions expressed by a face and also demonstrated that N170 and P2 are correlated to the emotional skills of healthy subjects. While N170 is sensitive to the subject’s emotional sensitivity and expressivity, P2 is modulated by the ability of the subjects to control their emotions. We therefore suggest that N170 and P2 could be used as individual markers to assess strengths and weaknesses in emotional areas and could provide information for further investigations of affective disorders.     

Sociodemographic factors associated with the dental health of persons with diabetes in France

This paper describes and compares the oral health status among people with and without diabetes in France, and analyzes the related socioeconomic factors. The study is based on data from the cross‐sectional national health survey conducted in France from 2002 to 2003, which included 19,231 people over 35 years of age, among whom 1,111 reported having diabetes. Data were collected through interviews that inquired about oral health status and use of dental care services, income, educational level, health insurance, place of residence, and birthplace. The prevalence of oral health problems was higher among subjects who had diabetes, compared with those who were nondiabetic (16.4% vs. 13.4%). Dental care utilization during the survey period was reported to be 8.7% among subjects who were diabetic versus 12.9% among those who were nondiabetic. The subjects with diabetes were more likely to have dental problems (OR = 1.47, CI = 1.03–2.08) and wear removable dentures (partial and complete) when their income was lower (OR = 2.17, CI = 1.52–3.10). There were social inequalities in oral health among people with diabetes in France according to income level.     

Prevalence of Thoracic Aortic Aneurysms in Patients with Degenerative Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms: Results from the Prospective ACTA Study

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Matricryptins and matrikines: biologically active fragments of the extracellular matrix

Numerous extracellular proteins and glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) undergo limited enzymatic cleavage resulting in the release of fragments exerting biological activities, which are usually different from those of the full‐length molecules. In this review, we define matrikines and matricryptins, which are bioactive fragments released from the extracellular matrix proteins, proteoglycans and GAGs and report their major biological activities. These fragments regulate a number of physiopathological processes including angiogenesis, cancer, fibrosis, inflammation, neurodegenerative diseases and wound healing. The challenges to translate these fragments from molecules biologically active in vitro and in experimental models to potential drugs are discussed in the last part of the review.     

Clinical Outcomes of a New Self‐Help Booklet for Premature Ejaculation

IntroductionPremature ejaculation (PE) is quite common. Although effective treatments do exist, only a few affected people consult a practitioner in order to overcome their problem. At the same time, studies have shown that reading didactical documents about their PE problem (bibliotherapy) can be useful to men.AimThe aim of this study was to improve the bibliotherapy approach using up‐to‐date knowledge and techniques. The expected benefits were the following: (i) an effective manual shorter than previous ones; (ii) easier to assimilate therapeutic principles; and (iii) a method thereby made accessible to a broad population most of whom usually do not consult for this type of sexual problem.MethodA short bibliotherapy titled The Practical Guide of PE[in French] was tested among PE subjects who were diagnosed with PE according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition, text revision criteria. Assessments were made at baseline (N = 421), at 4–8 months (N = 120), and at 10–14 months (N = 79) after they read The Practical Guide. A control group of 66 subjects was left on a waiting list and was assessed 2 months after baseline.Main Outcome MeasuresThe main outcome measures are self‐reported ejaculatory latency time, feeling of control upon ejaculation, sexual satisfaction, distress related to PE, anxiety experienced during sexual intercourse, and sexual cognitions (Sexual Irrationality Questionnaire).ResultsSignificant improvements were found for all the self‐reported parameters, both at 4–8 and at 10–14 months after the bibliotherapy. The improvements were associated with an adjustment of sexual cognitions. The response to treatment seemed better for those subjects with moderate PE. Although the severity criteria used in this study did not precisely meet the International Society for Sexual Medicine criteria for lifelong PE, they were likely related. The response did not seem to be affected by variables such as age, education, or personality.ConclusionIts cost/benefit ratio makes The Practical Guide a valuable therapeutic tool. Kempeneers P, Andrianne R, Bauwens S, Georis I, Pairoux J‐F, and Blairy S. Clinical outcomes of a new self‐help booklet for premature ejaculation. J Sex Med 2012;9:2417–2428.     

Melatonin modulates neonatal brain inflammation through endoplasmic reticulum stress,autophagy, and miR‐34a/silent information regulator 1 pathway

Maternal infection/inflammation represents one of the most important factors involved in the etiology of brain injury in newborns. We investigated the modulating effect of prenatal melatonin on the neonatal brain inflammation process resulting from maternal intraperitoneal (i.p.) lipopolysaccharide (LPS) injections. LPS (300 μg/kg) was administered to pregnant rats at gestational days 19 and 20. Melatonin (5 mg/kg) was administered i.p. at the same time as LPS. Melatonin counteracted the LPS sensitization to a second ibotenate‐induced excitotoxic insult performed on postnatal day (PND) 4. As melatonin succeeded in reducing microglial activation in neonatal brain at PND1, pathways previously implicated in brain inflammation regulation, such as endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, autophagy and silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1), a melatonin target, were assessed at the same time‐point in our experimental groups. Results showed that maternal LPS administrations resulted in an increase in CHOP and Hsp70 protein expression and eIF2α phosphorylation, indicative of activation of the unfolded protein response consequent to ER stress, and a slighter decrease in the autophagy process, determined by reduced lipidated LC3 and increased p62 expression. LPS‐induced inflammation also reduced brain SIRT1 expression and affected the expression of miR‐34a, miR146a, and miR‐126. All these effects were blocked by melatonin. Cleaved‐caspase‐3 apoptosis pathway did not seem to be implicated in the noxious effect of LPS on the PND1 brain. We conclude that melatonin is effective in reducing maternal LPS‐induced neonatal inflammation and related brain injury. Its role as a prophylactic/therapeutic drug deserves to be investigated by clinical studies.