Decannulation factors in patients after serious brain injuries

Background. Patients with a long term tracheotomy (longer than 4 weeks) are quite frequent patients in the Neurorehabilitation Wards. These are especially patients after serious traumatic brain injuries, ischemic or hemorrhagic strokes, ischemic brain injuries and others. A correct multidisciplinary treatment requires a very close cooperation of: physiotherapists, neurologists, laryngologists and speech therapists. The aim of our study was to analyze factors that may influence positive decanulation in patients with tracheotomy performed because of the traumatic brain injury, stroke or cardiac arrest. Methods. Our material includes 127 patients hospitalized in our Department of Rehabilitation between 2002 and 2005. All of them had tracheotomy performed after the brain injury. We analyzed factors like: age, sex, cause of tracheotomy, GCS scale, duration of tracheotomy, concomitant diseases, microbiology examination of the bronchial secretion and the influence of these factors on decanulation. Results. We confirmed that young age (less than 40), traumatic brain injury and short time of tracheotomy are the positive decannulation factors.Background. Patients with a long term tracheotomy (longer than 4 weeks) are quite frequent patients in the Neurorehabilitation Wards. These are especially patients after serious traumatic brain injuries, ischemic or hemorrhagic strokes, ischemic brain injuries and others. A correct multidisciplinary treatment requires a very close cooperation of: physiotherapists, neurologists, laryngologists and speech therapists. The aim of our study was to analyze factors that may influence positive decanulation in patients with tracheotomy performed because of the traumatic brain injury, stroke or cardiac arrest. Methods. Our material includes 127 patients hospitalized in our Department of Rehabilitation between 2002 and 2005. All of them had tracheotomy performed after the brain injury. We analyzed factors like: age, sex, cause of tracheotomy, GCS scale, duration of tracheotomy, concomitant diseases, microbiology examination of the bronchial secretion and the influence of these factors on decanulation. Results. We confirmed that young age (less than 40), traumatic brain injury and short time of tracheotomy are the positive decannulation factors

Intravitreal anti-VEGF therapy in macular oedema secondary to racemose haemangiomatosis of the retina

Racemose haemangiomatosis of the retina is a sporadic, mostly unilateral, congenital arteriovenous malformation (AVM), comprising abnormal junctions between arteries and veins that omit capillaries. Typically, vascular malformations are asymptomatic and incidentally discovered. Advanced changes may be related to the presence of subretinal fluid and exudates, even though these lesions are classified as benign. Many complications can lead to severe or permanent visual impairment. Direct methods of treatment of primary retinal vascular anomalies have not been developed yet. The aim of this case report is to present the anti-VEGF therapy in the treatment macular oedema secondary to racemose haemangioma

Ultrastructural and morphohistochemical study of the influence of benzalkonium chloride on human corneal limbal epithelial cells in vitro

Within the corneal limbal epithelium there exist limbal stem cells (LSC) which under suitable conditions can regenerate their population or differentiate into corneal epithelial cells. However, upon limbal damage, the cells differentiate irreversibly and do not self-renew. One of the causes of the damage of progenitor cells and their niche is a long-term use of eye drops containing preservatives. While the side effects are related to the antimicrobial activity of such eye drops, damage to cellular and cytoplasmic membranes as well as enzymatic reactions can concurrently cause disorders of normal ocular surface tissue. The aim of this study was to evaluate the toxic effects of the preservative used in eye drops – benzalkonium chloride (BAK) – on human corneal limbal epithelial cells in vitro, and to define the mechanisms of acute limbal cell damage caused by the action of BAK. Ten corneoscleras rims, which were not qualified for transplantation by the Eye Tissue Bank, were obtained from 5 deceased donors aged 39 to 43 years. The tissue fragments (explants) containing corneal limbal epithelial cells were immediately after the explantation subjected to the action of the experimental substance being benzalkonium chloride (BAK) in concentrations of 0.005% and 0.01%. The qualitative analysis of microscopic images of the corneal limbus specimens was performed on tissue sections stained with hematoxylin and eosin using the immunohistochemical method for vimentin and with the use of a transmission electron microscope. The structure of the area of corneal limbus, as well as the morphological characteristics and the ultrastructure of the very limbal cells were evaluated with careful attention to the basal epithelial cells of the limbus. The BAK-treated groups of explants in sections stained by H & E featured characteristics of severe structural disorders of the corneal limbus area. Depletion of the epithelial cells was visible and involved both superficial and deep layers. Immunohistochemical staining for vimentin did not show the expression of this protein. This might have been connected with the damage to the cytoskeleton of limbal epithelial cells and large depletion of cells reaching down to the basement membrane. The images obtained with electron microscopy demonstrate serious defects of cell ultrastructure and, indirectly, abnormal cellular metabolism, including water and electrolyte balance and energy metabolism.This experiment confirmed the significant adverse effect of benzalkonium chloride on the limbal epithelial cells and the possibility of their damage

Prospectus, September 26, 2012

DISTRACTED DRIVING HITS PARKLAND, Parkland Named to Military Friendly Schools List, The Celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, Care for Your Back(pack), Room to Study: Creating Space to Concentrate, Socially Unsociable: A Look at Social Barriers on Campus, Cobras Volleyball Continues to Dominate, Cobras Softball Working Hard During the Fall Season, Game Review: Boarderlands IIhttps://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_2012/1020/thumbnail.jp

The impact of major warming at 14.7 ka on environmental changes and activity of Final Palaeolithic hunters at a local scale (Orawa-Nowy Targ Basin, Western Carpathians, Poland

There is a widespread belief that the abrupt warming at 14.7 ka had a profound impact on the environment. However, the direct correlation between the global climatic event and changes in local environments is not obvious.We examined faunal succession in an intra-mountain basin of theWestern Carpathians to assess the potential influence of the climatic change between Greenland Stadial-2a and Greenland Interstadial-1e on the local environment.We investigated three vertebrate assemblages (total number of identified specimens = 18,745; minimumnumber of individuals = 7515; 138 taxa) from Obłazowa Cave (western entrance) and a Rock overhang in Cisowa Rock, radiocarbon dated to the period before and after the global warming, between ca. 17.0 and 14.0 ka. Our data revealed that the major abrupt warming that occurred 14.7 ka had little impact on the local environment, which could suggest that ecosystems in Central Europe were resilient to the abrupt global climate changes. The increase in fauna population sizes and species diversities in local biotopes was gradual and began long before the temperature increase. This was supported by the analysis of ancient DNA of Microtus arvalis, which showed a gradual increase in effective population size after 19.0 ka. The results of palaeoclimatic reconstruction pointed out that the compared sites were characterized by similar climatic conditions. According to our calculations, the differences in the annual mean temperatures did not exceed 0.5 °C and mean annual thermal amplitude changed from 22.9 to 22.4 °C. The environmental changes before 14.7 ka had no impact on the activity of Final Palaeolithic hunters in the studied area

Age influence on mice lung tissue response to <i>Aspergillus fumigatus</i> chronic exposure

[b]Introduction and objective[/b]. Exposure to conidia of [i]Aspergillus fumigatus[/i] was described as a causative factor of a number of the respiratory system diseases, including asthma, chronic eosinophilic pneumonia, hypersensitivity pneumonitis and bronchopulmonary aspergillosis. The study investigates the effects of the repeated exposure to [i]A. fumigatus[/i] in mice pulmonary compartment. Our work tackles two, so far insufficiently addressed, important aspects of interaction between affected organism and[i] A. fumigatus[/i]: 1) recurrent character of exposure (characteristic for pathomechanism of the abovementioned disease states) and 2) impact of aging, potentially important for the differentiation response to an antigen. [b]Materials and methods[/b]. In order to dissect alterations of the immune system involved with both aging and chronic exposure to [i]A. fumigatus[/i], we used 3- and 18-month-old C57BL/6J mice exposed to repeated[i] A. fumigatus[/i] inhalations for 7 and 28 days. Changes in lung tissue were monitored by histological and biochemical evaluation. Concentration of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in lung homogenates was assessed by ELISA tests. [b]Results and conclusions. [/b]Our study demonstrated that chronic inflammation in pulmonary compartment, characterized by the significant increase of proinflammatory cytokines (IL1, IL6, IL10) levels, was the dominant feature of mice response to repeated [i]A. fumigatus[/i] inhalations. The pattern of cytokines' profile in the course of exposure was similar in both age groups, however in old mice the growth of the cytokines' levels was more pronounced (especially in case of IL1)

Rola doszklistkowych steroidów we współczesnym leczeniu cukrzycowego obrzęku plamki

Powikłania cukrzycy są jednym z najczęstszych i najpoważniejszych problemów we współczesnej okulistyce. W pracy przedstawiono dane epidemiologiczne i zasady leczenia retnopatii cukrzycowej i cukrzycowego obrzęku plamki. Szczególną uwagę zwrócono na rolę iniekcji doszklistkowych, w tym steroidów, które w niektórych przypadkach mogą być alternatywą dla inhibitorów naczyniowo-śrdódbłonkowego czynnika wzrostu (anty-VEGF). Zdaniem grupy ekspertów konieczne jest stworzenie programu lekowego obejmującego leczenie cukrzycowego obrzęku plamki, który istotnie poprawi dostęp do nowoczesnej terapii dużej grupie chorych. W programie lekowym lekiem pierwszego rzutu powinien być anty-VEGF z możliwością zmiany na doszklistkowy implant deksametazonu, w przypadku braku odpowiedzi na leczenie lub istnienia przeciwskazań do terapii anty-VEGF. Należy stworzyć precyzyjne kryteria kwalifikacji do programu, zdefiniować brak odpowiedzi na leczenie oraz określić wskazania do zmiany leku