Vuoristotauti

Matkailun lisääntyessä suomalaisten riski sairastua vuoristotautiin kasvaa. Vuoristotauti on yleinen ongelma noustaessa nopeasti yli 2 500 m:n korkeuteen. Useimmiten oireet ovat lievät ja menevät ohi muutamien päivien kuluessa. Jos oireet ja ohueen ilmanalaan sopeutumattomuus jätetään huomioimatta, voivat oireet pahentua nopeasti johtaen hengenvaaralliseen aivo- tai keuhkoödeemaan. Taudin ja oikeiden toimenpiteiden sen hoitamiseksi ja pahenemisen estämiseksi tulee olla jokaisen matkailuneuvontaa antavan lääkärin tiedossa. English summary: Mountain sickness Mountain sickness is a common problem upon climbing rapidly to an elevation above 2 500 metres. The symptoms are mostly mild, passing within a couple of days. If the symptoms and lack of adaptation to thin air are neglected, the symptoms may quickly become worse, leading to a life-threatening cerebral or pulmonary edema. Every physician providing travel counseling should be aware of this disease and the correct measures for its management

Within leaf variation is the largest source of variation in agroinfiltration of Nicotiana benthamiana

Abstract Background: Transient gene expression utilizing syringe agroinfiltration offers a simple and efficient technique for different transgenic applications. Leaves of Nicotiana benthamiana show reliable and high transformation efficiency, but in quantitative assays also a certain degree of variation. We used a nested design in our agroinfiltration experiments to dissect the sources of this variation. Results: An intron containing firefly luciferase gene was used as a reporter for agroinfiltration. A number of 6 week old tobacco plants were infiltrated for their top leaves, several samples were punched from the leaves after 2 days of transient expression, and protein extracts from the samples were repeatedly measured for luciferase activity. Interestingly, most of the variation was due to differences between the sampling spots in the leaves, the next important source being the different leaves on each plant. Variation between similar experiments, between plants and between repetitive measurements of the extracts could be easily minimized. Conclusions: Efforts and expenditure of agroinfiltration experiments can be optimized when sources of variation are known. In summary, infiltrate more plants but less leaves, sample more positions on the leaf but run only few technical replicates.Peer reviewe

CD73 Is a Major Regulator of Adenosinergic Signalling in Mouse Brain

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Sleep-State Dependent Alterations in Brain Functional Connectivity under Urethane Anesthesia in a Rat Model of Early-Stage Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by the gradual degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, leading to striatal dopamine depletion. A partial unilateral striatal 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) lesion causes 40-60% dopamine depletion in the lesioned rat striatum, modeling the early stage of PD. In this study, we explored the connectivity between the brain regions in partially 6-OHDA lesioned male Wistar rats under urethane anesthesia using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) at 5 weeks after the 6-OHDA infusion. Under urethane anesthesia, the brain fluctuates between the two states, resembling rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM sleep states. We observed clear urethane-induced sleep-like states in 8/19 lesioned animals and 8/18 control animals. 6-OHDA lesioned animals exhibited significantly lower functional connectivity between the brain regions. However, we observed these differences only during the REM-like sleep state, suggesting the involvement of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic pathway in REM sleep regulation. Corticocortical and corticostriatal connections were decreased in both hemispheres, reflecting the global effect of the lesion. Overall, this study describes a promising model to study PD-related sleep disorders in rats using fMRI.Peer reviewe

Tumor-Associated Macrophages Provide Significant Prognostic Information in Urothelial Bladder Cancer

Inflammation is an important feature of carcinogenesis. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) can be associated with either poor or improved prognosis, depending on their properties and polarization. Current knowledge of the prognostic significance of TAMs in bladder cancer is limited and was investigated in this study. We analyzed 184 urothelial bladder cancer patients undergoing transurethral resection of a bladder tumor or radical cystectomy. CD68 (pan-macrophage marker), MAC387 (polarized towards type 1 macrophages), and CLEVER-1/Stabilin-1 (type 2 macrophages and lymphatic/blood vessels) were detected immunohistochemically. The median follow-up time was 6.0 years. High macrophage counts associated with a higher pT category and grade. Among patients undergoing transurethral resection, all studied markers apart from CLEVER-1/Stabilin-1 were associated with increased risk of progression and poorer disease-specific and overall survival in univariate analyses. High levels of two macrophage markers (CD68/MAC387(+/+) or CD68/CLEVER-1(+/+) groups) had an independent prognostic role after transurethral resection in multivariate analyses. In the cystectomy cohort, MAC387, alone and in combination with CD68, was associated with poorer survival in univariate analyses, but none of the markers were independent predictors of outcome in multivariate analyses. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that macrophage phenotypes provide significant independent prognostic information, particularly in bladder cancers undergoing transurethral resection.Peer reviewe

Sisäilmaongelmien korjaamiseen liittyvät investoinnit, priorisointitarpeet ja päätöksenteko kunnissa

Hankkeen tavoitteena oli tuottaa tietoa kunnissa käytössä olevista toimintamalleista sisäilmaongelmien korjaamisen priorisointiin ja päätöksentekoon liittyen. Hankkeen aineisto kerättiin kirjallisuudesta, haastatteluilla sekä kahdella verkkokyselyllä. Havaittujen kipukohtien ja toimiviksi koettujen ratkaisujen kautta esitetään toimenpide-ehdotuksia ja suosituksia sisäilmaongelmiin liittyvien investointitarpeiden priorisoimiseksi kunnissa. Investointeihin ja talousarvioprosesseihin liittyvä päätöksenteko on kunnallishallinon vakiintuneita perustoimintoja ja kuntien talouteen sekä investointeihin liittyvät päätöksenteon perusprosessit ovat systemaattisia. Investointeihin liittyvä päätöksenteko ei aina perustu objektiiviseen harkintaan ja vuoropuheluun, vaan julkinen paine vaikuttaa päätöksentekoon. Vain noin 40 prosentilla kunnista on pitkän aikavälin toimintaa ohjaava kiinteistöstrategia tai -ohjelma. Suunnitelmallisuutta ja hallinnan tarvetta korostettiin kuitenkin kaiken kokoisissa kunnissa, ja kriittisen tärkeäksi tarve muodostui asukasluvultaan ja investointitarpeiltaan suurimmissa kunnissa. Merkittävimmät tekijät kuntien sisäilmahankkeisiin liittyvien haasteiden taustalla havaittiin olevan investointisuunnitelman sekä yhtenäisten toimintatapojen puute. Sisäilmaryhmät osallistuvat sisäilmaan liittyvien korjausten tai investointien priorisointiin kunnissa. Niillä ei kuitenkaan nähdä olevan niin merkittävää roolia kuin viranhaltijalla (kiinteistönomistus), kunnanvaltuustolla tai -hallituksella. Sisäilmaryhmien laatimat selvitykset päätöksentekijöille toimivat kuitenkin työvälineinä sisäilmaan liittyvien korjausten tai investointien priorisoinnissa. Sisäilmaryhmät tuottavat yleisesti tietoa päätöksenteon tueksi rakennusten kuntoon sekä olosuhdehaitta- tai oiretietoihin liittyen.Tämä julkaisu on toteutettu osana valtioneuvoston selvitys- ja tutkimussuunnitelman toimeenpanoa. (tietokayttoon.fi) Julkaisun sisällöstä vastaavat tiedon tuottajat, eikä tekstisisältö välttämättä edusta valtioneuvoston näkemystä

Effect of remdesivir post hospitalization for COVID-19 infection from the randomized SOLIDARITY Finland trial

We report the first long-term follow-up of a randomized trial (NCT04978259) addressing the effects of remdesivir on recovery (primary outcome) and other patient-important outcomes one year after hospitalization resulting from COVID-19. Of the 208 patients recruited from 11 Finnish hospitals, 198 survived, of whom 181 (92%) completed follow-up. At one year, self-reported recovery occurred in 85% in remdesivir and 86% in standard of care (SoC) (RR 0.94, 95% CI 0.47-1.90). We infer no convincing difference between remdesivir and SoC in quality of life or symptom outcomes (p > 0.05). Of the 21 potential long-COVID symptoms, patients reported moderate/major bother from fatigue (26%), joint pain (22%), and problems with memory (19%) and attention/concentration (18%). In conclusion, after a one-year follow-up of hospitalized patients, one in six reported they had not recovered well from COVID-19. Our results provide no convincing evidence of remdesivir benefit, but wide confidence intervals included possible benefit and harm.Peer reviewe

Plasticity of Blood- and Lymphatic Endothelial Cells and Marker Identification

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