Acute Muscular Sarcocystosis: An International Investigation Among Ill Travelers Returning From Tioman Island, Malaysia, 2011-2012

A large outbreak of acute muscular sarcocystosis (AMS) among international tourists who visited Tioman Island, Malaysia, is described. Clinicians evaluating travelers returning ill from Malaysia with myalgia, with or without fever, should consider AMS in their differential diagnosi

Effects of dietary nitrate supplementation on microvascular physiology at 4559 m altitude – a randomised controlled trial (Xtreme Alps)

Native highlanders (e.g. Sherpa) demonstrate remarkable hypoxic tolerance, possibly secondary to higher levels of circulating nitric oxide (NO) and increased microcirculatory blood flow. As part of the Xtreme Alps study (a randomised placebo-controlled trial of dietary nitrate supplementation under field conditions of hypobaric hypoxia), we investigated whether dietary supplementation with nitrate could improve NO availability and microvascular blood flow in lowlanders. Plasma measurements of nitrate, nitrite and nitroso species were performed together with measurements of sublingual (sidestream dark-field camera) and forearm blood flow (venous occlusion plethysmography) in 28 healthy adult volunteers resident at 4559 m for 1 week; half receiving a beetroot-based high-nitrate supplement and half receiving an identically-tasting low nitrate 'placebo'. Dietary supplementation increased plasma nitrate concentrations 4-fold compared to the placebo group, both at sea level (SL; 19.2 vs 76.9 μM) and at day 5 (D5) of high altitude (22.9 vs 84.3 μM,

Effects of spaced learning in the water maze on development of dentate granule cells generated in adult mice

New dentate granule cells (GCs) are generated in the hippocampus throughout life. These adult-born neurons are required for spatial learning in the Morris water maze (MWM). In rats, spatial learning shapes the network by regulating their number and dendritic development. Here, we explored whether such modulatory effects exist in mice. New GCs were tagged using thymidine analogs or a GFP-expressing retrovirus. Animals were exposed to a reference memory protocol for 10-14 days (spaced training) at different times after newborn cells labeling. Cell proliferation, cell survival, cell death, neuronal phenotype, and dendritic and spine development were examined using immunohistochemistry. Surprisingly, spatial learning did not modify any of the parameters under scrutiny including cell number and dendritic morphology. These results suggest that although new GCs are required in mice for spatial learning in the MWM, they are, at least for the developmental intervals analyzed here, refractory to behavioral stimuli generated in the course of learning in the MWM.Fil: Trinchero, Mariela Fernanda. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquimicas de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Fundación Instituto Leloir; ArgentinaFil: Koehl, Muriel. Inserm; FranciaFil: Bechakra, Malik. Inserm; Francia. Universite de Bordeaux; FranciaFil: Delage, Pauline. Inserm; Francia. Universite de Bordeaux; FranciaFil: Charrier, Vanessa. Inserm; Francia. Universite de Bordeaux; FranciaFil: Grosjean, Noelle. Inserm; Francia. Universite de Bordeaux; FranciaFil: Lavedeze, Elodie. Inserm; Francia. Universite de Bordeaux; FranciaFil: Schinder, Alejandro Fabian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquimicas de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Fundación Instituto Leloir; ArgentinaFil: Abrous, D. Nora. Inserm; Francia. Universite de Bordeaux; Franci