Multimodality imaging approach for combined central retinal vein and artery occlusion: the role of optical coherence tomography angiography

Combined central retinal artery and vein occlusion is an uncommon vascular pathology that can cause severe and permanent visual impairment. Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) is a newly available, noninvasive imaging technique that can potentially improve understanding of the structural and vascular implications and prognosis of this infrequent pathology. The present report describes the principal clinical findings in a case of combined central retinal artery and vein occlusion, as detected by the different imaging modalities available in a tertiary referral hospital. OCTA wide-field montage images identified an extensive area of nonperfusion on the macula with involvement of the entire retina at nearly 360°. We observed the most severe nonperfusion in the deep capillary plexus, while perfusion of the choriocapillaris was unaffected. Meanwhile, fluorescein angiography (FA) findings revealed a delay in perfusion rate with marked nonperfusion areas in the peripheral retina at 360°. We identified that the wide-field OCTA montage permitted visualization of a similar or wider peripheral retinal area compared with FA. Therefore, OCTA is potentially useful for assessment of the global retinal nonperfusion status at baseline and during follow-up, with the added advantage of being a noninvasive techniqueThis work was supported in part by the Mutua Madrileña project (Ref. 2017/365)S

Prostate carcinoma and stem cells

[Abstract] Stem cells, as classically defined, are cells with a capacity to self-renew and to generate daughter cells that can differentiate down several cell lineages to form all of the cell types that are found in the mature tissue. Stem cells and tumour cells have many similar features, including infinite lifespan, self-renewal, multidrug resistance, telomerase expression and, in the instance of the prostate, androgen independence. Evidence supports a role for stem cells in the etiology of many types of cancer. The evolution of androgen-independent prostate carcinoma may reflect the emergence of stemlike prostate tumour cells. Because cancer may be a disease of stem cell lineages and Shh-Gli signalling controls the behaviour of precursors and of cells with stem cell properties in the mammalian tissues, prostate cancer might derive from inappropriate expansion of prostatic epithelial stem cell lineages caused by abnormal Shh-Gli function. This review attempts to integrate these recent results

Effect of LHRH analogs on lower urinary tract symptoms associated with advanced prostate cancer in real clinical practice: ANALUTS study

Androgen deprivation; Hormonal therapy; RadiotherapyPrivación de andrógenos; Terapia hormonal; RadioterapiaPrivació d'andrògens; Teràpia hormonal; RadioteràpiaAims To estimate the prevalence of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in patients with prostate cancer scheduled to receive LHRH analogs, and to assess the effectiveness of LHRH analogs on LUTS in patients presenting moderate/severe symptoms. Methods Prospective, noninterventional, multicenter study conducted at 28 centers in Spain and Portugal. LUTS were evaluated using the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) at baseline, 24 and 48 weeks after initiation of treatment. Subanalyses were performed according to age and concomitant treatment (radiotherapy, alpha-blockers, and antiandrogens). Results A total of 354 patients were treated with LHRH analogs for 48 weeks. The percentage of patients with moderate/severe LUTS (IPSS > 7) decreased from 60.2% (n = 213/354) at baseline to 52.8% (n = 187/354) at Week 48. Among patients with moderate/severe LUTS at baseline: 73.7% (n = 157/213) still had moderate/severe LUTS at Week 48; percentage reductions of patients with LUTS at Week 48 were statistically significant (p < 0.05) overall and by age or concomitant treatment, except for alpha-blockers (84.2% patients receiving them still had moderate/severe LUTS at Week 48). All IPSS items, including quality of life for urinary symptoms, improved throughout the study. The only predictor of response to treatment with LHRH analogs that improved IPSS by 3 points after 48 weeks was baseline testosterone levels. Lower baseline testosterone levels were associated with greater improvement in IPSS after treatment with LHRH analogs (odds ratio 0.998, 95% confidence interval 0.996–1.000, p = 0.0277). Conclusion LHRH analogs have a positive effect in patients with locally advanced or metastatic prostate cancer presenting moderate/severe LUTS regardless of age or concomitant treatment received (radiotherapy, antiandrogens, or alpha-blockers).The study was funded by Ipsen Pharma S.A.U

A Novel Automatic Method to Estimate Visual Acuity and Analyze the Retinal Vasculature in Retinal Vein Occlusion Using Swept Source Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography

The assessment of vascular biomarkers and their correlation with visual acuity is one of the most important issues in the diagnosis and follow-up of retinal vein occlusions (RVOs). The high workloads of clinical practice make it necessary to have a fast, objective, and automatic method to analyze image features and correlate them with visual function. The aim of this study is to propose a fully automatic system which is capable of estimating visual acuity (VA) in RVO eyes, based only on information obtained from macular optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) images. We also propose an automatic methodology to rapidly measure the foveal avascular zone (FAZ) area and the vascular density (VD) in the superficial and deep capillary plexuses in swept-source OCTA images centered on the fovea. The proposed methodology is validated using a representative sample of 133 visits of 50 RVO patients. Our methodology estimates VA with very high precision and is even more accurate when we integrate depth information, providing a high correlation index of 0.869 with the real VA, which outperforms the correlation index of 0.855 obtained when estimating VA from the data obtained by the semiautomatic existing method. In conclusion, the proposed method is the first computational system able to estimate VA in RVO, with the additional benefits of being automatic, less time-consuming, objective and more accurate. Furthermore, the proposed method is able to integrate depth information, a feature which is lacking in the existing methodThis work has received partial financial support from the Mutua Madrileña project, Ref. 2017/365S

Effect of LHRH analogs on lower urinary tract symptoms associated with advanced prostate cancer in real clinical practice : ANALUTS study

To estimate the prevalence of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in patients with prostate cancer scheduled to receive LHRH analogs, and to assess the effectiveness of LHRH analogs on LUTS in patients presenting moderate/severe symptoms. Prospective, noninterventional, multicenter study conducted at 28 centers in Spain and Portugal. LUTS were evaluated using the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) at baseline, 24 and 48 weeks after initiation of treatment. Subanalyses were performed according to age and concomitant treatment (radiotherapy, alpha-blockers, and antiandrogens). A total of 354 patients were treated with LHRH analogs for 48 weeks. The percentage of patients with moderate/severe LUTS (IPSS > 7) decreased from 60.2% (n = 213/354) at baseline to 52.8% (n = 187/354) at Week 48. Among patients with moderate/severe LUTS at baseline: 73.7% (n = 157/213) still had moderate/severe LUTS at Week 48; percentage reductions of patients with LUTS at Week 48 were statistically significant (p < 0.05) overall and by age or concomitant treatment, except for alpha-blockers (84.2% patients receiving them still had moderate/severe LUTS at Week 48). All IPSS items, including quality of life for urinary symptoms, improved throughout the study. The only predictor of response to treatment with LHRH analogs that improved IPSS by 3 points after 48 weeks was baseline testosterone levels. Lower baseline testosterone levels were associated with greater improvement in IPSS after treatment with LHRH analogs (odds ratio 0.998, 95% confidence interval 0.996-1.000, p = 0.0277). LHRH analogs have a positive effect in patients with locally advanced or metastatic prostate cancer presenting moderate/severe LUTS regardless of age or concomitant treatment received (radiotherapy, antiandrogens, or alpha-blockers)

A los mejores estudiantes no les gusta la educación física durante la adolescencia ¿Mito o realidad? Los estudios Avena, Afinos y Up&Down

Objective: to examine if those adolescents who dislike physical education classes get better results on academic and cognitive performance than their peers. Methods: participants included 4 226 adolescents from the AVENA, AFINOS and UP&DOWN studies. Physical education enjoyment was assessed with a 7-point Likert scale. Cognitive performance in the AVENA study was assessed using the Spanish version of the SRA Test of Educational Ability. Academic performance in the AFINOS and UP&DOWN studies was assessed through Mathematics and Language grades and the average of both subjects. Results: in the AVENA study we found differences in verbal ability among girls who dislike physical education and their peers (P = 0.033). In the AFINOS study, boys who dislike physical education had higher scores in Language than their peers (P = 0.024). In the UP&DOWN study girls who disliked physical education had higher scores in Language and in the average of Language and Mathematics than their peers (P < 0.001). Conclusion: in the AVENA and AFINOS studies adolescents who disliked physical education had similar results in cognitive and academic performance than their peers, but in the UP&DOWN study girls who disliked physical education showed higher results in academic performance than their peers.Objetivo: conocer si a aquellos adolescentes que no les gusta la educación física obtienen mejores resultados en rendimiento académico y cognitivo que sus compañeros. Métodos: los participantes incluyen 4.226 adolescentes de los estudios AVENA, AFINOS y UP&DOWN. El gusto por la educación física se valoró con una escala Likert de 7 puntos. El rendimiento cognitivo se valoró en el estudio AVENA usando la versión española del SRA Test of Educational Ability. El rendimiento académico se valoró en los estudios AFINOS y UP&DOWN con las notas de Matemáticas, Lengua y la media de Lengua y Matemáticas. Resultados: en el estudio AVENA encontramos diferencias en la habilidad verbal entre las chicas a las que no les gustaba la educación física y sus compañeros (P = 0,033). En el estudio AFINOS los chicos a los que no les gustaba la educación física tenían mejores notas en Lengua que sus compañeros (P = 0,024). En el estudio UP&DOWN las chicas a las que no les gustaba la educación física obtuvieron mejores resultados en Lengua y en la media de Lengua y Matemáticas (P < 0,001). Conclusion: en los estudios AVENA y AFINOS los adolescentes a los que no les gusta la educación física obtuvieron resultados similares a los que sus compañeros, mientras que en el estudio UP&DOWN las chicas a las que no les gustaba la educación física obtuvieron mejores resultados en rendimiento académico que sus compañeros

Bacteria-instructed B cells cross-prime naïve CD8+ T cells triggering effective cytotoxic responses.

In addition to triggering humoral responses, conventional B cells have been described in vitro to cross-present exogenous antigens activating naïve CD8+ T cells. Nevertheless, the way B cells capture these exogenous antigens and the physiological roles of B cell-mediated cross-presentation remain poorly explored. Here, we show that B cells capture bacteria by trans-phagocytosis from previously infected dendritic cells (DC) when they are in close contact. Bacterial encounter "instructs" the B cells to acquire antigen cross-presentation abilities, in a process that involves autophagy. Bacteria-instructed B cells, henceforth referred to as BacB cells, rapidly degrade phagocytosed bacteria, process bacterial antigens and cross-prime naïve CD8+ T cells which differentiate into specific cytotoxic cells that efficiently control bacterial infections. Moreover, a proof-of-concept experiment shows that BacB cells that have captured bacteria expressing tumor antigens could be useful as novel cellular immunotherapies against cancer.We are grateful to advanced light microscopy and cytometry facilities of CNB for technical supporting. The research is supported by grants: SAF2017-84091- R, and PID2020-116393RB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033, financed by MCIN, BFERO2020.04, financed by FERO foundation and PI20/0036 from ISCIII. RGF is supported by BES-2016-076526 from the Spanish Ministry of Economy Industry and Competitiveness, JOP is supported by fellowship LCF/BQ/SO16/ 52270012 from La Caixa, BHF is supported by FPU18/00895 and AMP by FPU18/03199 from Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities. LdC has been supported by Juan de la Cierva grant IJC2018-035386-I and a contract associated to SEV-2017-0712. EVC, AMP, AMAM, and NMM belong to the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)’s Cancer Hub. Synopsis image made with biorender.com by Eduardo Roman Camacho and Esteban Veiga. We thanks Prof. Dan Portnoy who kindly provided bacterial strains.S

2022 Fitness Trends from Around the Globe

From this article, the reader should be able to Identify top 20 fitness trends for Australia, Brazil, China, Europe, Mexico, Spain, and the United States. Recognize individual and unique fitness trends represented within Australia, Brazil, China, Europe, Mexico, Spain, and the United State

El contraste micropaleontológico de la Historia: el Lacus Ligustinus romano

During the Roman period (3rd century BC-5th century AD), the areas located near the present-day mouth of the Guadalquivir River were occupied by a lagoon with marine connection, according to the paleoenvironmental interpretation of benthic foraminiferal assemblages obtained in a core extracted in the Donana National Park. The inner zones of this lagoon were occupied by clayey tidal flats, which suffered the effects of a storm towards the end of the 1st century A.D. The comparison with the ostracod assemblages of the same core confirms this reconstruction and the paleogeographic data provided by various chroniclers, although these microcrustaceans better record the paleoenvironmental changes in these coastal sectors.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio