Audiovisuals : ciència a través d'imatges en moviment

Els mitjans audiovisuals, a més de ser el mitjà d?informació de massa més universal són considerats una prolongació de les nostres facultats físiques i psíquiques. Capaços de captar l?emoció humana no continguda en el significat propi de les paraules, sinó com un tot global: to, mímica, gestos i postures. De tota manera, els nostres hàbits, el pessimisme en relació amb binomi esforç-fracàs o la falta de polítiques adients no ens fan pensar-hi com un material i mètode adient per a desenvolupar la tasca de transmissió científica (docent i de recerca). Aquest petit assaig pretén trencar amb el pessimisme de molts i, alhora, animar d?altres per a fer servir aquesta important eina de treball científic. En aquest assaig es donen les pautes necessàries per a realitzar una producció audiovisual de qualitat. Part de la bibliografia inclosa pretén ser útil, en molt casos, per a aprofundir en aspectes tècnics, com ara el desenvolupament del guió o l?ús correcte dels mitjans audiovisuals.The audio-visuals (AV), the most universal mass medium, are considered as an extension of our physical and psychical faculties. Able to capture human emotions, they do not express by words but by the pitch, gestures, facial expression and body language. How is it possible that such an important medium has not be taken into account as a common channel of scientific communication? The answer could be: it does not form part of our habits, there is some pessimism about its productivity and there is a lack of policies to stimulate its use. The authors think that AV are an important tool to be used for science communication and research. This assay aims to be a small contribution to encourage people to use AV and also to give them some guidelines about how to do the script and the production. Moreover, it also includes references of some specific books for people who want to deepen in technical aspects (script and production)

Overview of the History of the Cranial Nerves: From Galen to the 21st Century

Throughout history the description and classification of the cranial nerves has been linked to the development and characteristics of anatomy and the role that it played as a tool in providing rationality to medicine, together with social, cultural, religious, and philosophical factors. Anatomists were interested in the cranial nerves, but they disagreed on their number and their paths. We can divide the history of the cranial nerves into three different periods: the first, early or macroscopic period; the second or microscopic period; and the third period or ontogenesis and genoarchitecture. The main aim of this article is to show how the description and knowledge of the cranial nerves were developed in the course of these three periods, and to highlight the main changes produced and the factors related to these changes. We describe how the first period was mainly focused on establishing the definition, number and paths of the cranial nerves, through contributions ranging from Galen’s studies in the second century to Sömmerring’s Doctoral Dissertation in 1778 that described 12 cranial nerves for the first time. Then, the microscopic period was concentrated on the identification of the real nuclei of origin of the different cranial nerves located in the brain stem. Finally came the third period, or ontogenesis and genoarchitecture of the rhombecephalic and mesencephalic cranial nerve nuclei

Controlled trial of balance training using a video game console in community-dwelling older adults

gamification is a potentially attractive option for improving balance and reducing falls. to assess the effect of balance training using the NintendoTM Wii game console on balance (primary outcome), falls and fear of falling. quasi-randomised, open-label, controlled clinical trial in parallel groups, carried out on community-dwelling patients over 70 years, able to walk independently. Participants were assigned 1:1 to the intervention or control group. Balance training was conducted using the Nintendo WiiFit TM twice a week for 3 months. Balance was assessed using the Tinetti balance test (primary outcome), the unipedal stance and the Wii balance tests at baseline, 3 months and 1 year. Falls were recorded and Fear of falling was assessed by the Falls Efficacy Scale (Short-FES-I). 1,016 subjects were recruited (508 in both the intervention and the control group; of whom 274 and 356 respectively completed the 3-month assessment). There was no between-group difference in the Tinetti balance test score, with a baseline mean of 14.7 (SD 1.8) in both groups, and 15.2 (1.3) at 3 months in the intervention group compared to 15.3 (1.7) in controls; the between-group difference was 0.06 (95% CI 0.30-0.41). No differences were seen in any of the other balance tests, or in incident falls. There was a reduction in the fear of falling at 3 months, but no effect at 1 year. the study found no effect of balance training using the Nintendo TM Wii on balance or falls in older community-dwelling patients. The study protocol is available at clinicaltrials.gov under the code NCT02570178

Connections between postparotid terminal branches of the facial nerve: An immunohistochemistry study

It has been assumed that connections between the postparotid terminal branches of the facial nerve are purely motor. However, the nature of their fibers remains unexplored. The aim of this study is to determine whether these connections comprise motor fibers exclusively. In total 17 connections between terminal facial nerve branches were obtained from 13 different facial nerves. Choline acetyltransferase antibody (ChAT) was used to stain the fibers in the connections and determine whether or not all of them were motor. All connections contained ChAT positive and negative fibers. The average number of fibers overall was 287 (84–587) and the average proportion of positive fibers was 63% (37.7%–91.5%). In 29% of the nerves, >75% of the fibers were ChAT+ (strongly positive); in 52.94%, 50%–75% were ChAT+ (intermediately positive); and in 17.65%, <50% were ChAT+ (weakly positive). Fibers traveling inside the postparotid terminal cranial nerve VII branch connections are not exclusively motor

Audiovisuals : ciència a través d'imatges en moviment

Els mitjans audiovisuals, a més de ser el mitjà d?informació de massa més universal són considerats una prolongació de les nostres facultats físiques i psíquiques. Capaços de captar l?emoció humana no continguda en el significat propi de les paraules, sinó com un tot global: to, mímica, gestos i postures. De tota manera, els nostres hàbits, el pessimisme en relació amb binomi esforç-fracàs o la falta de polítiques adients no ens fan pensar-hi com un material i mètode adient per a desenvolupar la tasca de transmissió científica (docent i de recerca). Aquest petit assaig pretén trencar amb el pessimisme de molts i, alhora, animar d?altres per a fer servir aquesta important eina de treball científic. En aquest assaig es donen les pautes necessàries per a realitzar una producció audiovisual de qualitat. Part de la bibliografia inclosa pretén ser útil, en molt casos, per a aprofundir en aspectes tècnics, com ara el desenvolupament del guió o l?ús correcte dels mitjans audiovisuals.The audio-visuals (AV), the most universal mass medium, are considered as an extension of our physical and psychical faculties. Able to capture human emotions, they do not express by words but by the pitch, gestures, facial expression and body language. How is it possible that such an important medium has not be taken into account as a common channel of scientific communication? The answer could be: it does not form part of our habits, there is some pessimism about its productivity and there is a lack of policies to stimulate its use. The authors think that AV are an important tool to be used for science communication and research. This assay aims to be a small contribution to encourage people to use AV and also to give them some guidelines about how to do the script and the production. Moreover, it also includes references of some specific books for people who want to deepen in technical aspects (script and production)

Palmaris profundus and carpal tunnel syndrome: is it really a palmaris muscle?

The palmaris profundus (PP) is a variable muscle present in the flexor muscle region of the forearms. Its implication in the etiopathogenesis of carpal tunnel syndrome has been discussed in the literature. We present a case of a PP with a characteristic morphology, associated with a bifid median nerve (MN), found during surgery for a recurrence of carpal tunnel syndrome in a 51-year-old female patient. The PP muscle was first described with this morphology by Frohse in 1908. Initially, this muscle was considered an anatomical variation of the palmaris longus, but since 1984 the existence of both muscles has been observed in the same forearm, so the PP is considered an accessory muscle. Some authors associate the existence of a PP with compression of the median nerve in the carpal tunnel. Others, however, argue that it may be an aggravating factor but not the primary cause, or simply a casual finding during surgery. We believe that this tendon is not the primary cause of compression of the MN, but it can aggravate the situation in case of a reduced canal due to any other cause, so we recommend surgeons to resect it if it is found. Furthermore, based on the embryological origin of the forearm muscles, we believe that this PP could actually be the radio-carpal, radio-palmar or short radial forearm muscle described as early as the 19th century.Depto. de Anatomía y EmbriologíaFac. de MedicinaTRUEpu

The morphogenesis of the renal plexus: renal artery and sympathetic fibers

To examine the origin and development of the renal plexus and its relationship to the renal vessels in embryos and early human fetuses. Serial sections of 34 human embryos (stages 16 to 23 of Carnegie, 4 or 5–8 weeks) and 38 fetuses (9–19 weeks) were analyzed. Throughout the embryonic period, the kidney was not innervated by the renal plexus. Those nerves appeared at the beginning of the early fetal period (9 weeks) as branches given off by the immature autonomic abdominal plexus. The renal nerves started to approach to the kidney during the early fetal period at 9–10 weeks of development. They were distributed in close proximity to the renal arteries and their branches. They were observed first with the settlement of the renal veins. The renal artery is present as a branch of the abdominal aorta at stage 19 (between 6 and 7 weeks) prior to development of the renal plexus. The renal veins were not present during the embryonic period but appeared at the start of the fetal period, along with the renal nerves that emerged from segmented sympathetic para-aortic bodies (SPBs). In conclusion, the renal plexus starts to form during the early fetal period, which coincides with the establishment of the definitive renal veins, 2 weeks after the definitive renal arteries are identified. The disposition of the renal vessels and renal nerves in adults could be explained by the disposition and progress of the structures during prenatal developmentDepto. de Anatomía y EmbriologíaFac. de MedicinaTRUEpu

Microdissection of the Human Renal Nervous System. Implications for Performing Renal Denervation Procedures

El artículo ha sido comentado muy positivamente en "Persu A, Maes F, Renkin J, Pathak A. Renal Denervation in Hypertensive Patients: Back to Anatomy? Hypertension. 2020 Oct;76(4):1084-1086. doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.120.15834. Epub 2020 Sep 9. PMID: 32903105; PMCID: PMC7480938."Despite the use of renal denervation to treat hypertension, the anatomy of the renal nervous system remains poorly understood. We performed a detailed quantitative analysis of the human renal nervous system anatomy with the goal of optimizing renal denervation procedural safety and efficacy. Sixty kidneys from 30 human cadavers were systematically microdissected to quantify anatomic variations in renal nerve patterns. Contrary to current clinical perception, not all renal innervation followed the main renal artery. A significant portion of the renal nerves (late arriving nerves) frequently reached the kidney (73% of the right kidney and 53% of the left kidney) bypassing the main renal artery. The ratio of the main renal artery length/aorta-renal hilar distance proved to be a useful variable to identify the presence/absence of these late arriving nerves (odds ratio, 0.001 (95% CI, 0.00002–0.0692; P: 0.001) with a cutoff of 0.75 (sensitivity: 0.68, specificity: 0.83, area under ROC curve at threshold: 0.76). When present, polar arteries were also highly associated with the presence of late arriving nerve. Finally, the perivascular space around the proximal main renal artery was frequently occupied by fused ganglia from the solar plexus (right kidney: 53%, left kidney: 83%) and/or by the lumbar sympathetic chain (right kidney: 63%, left kidney: 60%). Both carried innervation to the kidneys but importantly also to other abdominal and pelvic organs, which can be accidentally denervated if the proximal renal artery is targeted for ablation. These novel anatomic insights may help guide future procedural treatment recommendations to increase the likelihood of safely reaching and destroying targeted nerves during renal denervation procedures.MedtronicDepto. de Anatomía y EmbriologíaFac. de MedicinaTRUEpu