Existe relação da amplitude de distribuição das hemácias com a presença e gravidade da pré-eclâmpsia?

Introduction: Preeclampsia is one of the main causes of the maternal and perinatal mortality all over the world. The relationship between the amplitude of red cells distribution (Red Cell Distribution Width – RDW) and arterial hypertension is already well documented, though there is a shortage of data relating RDW with preeclampsia. Methods: Analytical observational study conducted in the years 2014 and 2015, composed by 108 patients in the study group (50 mild preeclampsia and 58 severe preeclampsia) and 101 patients in the control group. The hemoglobin, RDW, platelets and other hematological indices were measured as part of the automated hemogram. Results: There was no difference in RDW between the pregnant women in the control group and the ones in the mild preeclampsia group (14,68 ± 1,64 vs. 14,22 ± 1,87), the control group and the severe preeclampsia group (14,68 ± 1,64 vs. 14,24 ± 1,78) and the control group and preeclampsia group (14,68 ± 1,64 vs. 14,23 ± 1,81). Conclusion: The levels of maternal serum RDW are not associated with the presence of preeclampsia and the levels of its severity.Dissertação (Mestrado)Introdução: A pré-eclâmpsia é uma das principais causas de mortalidade materna e perinatal em todo o mundo. A relação entre a amplitude de distribuição das hemácias (Red Cell Distribution Width - RDW) e hipertensão arterial já está bem documentada, porém há uma escassez de dados relacionando RDW com pré-eclâmpsia. Material e métodos: Estudo observacional analítico retrospectivo, realizado no período de 2014 e 2015, composto por 108 participantes no grupo de estudo (50 pré-eclâmpsia leve e 58 pré-eclâmpsia grave) e 101 participantes no grupo controle. A hemoglobina, RDW, plaquetas e outros índices hematológicos foram medidos como parte do hemograma automatizado. Resultados: Não houve diferença no RDW entre as gestantes do grupo controle e grupo com pré-eclâmpsia leve (14,68 ± 1,64 vs. 14,22 ± 1,87; p=0,385), grupo controle e grupo com pré-eclâmpsia grave (14,68 ± 1,64 vs. 14,24 ± 1,78; p=0,386) e grupo controle e grupo com pré-eclâmpsia (14,68 ± 1,64 vs. 14,23 ± 1,81; p=0,063). Conclusão: Os níveis de RDW sérico materno não estão associados com a presença da pré-eclâmpsia e os graus de gravidade da doença

Ideas and perspectives : Tracing terrestrial ecosystem water fluxes using hydrogen and oxygen stable isotopes – challenges and opportunities from an interdisciplinary perspective

The authors thank Marialaura Bancheri, Michele Bottazzi, Roman Cibulka, Massimo Esposito, Alba Gallo, Cesar D. Jimenez-Rodriguez, Angelika Kuebert, Ruth Magh, Stefania Mambelli, Alessia Nannoni, Paolo Nasta, Vladimir Rosko, Andrea Rücker, Noelia Saavedra Berlanga, Martin Šanda, and Anna Scaini for their contributions during the discussion at the workshop “Isotope-based studies of water partitioning and plant–soil interactions in forested and agricultural environments”. The authors also thank “Villa Montepaldi” and the University of Florence for the access to the workshop location, and the municipality of San Casciano in Val di Pesa for logistical support. The authors thank the Department of Innovation, Research and University of the Autonomous Province of Bozen/Bolzano for covering the Open Access publication costs. Last, but not least, the authors wish to thank Matthias Sprenger, Stephen Good, and J. Renée Brooks, as well as the Editor David R. Bowling, whose constructive reviews greatly improved this manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Serum IgG against Simian Virus 40 antigens are hampered by high levels of sHLA-G in patients affected by inflammatory neurological diseases, as multiple sclerosis

Background: Many investigators detected the simian polyomavirus SV40 footprints in human brain tumors and neurologic diseases and recently it has been indicated that SV40 seems to be associated with multiple sclerosis (MS) disease. Interestingly, SV40 interacts with human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I molecules for cell entry. HLA class I antigens, in particular non-classical HLA-G molecules, characterized by an immune-regulatory function, are involved in MS disease, and the levels of these molecules are modified according with the disease status. Objective: We investigated in serum samples, from Italian patients affected by MS, other inflammatory diseases (OIND), non-inflammatory neurological diseases (NIND) and healthy subjects (HS), SV40-antibody and soluble sHLA-G and the association between SV40-prevalence and sHLA-G levels. Methods: ELISA tests were used for SV40-antibodies detection and sHLA-G quantitation in serum samples. Results: The presence of SV40 antibodies was observed in 6 % of patients affected by MS (N = 4/63), 10 % of OIND (N = 8/77) and 15 % of NIND (N = 9/59), which is suggestive of a lower prevalence in respect to HS (22 %, N = 18/83). MS patients are characterized by higher sHLA-G serum levels (13.9 \ub1 0.9 ng/ml; mean \ub1 St. Error) in comparison with OIND (6.7 \ub1 0.8 ng/ml), NIND (2.9 \ub1 0.4 ng/ml) and HS (2.6 \ub1 0.7 ng/ml) subjects. Interestingly, we observed an inverse correlation between SV40 antibody prevalence and sHLA-G serum levels in MS patients. Conclusion: The data obtained showed a low prevalence of SV40 antibodies in MS patients. These results seems to be due to a generalized status of inability to counteract SV40 infection via antibody production. In particular, we hypothesize that SV40 immune-inhibitory direct effect and the presence of high levels of the immune-inhibitory HLA-G molecules could co-operate in impairing B lymphocyte activation towards SV40 specific peptides

Disease-Modifying Therapies and Coronavirus Disease 2019 Severity in Multiple Sclerosis

Objective: This study was undertaken to assess the impact of immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory therapies on the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS). Methods: We retrospectively collected data of PwMS with suspected or confirmed COVID-19. All the patients had complete follow-up to death or recovery. Severe COVID-19 was defined by a 3-level variable: mild disease not requiring hospitalization versus pneumonia or hospitalization versus intensive care unit (ICU) admission or death. We evaluated baseline characteristics and MS therapies associated with severe COVID-19 by multivariate and propensity score (PS)-weighted ordinal logistic models. Sensitivity analyses were run to confirm the results. Results: Of 844 PwMS with suspected (n = 565) or confirmed (n = 279) COVID-19, 13 (1.54%) died; 11 of them were in a progressive MS phase, and 8 were without any therapy. Thirty-eight (4.5%) were admitted to an ICU; 99 (11.7%) had radiologically documented pneumonia; 96 (11.4%) were hospitalized. After adjusting for region, age, sex, progressive MS course, Expanded Disability Status Scale, disease duration, body mass index, comorbidities, and recent methylprednisolone use, therapy with an anti-CD20 agent (ocrelizumab or rituximab) was significantly associated (odds ratio [OR] = 2.37, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.18\u20134.74, p = 0.015) with increased risk of severe COVID-19. Recent use (<1 month) of methylprednisolone was also associated with a worse outcome (OR = 5.24, 95% CI = 2.20\u201312.53, p = 0.001). Results were confirmed by the PS-weighted analysis and by all the sensitivity analyses. Interpretation: This study showed an acceptable level of safety of therapies with a broad array of mechanisms of action. However, some specific elements of risk emerged. These will need to be considered while the COVID-19 pandemic persists. ANN NEUROL 2021;89:780\u2013789

DMTs and Covid-19 severity in MS: a pooled analysis from Italy and France

We evaluated the effect of DMTs on Covid-19 severity in patients with MS, with a pooled-analysis of two large cohorts from Italy and France. The association of baseline characteristics and DMTs with Covid-19 severity was assessed by multivariate ordinal-logistic models and pooled by a fixed-effect meta-analysis. 1066 patients with MS from Italy and 721 from France were included. In the multivariate model, anti-CD20 therapies were significantly associated (OR = 2.05, 95%CI = 1.39–3.02, p < 0.001) with Covid-19 severity, whereas interferon indicated a decreased risk (OR = 0.42, 95%CI = 0.18–0.99, p = 0.047). This pooled-analysis confirms an increased risk of severe Covid-19 in patients on anti-CD20 therapies and supports the protective role of interferon

Super Spatial Resolution (SSR) method for scintigraphic imaging

Super SpatialResolution(SSR)methodforscintigraphicimaging G. Trinci a,b, R.Massari a,b, M.Scandellari a, F.Scopinaro c, A.Soluri a,b,n a Institute ofBiomedicalEngineering,CNR,Rome,Italy b Li-tech S.p.A.,Monterotndo,Rome,Italy c Nuclear Medicine,‘‘Sapienza’’UniversityofRome,Italy a r t i c l e info Article history: Received 26May2010 Received inrevisedform 14 October2010 Accepted 17October2010 Keywords:: Nuclear medicineimaging Super SpatialResolution Spatial Resolution High ResolutionGammaCamera Position SensitivePhotomultiplierTube a b s t r a c t This workdescribesaninnovativepatentedSuperSpatialResolution(SSR)methodappliedto scintigraphicdevices.TheaimofSuperResolution(SR)techniquesistoenhancetheresolutionofan imagingsystem,usinginformationfromseveralimages.SRreconstructionmaybeconsideredasasecond generationproblemofImageRestoration.ItcombinesseveralslightlydifferentLowResolution(LR) images toobtainaHighResolution(HR)image.SRtechniquesare,widely,describedinscientificliterature mainlyforapplicationsinvideocommunication,objectrecognitionandimagecompression. In thispaperwefocustoapplytheSRtasktothescintigraphicimaging.Specifically,itisdescribedasa patentedmethodthatusesaHighResolutionScintigraphicCamera(HRSC)tocollectandprocessasetof scintigraphicimages,inviewofobtainingaveryhighresolutionimage. The HRSCdevice,whichiscurrentlyusedinMedicalImaging,isbasedonaparallelsquareholes collimatorandonaHamamatsuH8500PositionSensitivePhotomultiplierTubes(PSPMT). The SSRmethodisappliedtothesyntheticimagesofthreedifferentphantoms,toverifytheeffective spatialresolutionvalues.Theresultsconfirmthatitispossibletoachieveoptimalspatialresolutionvalues at differentdepths,usefulinsmallobjectandsmallanimalimaging. Our studyconfirmsthefeasibilityofaveryhighresolutionsysteminscintigraphicimagingandthe possibilitytohavegammacamerasusingtheSSRmethod,toperformclinicalapplicationsonpatients. & 2010 ElsevierB.V.Allrightsreserve