168 research outputs found
Use of serology in a systematic screening programme for strongyloidiasis in an immigrant population
Objectives: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to describe the results of a systematic serological
screening programme for strongyloidiasis.
Methods: Aprospective serological screeningprogramme for strongyloidiasis wasperformedbetween2009
and2014 for allimmigrantpatients attending theTropicalMedicineUnit. Three formalin-etherconcentrated
stool samples and an ELISA for anti-Strongyloides stercoralis antibodies were used as screening tools.
Results: Of 659 patients screened, 79 (12%) were positive for S. stercoralis regardless of the diagnostic
method used. The prevalence of infection was 42.9% in East African patients, 16.3% in Central African
patients,10.9% in those fromSouthAmerica, and 10% in the case ofWestAfrica. Univariate analysis showed
thatinfection by S. stercoralis was significantly more frequentinpatients from CentralAfrica (p = 0.026; OR
1.72, 95% CI 1.03–2.85) and East Africa (p<0.001; OR 5.88, 95% CI 1.75–19.32). Taking West Africa as the
reference (as the area of lowest prevalence among the positive prevalence areas), the statistical analysis
showed that the risk of infection was higher in East Africa (p = 0.001; OR 6.750, 95% CI 2.127–21.423) and
Central Africa (p = 0.065; OR 1.747, 95% CI 0.965–3.163).
Conclusions: Due to the potential complications of strongyloidiasis infection, we recommend that
immigrantpatients fromdevelopingcountriesbe routinelyscreenedfor S. stercoralis, especiallythose from
East Africa. A serological test is a highly appropriate screening tool
A High Docosahexaenoic Acid Diet Alters the Lung Inflammatory Response to Acute Dust Exposure
Agricultural workers are at risk for the development of acute and chronic lung diseases due to their exposure to organic agricultural dusts. A diet intervention using the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) has been shown to be an effective therapeutic approach for alleviating a dust-induced inflammatory response. We thus hypothesized a high-DHA diet would alter the dust-induced inflammatory response through the increased production of specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs). Mice were pre-treated with a DHA-rich diet 4 weeks before being intranasally challenged with a single dose of an extract made from dust collected from a concentrated swine feeding operation (HDE). This omega-3-fatty-acid-rich diet led to reduced arachidonic acid levels in the blood, enhanced macrophage recruitment, and increased the production of the DHA-derived SPM Resolvin D1 (RvD1) in the lung following HDE exposure. An assessment of transcript-level changes in the immune response demonstrated significant differences in immune pathway activation and alterations of numerous macrophage-associated genes among HDE-challenged mice fed a high DHA diet. Our data indicate that consuming a DHA-rich diet leads to the enhanced production of SPMs during an acute inflammatory challenge to dust, supporting a role for dietary DHA supplementation as a potential therapeutic strategy for reducing dust-induced lung inflammation
Impact of Routine Fractional Flow Reserve Evaluation During Coronary Angiography on Management Strategy and Clinical Outcome: One-Year Results of the POST-IT Multicenter Registry
Penetration of fractional flow reserve (FFR) in clinical practice varies extensively, and the applicability of results from randomized trials is understudied. We describe the extent to which the information gained from routine FFR affects patient management strategy and clinical outcome.
METHODS AND RESULTS:
Nonselected patients undergoing coronary angiography, in which at least 1 lesion was interrogated by FFR, were prospectively enrolled in a multicenter registry. FFR-driven change in management strategy (medical therapy, revascularization, or additional stress imaging) was assessed per-lesion and per-patient, and the agreement between final and initial strategies was recorded. Cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or unplanned revascularization (MACE) at 1 year was recorded. A total of 1293 lesions were evaluated in 918 patients (mean FFR, 0.81±0.1). Management plan changed in 406 patients (44.2%) and 584 lesions (45.2%). One-year MACE was 6.9%; patients in whom all lesions were deferred had a lower MACE rate (5.3%) than those with at least 1 lesion revascularized (7.3%) or left untreated despite FFR≤0.80 (13.6%; log-rank P=0.014). At the lesion level, deferral of those with an FFR≤0.80 was associated with a 3.1-fold increase in the hazard of cardiovascular death/myocardial infarction/target lesion revascularization (P=0.012). Independent predictors of target lesion revascularization in the deferred lesions were proximal location of the lesion, B2/C type and FFR.
CONCLUSIONS:
Routine FFR assessment of coronary lesions safely changes management strategy in almost half of the cases. Also, it accurately identifies patients and lesions with a low likelihood of events, in which revascularization can be safely deferred, as opposed to those at high risk when ischemic lesions are left untreated, thus confirming results from randomized trials
Usefulness of Routine Fractional Flow Reserve for Clinical Management of Coronary Artery Disease in Patients With Diabetes
Importance: Approximately one-third of patients considered for coronary revascularization have diabetes, which is a major determinant of clinical outcomes, often influencing the choice of the revascularization strategy. The usefulness of fractional flow reserve (FFR) to guide treatment in this population is understudied and has been questioned.
Objective: To evaluate the usefulness and rate of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) of integrating FFR in management decisions for patients with diabetes who undergo coronary angiography.
Design, setting, and participants: This cross-sectional study used data from the PRIME-FFR study derived from the merger of the POST-IT study (Portuguese Study on the Evaluation of FFR-Guided Treatment of Coronary Disease [March 2012-November 2013]) and R3F study (French Study of FFR Integrated Multicenter Registries Implementation of FFR in Routine Practice [October 2008-June 2010]), 2 prospective multicenter registries that shared a common design. A population of all-comers for whom angiography disclosed ambiguous lesions was analyzed for rates, patterns, and outcomes associated with management reclassification, including revascularization deferral, in patients with vs without diabetes. Data analysis was performed from June to August 2018.
Main outcomes and measures: Death from any cause, myocardial infarction, or unplanned revascularization (MACE) at 1 year.
Results: Among 1983 patients (1503 [77%] male; mean [SD] age, 65 [10] years), 701 had diabetes, and FFR was performed for 1.4 lesions per patient (58.2% of lesions in the left anterior descending artery; mean [SD] stenosis, 56% [11%]; mean [SD] FFR, 0.81 [0.01]). Reclassification by FFR was high and similar in patients with and without diabetes (41.2% vs 37.5%, P = .13), but reclassification from medical treatment to revascularization was more frequent in the former (142 of 342 [41.5%] vs 230 of 730 [31.5%], P = .001). There was no statistical difference between the 1-year rates of MACE in reclassified (9.7%) and nonreclassified patients (12.0%) (P = .37). Among patients with diabetes, FFR-based deferral identified patients with a lower risk of MACE at 12 months (25 of 296 [8.4%]) compared with those undergoing revascularization (47 of 257 [13.1%]) (P = .04), and the rate was of the same magnitude of the observed rate among deferred patients without diabetes (7.9%, P = .87). Status of insulin treatment had no association with outcomes. Patients (6.6% of the population) in whom FFR was disregarded had the highest MACE rates regardless of diabetes status.
Conclusions and relevance: Routine integration of FFR for the management of coronary artery disease in patients with diabetes may be associated with a high rate of treatment reclassification. Management strategies guided by FFR, including revascularization deferral, may be useful for patients with diabetes.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Los virus como herramientas biotecnológicas, caso de estudio: Baculovirus
Los virus, desde siempre han tenido mala reputación; sin embargo, estos microorganismos desempeñan un papel importante en los procesos evolutivos que han dado paso a la vida tal
y como la conocemos. Los virus pueden ser muy útiles, si son bien aprovechados. El
desarrollo de la virología y las aplicaciones en biotecnología hallará cada vez más beneficios
para el ser humano y el medio ambiente. El presente documento, hace una breve revisión de
las aplicaciones beneficiosas de los virus, como herramientas de la biología molecular y la biotecnología.Artículo elaborado en la Cátedra de Biorreactores,biofertilizantes y biocontroladores, BBB0,carrera de
Ingeniería en Agrobiotecnología, Facultad de Agricultura e Investigación Agrícola, Universidad Dr. José Matías Delgad
The Piúma lineament, southern Espirito Santo: structural expression and tectonic significance
Efficacy of intravenous plus intrathecal/intracerebral ventricle injection of polymyxin B for post-neurosurgical intracranial infections due to MDR/XDR Acinectobacter baumannii: a retrospective cohort study
Interactive models of communication at the nanoscale using nanoparticles that talk to one another
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