Effect of Fasciola hepatica proteins on the functioning of rat hepatocytes

Fasciolosis is a hepatic parasitic infection that affects many mammal species and creates a great economic and veterinary problem. Molecular mechanisms of parasite–hepatocyte interactions have not been precisely characterized yet. Therefore, the aim of the study was to investigate alterations in the metabolic activity of rat liver cells exposed to Fasciola hepatica somatic proteins. Hepatocytes were incubated with 0–1 mg/ml of fluke's somatic proteins for various periods of time. Afterward, changes in hepatocytes metabolic activity were determined with MTT and enzyme leakage tests. Hepatocytes' capacity to synthesize albumin was also investigated. It was observed that protein concentration, as well as longevity of their action, influenced metabolic activity of rat liver cells. Diminution of hepatocytes survival rate, an increase in enzyme leakage and altered synthetic capacity after treatment with parasite's proteins were reported. It is concluded that somatic proteins of F. hepatica may play an important role in liver cell damaging

Personality styles in patients with fibromyalgia, major depression and healthy controls

BACKGROUND: The fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is suggested to be a manifestation of depression or affective spectrum disorder. We measured the cognitive style of patients with FMS to assess personality styles in 44 patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) by comparing them with 43 patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and 41 healthy controls (HC). METHODS: Personality styles were measured by the Sociotropy and Autonomy Scale (SAS) and the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS). The Structured Clinical interview for DSM Axis I was applied to Axis I disorders, while the Beck Depression Inventory was used to measure depression severity. RESULTS: Patients with FMS in general have a sociotropic personality style similar to patients with MDD, and different from HC, but FMS patients without a lifetime history of MDD had a cognitive personality style different from patients with MDD and similar to HC. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that a depressotypic personality style is related to depressive disorder, but not to FMS

Therapeutic hypothermia translates from ancient history in to practice

Acute postasphyxial encephalopathy around the time of birth remains a major cause of death and disability. The possibility that hypothermia may be able to prevent or lessen asphyxial brain injury is a “dream revisited”. In this review, a historical perspective is provided from the first reported use of therapeutic hypothermia for brain injuries in antiquity, to the present day. The first uncontrolled trials of cooling for resuscitation were reported more than 50 y ago. The seminal insight that led to the modern revival of studies of neuroprotection was that after profound asphyxia, many brain cells show initial recovery from the insult during a short “latent” phase, typically lasting ~6 h, only to die hours to days later during a “secondary” deterioration phase characterized by seizures, cytotoxic edema, and progressive failure of cerebral oxidative metabolism. Studies designed around this conceptual framework showed that mild hypothermia initiated as early as possible before the onset of secondary deterioration, and continued for a sufficient duration to allow the secondary deterioration to resolve, is associated with potent, long-lasting neuroprotection. There is now compelling evidence from randomized controlled trials that mild induced hypothermia significantly improves intact survival and neurodevelopmental outcomes to midchildhood

Pig-to-Nonhuman Primates Pancreatic Islet Xenotransplantation: An Overview

The therapy of type 1 diabetes is an open challenging problem. The restoration of normoglycemia and insulin independence in immunosuppressed type 1 diabetic recipients of islet allotransplantation has shown the potential of a cell-based diabetes therapy. Even if successful, this approach poses a problem of scarce tissue supply. Xenotransplantation can be the answer to this limited donor availability and, among possible candidate tissues for xenotransplantation, porcine islets are the closest to a future clinical application. Xenotransplantation, with pigs as donors, offers the possibility of using healthy, living, and genetically modified islets from pathogen-free animals available in unlimited number of islets. Several studies in the pig-to-nonhuman primate model demonstrated the feasibility of successful preclinical islet xenotransplantation and have provided insights into the critical events and possible mechanisms of immune recognition and rejection of xenogeneic islet grafts. Particularly promising results in the achievement of prolonged insulin independence were obtained with newly developed, genetically modified pigs islets able to produce immunoregulatory products, using different implantation sites, and new immunotherapeutic strategies. Nonetheless, further efforts are needed to generate additional safety and efficacy data in nonhuman primate models to safely translate these findings into the clinic

Neonatal severe bacterial infection impairment estimates in South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America for 2010.

BACKGROUND: Survivors of neonatal infections are at risk of neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI), a burden not previously systematically quantified and yet important for program priority setting. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses were undertaken and applied in a three-step compartmental model to estimate NDI cases after severe neonatal bacterial infection in South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America in neonates of >32 wk gestation (or >1,500 g). METHODS: We estimated cases of sepsis, meningitis, pneumonia, or no severe bacterial infection from among estimated cases of possible severe bacterial infection ((pSBI) step 1). We applied respective case fatality risks ((CFRs) step 2) and the NDI risk among survivors (step 3). For neonatal tetanus, incidence estimates were based on the estimated deaths, CFRs, and risk of subsequent NDI. RESULTS: For 2010, we estimated 1.7 million (uncertainty range: 1.1-2.4 million) cases of neonatal sepsis, 200,000 (21,000-350,000) cases of meningitis, 510,000 cases (150,000-930,000) of pneumonia, and 79,000 cases (70,000-930,000) of tetanus in neonates >32 wk gestation (or >1,500 g). Among the survivors, we estimated moderate to severe NDI after neonatal meningitis in 23% (95% confidence interval: 19-26%) of survivors, 18,000 (2,700-35,000) cases, and after neonatal tetanus in 16% (6-27%), 4,700 cases (1,700-8,900). CONCLUSION: Data are lacking for impairment after neonatal sepsis and pneumonia, especially among those of >32 wk gestation. Improved recognition and treatment of pSBI will reduce neonatal mortality. Lack of follow-up data for survivors of severe bacterial infections, particularly sepsis, was striking. Given the high incidence of sepsis, even minor NDI would be of major public health importance. Prevention of neonatal infection, improved case management, and support for children with NDI are all important strategies, currently receiving limited policy attention

In vivo biomolecular imaging of zebrafish embryos using confocal Raman spectroscopy

Zebrafish embryos provide a unique opportunity to visualize complex biological processes, yet conventional imaging modalities are unable to access intricate biomolecular information without compromising the integrity of the embryos. Here, we report the use of confocal Raman spectroscopic imaging for the visualization and multivariate analysis of biomolecular information extracted from unlabeled zebrafish embryos. We outline broad applications of this method in: (i) visualizing the biomolecular distribution of whole embryos in three dimensions, (ii) resolving anatomical features at subcellular spatial resolution, (iii) biomolecular profiling and discrimination of wild type and ΔRD1 mutant Mycobacterium marinum strains in a zebrafish embryo model of tuberculosis and (iv) in vivo temporal monitoring of the wound response in living zebrafish embryos. Overall, this study demonstrates the application of confocal Raman spectroscopic imaging for the comparative bimolecular analysis of fully intact and living zebrafish embryos

Acute and chronic kidney disease in elderly patients with hip fracture: prevalence, risk factors and outcome with development and validation of a risk prediction model for acute kidney injury

Background Hip fracture is a common injury in older people with a high rate of postoperative morbidity and mortality. This patient group is also at high risk of acute kidney injury (AKI) and chronic kidney disease (CKD), but little is known of the impact of kidney disease on outcome following hip fracture. Methods An observational cohort of consecutive patients with hip fracture in a large UK secondary care hospital. Predictive modelling of outcomes using development and validation datasets. Inclusion: all patients admitted with hip fracture with sufficient serum creatinine measurements to define acute kidney injury. Main outcome measures – development of acute kidney injury during admission; mortality (in hospital, 30-365 day and to follow-up); length of hospital stay. Results Data were available for 2848 / 2959 consecutive admissions from 2007-2011; 776 (27.2%) male. Acute kidney injury occurs in 24%; development of acute kidney injury is independently associated with male sex (OR 1.48 (1.21 to 1.80), premorbid chronic kidney disease stage 3B or worse (OR 1.52 (1.19 to 1.93)), age (OR 3.4 (2.29 to 5.2) for >85 years) and greater than one major co-morbidities (OR 1.61 (1.34 to 1.93)). Acute kidney injury of any stage is associated with an increased hazard of death, and increased length of stay (Acute kidney injury: 19.1 (IQR 13 to 31) days; no acute kidney injury 15 (11 to 23) days). A simplified predictive model containing Age, CKD stage (3B-5), two or more comorbidities, and male sex had an area under the ROC curve of 0.63 (0.60 to 0.67). Conclusions Acute kidney injury following hip fracture is common and associated with worse outcome and greater hospital length of stay. With the number of people experiencing hip fracture predicted to rise, recognition of risk factors and optimal perioperative management of acute kidney injury will become even more important

A model of open-loop control of equilibrium position and stiffness of the human elbow joint

According to the equilibrium point theory, the control of posture and movement involves the setting of equilibrium joint positions (EP) and the independent modulation of stiffness. One model of EP control, the α-model, posits that stable EPs and stiffness are set open-loop, i.e. without the aid of feedback. The purpose of the present study was to explore for the elbow joint the range over which stable EPs can be set open-loop and to investigate the effect of co-contraction on intrinsic low-frequency elbow joint stiffness (