Right phrenic nerve palsy following transcatheter radiofrequency current atrial fibrillation ablation: Case report

Phrenic nerve palsy (PNP) is a well-known complication of cardiac surgery or jugular/subclavian vein catheterization, presenting with cough, hiccups, dyspnoea/shortness of breath and, in some cases, ventilatory failure. Rarely, PNP is a complication of transcatheter radiofrequency ablation for atrial fibrillation. This report describes the case of a 72-year-old woman with a 2-year history of recurrent paroxysmal atrial fibrillation associated with occasional palpitations and shortness of breath who underwent routine transcatheter radiofrequency ablation. Three days after the procedure, the patient developed shortness of breath and progressive dyspnoea. Motor nerve conduction showed the absence of the right phrenic nerve compound motor action potential compared with the normal left side confirming the diagnosis of a right phrenic nerve palsy. This current case demonstrated the importance of undertaking an electrophysiological evaluation of phrenic nerve conduction after transcatheter radiofrequency ablation in patients presenting with palpitations and shortness of breath even if present a few days after the procedure

Eccentricity of radiative discs in close binary-star systems

Discs in binaries have a complex behavior because of the perturbations of the companion star. Planet formation in binary-star systems both depend on the companion star parameters and on the properties of the circumstellar disc. An eccentric disc may increase the impact velocity of planetesimals and therefore jeopardize the accumulation process. We model the evolution of discs in close binaries including the effects of self-gravity and adopting different prescriptions to model the disc's radiative properties. We focus on the dynamical properties and evolutionary tracks of the discs. We use the hydrodynamical code FARGO and we include in the energy equation heating and cooling effects. Radiative discs have a lower disc eccentricity compared to locally isothermal discs with same temperature profile. As a consequence, we do not observe the formation of an internal elliptical low density region as in locally isothermal disc models. However, the disc eccentricity depends on the disc mass through the opacities. Akin to locally isothermal disc models, self-gravity forces the disc's longitude of pericenter to librate about a fixed orientation with respect to the binary apsidal line ($\pi$). The disc's radiative properties play an important role in the evolution of discs in binaries. A radiative disc has an overall shape and internal structure that are significantly different compared to a locally isothermal disc with same temperature profile. This is an important finding both for describing the evolutionary track of the disc during its progressive mass loss, and for planet formation since the internal structure of the disc is relevant for planetesimals growth in binary systems. The non-symmetrical distribution of mass in these discs causes large eccentricities for planetesimals that may affect their growth.Comment: accepted for publication in A&A (abstract truncated to comply with astro-ph rules

The LAOG-Planet Imaging Surveys

With the development of high contrast imaging techniques and infrared detectors, vast efforts have been devoted during the past decade to detect and characterize lighter, cooler and closer companions to nearby stars, and ultimately image new planetary systems. Complementary to other observing techniques (radial velocity, transit, micro-lensing, pulsar-timing), this approach has opened a new astrophysical window to study the physical properties and the formation mechanisms of brown dwarfs and planets. I here will briefly present the observing challenge, the different observing techniques, strategies and samples of current exoplanet imaging searches that have been selected in the context of the LAOG-Planet Imaging Surveys. I will finally describe the most recent results that led to the discovery of giant planets probably formed like the ones of our solar system, offering exciting and attractive perspectives for the future generation of deep imaging instruments.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, Invited talk of "Exoplanets and disks: their formation and diversity" conference, 9-12 March 200

The GAPS Programme with HARPS-N@TNG VI: The Curious Case of TrES-4b

We revisit the TrES-4 system parameters based on high-precision HARPS-N radial-velocity measurements and new photometric light curves. A combined spectroscopic and photometric analysis allows us to determine a spectroscopic orbit with an amplitude $K=51\pm3$ m s$^{-1}$. The derived mass of TrES-4b is found to be $M_{\rm p} = 0.49\pm0.04 \rm M_{Jup}$, significantly lower than previously reported. Combined with the large radius ($R_{\rm p} = 1.84_{-0.09}^{+0.08} \rm R_{Jup}$) inferred from our analysis, TrES-4b becomes the second-lowest density transiting hot Jupiter known. We discuss several scenarios to explain the puzzling discrepancy in the mass of TrES-4b in the context of the exotic class of highly inflated transiting giant planets.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, Letter accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

Hippocampal connectivity in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS): more than Papez circuit impairment

Emerging evidence suggests that memory deficit in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative disease with varying impairment of motor abilities and cognitive profile, may be independent from executive dysfunction. Our multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) approach, including resting state functional MRI (RS-fMRI), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and voxel-based morphometry (VBM), aimed to investigate structural and functional changes within and beyond the Papez circuit in non-demented ALS patients (n = 32) compared with healthy controls (HCs, n = 21), and whether these changes correlated with neuropsychological measures of verbal and non-verbal memory. We revealed a decreased functional connectivity between bilateral hippocampus, bilateral parahippocampal gyri and cerebellum in ALS patients compared with HCs. Between-group comparisons revealed white matter abnormalities in the genu and body of the corpus callosum and bilateral cortico-spinal tracts, superior longitudinal and uncinate fasciculi in ALS patients (p <.05, family-wise error corrected). Interestingly, changes of Digit Span forward performance were inversely related to RS-fMRI signal fluctuations in the cerebellum, while changes of both episodic and visual memory scores were inversely related to mean and radial diffusivity abnormalities in several WM fiber tracts, including middle cerebellar peduncles. Our findings revealed that ALS patients showed significant functional and structural connectivity changes across the regions comprising the Papez circuit, as well as more extended areas including cerebellum and frontal, temporal and parietal areas, supporting the theory of a multi-system pathology in ALS that spreads from cortical to subcortical structures

Pentraxin 3 deficiency protects from the metabolic inflammation associated to diet-induced obesity

Aims: Low-grade chronic inflammation characterizes obesity and metabolic syndrome. Here, we aim at investigating the impact of the acute-phase protein long pentraxin 3 (PTX3) on the immune-inflammatory response occurring during diet-induced obesity. Methods and results: PTX3 deficiency in mice fed a high-fat diet for 20 weeks protects from weight gain and adipose tissue deposition in visceral and subcutaneous depots. This effect is not related to changes in glucose homeostasis and lipid metabolism but is associated with an improved immune cell phenotype in the adipose tissue of Ptx3 deficient animals, which is characterized by M2-macrophages polarization and increased angiogenesis. These findings are recapitulated in humans where carriers of a PTX3 haplotype (PTX3 h2/h2 haplotype), resulting in lower PTX3 plasma levels, presented with a reduced prevalence of obesity and decreased abdominal adiposity compared with non-carriers. Conclusion: Our results support a critical role for PTX3 in the onset of obesity by promoting inflammation and limiting adipose tissue vascularization and delineate PTX3 targeting as a valuable strategy for the treatment of adipose tissue-associated inflammatory response

The GAPS programme with HARPS-N@TNG IV: A planetary system around XO-2S

We performed an intensive radial velocity monitoring of XO-2S, the wide companion of the transiting planet-host XO-2N, using HARPS-N at TNG in the framework of the GAPS programme. The radial velocity measurements indicate the presence of a new planetary system formed by a planet that is slightly more massive than Jupiter at 0.48 au and a Saturn-mass planet at 0.13 au. Both planetary orbits are moderately eccentric and were found to be dynamically stable. There are also indications of a long-term trend in the radial velocities. This is the first confirmed case of a wide binary whose components both host planets, one of which is transiting, which makes the XO-2 system a unique laboratory for understanding the diversity of planetary systems.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, accepted on A&A Lette