血清β-hCG与CRP水平在预测胎膜早破宫内感染及预后的应用比较

目的 探讨血清β-绒毛膜促性腺激素(β-hCG)和C-反应蛋白(CRP)水平,在预测胎膜早破宫内感染和预后的应用比较.方法 入选2009年3月-2011年5月在医院妇产科孕足月住院发生胎膜早破的孕妇146例,产前抽取静脉血5 ml,用免疫分析法分别检测血清β-hCG和CRP,产后留取胎膜组织和胎盘组织,检查是否存在组织绒毛膜炎,将146例胎膜早破孕妇分为感染组与非感染组,比较两组血清β-hCG和CRP,以评价β-hCG、CRP在预测胎膜早破宫内感染和预后中的临床价值.结果 146例胎膜早破孕妇中,血清β-hCG阳性者47例,发生感染33例,感染率为70.2％,阴性者99例,发生感染19例,感染率为19.2％ ;CRP阳性者63例,发生感染41例,感染率为65.1％；阴性者83例,发生感染11例,感染率为13.3％,差异均有统计学意义(P＜0.05),血清β-hCG预测胎膜早破感染敏感度为63.5％,特异度为85.1％,二者与CRP检查差异无统计学意义,146例胎膜早破的孕妇分娩顺利,血清β-hCG和CRP阳性者预后较阴性者差,抗菌药物使用时间长,剂量大,住院时间延长,但是血清β-hCG和CRP在评价预后无差异.结论 血清β-hCG和CRP均能较好地预测胎膜早破孕妇是否发生感染和评价预后,二者之间没有差异,临床上结合血清β-hCG和CRP能够更迅速、更准确地诊断胎膜早破并发感染,并能更好地评价预后.     

锶与人体健康

锶是人体中必需微量元素之一,它与人体骨骼的形成密切相关,是骨骼、牙齿的主要成分,身体所有组织中都有锶,在肠内它与钠竞争吸收部位,使人体降低对钠的吸收,有利于心血管正常活动。锶可用来治疗一些由于副甲状腺功能不全导致的抽搐症状,缺锶会引起龋齿,锶过量则可引起骨骼的生长发育过快,表现为关节和骨骼变形、粗大、脆弱、疼痛,肌肉萎缩及贫血等。     

Association of Bartonella spp bacteremia with Chagas cardiomyopathy,endocarditis and arrythmias in patients from South America

Infection with Bartonella spp may cause cardiac arrhythmias, myocarditis and endocarditis in humans. The aim of the present study was to evaluate a possible association between Bartonella spp bacteremia and endocarditis, arrhythmia and Chagas cardiomyopathy in patients from Brazil and Argentina. We screened for the presence of bacterial 16S rRNA in human blood by PCR using oligonucleotides to amplify a 185-bp bacterial DNA fragment. Blood samples were taken from four groups of subjects in Brazil and Argentina: i) control patients without clinical disease, ii) patients with negative blood-culture endocarditis, iii) patients with arrhythmias, and iv) patients with chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy. PCR products were analyzed on 1.5% agarose gel to visualize the 185-bp fragment and then sequenced to confirm the identity of DNA. Sixty of 148 patients (40.5%) with cardiac disease and 1 of 56 subjects (1.8%) from the control group presented positive PCR amplification for Bartonella spp, suggesting a positive association of the bacteria with these diseases. Separate analysis of the four groups showed that the risk of a Brazilian patient with endocarditis being infected with Bartonella was 22 times higher than in the controls. In arrhythmic patients, the prevalence of infection was 45 times higher when compared to the same controls and 40 times higher for patients with Chagas cardiomyopathy. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report of the association between Bartonella spp bacteremia and Chagas disease. The present data may be useful for epidemiological and prevention studies in Brazil and Argentina.     

Leukocyte Interferon-alpha in the Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis C in Finland

Background: Food intake, accompanied by systemic and splanchnic haemodynamic changes, has only been studied in males. The extent to which splanchnic postprandial hyperaemia shows gender differences is unknown. Methods: We tested 1) the splanchnic hyperaemic response to food in females and 2) whether postprandial haemodynamic changes show gender differences. Twenty-four healthy women (aged 20-35 years) and 20 healthy men (aged 21-34 years) participated in the study. A liquid test meal (Ensure plus, 1.5 kcal/ml) was perfused intraduodenally for 75 min through an enteral feeding tube at a rate of 3 ml/min after a 45-min basal period. Blood flow parameters were measured using Echo-Doppler technology. Results: Basal diastolic arterial blood pressure was significantly (P     

Pretreatment of activated human CD8 T cells with IL-12 leads to enhanced TCR-induced signaling and cytokine production

During the immune response to pathogens and autoantigens, CD8T cells are exposed to numerous inflammatory agents including the cytokine IL-12. Previous studies have focused on how IL-12 regulates T cell functions when present during or after the activation of the T cell receptor (TCR). However, recent studies suggest that prior exposure to IL-12 also alters the TCR responsiveness of murine T cells. Whether similar phenomena occur in human activated CD8T cells and the mechanisms mediating these effects remain unexplored. In this study, we observed that pretreatment of human activated CD8T cells with IL-12 results in increased cytokine mRNA and protein production following subsequent TCR challenge. The potentiation of TCR-mediated cytokine release was transient and required low doses of IL-12 for at least 24 h. Mechanistically, prior exposure to IL-12 increased the TCR induced activation of select MAPKs and AKT without altering the activation of more proximal TCR signaling molecules, suggesting that the IL-12 mediated changes in TCR signaling are responsible for the increased production of cytokines. Our data suggest that prior treatment with IL-12 potentiates human CD8T cell responses at sites of infection and inflammation, expanding our understanding of the function of this clinically important cytokine.     

Are zona pellucida laser drilling and polar body biopsy safe for in vitro matured oocytes?

Introduction  

Preconception diagnosis requires first polar body biopsy. When the hole in the zona pellucida is made with a laser beam, heat propagation could, like the biopsy itself, be deleterious. Our aim was to evaluate the effect of this technique on human in vitro matured oocyte and embryo development.     

Brain Activity Unique to Orgasm in Women: An fMRI Analysis

BackgroundAlthough the literature on imaging of regional brain activity during sexual arousal in women and men is extensive and largely consistent, that on orgasm is relatively limited and variable, owing in part to the methodologic challenges posed by variability in latency to orgasm in participants and head movement.AimTo compare brain activity at orgasm (self- and partner-induced) with that at the onset of genital stimulation, immediately before the onset of orgasm, and immediately after the cessation of orgasm and to upgrade the methodology for obtaining and analyzing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) findings.MethodsUsing fMRI, we sampled equivalent time points across female participants’ variable durations of stimulation and orgasm in response to self- and partner-induced clitoral stimulation. The first 20-second epoch of orgasm was contrasted with the 20-second epochs at the beginning of stimulation and immediately before and after orgasm. Separate analyses were conducted for whole-brain and brainstem regions of interest. For a finer-grained analysis of the peri-orgasm phase, we conducted a time-course analysis on regions of interest. Head movement was minimized to a mean less than 1.3 mm using a custom-fitted thermoplastic whole-head and neck brace stabilizer.OutcomesTen women experienced orgasm elicited by self- and partner-induced genital stimulation in a Siemens 3-T Trio fMRI scanner.ResultsBrain activity gradually increased leading up to orgasm, peaked at orgasm, and then decreased. We found no evidence of deactivation of brain regions leading up to or during orgasm. The activated brain regions included sensory, motor, reward, frontal cortical, and brainstem regions (eg, nucleus accumbens, insula, anterior cingulate cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, operculum, right angular gyrus, paracentral lobule, cerebellum, hippocampus, amygdala, hypothalamus, ventral tegmental area, and dorsal raphe).Clinical TranslationInsight gained from the present findings could provide guidance toward a rational basis for treatment of orgasmic disorders, including anorgasmia.Strengths and LimitationsThis is evidently the first fMRI study of orgasm elicited by self- and partner-induced genital stimulation in women. Methodologic solutions to the technical issues posed by excessive head movement and variable latencies to orgasm were successfully applied in the present study, enabling identification of brain regions involved in orgasm. Limitations include the small sample (N = 10), which combined self- and partner-induced stimulation datasets for analysis and which qualify the generalization of our conclusions.ConclusionExtensive cortical, subcortical, and brainstem regions reach peak levels of activity at orgasm.Wise NJ, Frangos E, Komisaruk BR. Brain Activity Unique to Orgasm in Women: An fMRI Analysis. J Sex Med 2017;14:1380–1391.     

A Cell-Free Collagen Type I Device for the Treatment of Focal Cartilage Defects

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential value of a cell-free collagen type I gel plug for the treatment of focal cartilage defects. Cellular migration and proliferation was addressed in vitro, and the formation of repair tissue in a nude mouse-based defect model. A cell-free plug made of collagen type I was placed in the center of an incubation plate. Surrounding space was filled with a collagen type I gel (Arthro Kinetics, Esslingen, Germany) seeded with 2 × 10⁵ human articular chondrocytes/mL gel. After cultivation for up to 6 weeks in vitro, samples were subject to histological and immunohistochemical staining and gene expression analysis. Subsequently, chondral defects of human osteochondral blocks were treated with the plug, and specimens were cultivated subcutaneously in nude mice for 6 weeks. The repair tissue was evaluated macroscopically, and collagen type II production was investigated immunohistochemically. In vitro, morphology of immigrated cells did not show any differences, as did collagen type II gene expression. After 4 weeks, the plug was homogeneously inhabited. After 6 weeks of cultivation in nude mice, collagen gel plug treatment led to a macroscopically excellent repair tissue. Histological staining revealed a tight bonding, and the collagen gel plug started to be remodeled. We conclude that the novel collagen gel plug device offers an environment favorable for the migration of articular chondrocytes and leads to a good-quality repair tissue in the nude mouse model. The arthroscopic transplantation of a collagen gel plug may be one option in the treatment of focal cartilage defects.