Comparison between ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging in assessment of fetal cytomegalovirus infection

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether fetal brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) adds useful information to the one obtained by ultrasound in fetuses with cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. METHODS: MRI and ultrasonographic findings were analyzed retrospectively in 38 fetuses with proven congenital CMV infection. Both techniques were performed on the same week at a mean gestational age of 33 weeks (24-37). The referral indications were maternal seroconversion (n = 19), and ultrasound findings (n = 19). The results were compared with the fetopathologic examination in cases with fetal death or termination of pregnancy (TOP) or the infant's neurological examination. RESULTS: The 38 cases were classified into three groups, depending on ultrasound findings at referral. Group 1: no ultrasound features (n = 11); group 2: extracerebral features without cerebral abnormalities at ultrasound (n = 13); group 3: presence of cerebral features at ultrasound (n = 14). In group 1, MRI was always normal. In group 2, MRI revealed cerebral features in six cases (46%). In group 3, MRI always confirmed the lesions seen at ultrasound and highlighted other cerebral features. CONCLUSIONS: MRI can provide important additional information with regard to abnormal gyration, cerebellar hypoplasia, or abnormal signal in white matter. It is certainly useful in the assessment of fetuses with extracerebral features without brain abnormalities detected with ultrasounds. If the fetal ultrasound is strictly normal in an infected fetus, MRI may not detect brain anomalies; however, it seems difficult to not perform this noninvasive procedure.     

Über den Einfluss des Percortens auf toxische Strophanthindosen am Froschherzen in situ

Ohne ZusammenfassungVorläufige Mitteilung.     

Acute Mediastinitis – Outcomes and Prognostic Factors of Surgical Therapy (A Single-Center Experience)

Purpose: The aims of this work were the retrospective analysis of a cohort of patients with acute mediastinitis treated at the authors’ worksite over a 15-year period and the identification of factors that significantly affect the outcomes of the therapy.Methods: During the period 2006–2020, 80 patients with acute mediastinitis were treated. Within the cohort, the following were observed: the causes and the type of acute mediastinitis, length of anamnesis, comorbidities, diagnostic methods, time from the diagnosis to surgery, types and number of surgical procedures, results of microbiological tests, complications, and outcomes of the treatment.Results: The most common type of acute mediastinitis was descending mediastinitis (48.75%). A total of 116 surgical procedures were performed. Ten patients in the cohort died (12.5%). Patients older than 60 years were at a 6.8 times higher risk of death. Patients with more than two comorbidities were at a 14.3 times higher risk of death. The presence of yeasts in the culture material increased the risk of death by 4.4 times.Conclusion: Early diagnosis, removal of the cause of mediastinitis, sufficient mediastinal debridement, and multiple drainage thereof with the possibility of continual postoperative lavage are essential for the successful treatment of acute mediastinitis.     

Clinical and Metabolomic Effects of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum and Pediococcus acidilactici in Fructose Intolerant Patients

Fructose intolerance (FI) is a widespread non-genetic condition in which the incomplete absorption of fructose leads to gastro-intestinal disorders. The crucial role of microbial dysbiosis on the onset of these intolerance symptoms together with their persistence under free fructose diets are driving the scientific community towards the use of probiotics as a novel therapeutic approach. In this study, we evaluated the prevalence of FI in a cohort composed of Romanian adults with Functional Grastrointestinal Disorders (FGIDs) and the effectiveness of treatment based on the probiotic formulation EQBIOTA^® (Lactiplantibacillus plantarum CECT 7484 and 7485 and Pediococcus acidilactici CECT 7483). We evaluated the impact of a 30-day treatment both on FI subjects and healthy volunteers. The gastrointestinal symptoms and fecal volatile metabolome were evaluated. A statistically significant improvement of symptoms (i.e., bloating, and abdominal pain) was reported in FI patient after treatment. On the other hand, at the baseline, the content of volatile metabolites was heterogeneously distributed between the two study arms, whereas the treatment led differences to decrease. From our analysis, how some metabolomics compounds were correlated with the improvement and worsening of clinical symptoms clearly emerged. Preliminary observations suggested how the improvement of gastrointestinal symptoms could be induced by the increase of anti-inflammatory and protective substrates. A deeper investigation in a larger patient cohort subjected to a prolonged treatment would allow a more comprehensive evaluation of the probiotic treatment effects.     

An approach for evaluating the effects of dietary fiber polysaccharides on the human gut microbiome and plasma proteome

Increases in snack consumption associated with Westernized lifestyles provide an opportunity to introduce nutritious foods into poor diets. We describe two 10-wk-long open label, single group assignment human studies that measured the effects of two snack prototypes containing fiber preparations from two sustainable and scalable sources; the byproducts remaining after isolation of protein from the endosperm of peas and the vesicular pulp remaining after processing oranges for the manufacture of juices. The normal diets of study participants were supplemented with either a pea- or orange fiber-containing snack. We focused our analysis on quantifying the abundances of genes encoding carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) (glycoside hydrolases and polysaccharide lyases) in the fecal microbiome, mass spectrometric measurements of glycan structures (glycosidic linkages) in feces, plus aptamer-based assessment of levels of 1,300 plasma proteins reflecting a broad range of physiological functions. Computational methods for feature selection identified treatment-discriminatory changes in CAZyme genes that correlated with alterations in levels of fiber-associated glycosidic linkages; these changes in turn correlated with levels of plasma proteins representing diverse biological functions, including transforming growth factor type β/bone morphogenetic protein-mediated fibrosis, vascular endothelial growth factor-related angiogenesis, P38/MAPK-associated immune cell signaling, and obesity-associated hormonal regulators. The approach used represents a way to connect changes in consumer microbiomes produced by specific fiber types with host responses in the context of varying background diets.

Advances in our understanding of the role of the gut microbiome in regulating many aspects of human physiology hold the promise of evolving our view of human nutrition by establishing mechanistic connections between the foods we consume and how they affect health status. One manifestation of this effort is a series of studies, performed on well-phenotyped cohorts, that seek to relate features of gut microbial community composition (organisms, genes), dietary practices, and pre- and postprandial cardiometabolic responses to test meals (1–4). A key question raised by these initiatives relates to the nature of the “bioactive” components of foods. Specifically, what are the nutrients utilized by various gut community members or microbiome-encoded metabolic pathways? What products are produced by biotransformation of these nutrients? How are these products linked to specific host physiologic (or pathophysiologic) processes?Plant-derived dietary fibers represent a “poster child” for these efforts and illustrate the formidable challenges faced. The health benefits of dietary fibers are widely known, as is their inadequate representation in Western diets. However, natural fibers are structurally complex and highly diverse. They contain numerous, typically undefined polysaccharide structures and largely unspecified protein, lipid, and small molecule constituents. Their composition varies as a function of their origin (food staple and cultivar), the different methods employed to recover them from these sources, as well as the different techniques used to incorporate them into processed foods with acceptable organoleptic properties (5). Moreover, analyzing the host effects of metabolism of different fibers is confounded by the fact that there is substantial intra- and interpersonal variation in microbiome configuration (6, 7).Snacking is becoming an ever more dominant feature of daily life worldwide and thus provides an opportunity to introduce nutritious ingredients, such as fibers, into diets. However, obtaining structure-activity relationships for specific fiber types and their corresponding targets in the gut community is foundational for designing snack foods that evoke and/or reinforce microbiome responses that are beneficial to the host.Degradation of dietary polysaccharides is a function primarily performed by bacterial carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes). The gut microbiome harbors tens of thousands of CAZyme genes belonging to at least 136 glycoside hydrolase (GH) and 29 polysaccharide lyase (PL) families [extrapolated and updated from El Kaoutari et al. (8)]. In contrast, the human genome only contains 98 GH and no PL genes (9), of which <20% contribute to the processing of dietary glycans.In the current study, we test the effects of dietary supplementation with two snack food prototypes, one containing pea fiber and the other orange fiber, in two pilot studies of overweight and obese individuals consuming their normal, unrestricted diets. Our strategy was to focus on fiber-associated changes in the abundances of microbial GH and PL genes to determine whether responses to the pea or orange fiber prototypes in the gut microbiome and host are decipherable against a background of varying dietary practices and starting microbiome configurations. Higher order singular value decomposition (10) was utilized as a feature selection tool to identify treatment-discriminating changes in GH and PL gene representation. Mass spectrometric assays of the levels of fecal glycan structures (glycosidic linkages) were subsequently performed and the results were correlated with changes in the abundances of treatment-discriminating GH and PL genes with known or predicted substrate specificities. Our analysis concluded by measuring changes in levels of 1,305 plasma proteins in each study participant as a function of fiber treatment and applying computational tools to identify links between these microbiome and plasma proteome changes in response to fiber consumption. Our results provide an approach, using pilot human studies, for selecting specific fiber preparations, plus informative microbiome and host biomarkers, that can be advanced to proof-of-concept clinical trials which assess their capacity for precise manipulation of microbiome and host features.     

European Headache Federation guideline on the use of monoclonal antibodies targeting the calcitonin gene related peptide pathway for migraine prevention – 2022 update

BackgroundA previous European Headache Federation (EHF) guideline addressed the use of monoclonal antibodies targeting the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) pathway to prevent migraine. Since then, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and real-world evidence have expanded the evidence and knowledge for those treatments. Therefore, the EHF panel decided to provide an updated guideline on the use of those treatments.MethodsThe guideline was developed following the Grading of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. The working group identified relevant questions, performed a systematic review and an analysis of the literature, assessed the quality of the available evidence, and wrote recommendations. Where the GRADE approach was not applicable, expert opinion was provided.ResultsWe found moderate to high quality of evidence to recommend eptinezumab, erenumab, fremanezumab, and galcanezumab in individuals with episodic and chronic migraine. For several important clinical questions, we found not enough evidence to provide evidence-based recommendations and guidance relied on experts’ opinion. Nevertheless, we provided updated suggestions regarding the long-term management of those treatments and their place with respect to the other migraine preventatives.ConclusionMonoclonal antibodies targeting the CGRP pathway are recommended for migraine prevention as they are effective and safe also in the long-term.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s10194-022-01431-x.     

Suramin induces and enhances apoptosis in a model of hyperoxia-induced oligodendrocyte injury

Recent evidence suggests oxygen as a powerful trigger for cell death in the immature white matter, leading to periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) as a cause of adverse neurological outcome in survivors of preterm birth. This oligodendrocyte (OL) death is associated with oxidative stress, upregulation of apoptotic signaling factors (i.e., Fas, caspase-3) and decreased amounts of neurotrophins. In search of neuroprotective strategies we investigated whether the polysulfonated urea derivative suramin, recently identified as a potent inhibitor of Fas signaling, affords neuroprotection in an in vitro model of hyperoxia-induced injury to immature oligodendrocytes. Immature OLs (OLN-93) were subjected to 80% hyperoxia (48 h) in the presence or absence of suramin (0, 30, 60, 120 microM). Cell death was assessed by flow cytometry (Annexin V, caspase-3 activity assay) and immunohistochemistry for activated caspase-3. Immunoblotting for the death receptor Fas, cleaved caspase-8 and the phosphorylated isoform of the serine-threonin kinase Akt (pAkt) was performed. Suramin lead to OL apoptosis and potentiated hyperoxia-induced injury in a dose-dependent manner. Immunoblotting revealed increased Fas and caspase-8 expression by suramin treatment. This effect was significantly enhanced when suramin was combined with hyperoxia. Furthermore, pAkt levels decreased following suramin exposure, indicating interference with neurotrophin-dependent growth factor signaling. These data indicate that suramin causes apoptotic cell death and aggravates hyperoxia-induced cell death in immature OLs. Its mechanism of action includes an increase of previously described hyperoxia-induced expression of pro-apoptotic factors and deprivation of growth factor dependent signaling components.