Awake chronic mouse model of targeted pial vessel occlusion via photothrombosis

Animal models of stroke are used extensively to study the mechanisms involved in the acute and chronic phases of recovery following stroke. A translatable animal model that closely mimics the mechanisms of a human stroke is essential in understanding recovery processes as well as developing therapies that improve functional outcomes. We describe a photothrombosis stroke model that is capable of targeting a single distal pial branch of the middle cerebral artery with minimal damage to the surrounding parenchyma in awake head-fixed mice. Mice are implanted with chronic cranial windows above one hemisphere of the brain that allow optical access to study recovery mechanisms for over a month following occlusion. Additionally, we study the effect of laser spot size used for occlusion and demonstrate that a spot size with small axial and lateral resolution has the advantage of minimizing unwanted photodamage while still monitoring macroscopic changes to cerebral blood flow during photothrombosis. We show that temporally guiding illumination using real-time feedback of blood flow dynamics also minimized unwanted photodamage to the vascular network. Finally, through quantifiable behavior deficits and chronic imaging we show that this model can be used to study recovery mechanisms or the effects of therapeutics longitudinally.R01 EB021018 - NIBIB NIH HHS; R01 MH111359 - NIMH NIH HHS; R01 NS108472 - NINDS NIH HHSPublished versio

Choosing a laser for laser speckle contrast imaging

The use of laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) has expanded rapidly for characterizing the motion of scattering particles. Speckle contrast is related to the dynamics of the scattering particles via a temporal autocorrelation function, but the quality of various elements of the imaging system can adversely affect the quality of the signal recorded by LSCI. While it is known that the laser coherence affects the speckle contrast, it is generally neglected in in vivo LSCI studies and was not thoroughly addressed in a practical matter. In this work, we address the question of how the spectral width of the light source affects the speckle contrast both experimentally and through numerical simulations. We show that commonly used semiconductor laser diodes have a larger than desired spectral width that results in a significantly reduced speckle contrast compared with ideal narrow band lasers. This results in a reduced signal-to-noise ratio for estimating changes in the motion of scattering particles. We suggest using a volume holographic grating stabilized laser diode or other diodes that have a spectrum of emitted light narrower than ≈1 nm to improve the speckle contrast.D.D. Postnov was supported by grant NNF17OC0025224 awarded by Novo Nordisk Foundation, Denmark. Support was also provided by NIH R01-MH111359, R01-EB021018, and R01-NS108472. (NNF17OC0025224 - Novo Nordisk Foundation, Denmark; R01-MH111359 - NIH; R01-EB021018 - NIH; R01-NS108472 - NIH)https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-39137-xPublished versionPublished versio

Chronic cranial windows for long term multimodal neurovascular imaging in mice

Chronic cranial windows allow for longitudinal brain imaging experiments in awake, behaving mice. Different imaging technologies have their unique advantages and combining multiple imaging modalities offers measurements of a wide spectrum of neuronal, glial, vascular, and metabolic parameters needed for comprehensive investigation of physiological and pathophysiological mechanisms. Here, we detail a suite of surgical techniques for installation of different cranial windows targeted for specific imaging technologies and their combination. Following these techniques and practices will yield higher experimental success and reproducibility of results.R21 EY030727 - NEI NIH HHS; R01 NS108472 - NINDS NIH HHS; R01 NS057198 - NINDS NIH HHS; K99 AG063762 - NIA NIH HHS; R01 DA050159 - NIDA NIH HHS; R01 EB021018 - NIBIB NIH HHS; R01 MH111359 - NIMH NIH HHSPublished versio

International Olympic Committee consensus statement: Methods for recording and reporting of epidemiological data on injury and illness in sport 2020 (including STROBE Extension for Sport Injury and Illness Surveillance (STROBE-SIIS))

Injury and illness surveillance, and epidemiological studies, are fundamental elements of concerted efforts to protect the health of the athlete. To encourage consistency in the definitions and methodology used, and to enable data across studies to be compared, research groups have published 11 sport-specific or setting-specific consensus statements on sports injury (and, eventually, illness) epidemiology to date. Our objective was to further strengthen consistency in data collection, injury definitions and research reporting through an updated set of recommendations for sports injury and illness studies, including a new Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) checklist extension. The IOC invited a working group of international experts to review relevant literature and provide recommendations. The procedure included an open online survey, several stages of text drafting and consultation by working groups and a 3-day consensus meeting in October 2019. This statement includes recommendations for data collection and research reporting covering key components: defining and classifying health problems; severity of health problems; capturing and reporting athlete exposure; expressing risk; burden of health problems; study population characteristics and data collection methods. Based on these, we also developed a new reporting guideline as a STROBE Extension -the STROBE Sports Injury and Illness Surveillance (STROBE-SIIS). The IOC encourages ongoing in-and out-of-competition surveillance programmes and studies to describe injury and illness trends and patterns, understand their causes and develop measures to protect the health of the athlete. Implementation of the methods outlined in this statement will advance consistency in data collection and research reporting. © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020

Pain as a First Manifestation of Paraneoplastic Neuropathies: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Paraneoplastic neurological syndromes (PNS) consist of a heterogeneous group of neurological disorders triggered by cancer. The aim of this systematic review is to estimate the reported prevalence of pain in patients with paraneoplastic peripheral neuropathy (PPN). METHODS: A systematic computer-based literature search was conducted on PubMed database. RESULTS: Our search strategy resulted in the identification of 126 articles. After the eligibility assessment, 45 papers met the inclusion criteria. Full clinical and neurophysiological data were further extracted and involved 92 patients with PPN (54.5% males, mean age 60.0 ± 12.2 years). The commonest first manifestation of PPN is sensory loss (67.4%), followed by pain (41.3%), weakness (22.8%), and sensory ataxia (20.7%). In 13.0% of the cases, pain was the sole first manifestation of the PPN. During the course of the PPN, 57.6% of the patients may experience pain secondary to the neuropathy. CONCLUSIONS: Pain is very prevalent within PPN. Pain specialists should be aware of this. Detailed history-taking, full clinical examination, and requesting nerve conduction studies might lead to an earlier diagnosis of an underlying malignancy

Antehilar coloesophagoplasty

[No abstract available

Accessory perineal scrotum associated with anorectal malformation

WOS: 000079778300036PubMed ID: 1023359

Abdominoscrotal hydrocele: case report and review of the literature

Abdominoscrotal hydrocele is a collection of fluid in the tunica vaginalis extending through the inguinal canal into the abdominal cavity. Although this rare type of hydrocele was first described by Dupuytren in 1834, only 16 pediatric cases have been reported in the literature to date. On the basis of our own case and those described in the literature, the clinical features, diagnostic procedures, and operative therapy are summarized and discussed. © 1992 Springer-Verlag