Incobotulinum booster injections in patients with spasticity and dystonia after stroke

Background.\u2013 Previous results in patients injected with abobotulinum toxin A and onabotulinum toxin A have shown that injection intervals shorter than 2 months may increase the risk for neutralising antibody formation and treatment non-response. As a result, for the last 10 years, we have adopted longer intervals to treat patients with spasticity and/or dystonia secondary to stroke. It has been showed that incobotulinum toxin A does not induce neutralising antibodies. Observations.\u2013 Methods.\u2013 Ten patients with spasticity and/or dystonia due to stroke underwent a booster injection one month after the first injection. The clinical results were compared to those previously obtained in the same 10 patients using a single injection. Secondary dystonia was evaluated using the Unified Dystonia Rating Scale (UDRS), while spasticity was evaluated according to the Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS). Results.\u2013 They showed that the booster injection protocol induced an improvement in 8 subjects. In the remaining 2 subjects, we did not find any difference between the results obtained using the single and the booster injection protocols. Conclusions.\u2013 The use of a booster injection improve the clinical outcome in patients with spasticity and/or dystonia after stroke, allowing an optimal treatment of those muscles that poorly responded to the first injection

Evidence of protective effects of recombinant ADAMTS13 in a humanized model of sickle cell disease

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited red blood cell disorder that occurs worldwide. Acute vaso-occlusive crisis is the main cause of hospitalization in patients with SCD. There is growing evidence that inflammatory vasculopathy plays a key role in both acute and chronic SCD-related clinical manifestations. In a humanized mouse model of SCD, we found an increase of von Willebrand factor activity and a reduction in the ratio of a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin type 1 motif, number 13 (ADAMTS13) to von Willebrand factor activity similar to that observed in the human counterpart. Recombinant ADAMTS13 was administered to humanized SCD mice before they were subjected to hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) stress as a model of vaso-occlusive crisis. In SCD mice, recombinant ADAMTS13 reduced H/R-induced hemolysis and systemic and local inflammation in lungs and kidneys. It also diminished H/R-induced worsening of inflammatory vasculopathy, reducing local nitric oxidase synthase expression. Collectively, our data provide for the firsttime evidence that pharmacological treatment with recombinant ADAMTS13 (TAK-755) diminished H/R-induced sickle cell-related organ damage. Thus, recombinant ADAMTS13 might be considered as a potential effective disease-modifying treatment option for sickle cell-related acute events

Comparative genomic and phylogeographic analysis of Mycobacterium leprae

Reductive evolution and massive pseudogene formation have shaped the 3.31-Mb genome of Mycobacterium leprae, an unculturable obligate pathogen that causes leprosy in humans. The complete genome sequence of M. leprae strain Br4923 from Brazil was obtained by conventional methods (6 x coverage), and Illumina resequencing technology was used to obtain the sequences of strains Thai53 (38 x coverage) and NHDP63 (46 x coverage) from Thailand and the United States, respectively. Whole-genome comparisons with the previously sequenced TN strain from India revealed that the four strains share 99.995% sequence identity and differ only in 215 polymorphic sites, mainly SNPs, and by 5 pseudogenes. Sixteen interrelated SNP subtypes were defined by genotyping both extant and extinct strains of M. leprae from around the world. The 16 SNP subtypes showed a strong geographical association that reflects the migration patterns of early humans and trade routes, with the Silk Road linking Europe to China having contributed to the spread of leprosy

Rv2358 and FurB: Two transcriptional regulators from Mycobacterium tuberculosis which respond to zincl

In a previous work, we demonstrated that the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Rv2358-furB operon is induced by zinc. In this study, the orthologous genes from Mycobacterium smegmatis mc(2)155 were inactivated and mutants analyzed. Rv2358 protein was purified and found to bind upstream of the Rv2358 gene. Binding was inhibited by Zn(2+) ions

A small reconfigurable PIFA for DVB-H application

International audienc

The Mycobacterium tuberculosis Rv2358-furB is induced by zinc

The Mycobacterium tuberculosis genome encodes two ferric uptake regulator homologues, furA and furB, the function of which is under investigation. Using Mycobacterium smegmatis as a model system, we investigated the transcriptional pattern of Rv(Ms)2358-furB genes. Transcripts covering the two genes could be identified by northern blotting and by reverse transcriptase PCR. The transcriptional start point was mapped at one base upstream of the Ms2358 start codon by the RACE technique. By cloning M. smegmatis and M. tuberculosis DNA regions upstream of a reporter gene, we demonstrated the presence of one promoter, located immediately upstream of the Rv(Ms)2358 gene. Promoter induction was tested on several cultures grown under different conditions of pH and temperature, and in the presence of different concentrations of metallic ions. The promoter was found to be specifically induced by zinc. The recombinant M. tuberculosis FurB protein typically contained two zinc ions per protein monomer. Complete removal of zinc could not be obtained, even with strong denaturation treatment. Our data are in favour of the hypothesis that Rv2358 and FurB are transcriptional regulators involved in zinc homeostasis

Conformational Properties of Ethyl- and 2,2,2-Trifluoroethyl Thionitrites, (CX3CH2SNO, X = H and F)

Canneva A, Della Vedova CO, Mitzel NW, Erben MF. Conformational Properties of Ethyl- and 2,2,2-Trifluoroethyl Thionitrites, (CX3CH2SNO, X = H and F). The Journal of Physical Chemistry A. 2015;119(9):1524-1533.The simple 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl thionitrite molecule, CF3CH2SNO, has been prepared in good yield for the first time using CF3CH2SH and NOCl in slight excess. The vapor pressure of the red-brown compound CF3CH2SNO follows, in the temperature range between 226 and 268 K, the equation log p = 12.0-3881/T (p/bar, T/K), and its extrapolated boiling point reaches 51 degrees C. Its structural and conformational properties have been compared with the ethyl thionitrite analogue, CH3CH2SNO. The FTIR spectra of the vapor of both thionitrites show the presence of bands with well-defined contours, allowing for a detailed conformational analysis and vibrational assignment on the basis of a normal coordinate analysis. The conformational space of both thionitrite derivatives has also been studied by using the DFT and MP2(full) level of theory with extended basis sets [6-311+G(2df) and cc-pVTZ]. The overall evaluation of the experimental and theoretical results suggests the existence of a mixture of two conformers at room temperature. The relative abundance of the most stable syn form (N=O double bond syn with respect to the C-S single bond) has been estimated to be ca. 79 and 75% for CF3CH2SNO and CH3CH2SNO, respectively

Mycobacterium tuberculosis FurA autoregulates its own expression

The furA-katG region of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, encoding a Fur-like protein and the catalase-peroxidase, is highly conserved among mycobacteria. Both genes are induced upon oxidative stress. In this work we analyzed the M. tuberculosis furA promoter region. DNA fragments were cloned upstream of the luciferase reporter gene, and promoter activity in Mycobacterium smegmatis was measured in both the presence and absence of oxidative stress. The shortest fragment containing an inducible promoter extends 45 bp upstream of furA. In this region, -35 and -10 promoter consensus sequences can be identified, as well as a 23-bp AT-rich sequence that is conserved in the nonpathogenic but closely related M. smegmatis. M. tuberculosis FurA was purified and found to bind upstream of furA by gel shift analysis. A ca. 30-bp DNA sequence, centered on the AT-rich region, was essential for FurA binding and protected by FurA in footprinting analysis. Peroxide treatment of FurA abolished DNA binding. Three different AT-rich sequences mutagenized by site-directed mutagenesis were constructed. In each mutant, both M. tuberculosis FurA binding in vitro and pfurA regulation upon oxidative-stress in M. smegmatis were abolished. Thus, pfurA is an oxidative stress-responsive promoter controlled by the FurA protein

Miniature reconfigurable antenna with magneto dielectric substrate for DVB-H band

International audienc