Don't forget primary progressive aphasia for anti-amyloid drugs: An estimation of eligible patients from the Lausanne Memory Center registry.

The study recently published on the clinical effect of lecanemab in early Alzheimer's disease (AD) only includes patients with amnestic presentation. However, a significant portion of AD patients presents a non-amnestic phenotype of AD, such as primary progressive aphasia (PPA) and could benefit of rather than on lecanemab. Therefore, we conducted a 10-year retrospective study at the Leenaards Memory Center in Lausanne (Switzerland) to identify how many PPA patients would be eligible for lecanemab. Among 54 patients with PPA, we identified 11 (20%) eligible patients. Furthermore, almost half of the 18 patients with logopenic variant would be eligible for lecanemab treatment

Motor phenotype of decline in cognitive performance among community-dwellers without dementia: Population-based study and meta-analysis

Background: Decline in cognitive performance is associated with gait deterioration. Our objectives were: 1) to determine, from an original study in older community-dwellers without diagnosis of dementia, which gait parameters, among slower gait speed, higher stride time variability (STV) and Timed Up & Go test (TUG) delta time, were most strongly associated with lower performance in two cognitive domains (i.e., episodic memory and executive function); and 2) to quantitatively synthesize, with a systematic review and meta-analysis, the association between gait performance and cognitive decline (i.e., mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia). Methods: Based on a cross-sectional design, 934 older community-dwellers without dementia (mean6standard deviation, 70.3 64.9years; 52.1% female) were recruited. A score at 5 on the Short Mini-Mental State Examination defined low episodic memory performance. Low executive performance was defined by clock-drawing test errors. STV and gait speed were measured using GAITRite system. TUG delta time was calculated as the difference between the times needed to perform and to imagine the TUG. Then, a systematic Medline search was conducted in November 2013 using the Medical Subject Heading terms "Delirium," "Dementia," "Amnestic," "Cognitive disorders" combined with "Gait" OR "Gait disorders, Neurologic" and "Variability." Findings: A total of 294 (31.5%) participants presented decline in cognitive performance. Higher STV, higher TUG delta time, and slower gait speed were associated with decline in episodic memory and executive performances (all P-values <0.001). The highest magnitude of association was found for higher STV (effect size = -0.74 [95% Confidence Interval (CI): -1.05;- 0.43], among participants combining of decline in episodic memory and in executive performances). Meta-analysis underscored that higher STV represented a gait biomarker in patients with MCI (effect size = 0.48 [95% CI: 0.30;0.65]) and dementia (effect size = 1.06 [95% CI: 0.40;1.72]). Conclusion: Higher STV appears to be a motor phenotype of cognitive decline. © 2014 Beauchet et al

The 6th international conference on envenomation by snakebites and scorpion stings in Africa : a crucial step for the management of envenomation

During the 6th International Conference on Envenomation by Snakebites and Scorpion Stings in Africa held in Abidjan, from 1 to 5 June 2015, the measures for the management of envenomation were discussed and new recommendations were adopted by the participants. The high incidence and severity of this affliction were confirmed by several studies conducted in African countries. The poor availability of antivenom, particularly because of the cost, was also highlighted. Some experiences have been reported, mainly those regarding the financial support of antivenom in Burkina Faso (more than 90 %) and Togo (up to 60 %) or the mandatory reporting of cases in Cameroon. Key recommendations concerned: improvement of epidemiological information based on case collection; training of health workers in the management of envenomation; policy to promote the use of effective and safe antivenom; and antivenom funding by sharing its costs with stakeholders in order to improve antivenom accessibility for low-income patients

MegaLTR: a web server and standalone pipeline for detecting and annotating LTR-retrotransposons in plant genomes

LTR-retrotransposons (LTR-RTs) are a class of RNA-replicating transposon elements (TEs) that can alter genome structure and function by moving positions, repositioning genes, shifting exons, and causing chromosomal rearrangements. LTR-RTs are widespread in many plant genomes and constitute a significant portion of the genome. Their movement and activity in eukaryotic genomes can provide insight into genome evolution and gene function, especially when LTR-RTs are located near or within genes. Building the redundant and non-redundant LTR-RTs libraries and their annotations for species lacking this resource requires extensive bioinformatics pipelines and expensive computing power to analyze large amounts of genomic data. This increases the need for online services that provide computational resources with minimal overhead and maximum efficiency. Here, we present MegaLTR as a web server and standalone pipeline that detects intact LTR-RTs at the whole-genome level and integrates multiple tools for structure-based, homologybased, and de novo identification, classification, annotation, insertion time determination, and LTR-RT gene chimera analysis. MegaLTR also provides statistical analysis and visualization with multiple tools and can be used to accelerate plant species discovery and assist breeding programs in their efforts to improve genomic resources. We hope that the development of online services such as MegaLTR, which can analyze large amounts of genomic data, will become increasingly important for the automated detection and annotation of LTR-RT elements

Détection des Signatures Moléculaires de Mycobacterium ulcerans chez les Hétéroptères aquatiques Prélevés dans les Rizières Urbaines en Côte d’Ivoire

Certaines villes de Côte d’Ivoire regorgent des rizières en activité jouxtant les habitations. Elles pourraient être des réservoirs et augmenter les risques de propagation de l’agent pathogène de l’ulcère de Buruli. Cette étude se propose de faire l’inventaire des hétéroptères aquatiques (hôtes et vecteurs de Mycobacterium ulerans) présents dans ces rizières. Ils ont été récoltés dans la végétation aquatique des rizières avec un filet épuisette de type Troubleau. Ils ont été identifiés au laboratoire sous une loupe binoculaire, à l’aide d’ouvrages d’identification. Au total, 481 spécimens, répartis en 7 familles (Belostomatidae, Ranatridae, Naucoridae, Nepidae, Corixidae, Notonectidae et Gerridae) ont été récoltés. Les Belostomatidae, avec 65,90% (n=317) ont dominé le peuplement. Les Gerridae (n=3) ont été les plus faible (p&lt;0,001). Sur 24 espèces identifiées, Diplonychus nepoïdes (Belostomatidae) a été la plus abondante dans les rizières (p&lt;0,001). L’indice de Shannon a varié entre 0,74 et 1,87. La richesse spécifique estimée à partir de l’indice de Margalef a donné des valeurs comprises entre 0,82 et 2,39. La composition et la diversité du peuplement ont montré que la diversité dans les rizières était faible ; mais une espèce domine. Mycobacterium ulcerans a été détectée 34 lots monospécifiques appartenant à 6 familles et 12 espèces. Dans toutes les rizières, les Belostomatidae et Diplonychus nepoïdes (Belostomatidae) ont été les plus colonisées avec respectivement 17 et 9 lots positifs. Mycobacterium ulcerans retrouvée chez les hétéroptères des rizières urbaines pourrait assurer sa dissémination vers les habitations aux alentours et augmenter le risque de contamination. &nbsp; In interior of some cities in Côte d'Ivoire, active rice fields are adjacent to houses. These could be reservoirs and increase the risks of propagation of the Buruli ulcer pathogen. The aim of this study is to make an inventory of aquatic heteropterans; hosts and vectors of Mycobacterium ulerans present in these rice fields. Heteropterans were collected in aquatic vegetation of the rice fields of 8 towns with a Troubleau type net. They were identified in laboratory under a binocular magnifying glass, using identification books. A total of 481 specimens, divided into 7 families (Belostomatidae, Ranatridae, Naucoridae, Nepidae, Corixidae, Notonectidae and Gerridae) were collected. Belostomatidae, with 65.90% (n=317) dominated the stand. The Gerridae family (n=3) was the lowest (p&lt;0.001). Twenty-four (24) species were identified and Diplonychus nepoides (Belostomatidae) was the most abundant in all rice fields (p&lt;0.001). Shannon index ranged from 0.74 to 1.87. Species richness estimated from Margalef index gave values between 0.82 and 2.39. Stand composition and diversity showed that diversity in the rice fields was low; but one specie dominated the stand. Mycobacterium ulcerans was detected in 34 monospecific batches belonging to 6 families and 12 species. In all rice fields, Belostomatidae and Diplonychus nepoides (Belostomatidae) were most colonized with 17 and 9 positive lots, respectively. Mycobacterium ulcerans found in aquatic heteropterans in urban rice fields could ensure its dissemination from the aquatic environment to the surrounding houses and increase the risk of contamination

Neonatal epididymo-orchitis caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa: a case report

Epididymitis and epididymo-orchitis are an uncommon causes of acute testicular pain in neonatal boys, epididymo-orchitis is infection or inflammation of epididymis and testis it's may be associated with urinary tract infections or reflux of urine predisposed by an underlying vasal anomaly. Pediatricians should examine the testicles meticulously after a baby is born