Meaningful life is possible with locked - In syndrome the personal account of a survivor

Locked-in syndrome (LIS) is a rare condition characterised by quadriplegia and anarthria and is usually caused by a bilateral ventral ischemic pontine lesion. Patients are normally fully conscious, but their only mode of communication is with vertical eye movements and/or blinking. Although the mortality rate is high, it has been shown that patients can survive for a significant period of time. Once an LIS patient becomes medically stable, given appropriate medical care, his or her life expectancy may be several decades. LIS patients may suffer appreciably if they are treated by hospital staff as nonresponsive. Medical professionals and lay people often assume that the quality of life of an LIS patient is so poor that it is not worth living. However, the reported overall quality of life of LIS patients is not significantly different from that of healthy subjects. In this case report, we describe a 60-year-old retired man living in a locked-in state due to a brainstem infarct. His personal account vividly reveals his inner thoughts, a great deal of suffering, and his ability to cope with his condition throughout seven years of illness. LIS patients' early referral to specialist rehabilitation services and strong social support from family greatly improves LIS patients'their quality of life. Even limited physical recovery can improve quality of life and enable LIS patients to become active members of society and return to living with family

Case Report: Giant cholesterol granuloma in the anterior mediastinum

Cholesterol granuloma is a rare entity, which can develop in many regions of the body, accounting at most 1% of all mediastinal tumors. Etiology of this granuloma is still not clearly understood. The gold standard choice of treatment for cholesterol granuloma is total surgical resection. Symptomatic mediastinum granuloma can be easily diagnosed, but if mass effect is not evident then diagnosis of this tumor is really challenging. We present a rare case of huge cholesterol granuloma in the anterior mediastinum of the patient who underwent on elective coronary artery graft bypass surgery

Intracranial – extracranial meningioma: A case report of a rare entity

Meningiomas are common benign intracranial tumors. However, intracranial meningiomas with extracranial extension are exceedingly rare lesions with only a few reported cases in the literature. We report a case of an 86 years old female patient presented with enlarging mass over left parietal region for last 3 years. Besides cosmetic, she had no complaints. Head CT scan with bone window showed a large tumor consisting of intracranial and extracranial part, suggestive for meningioma. Patient was operated, and both parts of tumor were removed. Taking into account surgery indication and patient’s age, bone flap was returned. The postoperative course was uneventful and patient fully recovered. In the case of epicranial tumor attached to the underlying bone, meningioma should be excluded

INTEGRATION OF COMPLEMENTARY BIOMARKERS IN PATIENTS WITH FIRST EPISODE PSYCHOSIS: RESEARCH PROTOCOL OF A PROSPECTIVE FOLLOW UP STUDY

In this project, we recruited a sample of 150 patients with first episode of psychosis with schizophrenia features (FEP) and 100 healthy controls. We assessed the differences between these two groups, as well as the changes between the acute phase of illness and subsequent remission among patients over 18-month longitudinal follow-up. The assessments were divided into four work packages (WP): WP1- psychopathological status, neurocognitive functioning and emotional recognition; WP2- stress response measured by saliva cortisol during a stress paradigm; cerebral blood perfusion in the resting state (with single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and during activation paradigm (with Transcranial Ultrasonography Doppler (TCD); WP3-post mortem analysis in histologically prepared human cortical tissue of post mortem samples of subjects with schizophrenia in the region that synaptic alteration was suggested by WP1 and WP2; WP4- pharmacogenetic analysis (single gene polymorphisms and genome wide association study (GWAS). We expect that the analysis of these data will identify a set of markers that differentiate healthy controls from patients with FEP, and serve as an additional diagnostic tool in the first episode of psychosis, and prediction tool which can be then used to help tailoring individualized treatment options. In this paper, we describe the project protocol including aims and methods and provide a brief description of planned post mortem studies and pharmacogenetic analysis

Enhanced mercury reduction in the South Atlantic Ocean during carbon remineralization

Highlights • Dissolved gaseous mercury can be calculated from modeled dissolved inorganic carbon. • Modeled dissolved gaseous mercury agrees well with worldwide observations. • Dissolved gaseous mercury is related to depth and macronutrients concentrations. Mercury (Hg) in seawater is subject to interconversions via (photo)chemical and (micro)biological processes that determine the extent of dissolved gaseous mercury (DGM) (re)emission and the production of monomethylmercury. We investigated Hg speciation in the South Atlantic Ocean on a GEOTRACES cruise along a 40°S section between December 2011 and January 2012 (354 samples collected at 24 stations from surface to 5250 m maximum depth). Using statistical analysis, concentrations of methylated mercury (MeHg, geometric mean 35.4 fmol L−1) were related to seawater temperature, salinity, and fluorescence. DGM concentrations (geometric mean 0.17 pmol L−1) were related to water column depth, concentrations of macronutrients and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). The first-ever observed linear correlation between DGM and DIC obtained from high-resolution data indicates possible DGM production by organic matter remineralization via biological or dark abiotic reactions. DGM concentrations projected from literature DIC data using the newly discovered DGM–DIC relationship agreed with published DGM observations

Minimal information for studies of extracellular vesicles 2018 (MISEV2018):a position statement of the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles and update of the MISEV2014 guidelines

The last decade has seen a sharp increase in the number of scientific publications describing physiological and pathological functions of extracellular vesicles (EVs), a collective term covering various subtypes of cell-released, membranous structures, called exosomes, microvesicles, microparticles, ectosomes, oncosomes, apoptotic bodies, and many other names. However, specific issues arise when working with these entities, whose size and amount often make them difficult to obtain as relatively pure preparations, and to characterize properly. The International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) proposed Minimal Information for Studies of Extracellular Vesicles (“MISEV”) guidelines for the field in 2014. We now update these “MISEV2014” guidelines based on evolution of the collective knowledge in the last four years. An important point to consider is that ascribing a specific function to EVs in general, or to subtypes of EVs, requires reporting of specific information beyond mere description of function in a crude, potentially contaminated, and heterogeneous preparation. For example, claims that exosomes are endowed with exquisite and specific activities remain difficult to support experimentally, given our still limited knowledge of their specific molecular machineries of biogenesis and release, as compared with other biophysically similar EVs. The MISEV2018 guidelines include tables and outlines of suggested protocols and steps to follow to document specific EV-associated functional activities. Finally, a checklist is provided with summaries of key points

Minimal information for studies of extracellular vesicles (MISEV2023): From basic to advanced approaches

Extracellular vesicles (EVs), through their complex cargo, can reflect the state of their cell of origin and change the functions and phenotypes of other cells. These features indicate strong biomarker and therapeutic potential and have generated broad interest, as evidenced by the steady year-on-year increase in the numbers of scientific publications about EVs. Important advances have been made in EV metrology and in understanding and applying EV biology. However, hurdles remain to realising the potential of EVs in domains ranging from basic biology to clinical applications due to challenges in EV nomenclature, separation from non-vesicular extracellular particles, characterisation and functional studies. To address the challenges and opportunities in this rapidly evolving field, the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) updates its 'Minimal Information for Studies of Extracellular Vesicles', which was first published in 2014 and then in 2018 as MISEV2014 and MISEV2018, respectively. The goal of the current document, MISEV2023, is to provide researchers with an updated snapshot of available approaches and their advantages and limitations for production, separation and characterisation of EVs from multiple sources, including cell culture, body fluids and solid tissues. In addition to presenting the latest state of the art in basic principles of EV research, this document also covers advanced techniques and approaches that are currently expanding the boundaries of the field. MISEV2023 also includes new sections on EV release and uptake and a brief discussion of in vivo approaches to study EVs. Compiling feedback from ISEV expert task forces and more than 1000 researchers, this document conveys the current state of EV research to facilitate robust scientific discoveries and move the field forward even more rapidly

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries