Bilateral thalamic glioma

Bilateral thalamic glioma is a rare type of primary thalamic tumor. It presents clinically with personality changes and dementia rather than mass effect or focal neurological deficit. Imaging findings are somewhat characteristic with the diffuse homogenous enlargement of bilateral thalami with altered attenuation or signal intensity on computerized tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, respectively. This tumor is refractory to radiotherapy and chemotherapy and survival beyond 2 years after diagnosis is rare. This report emphasizes the need of neuroimaging in a patient with dementia to identify this rare devastating tumor early

Eighty-year-old man with 10 years dysphagia

Dysphagia is a sensation of food being "stuck" up in its passage from the mouth to stomach. It is of two main types, oropharyngeal dysphagia, and esophageal dysphagia. In oropharyngeal dysphagia, there is difficulty in transferring the food from the mouth to upper esophagus. Thus, this dysphagia is also called as transfer dysphagia. It occurs within 1 st 1-2 s of the swallow. We also call this dysphagia as instant dysphagia. It is almost always associated with sinobronchial symptoms. The second type of dysphagia is esophageal dysphagia in which there is difficulty in passing the food from upper esophagus to the stomach. The two main mechanisms responsible for dysphagia are either a problem with the motor function of oropharynx or esophagus (neuromuscular causes) or mechanical narrowing of oropharynx or esophagus (mechanical dysphagia). As this dysphagia occurs a little later in the act of swallowing, we can call it delayed dysphagia. The mechanical cause of dysphagia includes benign strictures, malignancies, webs and rings, retropharyngeal abscesses, Zenker′s diverticulum, cricopharyngeal bar, and some vascular causes. We report an 80-year-old male with vascular dysphagia

Effective citric acid and EDTA treatments in cadmium stress tolerance in pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) seedlings by regulating specific gene expression

Soil contamination with toxic environmental pollutants [such as cadmium (Cd)] is becoming a serious global problem due to rapid development of social economy. To improve the growth and yield of a plant, various chelating agents, such as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and citric acid (CA), can be applied to the soil; such application not only increases plant uptake of metals from the soil but also promotes plant absorption of micronutrient fertilizers from the medium. For this purpose, we have conducted a pot experiment using the exogenous application of CA (2.5 mM) and EDTA (2.5 mM) in pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) seedlings grown under the varying levels of Cd (0, 50 and 100 µM) in the soil. M]. Our results depicted that Cd addition to the soil significantly (P \u3c 0.05) decreased plant growth and biomass, gas exchange attributes, and mineral uptake by C. annuum when compared to the plants grown without the addition of Cd. However, Cd toxicity boosted the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by increasing the content of malondialdehyde (MDA), which is the indication of oxidative stress in C. annuum, and was also manifested by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) content and electrolyte leakage to the membrane-bound organelles. The results showed that the activities of various antioxidative enzymes, such as superoxidase dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and their specific gene expression and also the content of non-enzymatic antioxidants, such as phenolic, flavonoid, ascorbic acid, and anthocyanin, initially increased with an increase in the Cd concentration in the soil. The results also revealed that the levels of soluble sugar, reducing sugar, and non-reducing sugar were decreased in plants grown under elevating Cd levels, but the accumulation of the metal in the roots and shoots of C. annuum, was found to be increased. The negative impacts of Cd injury were reduced by the application of EDTA and CA, which increased plant growth and biomass, improved photosynthetic apparatus, antioxidant enzymes and their gene expression, and mineral uptake, as well as diminished the exudation of organic acids and oxidative stress indicators in C. annuum by decreasing Cd toxicity. Here, we conclude that the application of EDTA and CA under the exposure to Cd stress significantly improved plant growth and biomass, photosynthetic pigments, and gas exchange characteristics; regulated antioxidant defense system and essential nutrient uptake; and balanced organic acid exudation pattern in C. annuum

Global report on preterm birth and stillbirth (1 of 7): definitions, description of the burden and opportunities to improve data.

INTRODUCTION: This is the first of seven articles from a preterm birth and stillbirth report. Presented here is an overview of the burden, an assessment of the quality of current estimates, review of trends, and recommendations to improve data. PRETERM BIRTH: Few countries have reliable national preterm birth prevalence data. Globally, an estimated 13 million babies are born before 37 completed weeks of gestation annually. Rates are generally highest in low- and middle-income countries, and increasing in some middle- and high-income countries, particularly the Americas. Preterm birth is the leading direct cause of neonatal death (27%); more than one million preterm newborns die annually. Preterm birth is also the dominant risk factor for neonatal mortality, particularly for deaths due to infections. Long-term impairment is an increasing issue. STILLBIRTH: Stillbirths are currently not included in Millennium Development Goal tracking and remain invisible in global policies. For international comparisons, stillbirths include late fetal deaths weighing more than 1000g or occurring after 28 weeks gestation. Only about 2% of all stillbirths are counted through vital registration and global estimates are based on household surveys or modelling. Two global estimation exercises reached a similar estimate of around three million annually; 99% occur in low- and middle-income countries. One million stillbirths occur during birth. Global stillbirth cause-of-death estimates are impeded by multiple, complex classification systems. RECOMMENDATIONS TO IMPROVE DATA: (1) increase the capture and quality of pregnancy outcome data through household surveys, the main data source for countries with 75% of the global burden; (2) increase compliance with standard definitions of gestational age and stillbirth in routine data collection systems; (3) strengthen existing data collection mechanisms--especially vital registration and facility data--by instituting a standard death certificate for stillbirth and neonatal death linked to revised International Classification of Diseases coding; (4) validate a simple, standardized classification system for stillbirth cause-of-death; and (5) improve systems and tools to capture acute morbidity and long-term impairment outcomes following preterm birth. CONCLUSION: Lack of adequate data hampers visibility, effective policies, and research. Immediate opportunities exist to improve data tracking and reduce the burden of preterm birth and stillbirth