MOROCCAN STRAWBERRY TREE (Arbutus Unedo L.) LEAVES: COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE NUTRITIONAL VALUE AND MINERAL COMPOSITION

Strawberry tree (Arbutus Unedo L.) is one of the evergreen trees that grow spontaneously in Moroccan forests. This tall shrub is traditionally used in grazing zones of some Moroccan areas, especially during the dry season, but its value in Morocco has still been underestimated. In this paper, the nutritional composition of A. unedo leaves sample collected from seven Moroccan regions has been assessed. For this, the leaves were dried, crushed, and chemically analyzed for their proximate composition, energetic value, total and reducing sugar, and mineral composition. Results of this study suggested that samples from BniAarouse (BA) region showed the highest contents of essential nutrients such as proteins, dietary fiber, ashes, and fat with average values of 7.53, 17.89, 4.14, and 8.05 g/ 100 g of dry weight, respectively, which positively influences its consumption by small ruminants. Cluster analysis based on surveyed parameters separated the strawberries individuals into four distinct groups, providing a high variability among and within studied locations. That could be related to the diversity of the edaphoclimatic conditions between regions and to the genetic effect. The results of the present study highlighted the potential use of leaves as livestock feed, with intermediate quality, and promotes their optimal cultivation and subsequent domestication in Morocco

Molecular imaging of phosphatidylserine in cardiovascular pathology

Actuellement l'imagerie du thrombus artériel ou thrombus intra-luminal se base sur l'imagerie morphologique. Celle-ci ne permet pas d'évaluer l'activité biologique du thrombus, ni de prédire son évolution. Dans ce contexte l'imagerie moléculaire du thrombus a pour principaux objectifs (1) la détection du thrombus initial et la recherche de localisations secondaires, (2) l'évaluation du potentiel évolutif du thrombus et de son impact sur les tissus environnants en relation avec son activité biologique, (3) l'évaluation précoce de l'efficacité thérapeutique (avant une modification morphologique). Ce travail constitue la suite d'une application originale de l'imagerie de la PS, impliquée dans l'apoptose cellulaire et de l'activation plaquettaire, permettant ainsi la détection du thrombus, en particulier du thrombus infecté tel que rencontré dans l'endocardite infectieuse. Nous avons 1) testé un peptide ciblant la PS : le 68Ga-P04087, en vue d'une imagerie TEP de la PS. Les résultats radiopharmaceutiques sont satisfaisants contrastant avec l'absence d'un signal scintigraphique. 2) validé en préclinique des kits GMP d'un variant chimique de l'annexine : l'annexine A5-128 en la comparant avec la HYNIC-AnxA5 sur les modèles d'endocardite infectieuse (imagerie de la PS sur plaquettes activées) et de myocardite auto-immune chez le rat (imagerie de la PS sur les cellules apoptotiques). 3) mise en place d'un protocole clinique ayant pour but d'effectuer la preuve de concept clinique d'imagerie moléculaire du thrombus par l'annexine A5-128, en particulier le thrombus infecté de l'endocardite infectieuse et les localisations secondaires. Ceci a nécessité l'élaboration de tous les dossiers administratifs se soldant par des avis favorables du comité de protection des personnes (CPP) et un accord de l'ANSM, ainsi que la mise en place d'un essai translationnel de preuve de concept clinique. Les premiers résultats analysés sur les 10 patients avec une suspicion d'EI inclus dans la première phase de l'étude de tolérance sont prometteurs aussi bien sur le plan de la sécurité du radio traceur que sur la sensibilité de détection du thrombus infecté. Le comité de surveillance indépendant a donné un avis favorable à la poursuite de l'étude.Currently, imaging of the arterial thrombus or intra-luminal thrombus is based on morphological imaging. This modality does not provide information on the possible evolution of the thrombus in relation to its biological activity. In this context, molecular imaging of thrombus has for main purpose (1) the detection of primary thrombus site and the search for secondary locations, (2) the evaluation of the evolutive potential of the thrombus and its impact on the surrounding tissues in relation to its biological activity, (3) early evaluation of therapeutic efficiency (before morphological modification). This work is a continuity of an original application of the PS imaging, a marker of cell apoptosis and platelet activation, thus allowing thrombus detection, in particular the infected thrombus as in infective endocarditis. We have 1) tested a peptide targeting PS: 68Ga-P04087, for PET imaging of PS. The radiopharmaceutical results were acceptable contrasting with the absence of detectable scintigraphic signal. 2) validated GMP kits of a variant of rh-annexin A5: annexin A5-128 in comparison with HYNIC-AnxA5 on infective endocarditis models (imaging of PS on activated platelets ) and autoimmune myocarditis in rats (imaging of PS on apoptotic cells). 3) set up a clinical protocol aiming at clinical proof of concept of molecular imaging of thrombus by annexin A5-128, in particular infected thrombus of infective endocarditis and embolic sites. This clinical trial had been agreed by the committee of protection of the persons (CPP) and ANSM. The first phase (safety) in 10 patients with suspicion of IE is completed. The results are promising both in terms of safety and of infected thrombus detection. DSMB gave an agreement to study continuation

Persistent FDG/PET CT uptake in idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis helps identifying patients at a higher risk for relapse

International audienc

Preclinical Validation of Tc–Annexin A5–128 in Experimental Autoimmune Myocarditis and Infective Endocarditis: Comparison with Tc–HYNIC–Annexin A5

Hydrazinonicotinamide–annexin A5 (HYNIC-Anx), a 99m technetium ( 99m Tc)-labeled agent targeting phosphatidylserine, proved to be sensitive for the detection of apoptosis and thrombosis but is no longer available for clinical use. A mutant of human annexin designed for direct 99m Tc labeling (referred to as Anx A5–128) showed improved binding affinity to phosphatidylserine and is expected to be used in humans. We compared both radiotracers with regard to pharmacokinetics and diagnostic ability in animal models. Biodistribution studies were performed in normal rats. Radiolabeled Anx A5–128 and HYNIC-Anx were compared in cardiovascular settings involving phosphatidylserine expression: experimental autoimmune myocarditis and infective endocarditis. Initial blood clearance was faster for Anx A5–128 than for HYNIC-Anx, and tissue biodistribution was similar overall for both tracers. The diagnostic sensitivity of Anx A5–128 was excellent and comparable to that of HYNIC-Anx. Anx A5–128 showed biodistribution and diagnostic ability similar to those of the HYNIC-Anx derivative, supporting its translation to clinical use

[18F]FDG Positron Emission Tomography for Initial Staging and Healing Assessment at the End of Therapy in Lymph Nodes and Bone Tuberculosis

International audienceObjective: In extra-pulmonary tuberculosis, therapeutic management is difficult in the absence of reliable tool to affirm healing at the end of treatment. In this prospective multicenter study, we evaluated [18F]FDG-PET for this purpose.Methods: Forty-two patients out of 55 included patients could be analyzed. Additionally to usual biological, histological and morphological explorations, [18F]FDG-PET was performed at diagnosis (PET1), at the end of treatment (PET2), indeed 6 months later. Then patients were followed until 12 months after end of prescribed treatment.Results: PET1 was positive in 97.6% of patients and discovered unknown injured sites in 52.7% of cases. PET2 was positive in 83.3% of uncured patients, and in 82.3% of cured patients. The sum and mean value of SUVmax measured in PET/CT lesions decreased between PET1 and PET2 in all patients. Mean value of SUVmax (MSUV) and sum value of SUVmax on PET2 showed the highest AUC on ROC curves for the diagnosis of healing at the end of prescribed treatment; MSUV 3.5 on PET2 had a sensitivity of 76.5% and a specificity of 80.0% to affirm healing at the end of prescribed treatment.Conclusions: [18F]FDG-PET/CT was useful at diagnosis, discovering unknown lesions in 52.7% of cases. MSUV on PET2 was the best criteria to affirm healing at the end of prescribed treatment

Preclinical Validation of 99m

Hydrazinonicotinamide–annexin A5 (HYNIC-Anx), a 99m technetium ( 99m Tc)-labeled agent targeting phosphatidylserine, proved to be sensitive for the detection of apoptosis and thrombosis but is no longer available for clinical use. A mutant of human annexin designed for direct 99m Tc labeling (referred to as Anx A5–128) showed improved binding affinity to phosphatidylserine and is expected to be used in humans. We compared both radiotracers with regard to pharmacokinetics and diagnostic ability in animal models. Biodistribution studies were performed in normal rats. Radiolabeled Anx A5–128 and HYNIC-Anx were compared in cardiovascular settings involving phosphatidylserine expression: experimental autoimmune myocarditis and infective endocarditis. Initial blood clearance was faster for Anx A5–128 than for HYNIC-Anx, and tissue biodistribution was similar overall for both tracers. The diagnostic sensitivity of Anx A5–128 was excellent and comparable to that of HYNIC-Anx. Anx A5–128 showed biodistribution and diagnostic ability similar to those of the HYNIC-Anx derivative, supporting its translation to clinical use