Imaging of Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia

This pictorial review is based on our experience of the follow-up of 120 patients at our multidisciplinary center for hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT). Rendu-Osler-Weber disease or HHT is a multiorgan autosomal dominant disorder with high penetrance, characterized by epistaxis, mucocutaneous telangiectasis, and visceral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). The research on gene mutations is fundamental and family screening by clinical examination, chest X-ray, research of pulmonary shunting, and abdominal color Doppler sonography is absolutely necessary. The angioarchitecture of pulmonary AVMs can be studied by unenhanced multidetector computed tomography; however, all other explorations of liver, digestive bowels, or brain require administration of contrast media. Magnetic resonance angiography is helpful for central nervous system screening, in particular for the spinal cord, but also for pulmonary, hepatic, and pelvic AVMs. Knowledge of the multiorgan involvement of HHT, mechanism of complications, and radiologic findings is fundamental for the correct management of these patients

COVID Isolation Eating Scale (CIES): Analysis of the impact of confinement in eating disorders and obesity-A collaborative international study

Confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to have a serious and complex impact on the mental health of patients with an eating disorder (ED) and of patients with obesity. The present manuscript has the following aims: (1) to analyse the psychometric properties of the COVID Isolation Eating Scale (CIES), (2) to explore changes that occurred due to confinement in eating symptomatology; and (3) to explore the general acceptation of the use of telemedicine during confinement. The sample comprised 121 participants (87 ED patients and 34 patients with obesity) recruited from six different centres. Confirmatory Factor Analyses (CFA) tested the rational-theoretical structure of the CIES. Adequate goodness-of-fit was obtained for the confirmatory factor analysis, and Cronbach alpha values ranged from good to excellent. Regarding the effects of confinement, positive and negative impacts of the confinement depends of the eating disorder subtype. Patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) and with obesity endorsed a positive response to treatment during confinement, no significant changes were found in bulimia nervosa (BN) patients, whereas Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder (OSFED) patients endorsed an increase in eating symptomatology and in psychopathology. Furthermore, AN patients expressed the greatest dissatisfaction and accommodation difficulty with remote therapy when compared with the previously provided face-to-face therapy. The present study provides empirical evidence on the psychometric robustness of the CIES tool and shows that a negative confinement impact was associated with ED subtype, whereas OSFED patients showed the highest impairment in eating symptomatology and in psychopathology.This manuscript and research was supported by grants from the Ministeriode Economía y Competitividad (PSI2015-68701-R), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) (FIS PI14/00290/ INT19/00046nd PI17/01167) and co-funded by FEDER funds/European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), a way to build Europe. CIBERobn, CIBERsam and CIBERDEM are all initiatives of ISCIII. GMB is supported by a postdoctoral grant from FUNCIVA. This initiative is supported by Generalitat de Catalunya. LM is supported by a postdoctoral grant of the mexican institution Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT). PPM was supported, in part, by a Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology grant (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-028145). The funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Out of Their Depth? Isolated Deep Populations of the Cosmopolitan Coral Desmophyllum dianthus May Be Highly Vulnerable to Environmental Change

Deep sea scleractinian corals will be particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, facing loss of up to 70% of their habitat as the Aragonite Saturation Horizon (below which corals are unable to form calcium carbonate skeletons) rises. Persistence of deep sea scleractinian corals will therefore rely on the ability of larvae to disperse to, and colonise, suitable shallow-water habitat. We used DNA sequence data of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS), the mitochondrial ribosomal subunit (16S) and mitochondrial control region (MtC) to determine levels of gene flow both within and among populations of the deep sea coral Desmophyllum dianthus in SE Australia, New Zealand and Chile to assess the ability of corals to disperse into different regions and habitats. We found significant genetic subdivision among the three widely separated geographic regions consistent with isolation and limited contemporary gene flow. Furthermore, corals from different depth strata (shallow <600 m, mid 1000–1500 m, deep >1500 m) even on the same or nearby seamounts were strongly differentiated, indicating limited vertical larval dispersal. Genetic differentiation with depth is consistent with the stratification of the Subantarctic Mode Water, Antarctic Intermediate Water, the Circumpolar Deep and North Pacific Deep Waters in the Southern Ocean, and we propose that coral larvae will be retained within, and rarely migrate among, these water masses. The apparent absence of vertical larval dispersal suggests deep populations of D. dianthus are unlikely to colonise shallow water as the aragonite saturation horizon rises and deep waters become uninhabitable. Similarly, assumptions that deep populations will act as refuges for shallow populations that are impacted by activities such as fishing or mining are also unlikely to hold true. Clearly future environmental management strategies must consider both regional and depth-related isolation of deep-sea coral populations

Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown in Eating Disorders: A Multicentre Collaborative International Study

Background. The COVID-19 lockdown has had a significant impact on mental health. Patients with eating disorders (ED) have been particularly vulnerable. Aims. (1) To explore changes in eating-related symptoms and general psychopathology during lockdown in patients with an ED from various European and Asian countries; and (2) to assess differences related to diagnostic ED subtypes, age, and geography. Methods. The sample comprised 829 participants, diagnosed with an ED according to DSM-5 criteria from specialized ED units in Europe and Asia. Participants were assessed using the COVID-19 Isolation Scale (CIES). Results. Patients with binge eating disorder (BED) experienced the highest impact on weight and ED symptoms in comparison with other ED subtypes during lockdown, whereas individuals with other specified feeding and eating disorders (OFSED) had greater deterioration in general psychological functioning than subjects with other ED subtypes. Finally, Asian and younger individuals appeared to be more resilient. Conclusions. The psychopathological changes in ED patients during the COVID-19 lockdown varied by cultural context and individual variation in age and ED diagnosis. Clinical services may need to target preventive measures and adapt therapeutic approaches for the most vulnerable patients

Desmophyllum dianthus (Esper, 1794) in the scleractinian phylogeny and its intraspecific diversity

© The Author(s), 2012. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in PLoS One 7 (2012): e50215, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0050215.The cosmopolitan solitary deep-water scleractinian coral Desmophyllum dianthus (Esper, 1794) was selected as a representative model species of the polyphyletic Caryophylliidae family to (1) examine phylogenetic relationships with respect to the principal Scleractinia taxa, (2) check population structure, (3) test the widespread connectivity hypothesis and (4) assess the utility of different nuclear and mitochondrial markers currently in use. To carry out these goals, DNA sequence data from nuclear (ITS and 28S) and mitochondrial (16S and COI) markers were analyzed for several coral species and for Mediterranean populations of D. dianthus. Three phylogenetic methodologies (ML, MP and BI), based on data from the four molecular markers, all supported D. dianthus as clearly belonging to the “robust” clade, in which the species Lophelia pertusa and D. dianthus not only grouped together, but also shared haplotypes for some DNA markers. Molecular results also showed shared haplotypes among D. dianthus populations distributed in regions separated by several thousands of kilometers and by clear geographic barriers. These results could reflect limited molecular and morphological taxonomic resolution rather than real widespread connectivity. Additional studies are needed in order to find molecular markers and morphological features able to disentangle the complex phylogenetic relationship in the Order Scleractinia and to differentiate isolated populations, thus avoiding the homoplasy found in some morphological characters that are still considered in the literature.This study was funded by CTM2009-00496 and CGL2011-23306 projects of the “Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación” (Spain). Research at sea was partly supported by the European Commission F. P.VI Project HERMES Contract No. GOCE-CT-2005-511234-1) and the EU F.P. VII Project HERMIONE(contract number no. 226354)