Higroma subdural secundario a la rotura de quiste aracnoideo intracraneal: descripción de 2 casos y revisión de la literatura

The appearance of a subdural hygroma after the rupture of an arachnoid cyst wall is extremely rare, with very few cases described in the literature. Most cases are due to a traumatic cause. The therapeutic approach in symptomatic cases is controversial, with a current tendency toward conservative management initially. In those cases that require surgical treatment, multiple therapeutic options are available, with fenestration techniques being recommended as first-line treatment. We describe 2 cases treated in our centre and review the literature.     

Dual-energy CT of the heart—Principles and protocols

The introduction of coronary CT angiography (cCTA) has reinvigorated the debate whether management of patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) should be primarily based on physiological versus anatomical testing. Anatomical testing (i.e., cCTA or invasive catheterization) enables direct visualization and grading of coronary artery stenoses but has shortcomings for gauging the hemodynamic significance of lesions for myocardial perfusion. Conversely, rest/stress myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) has been extensively validated for assessing the clinical significance of CAD by demonstrating fixed or reversible perfusion defects but has only limited anatomical information. There is early evidence that contrast medium enhanced dual-energy cCTA (DECT) has potential for the comprehensive analysis of coronary artery morphology as well as changes in myocardial perfusion. DECT exploits the fact that tissues in the human body and iodine-based contrast media have unique absorption characteristics when penetrated with different X-ray energy levels, which enables mapping the iodine (and thus blood) distribution within the myocardium. The purpose of this communication is to describe the practical application of this emerging technology for the comprehensive diagnosis of coronary artery disease in the context of the currently used tomographic imaging modalities (cCTA, nuclear MPI, MR MPI).     

Plasma variations in stress markers: Clinical trial of two anesthetics used in regional block in the extraction of impacted inferior third molars

Objectives: Was to evaluate the effect of different regional anesthetics (articaine with epinephrine versus prilocaine with felypressin) on stress in the extraction of impacted lower third molars in healthy subjects. Sutdy Desing: A prospective single-blind, split-mouth cross-over randomized study was designed, with a control group. The experimental group consisted of 24 otherwise healthy male volunteers, with two impacted lower third molars which were surgically extracted after inferior alveolar nerve block (regional anesthesia), with a fortnight’s interval: the right using 4% articaine with 1:100.000 epinephrine, and the left 3% prilocaine with 1:1.850.000 felypressin. Patients were randomized for the first surgical procedure. To analyze the variation in four stress markers, homovanillic acid, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol, prolactin and cortisol, 10-mL blood samples were obtained at t = 0, 5, 60, and 120 minutes. The control group consisted of 12 healthy volunteers, who did not undergo either extractions or anesthetic procedures but from whom blood samples were collected and analyzed in the same way. Results: Plasma cortisol increased in the experimental group (multiple range test, P<0.05), the levels being significantly higher in the group receiving 3% prilocaine with 1:1.850,000 felypressin (signed rank test, p<0.0007). There was a significant reduction in homovanillic acid over time in both groups (multiple range test, P<0.05). No significant differences were observed in homovanillic acid, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol or prolactin concentrations between the experimental and control groups. Conclusions: The effect of regional anesthesia on stress is lower when 4% articaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine is used in this surgical procedure. Key words:Stress markets, epinephrine versus felypressin.     

Shared Variance Among Self-Report and Behavioral Measures of Distress Intolerance

Distress intolerance may be an important individual difference variable in understanding maladaptive coping responses across diagnostic categories. However, the measurement of distress intolerance remains inconsistent across studies and little evidence for convergent validity among existing measures is available. This study evaluated the overlap among self-report and behavioral measures of distress intolerance in four samples, including an unselected sample, a sample of patients with drug dependence, and two samples of cigarette smokers. Results suggested that the self-report measures were highly correlated, as were the behavioral measures; however, behavioral and self-report measures did not exhibit significant associations with each other. There was some evidence of domain specificity, with anxiety sensitivity demonstrating strong associations with somatic distress intolerance, and a lack of association between behavioral measures that elicit affective distress and those that elicit somatic distress. These findings highlight a potential divergence in the literature relative to the conceptualization of distress intolerance as either sensitivity to distress or as the inability to persist at a task when distressed. Further research is needed to elucidate the conceptualization and measurement of distress intolerance to facilitate future clinical and research applications of this construct.     

Post-injury immunosuppression and secondary infections are caused by an AIM2 inflammasome-driven signaling cascade

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Opening new horizons in regenerative dermatology using platelet‐based autologous therapies

Biological therapeutic therapies are gaining the attention of scientists and medical doctors. Accumulating evidence suggests that blood‐derived autologous therapies are safe and effective treatments for skin repair and wound healing. The fibrin network formed after plasmatic activation and the autologous growth factors released when platelets degranulate constitute a real biological medicine that has been shown to promote cell recruitment, stimulate new blood vessel formation, reduce inflammation as well as protect from local infections. This perspective highlights recent basic and clinical results published on blood‐derived autologous therapies in the field of regenerative dermatology and discusses potential challenges and future prospects.     

The Effect of Patellar Taping on Some Landing Characteristics During Counter Movement Jumps in Healthy Subjects

The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of patellar taping (PT) on landing characteristics of the vertical ground reaction force (VGRF) and on flight time during a counter movement jump (CMJ). Eleven healthy male subjects (age: 31.1 ± 4.2 years) volunteered for the study. Each subject performed six CMJs under two different jumping conditions: with PT and without PT (WPT). The order of the two conditions was randomized. All of the measured variables had fair-to-good reliability (intra-class correlation coefficient > 0.75). When we compared the PT and WPT groups, we did not find a significant difference in the magnitude of the first (F1) and second (F2) peaks of the VGRF. We also did not find a significant difference in the time to production of these peaks (T1 and T2), and the time to stabilization (TTS) (p < 0. 05). Furthermore, the flight time was similar in the two groups (0.475 ± 0.046 and 0.474 ± 0.056 s, respectively, for PT and WPT). These results suggest that PT does not jeopardize performance during CMJ. Furthermore, it also does not soften the VGRF generated during the landing, indicating that PT may be of limited utility in preventing injuries associated with this type of movement.

Key points

• We investigated whether patellar taping interferes with athletic performance, as has been suggested by previous studies.
• We also explored the effect of patellar taping on the forces generated during the landing phase of counter movement jumps.
• Patellar taping had no effect on the flight time during counter movement jumps.
• Patellar taping also had no effect on the vertical ground reaction force variables measured during the landing phase of counter movement jumps.
• This information may be relevant to athletes and trainers who are concerned about the effects of patellar taping on performance.

Key words: Biomechanics, force platform, vertical ground reaction force, landing phase