Hypertrophic abductor hallucis muscle with nerve compression syndrome

A 13-year-old girl presented with a soft tissue swelling at the posteromedial side of the foot. This swelling had been present since birth but recently started to cause discomfort and radiating pain to the plantar aspect of the first and second toes. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a soft tissue mass (2,6 x 3,7 x 13 centimetres) at the posteromedial side of the foot with signal-intensity similar to the intensity of muscle tissue on all the different sequences. There was no pathological contrast enhancement. Anatomically this mass was located at the abductor hallucis muscle (AH), representing a prominence or hypertrophy of the abductor hallucis muscle (Fig A). The diagnosis was made of a hypertrofic abductor hallucis muscle with narrowing the space for the medial plantar branches of the tibial nerve (circle) at the crossover between the flexor hallucis longus and flexor digitorum longus tendons (arrow), the quadratus plantae muscle (QP) and flexor digitorum brevis muscle (FDB) (Fig B). Example of a normal fibromuscular tunnel (Fig. C). Our patient was treated conservatively first and referred to a foot surgeon

Urinary cell cycle arrest biomarkers and chitinase 3-like protein 1 (CHI3L1) to detect acute kidney injury in the critically ill : a post hoc laboratory analysis on the FINNAKI cohort

Background Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a frequently occurring syndrome in critically ill patients and is associated with worse outcomes. Biomarkers allow early identification and therapy of AKI which may improve outcomes. Urine chitinase 3-like protein 1 (uCHI3L1) was recently identified as a promising urinary biomarker for AKI. In this multicenter study, we evaluated the diagnostic performance for AKI stage 2 or greater of uCHI3L1 in comparison with the urinary cell cycle arrest biomarkers urinary tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-2 (TIMP-2)center dot insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 7 (IGFBP7) measured by NephroCheck Risk (R). Methods Post hoc laboratory study of the prospective observational FINNAKI study. Of this cohort, we included patients with stored admission urine samples and availability of serum creatinine at day 1 of admission. Patients who already had AKI stage 2 or 3 at ICU admission were excluded. AKI was defined and staged according to the KDIGO definition and staging system. The primary endpoint was AKI stage 2 or 3 at day 1. Biomarker performance was assessed by the area under the curve of the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). We assessed individual performance and different combinations of urine biomarkers. Results Of 660 included patients, 49 (7.4%) had AKI stages 2-3 at day 1. All urine biomarkers were increased at admission in AKI patients. All biomarkers and most combinations had AUCs <0.700. The combination uCHI3L1 center dot TIMP-2 was best with a fair AUC of 0.706 (0.670, 0.718). uCHI3L1 had a positive likelihood ratio (LR) of 2.25 which was comparable to that of the NephroCheck Risk (R) cutoff of 2.0, while the negative LR of 0.53 was comparable to that of the NephroCheck Risk (R) cutoff of 0.3. Conclusions We found that uCHI3L1 and NephroCheck Risk (R) had a comparable diagnostic performance for diagnosis of AKI stage 2 or greater within a 24-h period in this multicenter FINNAKI cohort. In contrast to initial discovery and validation studies, the diagnostic performance was poor. Possible explanations for this observation are differences in patient populations, proportion of emergency admissions, proportion of functional AKI, rate of developing AKI, and observation periods for diagnosis of AKI.Peer reviewe

Non-classical ProIL-1beta activation during mammary gland infection is pathogen-dependent but caspase-1 independent

Infection of the mammary gland with live bacteria elicits a pathogen-specific host inflammatory response. To study these host-pathogen interactions wild type mice, NF-kappaB reporter mice as well as caspase-1 and IL-1beta knockout mice were intramammarily challenged with Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). The murine mastitis model allowed to compare the kinetics of the induced cytokine protein profiles and their underlying pathways. In vivo and ex vivo imaging showed that E. coli rapidly induced NF-kappaB inflammatory signaling concomitant with high mammary levels of TNF-alpha, IL-1 alpha and MCP-1 as determined by multiplex analysis. In contrast, an equal number of S. aureus bacteria induced a low NF-kappaB activity concomitant with high mammary levels of the classical IL-1beta fragment. These quantitative and qualitative differences in local inflammatory mediators resulted in an earlier neutrophil influx and in a more extensive alveolar damage post-infection with E. coli compared to S. aureus. Western blot analysis revealed that the inactive proIL-1beta precursor was processed into pathogen-specific IL-1beta fragmentation patterns as confirmed with IL-1beta knockout animals. Additionally, caspase-1 knockout animals allowed to investigate whether IL-1beta maturation depended on the conventional inflammasome pathway. The lack of caspase-1 did not prevent extensive proIL-1beta fragmentation by either of S. aureus or E. coli. These non-classical IL-1beta patterns were likely caused by different proteases and suggest a sentinel function of IL-1beta during mammary gland infection. Thus, a key signaling nodule can be defined in the differential host innate immune defense upon E. coli versus S. aureus mammary gland infection, which is independent of caspase-1

Frequent sexual activity predicts specific cognitive abilities in older adults

Objectives: This study replicates and extends the findings of previous research (Wright, H., and Jenks, R. A. (2016). Sex on the brain! Associations between sexual activity and cognitive function in older age. Age and Ageing, 45, 313-317. doi:10.1093/ageing/afv197) which found a significant association between sexual activity (SA) and cognitive function in older adults. Specifically, this study aimed to generalize these findings to a range of cognitive domains, and to assess whether increasing SA frequency is associated with increasing scores on a variety of cognitive tasks. Methods: Seventy-three participants aged 50-83 years took part in the study (38.4% male, 61.6% female). Participants completed the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-III (ACE-III) cognitive assessment and a questionnaire on SA frequency (never, monthly, or weekly), and general health and lifestyle. Results: Weekly SA was a significant predictor of total ACE-III, fluency, and visuospatial scores in regression models, including age, gender, education, and cardiovascular health. Discussion: Greater frequency of SA was associated with better overall ACE-III scores and scores on subtests of verbal fluency and visuospatial ability. Both of these tasks involve working memory and executive function, and links between sexual behavior, memory, and dopamine are discussed. The findings have implications for the maintenance of intimate relationships in later life

Improving sleep and learning in rehabilitation after stroke, part 2 (INSPIRES2): study protocol for a home-based randomised control trial of digital cognitive behavioural therapy (dCBT) for insomnia

Introduction Consolidation of motor skill learning, a key component of rehabilitation post-stroke, is known to be sleep dependent. However, disrupted sleep is highly prevalent after stroke and is often associated with poor motor recovery and quality of life. Previous research has shown that digital cognitive behavioural therapy (dCBT) for insomnia can be effective at improving sleep quality after stroke. Therefore, the aim of this trial is to evaluate the potential for sleep improvement using a dCBT programme, to improve rehabilitation outcomes after stroke. Methods and analysis We will conduct a parallel-arm randomised controlled trial of dCBT (Sleepio) versus treatment as usual among individuals following stroke affecting the upper limb. Up to 100 participants will be randomly allocated (2:1) into either the intervention (6–8 week dCBT) or control (continued treatment as usual) group. The primary outcome of the study will be change in insomnia symptoms pre to post intervention compared with treatment as usual. Secondary outcomes include improvement in overnight motor memory consolidation and sleep measures between intervention groups, correlations between changes in sleep behaviour and overnight motor memory consolidation in the dCBT group and changes in symptoms of depression and fatigue between the dCBT and control groups. Analysis of covariance models and correlations will be used to analyse data from the primary and secondary outcomes. Ethics and dissemination The study has received approval from the National Research Ethics Service (22/EM/0080), Health Research Authority (HRA) and Health and Care Research Wales (HCRW), IRAS ID: 306 291. The results of this trial will be disseminated via presentations at scientific conferences, peer-reviewed publication, public engagement events, stakeholder organisations and other forms of media where appropriate. Trial registration number NCT05511285

Long-term psychological outcomes following stroke: the OX-CHRONIC study

Background: Stroke survivors rate longer-term (> 2 years) psychological recovery as their top priority, but data on how frequently psychological consequences occur is lacking. Prevalence of cognitive impairment, depression/anxiety, fatigue, apathy and related psychological outcomes, and whether rates are stable in long-term stroke, is unknown. Methods: N = 105 long-term stroke survivors (M [SD] age = 72.92 [13.01]; M [SD] acute NIH Stroke Severity Score = 7.39 [6.25]; 59.0% Male; M [SD] years post-stroke = 4.57 [2.12]) were recruited (potential N = 208). Participants completed 3 remote assessments, including a comprehensive set of standardized cognitive neuropsychological tests comprising domains of memory, attention, language, and executive function, and questionnaires on emotional distress, fatigue, apathy and other psychological outcomes. Ninety participants were re-assessed one year later. Stability of outcomes was assessed by Cohen’s d effect size estimates and percent Minimal Clinically Important Difference changes between time points. Results: On the Montreal Cognitive Assessment 65.3% scored  Conclusion: Nearly half of participants > 2 years post-event exhibited psychological difficulties including domains of cognition, mood, and fatigue, which impact long-term quality of life. Stroke is a chronic condition with highly prevalent psychological needs, which require monitoring and intervention development

Long-term psychological outcomes following stroke: the OX-CHRONIC study

This is the final version. Available on open access from BMC via the DOI in this recordAvailability of data and materials: The dataset supporting the conclusions of this article is available in the study-specific Open Science Framework repository: osf.io/y2mevBACKGROUND: Stroke survivors rate longer-term (> 2 years) psychological recovery as their top priority, but data on how frequently psychological consequences occur is lacking. Prevalence of cognitive impairment, depression/anxiety, fatigue, apathy and related psychological outcomes, and whether rates are stable in long-term stroke, is unknown. METHODS: N = 105 long-term stroke survivors (M [SD] age = 72.92 [13.01]; M [SD] acute NIH Stroke Severity Score = 7.39 [6.25]; 59.0% Male; M [SD] years post-stroke = 4.57 [2.12]) were recruited (potential N = 208). Participants completed 3 remote assessments, including a comprehensive set of standardized cognitive neuropsychological tests comprising domains of memory, attention, language, and executive function, and questionnaires on emotional distress, fatigue, apathy and other psychological outcomes. Ninety participants were re-assessed one year later. Stability of outcomes was assessed by Cohen's d effect size estimates and percent Minimal Clinically Important Difference changes between time points. RESULTS: On the Montreal Cognitive Assessment 65.3% scored  2 years post-event exhibited psychological difficulties including domains of cognition, mood, and fatigue, which impact long-term quality of life. Stroke is a chronic condition with highly prevalent psychological needs, which require monitoring and intervention development.Stroke AssociationNational Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR

Scrotal cancer: Incidence, survival and second primary tumours in the Netherlands since 1989

Background: Since the 1970s there have been few epidemiological studies of scrotal cancer. We report on the descriptive epidemiology of scrotal cancer in the Netherlands. Methods: Data on all scrotal cancer patients were obtained from the Netherlands Cancer Registry (NCR) in the period 1989-2006 and age-standardised incidence rates were calculated also according to histology and stage. Relative survival was calculated and multiple primary tumours were studied. Results: The overall incidence rate varied around 1.5 per 1 000 000 person-years, most frequently being squamous cell carcinoma (27%), basal cell carcinoma (19%) and Bowen's disease (15%). Overall 5-year relative survival was 82%, being 77% and 95% for patients with squamous and basal cell carcinoma, respectively. In all, 18% of the patients were diagnosed with a second primary tumour. Conclusion: The incidence rate of scrotal cancer did not decrease, although this was expected; affected patients might benefit from regular checkups for possible new cancers