Les traumatismes vertebro-medullaires par chute de la hauteur d’un arbre a propos de 73 cas au Mali.

Introduction Les chutes du haut d’un arbre sont des accidents graves et fréquents au MALI.Objectif Analysez les facteurs épidémiologiques, étiologiques et circonstanciels des chutes de la hauteur des arbres Matériels et méthodes Il s’agit d’une étude prospective continue d’octobre 2007 à septembre 2009 à l’hôpital Gabriel Touré de Bamako (Mali). Elle a concerné tous les cas de chute du haut d’un arbre pendant cette période.Résultats Au cours de cette étude, nous avons recensé 73 patients dont les âges étaient compris entre 5 et 65 ans. Les couches socioprofessionnelles les plus atteintes ont été les cultivateurs et les bergers aux conditions socioéconomiques défavorables. Pendant les mois de décembre à mai 79,45% (58 patients) des patients ont été enregistrés. Cette période correspondait à la traite des fruits et à la saison sèche avec le manque de pâturages pour les animaux. L’intervention chirurgicale a concerné 32 patients. La mortalité a été de 12,32% (9 patients) tous traumatisés cervicaux.Conclusions Les accidents par chutes d’arbres sont en rapport avec les conditions socio-économiques et climatiques au Mali.Mots clés : Arbre, Accident, Chute, Mali, Rachis, Traumatism

Abcès de la prostate de découverte fortuite : A propos de deux cas

Introduction : l’abcès prostatique est une pathologie de plus en plus rare. Sa symptomatologie n’est pas spécifique. L’échographie endorectale et le scanner pelvien occupent une place de choix dans le diagnostic. Le traitement repose sur l’antibiothérapie adaptée et sur le drainage percutané par voie transpérinéale, transrectale ou endoscopique. Observation : nous rapportons deux cas d’abcès de prostate, l’un des patients est âgé de 47 ans et l’autre 61 ans. Dans les deux cas, le diagnostic a été de découverte fortuite en per opératoire. Le scanner abdominopelvien a posé le diagnostic de kyste de prostate chez l’un et une hypertrophie bénigne de la prostate chez l’autre par une échographie réno-vésico-prostatique. Le traitement a consisté en un drainage par chirurgie ouverte avec une antibiothérapie adaptée. L’évolution a été favorable dans les deux cas. Conclusion : l’abcès prostatique est une pathologie rare et sa symptomatologie clinique n’est pas spécifique. Dans notre cas, le diagnostic n’a pu être confirmé qu’en peropératoire et le traitement par chirurgie ouverte avec un bon résultat

Malaria is a cause of iron deficiency in African children

Malaria and iron deficiency (ID) are common and interrelated public health problems in African children. Observational data suggest that interrupting malaria transmission reduces the prevalence of ID1. To test the hypothesis that malaria might cause ID, we used sickle cell trait (HbAS, rs334), a genetic variant that confers specific protection against malaria2, as an instrumental variable in Mendelian randomization analyses. HbAS was associated with a 30% reduction in ID among children living in malaria-endemic countries in Africa (n = 7,453), but not among individuals living in malaria-free areas (n = 3,818). Genetically predicted malaria risk was associated with an odds ratio of 2.65 for ID per unit increase in the log incidence rate of malaria. This suggests that an intervention that halves the risk of malaria episodes would reduce the prevalence of ID in African children by 49%

Frequent expression loss of Inter-alpha-trypsin inhibitor heavy chain (ITIH) genes in multiple human solid tumors: A systematic expression analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The inter-alpha-trypsin inhibitors (ITI) are a family of plasma protease inhibitors, assembled from a light chain – bikunin, encoded by <it>AMBP </it>– and five homologous heavy chains (encoded by <it>ITIH1</it>, <it>ITIH2</it>, <it>ITIH3</it>, <it>ITIH4</it>, and <it>ITIH5</it>), contributing to extracellular matrix stability by covalent linkage to hyaluronan. So far, ITIH molecules have been shown to play a particularly important role in inflammation and carcinogenesis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We systematically investigated differential gene expression of the <it>ITIH </it>gene family, as well as <it>AMBP </it>and the interacting partner <it>TNFAIP6 </it>in 13 different human tumor entities (of breast, endometrium, ovary, cervix, stomach, small intestine, colon, rectum, lung, thyroid, prostate, kidney, and pancreas) using cDNA dot blot analysis (Cancer Profiling Array, CPA), semiquantitative RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found that <it>ITIH </it>genes are clearly downregulated in multiple human solid tumors, including breast, colon and lung cancer. Thus, <it>ITIH </it>genes may represent a family of putative tumor suppressor genes that should be analyzed in greater detail in the future. For an initial detailed analysis we chose <it>ITIH2 </it>expression in human breast cancer. Loss of <it>ITIH2 </it>expression in 70% of cases (n = 50, CPA) could be confirmed by real-time PCR in an additional set of breast cancers (n = 36). Next we studied ITIH2 expression on the protein level by analyzing a comprehensive tissue micro array including 185 invasive breast cancer specimens. We found a strong correlation (p < 0.001) between ITIH2 expression and estrogen receptor (ER) expression indicating that ER may be involved in the regulation of this ECM molecule.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Altogether, this is the first systematic analysis on the differential expression of <it>ITIH </it>genes in human cancer, showing frequent downregulation that may be associated with initiation and/or progression of these malignancies.</p

Blunted Neuronal Calcium Response to Hypoxia in Naked Mole-Rat Hippocampus

Naked mole-rats are highly social and strictly subterranean rodents that live in large communal colonies in sealed and chronically oxygen-depleted burrows. Brain slices from naked mole-rats show extreme tolerance to hypoxia compared to slices from other mammals, as indicated by maintenance of synaptic transmission under more hypoxic conditions and three fold longer latency to anoxic depolarization. A key factor in determining whether or not the cellular response to hypoxia is reversible or leads to cell death may be the elevation of intracellular calcium concentration. In the present study, we used fluorescent imaging techniques to measure relative intracellular calcium changes in CA1 pyramidal cells of hippocampal slices during hypoxia. We found that calcium accumulation during hypoxia was significantly and substantially attenuated in slices from naked mole-rats compared to slices from laboratory mice. This was the case for both neonatal (postnatal day 6) and older (postnatal day 20) age groups. Furthermore, while both species demonstrated more calcium accumulation at older ages, the older naked mole-rats showed a smaller calcium accumulation response than even the younger mice. A blunted intracellular calcium response to hypoxia may contribute to the extreme hypoxia tolerance of naked mole-rat neurons. The results are discussed in terms of a general hypothesis that a very prolonged or arrested developmental process may allow adult naked mole-rat brain to retain the hypoxia tolerance normally only seen in neonatal mammals

The impact of inflammation on bone mass in children

Bone is a dynamic tissue. Skeletal bone integrity is maintained through bone modeling and remodeling. The mechanisms underlying this bone mass regulation are complex and interrelated. An imbalance in the regulation of bone remodeling through bone resorption and bone formation results in bone loss. Chronic inflammation influences bone mass regulation. Inflammation-related bone disorders share many common mechanisms of bone loss. These mechanisms are ultimately mediated through the uncoupling of bone remodeling. Cachexia, physical inactivity, pro-inflammatory cytokines, as well as iatrogenic factors related to effects of immunosuppression are some of the common mechanisms. Recently, cytokine signaling through the central nervous system has been investigated for its potential role in bone mass dysregulation in inflammatory conditions. Growing research on the molecular mechanisms involved in inflammation-induced bone loss may lead to more selective therapeutic targeting of these pathological signaling pathways

Zincmethylphyrins and coproporphyrins, novel growth factors released by Sphingopyxis sp., enable laboratory cultivation of previously uncultured Leucobacter sp through interspecies mutualism

We have identified coproporphyrins including structurally new zincmethylphyrins I and III as growth factors A-F for the previously uncultured bacterial strain, Leucobacter sp. ASN212, from a supernatant of 210 l of Sphingopyxis sp. GF9 culture. Growth factors A-F induced significant growth of strain ASN212 at the concentrations of picomolar to nanomolar which would otherwise be unculturable in liquid medium or on agar plate. More interestingly, we found that the growth factors functioned as self-toxic compounds for the growth-factor producing strain GF9 at the picomolar to nanomolar levels. As a variety of bacteria could potentially produce coproporphyrins, our findings suggest that these compounds function as a novel class of signal molecules across a boundary at phylum level in the complex bacterial communities