Imaging of COVID-19: An update of current evidences

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has been reported as a global emergency. As respiratory dysfunction is a major clinical presentation of COVID-19, chest computed tomography (CT) plays a central role in the diagnosis and management of patients with COVID-19. Recent advances in imaging approaches using artificial intelligence have been essential as a quantification and diagnostic tool to differentiate COVID-19 from other respiratory infectious diseases. Furthermore, cardiovascular involvement in patients with COVID-19 is not negligible and may result in rapid worsening of the disease and sudden death. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging can accurately depict myocardial involvement in SARS-CoV-2 infection. This review summarizes the role of the radiology department in the management and the diagnosis of COVID-19, with a special emphasis on ultra-high-resolution CT findings, cardiovascular complications and the potential of artificial intelligence.     

Checklist para pacientes con diabetes mellitus tipo 2 en consulta telemática

Las circunstancias actuales provocadas por la COVID-19 nos obligan a los profesionales de atención primaria a idear nuevas formas de garantizar la atención sanitaria de nuestros pacientes con diabetes tipo 2 (DM2). Existen evidencias que respaldan la eficacia de la telemedicina en el control glucémico de los pacientes con DM2. Ante la rápida adaptación de la práctica clínica al uso de la telemedicina, el Grupo de Trabajo de Diabetes de la Sociedad Española de Medicina Familiar y Comunitaria (SemFyC) optó por elaborar un documento de consenso plasmado en un algoritmo de actuación/seguimiento telemático en la atención de los pacientes con DM2.Palabras clave: Telemedicina, Diabetes mellitus tipo 2, COVID-19     

生物黏附辅料对葛根总黄酮类化合物在Caco-2细胞模型中转运的影响

目的:葛根总黄酮（PTF）可治疗心脑血管疾病，但膜通透性差，口服生物利用度低。一些辅料如卡波姆、壳聚糖和羟丙基甲基纤维素可以提高口服生物利用度。传统的体外评价技术，包括大鼠肠灌流和细胞模型，不能评价PTF整体的吸收机制。方法:本研究评价辅料的黏附性及对PTF在Caco-2细胞单层模型中转运的影响。采用cDNA微阵列测定PTF和PTF+辅料给药后的Caco-2细胞的基因表达变化，从基因水平揭示辅料对PTF整体吸收的影响机制。结果:体外黏附和Caco-2细胞转运实验表明，与单独PTF相比，加入辅料后对胃黏膜具有更高的黏附性，且在Caco-2细胞模型中的转运效率更高。PTF与辅料的相互作用显著改变了某些基因的表达，可能影响PTF的吸收效率。结论:不同的生物黏附聚合物能提高PTF的肠道吸收，可能与ATP结合盒(ABC)和溶质载体转运体(SLC)的表达基因有关。     

Is interleukin-2 an optimal marker for diagnosing tuberculosis infection? A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Background

Latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is a huge reservoir for the deadlier TB disease. Accurate identification of LTBI is a key strategy to eliminate TB. Therefore, a systematic review and meta-analysis approach was used to assess diagnostic potential of IL-2 for LTBI.     

Measurement of brain lactate during visual stimulation using a long TE semi‐LASER sequence at 7 T

Estimation of metabolic changes during neuronal activation represents a challenge for in vivo MRS, especially for metabolites with low concentration and signal overlap, such as lactate. In this work, we aimed to evaluate the feasibility of detecting lactate during brain activation using a long (144 ms) semi‐LASER sequence at 7 T. spectra were acquired on healthy volunteers ( ) during a paradigm with 15 min of visual stimulation. Outer‐volume signals were further attenuated by the use of saturation slabs, and macromolecular signals in the vicinity of the inverted lactate peak were individually fitted with simulated Lorentzian peaks. All spectra were free of artefacts and highly reproducible across subjects. Lactate was accurately quantified with an average Cramér‐Rao lower bound of 8%. Statistically significant ( , one‐tailed ‐test) increases in lactate ( 10%) and glutamate ( 3%) levels during stimulation were detected in the visual cortex. Lactate and glutamate changes were consistent with previous measurements. We demonstrated that quantification of a clear and non‐contaminated lactate peak obtained with a long TE sequence has the potential of improving the accuracy of functional MRS studies targeting non‐oxidative reaction pathways.