MELAS Syndrome with Cardiac Involvement: A Multimodality Imaging Approach

A 49-year-old man presented with chest pain, dyspnea, and lactic acidosis. Left ventricular hypertrophy and myocardial fibrosis were detected. The sequencing of mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) revealed the presence of A to G mtDNA point mutation at position 3243 (m.3243A>G) in tRNA(Leu(UUR)) gene. Diagnosis of cardiac involvement in a patient with Mitochondrial Encephalomyopathy, Lactic Acidosis, and Stroke-like episodes syndrome (MELAS) was made. Due to increased risk of sudden cardiac death, cardioverter defibrillator was implanted

chitosan biopolymer alternative adhesion factor and scaffold matrix for 2d and 3d neuronal cultures

The increase of different types of cell cultures, which can be used for the in vitro studies of physiological and/or pathological processes, has introduced the need to improve culture techniques through the use of materials and culture media that promote growth, recreating a cellular micro-environment that can be asserted in in vivo condition. The standard methods for the functionalization of supports used for cell cultures are based on the use of synthetic or natural biopolymers, which generally have high costs, such as poly-lysine and polyornithine. The aim of this work is to demonstrate the alternative use of the polysaccharide chitosan as adhesion factor and structural component for 2D/3D neuronal cultures. Thanks to its versatility, it could be easily functionalized for the fabrication of personalized of in vitro model

A Neuromorphic Prosthesis to Restore Communication in Neuronal Networks

Recent advances in bioelectronics and neural engineering allowed the development of brain machine interfaces and neuroprostheses, capable of facilitating or recovering functionality in people with neurological disability. To realize energy-efficient and real-time capable devices, neuromorphic computing systems are envisaged as the core of next-generation systems for brain repair. We demonstrate here a real-time hardware neuromorphic prosthesis to restore bidirectional interactions between two neuronal populations, even when one is damaged or missing. We used in vitro modular cell cultures to mimic the mutual interaction between neuronal assemblies and created a focal lesion to functionally disconnect the two populations. Then, we employed our neuromorphic prosthesis for bidirectional bridging to artificially reconnect two disconnected neuronal modules and for hybrid bidirectional bridging to replace the activity of one module with a real-time hardware neuromorphic Spiking Neural Network. Our neuroprosthetic system opens avenues for the exploitation of neuromorphic-based devices in bioelectrical therapeutics for health care

The impact of surgical delay on resectability of colorectal cancer: An international prospective cohort study

AIM: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has provided a unique opportunity to explore the impact of surgical delays on cancer resectability. This study aimed to compare resectability for colorectal cancer patients undergoing delayed versus non-delayed surgery. METHODS: This was an international prospective cohort study of consecutive colorectal cancer patients with a decision for curative surgery (January-April 2020). Surgical delay was defined as an operation taking place more than 4 weeks after treatment decision, in a patient who did not receive neoadjuvant therapy. A subgroup analysis explored the effects of delay in elective patients only. The impact of longer delays was explored in a sensitivity analysis. The primary outcome was complete resection, defined as curative resection with an R0 margin. RESULTS: Overall, 5453 patients from 304 hospitals in 47 countries were included, of whom 6.6% (358/5453) did not receive their planned operation. Of the 4304 operated patients without neoadjuvant therapy, 40.5% (1744/4304) were delayed beyond 4 weeks. Delayed patients were more likely to be older, men, more comorbid, have higher body mass index and have rectal cancer and early stage disease. Delayed patients had higher unadjusted rates of complete resection (93.7% vs. 91.9%, P = 0.032) and lower rates of emergency surgery (4.5% vs. 22.5%, P < 0.001). After adjustment, delay was not associated with a lower rate of complete resection (OR 1.18, 95% CI 0.90-1.55, P = 0.224), which was consistent in elective patients only (OR 0.94, 95% CI 0.69-1.27, P = 0.672). Longer delays were not associated with poorer outcomes. CONCLUSION: One in 15 colorectal cancer patients did not receive their planned operation during the first wave of COVID-19. Surgical delay did not appear to compromise resectability, raising the hypothesis that any reduction in long-term survival attributable to delays is likely to be due to micro-metastatic disease

26th Annual Computational Neuroscience Meeting (CNS*2017): Part 3 - Meeting Abstracts - Antwerp, Belgium. 15–20 July 2017

This work was produced as part of the activities of FAPESP Research,\ud Disseminations and Innovation Center for Neuromathematics (grant\ud 2013/07699-0, S. Paulo Research Foundation). NLK is supported by a\ud FAPESP postdoctoral fellowship (grant 2016/03855-5). ACR is partially\ud supported by a CNPq fellowship (grant 306251/2014-0)

Environmental sociodemographic conditions associated with health-nutrition profiles among elderly people, Córdoba-Argentina

Las tendencias demográficas indican que el envejecimiento poblacional no es exclusivo de los países desarrollados. Argentina alcanza el 15,5% de la población adulta mayor. La pandemia por COVID-19 puso en escena la situación de salud pública de esta población, desafiando los sistemas de salud, con impactos desproporcionados en este grupo que sufrió más del 80% de los decesos ocurridos en el país, principalmente en quienes presentaban comorbilidades. Objetivo: Analizar las condiciones sociodemográficas y ambientales que intervienen en el proceso de desarrollo de perfiles de salud y alimentación de la población adulta mayor de Córdoba, Argentina 2020. Metodología: Estudio epidemiológico de corte transversal, de base poblacional, que incluyó 221 personas adultas mayores (≥ 60 anos) mediante muestreo aleatorizado. A través de entrevista estructurada se indagaron datos sobre condiciones sociodemográficas, ambientales, perfiles de salud y alimentación. Resultados: La edad promedio de los participantes fue de 68 anos. Un 85% reconoció contaminación barrial, siendo el 38% basurales cercanos al domicilio. El 89% manifestaron al menos una enfermedad no transmisible (ENT) o factor de riesgo asociado y el 66% presentó exceso de peso (IMC ≥ 25 kg/m2). Lapresencia de obesidad (IMC ≥ 30 kg/m2) se asoció (OR: 2,05; IC: 1,007-3,922) con el desarrollo de ENT. Solo el 4% de la población cumplió con la recomendación de consumo diario de frutas y verduras. Conclusión: Las características predominantes de perfiles de salud y alimentación asociadas a ENT identificadas, plantean la necesidad de profundizar sobre los determinantes sociales que condicionan el proceso de envejecimiento.Introduction: Demographic trends indicate that population aging is not exclusive to developed countries. Argentina reaches 15.5% of the elderly population. The Covid-19 pandemic has brought to the forefront the public health situation of this population, challenging health systems, with disproportionate impacts on this group, which has suffered more than 80% of the deaths in the country, mainly in those with comorbidities. Objective: To analyze the sociodemographic and environmental conditions involved in the process of development of health and nutrition profiles of the elderly people of Córdoba, Argentina 2020. Methodology: Epidemiological, cross-sectional, population-based study that included 221 elderly people (≥60 years old), through random sampling. Data on sociodemographic and environmental conditions, health and dietary profiles were collected through structured interviews. Results: The average age of the participants was 68 years. Eighty-five percent recognized neighborhood contamination, 38% of them being garbage dumps close to their homes. Eighty-nine percent reported at least one non-communicable disease (NCD) or associated risk factor and 66% were overweight (BMI≥25 kg/m2). The presence of obesity (BMI≥30 kg/m2) was associated (OR = 2.05; CI 1.007–3.922) with the development of NCDs. Only 4% of the population complied with the daily fruit and vegetable consumption recommendation. Conclusion: The predominant characteristics of the health and dietary profiles associated with NCDs identified suggest the need to study in depth the social determinants that condition the aging process.Fil: Abraham, Maria Daniela. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Medicina. Escuela de Nutrición; ArgentinaFil: Massobrio, Esteban. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Medicina. Escuela de Nutrición; ArgentinaFil: Niclis, Camila. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Salud. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Salud; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Medicina. Escuela de Nutrición; ArgentinaFil: Butinof, Mariana. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Medicina. Escuela de Nutrición; ArgentinaFil: Aballay, Laura Rosana. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Medicina. Escuela de Nutrición; Argentin

Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of ticagrelor in the treatment of cardiac ischemia

Introduction: After acute coronary syndromes (ACS), the so-called dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT), which usually consists of low-dose of aspirin in combination with a thienopyridine (clopidogrel, prasugrel) or with a cyclopentyltriazolopyrimidine (ticagrelor), reduces the risk of ischemic events. Ticagrelor, un particular, is an effective drug as it isn' a prodrug, doesn't require metabolic activation and demonstrates a rapid onset and faster offset of action.Areas covered: This article evaluates the pharmacokinetics, efficacy, safety and tolerability of ticagrelor during DAPT after ACS and its potential use beyond the canonical twelve months after PCI. The review discusses studies comparing: ticagrelor and clopidogrel (DISPERSE, DISPERSE-2, PLATO, RESPOND Trial, ONSET/OFFSET Trials), ticagrelor and placebo (PEGASUS TIMI 54 Trial).Expert opinion: For ACS patients, the PLATO trial showed that ticagrelor was superior to clopidogrel in the reduction of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction and stroke. PEGASUS TIMI 54 showed that patients in whom ischemic events and cardiovascular death outweigh the risk of life-threatening bleeding, may benefit from prolonged ticagrelor-based dual antiplatelet therapy, over 12 months. This strategy has been recently approved by the ACC/AHA guidelines. Further studies are needed to evaluate and eventually validate the role of the prolonged DAPT in patients treated with new generation stents