The Importance of Clinical and Biochemical Markers in the Diagnosis of Disorders of the Psychomotor and Physical Development of Children who Underwent Perinatal CNS Lesions

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the blood level of neurotrophic factors (S100 protein, nerve growth factor, L- homocysteine and angiotensin II) in the diagnosis of disorders of the psychomotor and physical development of children who underwent perinatal CNS lesions. A comprehensive approach to assessing the blood levels of neurotrophic factors, along with methods of neuroimaging in children in the first 6 months of the postnatal period, allows identification of the total result of multidirectional degenerative-reparative processes in the neurovascular components of CNS and construction of the diagnostically significant criteria of the severity of neuropathology, which determines the physical development of children in the first year of life

Relationship Between Indices of Oxidative Stress, Endothelial Dysfunction and Chaperone Activity and the Severity of Coronary Atherosclerosis

The aim of this research was to study the relationship between the indices of oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction and chaperone activity of proteins with the severity of coronary atherosclerosis. In patients with coronary heart disease, we found gender-related differences in the severity of coronary atherosclerosis. Significant differences in the indices of oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction and chaperone activity were revealed depending on the severity of coronary atherosclerosis and the type of atherosclerotic lesion. The determination of studied parameters can serve as a good indicator of the severity of coronary atherosclerosis

Clinical and diagnostic value of including PCR blood test in the traditional algorithm for identifying causative agents of infective endocarditis: a cohort study of 124 patients

Background. If infective endocarditis (IE) is suspected, the determination of the etiology is of fundamental importance for the verification of the disease and the appointment of effective therapy. Microbiological diagnostic features are important, but they often need to be supplemented by culture-independent studies of pathological agents. Aim. To investigate of the diagnostic advantage and value of quantitative analysis of molecular biological methods (polymerase chain reaction PCR, sequencing) in addition to microbiological examination of whole venous blood in IE. Materials and methods. We examined 124 patients with suspected or significant IE (DUKE 2015) hospitalized in the Vinogradov City Clinical Hospital (20152021). All patients underwent parallel microbiological (cultural) and molecular biological (PCR or PCR followed by sequencing) examination of venous whole blood samples. Results. The introduction of an early parallel PCR study into the algorithm for the etiological diagnosis of IE made it possible to obtain an additional advantage in 43/124 (34.7%) patients, which made it possible to exclude unreliable results in the determination of CoNS skin commensals and pathogens atypical for IE or contamination and identify the true pathogens, and also for the first time to isolate the etiopathogenetic pathogen with a negative microbiological study. It was shown that in IE associated with CoNS, the association with the disease was confirmed by PCR in 21.4% (3/14) and refuted in 71.4% (10/14). The coincidence of the results of microbiological and PCR studies of blood samples was obtained only in 35/95 (36.8%). Positive results of PCR analysis of blood of biological material with negative results of culture were obtained in 22/51 (43.1%), of which 2/22 (9.0%) were able to confirm the presence of Bartonella spp DNA. The presented complex algorithm made it possible to significantly increase the possibility of intravital identification of the pathogen in the blood from 58.9 to 76.6%. IE with unknown etiology was present in 29/124 (23.4%) patients. A parallel PCR study allowed timely correction of antibiotic therapy in 43/124 (34.7%) patients. Conclusion. Expansion of indications for the use of PCR studies, primarily whole venous blood samples, is justified, not only in IE with negative results of microbiological examination, but also as a control method for the reliability of the results of traditional (cultural) diagnostic methods

Dairying, diseases and the evolution of lactase persistence in Europe

Update notice Author Correction: Dairying, diseases and the evolution of lactase persistence in Europe (Nature, (2022), 608, 7922, (336-345), 10.1038/s41586-022-05010-7) Nature, Volume 609, Issue 7927, Pages E9, 15 September 2022In European and many African, Middle Eastern and southern Asian populations, lactase persistence (LP) is the most strongly selected monogenic trait to have evolved over the past 10,000 years(1). Although the selection of LP and the consumption of prehistoric milk must be linked, considerable uncertainty remains concerning their spatiotemporal configuration and specific interactions(2,3). Here we provide detailed distributions of milk exploitation across Europe over the past 9,000 years using around 7,000 pottery fat residues from more than 550 archaeological sites. European milk use was widespread from the Neolithic period onwards but varied spatially and temporally in intensity. Notably, LP selection varying with levels of prehistoric milk exploitation is no better at explaining LP allele frequency trajectoriesthan uniform selection since the Neolithic period. In the UK Biobank(4,5) cohort of 500,000 contemporary Europeans, LP genotype was only weakly associated with milk consumption and did not show consistent associations with improved fitness or health indicators. This suggests that other reasons for the beneficial effects of LP should be considered for its rapid frequency increase. We propose that lactase non-persistent individuals consumed milk when it became available but, under conditions of famine and/or increased pathogen exposure, this was disadvantageous, driving LP selection in prehistoric Europe. Comparison of model likelihoods indicates that population fluctuations, settlement density and wild animal exploitation-proxies for these drivers-provide better explanations of LP selection than the extent of milk exploitation. These findings offer new perspectives on prehistoric milk exploitation and LP evolution.Peer reviewe

Role of Nerve Growth Factor in Assessing the Severity of Clinical Manifestations and Outcomes of Perinatal CNS Lesions in Infants

The purpose of our research was to analyze the association between the serum beta-NGF level and the severity of neurological deficit (ND) in children in the first year of life. Our results suggest a possible functional link between the low level of NGF and the development of severe ND. The obtained results allow us to consider the serum beta-NGF level as a useful marker of the ND severity in young children

Serum Level of Homocysteine and Perinatal CNS Lesions in Infants

This study reports an assessment of adaptive possibilities of the central nervous system (CNS) in infants. The study shows how the homocysteine level depends on the severity of neurological deficit (ND) in infants, and how the serum homocysteine level changes during the various treatment regimens

Loss of Heterozygosity in the Tumor DNA of De Novo Diagnosed Patients Is Associated with Poor Outcome for B-ALL but Not for T-ALL

Despite the introduction of new technologies in molecular diagnostics, one should not underestimate the traditional routine methods for studying tumor DNA. Here we present the evidence that short tandem repeat (STR) profiling of tumor DNA relative to DNA from healthy cells might identify chromosomal aberrations affecting therapy outcome. Tumor STR profiles of 87 adult patients with de novo Ph-negative ALL (40 B-ALL, 43 T-ALL, 4 mixed phenotype acute leukemia (MPAL)) treated according to the “RALL-2016” regimen were analyzed. DNA of tumor cells was isolated from patient bone marrow samples taken at diagnosis. Control DNA samples were taken from the buccal swab or the blood of patients in complete remission. Overall survival (OS) analysis was used to assess the independent impact of the LOH as a risk factor. Of the 87 patients, 21 were found with LOH in various STR loci (24%). For B-ALL patients, LOH (except 12p LOH) was an independent risk factor (OS hazard ratio 3.89, log-rank p-value 0.0395). In contrast, for T-ALL patients, the OS hazard ratio was 0.59 (log-rank p-value 0.62). LOH in particular STR loci measured at the onset of the disease could be used as a prognostic factor for poor outcome in B-ALL, but not in T-ALL

Fibrin Glue Implants Seeded with Dental Pulp and Periodontal Ligament Stem Cells for the Repair of Periodontal Bone Defects: A Preclinical Study

A technology to create a cell-seeded fibrin-based implant matching the size and shape of bone defect is required to create an anatomical implant. The aim of the study was to develop a technology of cell-seeded fibrin gel implant creation that has the same shape and size as the bone defect at the site of implantation. Using computed tomography (CT) images, molds representing bone defects were created by 3D printing. The form was filled with fibrin glue and human dental pulp stem cells (DPSC). The viability, set of surface markers and osteogenic differentiation of DPSC grown in fibrin gel along with the clot retraction time were evaluated. In mice, an alveolar bone defect was created. The defect was filled with fibrin gel seeded with mouse DPSC. After 28 days, the bone repair was analyzed with cone beam CT and by histological examination. The proliferation rate, set of surface antigens and osteogenic potential of cells grown inside the scaffold and in 2D conditions did not differ. In mice, both cell-free and mouse DPSC-seeded implants increased the bone tissue volume and vascularization. In mice with cell-seeded gel implants, the bone remodeling process was more prominent than in animals with a cell-free implant. The technology of 3D-printed forms for molding implants can be used to prepare implants using components that are not suitable for 3D printing