Preoperative Location Of Parathyroid Adenomas In Primary Hyperparathyroidism: The Role of Cervical Doppler Ultrasound

Introduction: Parathyroid adenoma is the most frequent cause of primary hyperparathyroidism. In recent years, the preoperative location of parathyroid adenomas allowed minimally invasive surgical techniques that have become preferred over the traditional bilateral neck exploration. The more recent guidelines on this subject highlight the role of nuclear medicine imaging tests. The aim of this study was to review the current role of Doppler ultrasound (US) in assessing the preoperative location of parathyroid adenomas in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism. Material and methods: Retrospective study based on data from patients with primary hyperparathyroidism that underwent parathyroidectomy between January 2013 and January 2022 at the Centro Hospitalar Universitário Lisboa Central. Statistical analysis was performed with IBM SPSS Statistics, version 26.0.0.0®. Results: Parathyroidectomy was performed in 171 patients (77.8% females) with primary hyperparathyroidism. Cervical Doppler ultrasound was the most performed test (64.3%, n = 110) for preoperative location and detected a suspicious lesion in 98 patients (89.1%). The preoperative location of the parathyroid adenomas was assessed through the Doppler ultrasound and was compared with the surgical reports and histological findings; a correct identification was made in 76 patients (77.6%). Doppler ultrasound slightly underestimated the mean adenoma size (18.1 ± 7.7 mm preoperative versus 22 ± 8.4 mm postoperative). Calcium, parathyroid hormone levels, adenoma size and concomitant presence of thyroid nodules did not affect the accuracy of Doppler ultrasound. Conclusion: Doppler ultrasound showed high diagnostic accuracy even in patients with nodular thyroid disease regardless of calcium and parathyroid hormone levels and adenoma size. Furthermore, its safety, affordability and availability should favor its use as first line test in primary hyperparathyroidism to assess the preoperative location of parathyroid adenomas.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Lipocalin 2 is present in the EAE brain and is modulated by natalizumab

The authors acknowledge the BiogenIdec, for providing Natalizumab (BiogenIdec, Boston, MA, USA). We are thankful to theCOST(European Cooperation in Science and Technology) Action NEURINFNETBM0603. We also thank Dr. Nadine Santos for critically reviewing this manuscript.Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating disease that causes major neurological disability in young adults. A definitive diagnosis at the time of the first episode is still lacking, but since early treatment leads to better prognosis, the search for early biomarkers is needed. Here we characterized the transcriptome of the choroid plexus (CP), which is part of the blood-brain barriers (BBBs) and the major site of cerebrospinal fluid production, in the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) mouse model of MS. In addition, cerebrospinal fluid samples from two cohorts of patients with MS and with optic neuritis (ON) were analyzed to confirm the clinical relevance of the findings. Genes encoding for adhesion molecules, chemokines and cytokines displayed the most altered expression, supporting the role of CP as a site of immune-brain interaction in MS. The gene encoding for lipocalin 2 was the most up-regulated; notably, the cerebrospinal fluid lipocalin 2 levels coincided with the active phases of the disease. Immunostaining revealed that neutrophils infiltrating the CP were the source of the increased lipocalin 2 expression in this structure. However, within the brain, lipocalin 2 was also detected in astrocytes, particularly in regions typically affected in patients with MS. The increase of lipocalin 2 in the cerebrospinal fluid and in astrocytes was reverted by natalizumab treatment. Most importantly, the results obtained in the murine model were translatable into humans since patients from two different cohorts presented increased cerebrospinal fluid lipocalin 2 levels. The findings support lipocalin 2 as a valuable molecule for the diagnostic/monitoring panel of MS.This work was supported by a grant from The Dana Foundation (USA) and by a grant from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia(FCT, Portugal) (PIC/IC/83231/2007). Fernanda Marques and Sandro D. Mesquita are recipients of postdoctoral and doctoral fellow- ships from FCT, Portugal, respectively

Plasticity of resting state brain networks in recovery from stress

Chronic stress has been widely reported to have deleterious impact in multiple biological systems. Specifically, structural and functional remodeling of several brain regions following prolonged stress exposure have been described; importantly, some of these changes are eventually reversible. Recently, we showed the impact of stress on resting state networks (RSNs), but nothing is known about the plasticity of RSNs after recovery from stress. Herein, we examined the "plasticity" of RSNs, both at functional and structural levels, by comparing the same individuals before and after recovery from the exposure to chronic stress; results were also contrasted with a control group. Here we show that the stressed individuals after recovery displayed a decreased resting functional connectivity in the default mode network (DMN), ventral attention network (VAN), and sensorimotor network (SMN) when compared to themselves immediately after stress; however, this functional plastic recovery was only partial as when compared with the control group, as there were still areas of increased connectivity in dorsal attention network (DAN), SMN and primary visual network (VN) in participants recovered from stress. Data also shows that participants after recovery from stress displayed increased deactivations in DMN, SMN, and auditory network (AN), to levels similar to those of controls, showing a normalization of the deactivation pattern in RSNs after recovery from stress. In contrast, structural changes (volumetry) of the brain areas involving these networks are absent after the recovery period. These results reveal plastic phenomena in specific RSNs and a functional remodeling of the activation-deactivation pattern following recovery from chronic-stress, which is not accompanied by significant structural plasticity.We are thankful to all study participants. Jose M. Soares, Paulo Marques, and Nadine C. Santos are supported by fellowships of the project SwitchBox-FP7-HEALTH-2010-grant 259772-2; Fernanda Marques is supported by the fellowship SFRH/BPD/33379/2008 funded by the Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal). The work was supported by SwitchBox-FP7-HEALTH-2010-grant 259772-2

Morfometria e endocrinologia de jacaré-tinga (Caiman crocodilus) em cativeiro.

Os crocodilianos estão no topo da cadeia alimentar, sendo controladores ecológicos. Entretanto, apesar de sua importância, nos anos 90 todas as espécies encontravam-se sob risco de extinção, e listadas nos Apêndices 1 e 2 da CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), devido seu valor comercial. Neste contexto, o estímulo à criação em cativeiro foi uma das alternativas vislumbradas para promover a conservação e exploração desses animais. Portanto, este estudo objetivou analisar dados morfométricos e endocrinológicos do jacaré-tinga em cativeiro, por meio da atualização à luz da literatura atual do documento base, tese da Dr.ª Maria das Dores Correia Palha defendida na Universidade Federal de Pernambuco intitulada ?Jacaré-tinga (Caiman Crocodilus Crocodilus Linnaeus, 1758) em cativeiro na Amazônia Oriental: Biologia Geral e Reprodutiva?. Foram realizadas buscas, em bases científicas, de material bibliográfico publicado entre 1998 e 2014. Por meio da análise das bibliografias, atualizaram-se as informações contidas no documento base e produziram-se três minutas de artigos científicos. Foi possível observar que o cenário da pesquisa com jacaré-tinga em cativeiro não sofreu fortes alterações, pois pesquisas com a espécie ex-situ são escassas e que o documento base apresenta dados ainda cientificamente sustentados até o momento

A Trans-Dimensional Approach to the Behavioral Aspects of Depression

Depression, a complex mood disorder, displays high comorbidity with anxiety and cognitive disorders. To establish the extent of inter-dependence between these behavioral domains, we here undertook a systematic analysis to establish interactions between mood [assessed with the forced-swimming (FST) and sucrose consumption tests (SCT)], anxiety [elevated-plus maze (EPM) and novelty suppressed feeding (NSF) tests] and cognition (spatial memory and behavioral flexibility tests) in rats exposed to unpredictable chronic-mild-stress (uCMS). Expectedly, uCMS induced depressive-like behavior, a hyperanxious phenotype and cognitive impairment; with the exception of the measure of anxiety in the EPM, these effects were attenuated by antidepressants (imipramine, fluoxetine). Measures of mood by the FST and SCT were strongly correlated, whereas no significant correlations were found between the different measures of anxiety (EPM and NSF); likewise, measures of cognition by spatial memory and behavioral flexibility tests were poorly correlated. Inter-domain analysis revealed significant correlations between mood (FST and SCT) and anxiety-like behavior (NSF, but not EPM). Furthermore, significant correlations were found between cognitive performance (reverse learning task) and mood (FST and SCT) and anxiety-like behavior (NSF). These results demonstrate interactions between different behavioral domains that crosscut the disciplines of psychiatry and neurology

Neudesin is involved in anxiety behavior: structural and neurochemical correlates

Neudesin (also known as neuron derived neurotrophic factor, Nenf) is a scarcely studied putative non-canonical neurotrophic factor. In order to understand its function in the brain, we performed an extensive behavioral characterization (motor, emotional, and cognitive dimensions) of neudesin-null mice. The absence of neudesin leads to an anxious-like behavior as assessed in the elevated plus maze (EPM), light/dark box (LDB) and novelty suppressed feeding (NSF) tests, but not in the acoustic startle (AS) test. This anxious phenotype is associated with reduced dopaminergic input and impoverished dendritic arborizations in the dentate gyrus granule neurons of the ventral hippocampus. Interestingly, shorter dendrites are also observed in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) of neudesin-null mice. These findings lead us to suggest that neudesin is a novel relevant player in the maintenance of the anxiety circuitry.This work is supported by a grant from FCT (PTDC/SAU-OSM/104475/2008) under POCTI-COMPETE funds. Ashley Novais, Ana Catarina Ferreira, Ana David-Pereira and Filipa L. Campos are recipients of doctoral fellowships and Fernanda Marques is a recipient of postdoctoral fellowship from Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal. We acknowledge Merck Serono for providing the neudesin-null mouse strain. We are thankful to Despina Papasava and Vasileios Kafetzopoulos for the assistance given in the HPLC analysis of neurotransmitters

Influência da temperatura no comportamento alimentar e interação de filhotes de Kinosternon scorpioides em cativeiro.

O muçuã (Kinosternon scorpioides) é um cágado bastante apreciado em toda a região amazônica, sendo um quelônio com características zootécnicas promissoras na aquicultura. Contudo, há poucos estudos que abordem o comportamento alimentar desta espécie em cativeiro. Portanto, objetivou-se com o presente estudo avaliar a influencia da temperatura no comportamento alimentar e a interação de filhotes de muçuã (Kinosternon scopioides), mantidos em três diferentes temperaturas (29,5ºC, 31,5ºC e 33,5ºC). O experimento foi conduzido no Projeto Bio-Fauna/ISARH/UFRA, sediado em Belém, Pará. Um total de 84 filhotes de muçuãs foram subdivididos em seis lotes-berçário, distribuídos dois a dois em estufas mantidas sob diferentes temperaturas, 29,5ºC, 31,5ºC e 33,5ºC, durante os primeiros 90 dias de vida. Os animais foram alimentados com ração para peixe, na proporção de 2% do peso vivo/dia, distribuída em ofertas semanais. Quinzenalmente foram realizadas pesagens e medições individuais, para avaliação do desenvolvimento corpóreo e ajuste de alimentação. Constatou-se efeito significativo da temperatura em todos os parâmetros analisados. Durante o experimento foi notado uma diminuição na frequência alimentar em todos os tratamentos, porém os animais da temperatura mais alta do experimento (33,5ºC) apresentaram a maior diminuição no interesse pelo alimento durante o período de oferta/observação, portanto os mesmos tiveram o pior desempenho quando comparado aos demais lotes

Observações e preliminares sobre o comportamento alimentar de filhotes de muçuã (Kinosternon Scorpioides) em cativeiro.

O muçuã quelônio semi-aquático de água doce encontrado na Amazônia brasileira, possui hábito alimentar onívoro. Visto a carência de pesquisas, este estudo possui o objetivo de avaliar a preferência alimentar de filhotes de Kinosternon scorpioides por dieta de origem animal e vegetal. O experimento foi conduzido no Projeto Bio-Fauna/ISARH/UFRA, sediado em Belém, Pará. Foram utilizados 28 filhotes da espécie K. scorpioides, e a estes foram oferecidos alimentos de origem animal (carne bovina, frango e peixe) e origem vegetal: hortaliças (jerimum, cenoura, beterraba e batata doce) e frutas (banana, mamão e manga). O comportamento alimentar dos muçuãs divide-se em cinco etapas sucessivas: forrageio, aproximação, apreensão, dilaceração e ingestão do alimento. Observou-se que existe diferença significativa na preferência alimentar por alimentos de origem animal por parte dos filhotes. Neste estudo foi observada uma variação considerável da preferência por alimentos de origem animal e vegetal, considerando a porcentagem dos alimentos consumidos. Dentre os itens testados, os de maior aceitação foram os alimentos de origem animal confirmando que estes animais apresentam hábitos predominantemente carnívoro

A Common Variant in the CDK8 Gene Is Associated with Sporadic Pituitary Adenomas in the Portuguese Population: a Case-Control Study

The majority of pituitary adenomas occur in a sporadic context, and in the absence of known genetic predisposition. Three common variants at the NEBL (rs2359536), PCDH15 (rs10763170) and CDK8 (rs17083838) loci were previously associated with sporadic pituitary adenomas in the Han Chinese population, but these findings have not yet been replicated in any other population. The aim of this case-control study was to assess if these variants are associated with susceptibility to sporadic pituitary adenomas in the Portuguese population. Genotype and allele frequencies were determined in 570 cases and in 546 controls. The CDK8 rs17083838 minor allele (A allele) was significantly associated with sporadic pituitary adenomas, under an additive (odds ratio (OR) 1.73, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.19-2.50, p = 0.004) and dominant (OR 1.82, 95% CI 1.24-2.68, p = 0.002) inheritance model. The NEBL rs2359536 and PCDH15 rs10763170 variants were not associated with the overall risk for the disease, although a borderline significant association was observed between the PCDH15 rs10763170 minor allele (T allele) and somatotrophinomas (dominant model, OR 1.55, 95% CI 1.02-2.35, p = 0.035). These findings suggest that the CDK8 rs17083838 variant, and possibly the PCDH15 rs10763170 variant, may increase susceptibility to sporadic pituitary adenomas in the Portuguese population.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio