Peritoneal changes due to laparoscopic surgery

Item does not contain fulltextBACKGROUND: Laparoscopic surgery has been incorporated into common surgical practice. The peritoneum is an organ with various biologic functions that may be affected in different ways by laparoscopic and open techniques. Clinically, these alterations may be important in issues such as peritoneal metastasis and adhesion formation. METHODS: A literature search using the Pubmed and Cochrane databases identified articles focusing on the key issues of laparoscopy, peritoneum, inflammation, morphology, immunology, and fibrinolysis. Results : Laparoscopic surgery induces alterations in the peritoneal integrity and causes local acidosis, probably due to peritoneal hypoxia. The local immune system and inflammation are modulated by a pneumoperitoneum. Additionally, the peritoneal plasmin system is inhibited, leading to peritoneal hypofibrinolysis. CONCLUSION: Similar to open surgery, laparoscopic surgery affects both the integrity and biology of the peritoneum. These observations may have implications for various clinical conditions.1 januari 201

French database of children and adolescents with Prader-Willi syndrome

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a rare multisystem genetic disease leading to severe complications mainly related to obesity. We strongly lack information on the natural history of this complex disease and on what factors are involved in its evolution and its outcome. One of the objectives of the French reference centre for Prader-Willi syndrome set-up in 2004 was to set-up a database in order to make the inventory of Prader-Willi syndrome cases and initiate a national cohort study in the area covered by the centre.</p> <p>Description</p> <p>the database includes medical data of children and adolescents with Prader-Willi syndrome, details about their management, socio-demographic data on their families, psychological data and quality of life of the parents. The tools and organisation used to ensure data collection and data quality in respect of good clinical practice procedures are discussed, and main characteristics of our Prader-Willi population at inclusion are presented.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>this database covering all the aspects of PWS clinical, psychological and social profiles, including familial psychological and quality of life will be a powerful tool for retrospective studies concerning this complex and multi factorial disease and could be a basis for the design of future prospective multicentric studies. The complete database and the Stata.do files are available to any researcher wishing to use them for non-commercial purposes and can be provided upon request to the corresponding author.</p

Functional Evidence of Multidrug Resistance Transporters (MDR) in Rodent Olfactory Epithelium

Background: P-glycoprotein (Pgp) and multidrug resistance-associated protein (MRP1) are membrane transporter proteins which function as efflux pumps at cell membranes and are considered to exert a protective function against the entry of xenobiotics. While evidence for Pgp and MRP transporter activity is reported for olfactory tissue, their possible interaction and participation in the olfactory response has not been investigated. Principal Findings: Functional activity of putative MDR transporters was assessed by means of the fluorometric calcein acetoxymethyl ester (calcein-AM) accumulation assay on acute rat and mouse olfactory tissue slices. Calcein-AM uptake was measured as fluorescence intensity changes in the presence of Pgp or MRP specific inhibitors. Epifluorescence microscopy measured time course analysis in the olfactory epithelium revealed significant inhibitor-dependent calcein uptake in the presence of each of the selected inhibitors. Furthermore, intracellular calcein accumulation in olfactory receptor neurons was also significantly increased in the presence of either one of the Pgp or MRP inhibitors. The presence of Pgp or MRP1 encoding genes in the olfactory mucosa of rat and mouse was confirmed by RT-PCR with appropriate pairs of speciesspecific primers. Both transporters were expressed in both newborn and adult olfactory mucosa of both species. To assess a possible involvement of MDR transporters in the olfactory response, we examined the electrophysiological response to odorants in the presence of the selected MDR inhibitors by recording electroolfactograms (EOG). In both animal species

The streamlined genome of Phytomonas spp. relative to human pathogenic kinetoplastids reveals a parasite tailored for plants

Members of the family Trypanosomatidae infect many organisms, including animals, plants and humans. Plant-infecting trypanosomes are grouped under the single genus Phytomonas, failing to reflect the wide biological and pathological diversity of these protists. While some Phytomonas spp. multiply in the latex of plants, or in fruit or seeds without apparent pathogenicity, others colonize the phloem sap and afflict plants of substantial economic value, including the coffee tree, coconut and oil palms. Plant trypanosomes have not been studied extensively at the genome level, a major gap in understanding and controlling pathogenesis. We describe the genome sequences of two plant trypanosomatids, one pathogenic isolate from a Guianan coconut and one non-symptomatic isolate from Euphorbia collected in France. Although these parasites have extremely distinct pathogenic impacts, very few genes are unique to either, with the vast majority of genes shared by both isolates. Significantly, both Phytomonas spp. genomes consist essentially of single copy genes for the bulk of their metabolic enzymes, whereas other trypanosomatids e.g. Leishmania and Trypanosoma possess multiple paralogous genes or families. Indeed, comparison with other trypanosomatid genomes revealed a highly streamlined genome, encoding for a minimized metabolic system while conserving the major pathways, and with retention of a full complement of endomembrane organelles, but with no evidence for functional complexity. Identification of the metabolic genes of Phytomonas provides opportunities for establishing in vitro culturing of these fastidious parasites and new tools for the control of agricultural plant disease. © 2014 Porcel et al