HSV2 acute retinal necrosis: diagnosis and monitoring with quantitative polymerase chain reaction

Purpose To describe a case of HSV2 acute retinal necrosis (ARN) diagnosed and monitored with quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in ocular fluids. Design Case report. Methods Quantitative PCR was performed in the aqueous humor (AH) and vitreous using primers specific for herpes virus. Results A positive PCR was found for HSV2 in the AH (>100,000,000 viral copies − 8.00log/ml). After therapy, another anterior chamber tap showed a reduction of the viral load at 4.28log/ml (19205 copies), confirming the efficacy of the treatment. After six months, PCR on the vitreous still showed the presence of HSV2 viral particles in the eye (3.14 log DNA copies/ml, 1379 copies) although the lesion was healed. Conclusions This case demonstrates that PCR is useful to detect viral DNA in AH and vitreous and to monitor viral activity and therapeutic response. Viral DNA persists in ocular fluids for months in the presence of a healed infectio

Two rare PROX1 variants in patients with lymphedema

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HSV2 acute retinal necrosis : diagnosis and monitoring with quantitative polymerase chain reaction

PURPOSE: To describe a case of HSV2 acute retinal necrosis (ARN) diagnosed and monitored with quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in ocular fluids. DESIGN: Case report. METHODS: Quantitative PCR was performed in the aqueous humor (AH) and vitreous using primers specific for herpes virus. RESULTS: A positive PCR was found for HSV2 in the AH (<100,000,000 viral copies - 8.00 log/ml). After therapy, another anterior chamber tap showed a reduction of the viral load at 4.28 log/ml (19205 copies), confirming the efficacy of the treatment. After six months, PCR on the vitreous still showed the presence of HSV2 viral particles in the eye (3.14 log DNA copies/ml, 1379 copies) although the lesion was healed. CONCLUSIONS: This case demonstrates that PCR is useful to detect viral DNA in AH and vitreous and to monitor viral activity and therapeutic response. Viral DNA persists in ocular fluids for months in the presence of a healed infection

Ventricular repolarization dispersion during ischemia course measured by temporal and spatial electrocardiographic parameters

In this work we studied the evolution of increased ventricular repolarization dispersion (VRD) in the ECG during ischemia induced by Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty (PTCA). T-wave duration is measured by an automatic delineator and proposed as a index to quantify increased VRD. Moreover, spatial complexity of repolarization is measured by Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) related indexes. Results showed a statistically significant widening of T-wave peak-to-end during PTCA procedure in RCA and LAD occluded patients. Besides, a statistically significant dynamic change of the dipolar components was observed during PTCA in RCA, LAD and LCx occluded patients. On the other hand, the relative energy of non-dipolar components did not change during the time course of increased VRD evolution.Fil: Arini, Pedro David. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Saavedra 15. Instituto Argentino de Matemática Alberto Calderón; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ingeniería; ArgentinaFil: Baglivo, F. H.. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ingeniería; ArgentinaFil: Martinez, J. P.. Universidad de Zaragoza; EspañaFil: Laguna, P.. Universidad de Zaragoza; EspañaXXXV International Conference on Computers in CardiologyBolognaItaliaIEEE Computer Societ

Consciousness transitions during epilepsy seizures through the lens of integrated information theory

Abstract Consciousness is one of the most complex aspects of human experience. Studying the mechanisms involved in the transitions among different levels of consciousness remains as one of the greatest challenges in neuroscience. In this study we use a measure of integrated information (ΦAR) to evaluate dynamic changes during consciousness transitions. We applied the measure to intracranial electroencephalography (SEEG) recordings collected from 6 patients that suffer from refractory epilepsy, taking into account inter-ictal, pre-ictal and ictal periods. We analyzed the dynamical evolution of ΦAR in groups of electrode contacts outside the epileptogenic region and compared it with the Consciousness Seizure Scale (CCS). We show that changes on ΦAR are significantly correlated with changes in the reported states of consciousness

REVIEW OF THE FUNCTION OF SEMA3A IN LYMPHATIC VESSEL MATURATION AND ITS POTENTIAL AS A CANDIDATE GENE FOR LYMPHEDEMA: ANALYSIS OF THREE FAMILIES WITH RARE CAUSATIVE VARIANTS

SEMA3A is a semaphorin involved in cell signaling with PlexinA1 and Neuropilin-1 (NRP1) receptors and it is responsible for recruiting dendritic cells into lymphatics. Mutations in the SEMA3A gene result in abnormalities in lymphatic vessel development and maturation. We investigated the association of SEMA3A variants detected in lymphedema patients with lymphatic maturation and lymphatic system malfunction. First, we used NGS technology to sequence the SEMA3A gene in 235 lymphedema patients who carry wild type alleles for known lymphedema genes. We detected three different missense variants in three families. Bioinformatic results showed that some protein interactions could be altered by these variants. Other unaffected family members of the probands also reported different episodes of subclinical edema. We then evaluated the importance of the SEMA3A gene in the formation and maturation of lymphatic vessels. Our results determined that SEMA3A variants segregate in families with lymphatic system malformations and recommend the inclusion of SEMA3A in the gene panel for testing of patients with lymphedema