Anna - Bernhard Blume

Dossier elaborado por José Antonio Sarmiento. Traducción: Vicente Jarque y Francisco CaballeroPresenta una entrevista realizada a Anna y Bernhard Blume por Juan Agustín Mancebo en marzo de 1999, así como alguna de sus obra

Comparing the effects of three different multilayer dressings for pressure ulcer prevention on sacral skin after prolonged loading: An exploratory crossover trial

Evidence suggests that preventive dressings applied on sacral skin help to prevent pressure ulcers. However, possible performance differences of different dressing types are unclear. An exploratory randomized crossover trial with intra-individual comparisons was conducted to compare the effects of three different multi-layer foam dressings (Mepilex Border Sacrum, ALLEVYN Life Sacrum and Optifoam Gentle Sacrum) compared to no dressing on the sacral skin. Healthy female volunteers (n = 12, mean age 72 years) wore three different dressings on their sacral skin for 3.5 hours while lying supine on a standard hospital mattress. At regular intervals, subjects performed standardized movements to enhance shear loads. Skin surface temperature, stratum corneum hydration, erythema, skin roughness and the interleukin 1 alpha (IL-1 alpha) concentration per total protein were measured at baseline and after the lying periods. After 3.5 hours, the median skin temperature increased in all four groups between 3.0 degrees C and 3.8 degrees C with only minor differences between the no dressing and the dressing groups. Median stratum corneum hydration increased during the lying period in all groups with highest increases in the Optifoam Gentle Sacrum (7.3 arbitrary units) and no dressing group (7.0 arbitrary units). There was a median decrease of the mean roughness (Rz) in the Optifoam Gentle Sacrum group of -6.3 mu m but no relevant changes in the other groups. After loading, the erythema index was highest in the ALLEVYN Life Sacrum and no dressing groups. Highest releases of IL-1 alpha were observed in the ALLEVYN Life Sacrum and Optifoam Gentle Sacrum groups, in the Mepilex Border Sacrum group changes were minor. Study results indicate, that the application of preventive dressings on sacral skin during loading do not cause additional occlusion compared to loading without dressings when lying supine. Different dressings cause different cutaneous responses during loading

Dry skin and the use of leave-on products in nursing care: A prevalence study in nursing homes and hospitals

Aims: To describe the prevalence of dry skin in nursing homes and hospitals and to describe relationships between topical skincare interventions and dry skin. Design: Two multicentre descriptive cross-sectional prevalence studies. Methods: The studies were performed in German nursing homes and hospitals in 2015 and 2016. Data were collected by trained nurses based on a standardized data collection form. The severity of dry skin was measured using the Overall Dry Skin Score. Results: In total, 1,662 nursing home residents and 1,486 hospital patients participated. The prevalence of dry skin was 41.2% in nursing homes and 55.2% in hospitals. In case of skincare dependency, the proportions of participants with dry skin were higher, particularly in hospitals (70.2%). In both institutions, the application of leave-on products increased when dry skin was present but remained lower in hospitals. Considering the high amount of skin dryness in skincare-dependent participants, interventions seem not to be successful. Results indicate a need for skincare improvement in future

Socioeconomic position and self-rated health among female and male adolescents: The role of familial determinants in explaining health inequalities. Results of the German KiGGS study

Objective: Although health inequalities in adolescence are well documented, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Few studies have examined the role of the family in explaining the association between the family’s socioeconomic position and adolescents’ self-rated health. The current study aimed to explore whether the association between socioeconomic position and self-rated health was mediated by familial determinants. Methods: Using data from wave 2 of the”German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents” (KiGGS) (1,838 female and 1,718 male 11- to 17-year-olds), linear regression analyses were conducted to decompose the total effects of income, education, occupational status, socioeconomic position index and adolescents’ subjective social status on self-rated health into direct effects and indirect effects through familial determinants (family cohesion, parental well-being, parental stress, parenting styles, parental obesity, smoking and sporting activity). Results: A significant total effect of all socioeconomic position indicators on self-rated health was found, except for income in male adolescents. In female adolescents, more than 70% of the total effects of each socioeconomic position indicator were explained by familial mediators, whereas no significant direct effects remained. The most important mediator was parental well-being, followed by family cohesion, parental smoking and sporting activity. In male adolescents, the associations between income, parental education, the socioeconomic position index and subjective social status were also mediated by familial determinants (family cohesion, parental smoking, obesity and living in a single-mother family). However, a significant direct effect of subjective social status remained. Conclusion: The analysis revealed how a family’s position of socioeconomic disadvantage can lead to poorer health in adolescents through different family practices. The family appears to play an important role in explaining health inequalities, particularly in female adolescents. Reducing health inequalities in adolescence requires policy interventions (macro-level), community-based strategies (meso-level) and programs to improve parenting and family functioning (micro-level).Peer Reviewe

Efficacy of chronic BACE1 inhibition in PS2APP mice depends on the regional A beta deposition rate and plaque burden at treatment initiation

Beta secretase (BACE) inhibitors are promising therapeutic compounds currently in clinical phase II/III trials. Preclinical [F-18]-florbetaben (FBB) amyloid PET imaging facilitates longitudinal monitoring of amyloidosis in Alzheimer's disease (AD) mouse models. Therefore, we applied this theranostic concept to investigate, by serial FBB PET, the efficacy of a novel BACE1 inhibitor in the PS2APP mouse, which is characterized by early and massive amyloid deposition. Methods: PS2APP and C57BU6 (WT) mice were assigned to treatment (PS2APP: N=13;WT: N=11) and vehicle control (PS2APP: N=13;WT: N=11) groups at the age of 9.5 months. All animals had a baseline PET scan and follow-up scans at two months and after completion of the four-month treatment period. In addition to this longitudinal analysis of cerebral amyloidosis by PET, we undertook biochemical amyloid peptide quantification and histological amyloid plaque analyses after the final PET session. Results: BACE1 inhibitor-treated transgenic mice revealed a progression of the frontal cortical amyloid signal by 8.4 +/- 2.2% during the whole treatment period, which was distinctly lower when compared to vehicle-treated mice (15.3 +/- 4.4%, p10% of the increase in controls showed only 40% attenuation with BACE1 inhibition. BACE1 inhibition in mice with lower amyloidosis at treatment initiation showed a higher efficacy in attenuating progression to PET. A predominant reduction of small plaques in treated mice indicated a main effect of BACE1 on inhibition of de novo amyloidogenesis. Conclusions: This theranostic study with BACE1 treatment in a transgenic AD model together with amyloid PET monitoring indicated that progression of amyloidosis is more effectively reduced in regions with low initial plaque development and revealed the need of an early treatment initiation during amyloidogenesis

Response to “Letter in response to ‘Students’ age and parental level of education influence COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy’”

[No abstract available

Students’ age and parental level of education influence COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy

Widespread vaccination in pursuit of herd immunity has been recognized as the most promising approach to ending the global pandemic of coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19). The vaccination of children and adolescents has been extensively debated and the first COVID-19 vaccine is now approved in European countries for children aged > 12 years of age. Our study investigates vaccination hesitancy in a cohort of German secondary school students. We assessed 903 students between age 9 and 20 in the period between 17 May 2021 and 30 June 2021. 68.3% (n = 617) reported intention to undergo COVID-19 vaccination, while 7% (n = 62) did not want to receive the vaccine and 15% (n = 135) were not yet certain. Age and parental level of education influenced COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Children under the age of 16 as well as students whose parents had lower education levels showed significantly higher vaccine hesitancy. Conclusion: Identifying subsets with higher vaccination hesitancy is important for targeting public information campaigns in support of immunization.What is Known:• The willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccination among adults in Europe is about 70%, but data for children and adolescents is lacking.• The lack of immunization in younger cohorts represents a significant barrier to achieving herd immunity, and also leaves children and adolescents vulnerable to acute and long-term morbidity from natural COVID-19 infections.What is New:• Intention-to-vaccinate among children and adolescents is high (~ 70%); conversely, vaccination hesitancy is low.• Age and parental level of education influenced COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among children and adolescents. © 2021, The Author(s)

BACE1 Inhibitor MK-8931 Alters Formation but Not Stability of Dendritic Spines

Beta-site amyloid-precursor-protein cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1) is the rate limiting protease in the production of the amyloid-beta peptide (A beta), which is considered to be the causative agent in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Therefore, the therapeutic potential of pharmacological BACE1 inhibitors is currently tested in clinical trials for AD treatment. To ensure a positive clinical outcome it is crucial to identify and evaluate adverse effects associated with BACE1 inhibition. Preclinical studies show that chronic blockade of BACE1 activity alters synaptic functions and leads to loss of dendritic spines. To assess the mechanism of synapse loss, dendritic spine dynamics of pyramidal layer V cells were monitored by in vivo two-photon microscopy in the somatosensory cortex of mice, treated with the BACE1 inhibitor MK-8931. MK-8931 treatment significantly reduced levels of A beta 40 and density of dendritic spines in the brain. However, the steady decline in dendritic spine density specifically resulted from a diminished formation of new spines and not from a loss of stable spines. Furthermore, the described effects on spine formation were transient and recovered after inhibitor withdrawal. Since MK-8931 inhibition did not completely abolish spine formation, our findings suggest that carefully dosed inhibitors might be therapeutically effective without affecting the structural integrity of excitatory synapses if given at an early disease stage

Increase of TREM2 during Aging of an Alzheimer's Disease Mouse Model Is Paralleled by Microglial Activation and Amyloidosis

Heterozygous missense mutations in the triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2) have been reported to significantly increase the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD). Since TREM2 is specifically expressed by microglia in the brain, we hypothesized that soluble TREM2 (sTREM2) levels may increase together with in vivo biomarkers of microglial activity and amyloidosis in an AD mouse model as assessed by small animal positron-emission-tomography (it PET). In this cross-sectional study, we examined a strong amyloid mouse model (PS2APP) of four age groups by mu PET with H-18-GE180 (glial activation) and F-18]-florbetaben (amyloidosis), followed by measurement of sTREM2 levels and amyloid levels in the brain. Pathology affected brain regions were compared between tracers (dice similarity coefficients) and pseudo-longitudinally. (PET results of both tracers were correlated with terminal TREM2 levels. The brain sTREM2 levels strongly increased with age of PS2APP mice (5 vs. 16 months: +211%, p 0.001), and correlated highly with mu PET signals of microglial activity (R = 0.89, p < 0.001) and amyloidosis (R = 0.92, p < 0.001). Dual p,,PET enabled regional mapping of glial activation and amyloidosis in the mouse brain, which progressed concertedly leading to a high overlap in aged PS2APP mice (dice similarity 67%). Together, these results substantiate the use of in vivo mu PET measurements in conjunction with post mortem sTREM2 in future anti-inflammatory treatment trials. Taking human data into account sTREM2 may increase during active amyloid deposition

Verwendung von Intertialsensoren zur automatisierten Auswertung sensomotorischer Tests

Um die sensomotorische Leistungsfähigkeit von Sportlern zu evaluieren, gibt es verschiedene sportwissenschaftliche Standardtests, wie zum Beispiel den Y-Balance-Test (YBT). Allerdings ist bei vielen dieser Verfahren ein Tester nötig, der die Durchführung leitet und das Ergebnis bestimmt. In dieser Arbeit wird der Ansatz für ein System auf Basis von Inertialsensoren (IMUs) vorgestellt, durch das die Auswertung verschiedener im Bereich der Sportwissenschaften gängiger Tests automatisiert werden kann. Implementiert wurde der YBT und die aktive Winkelreproduktion. Durch die Automatisierung muss während des Tests kein Tester mehr anwesend sein, wodurch beispielsweise Freizeitsportler, Leistungssportler, Trainer, Vereine, aber auch Forschungseinrichtungen in die Lage versetzt werden, diese Tests jederzeit durchzuführen. Durch die Verwendung von IMUs, die ihre eigene Ausrichtung als Quaternion schätzen, wird im vorgestellten System die aktuelle Pose der Knochen im Skelett des Nutzers berechnet. Aus diesen werden dann die verschiedenen Testergebnisse, wie Gelenkwinkel oder die Position einzelner Extremitäten, bestimmt. Als Plattform kommt ein mobiles Gerät zum Einsatz, auf dem die Berechnung und die Visualisierung in Echtzeit erfolgen