An Intercellular Flow of Glutathione Regulated by Interleukin 6 Links Astrocytes and the Liver in the Pathophysiology of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Oxidative stress has been proposed as a major mechanism of damage to motor neurons associated with the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Astrocytes are the most numerous glial cells in the central nervous system and, under physiological conditions, protect neurons from oxidative damage. However, it is uncertain how their reactive phenotype may affect motor neurons during ALS progression. In two different ALS mouse models (SOD1G93A and FUS-R521C), we found that increased levels of proinflammatory interleukin 6 facilitate glutathione (GSH) release from the liver to blood circulation, which can reach the astrocytes and be channeled towards motor neurons as a mechanism of antioxidant protection. Nevertheless, although ALS progression is associated with an increase in GSH efflux from astrocytes, generation of reactive oxygen species also increases, suggesting that as the disease progresses, astrocyte-derived oxidative stress could be key to motor-neuron damage

Cost-Effective eHealth System Based on a Multi-Sensor System-on-Chip Platform and Data Fusion in Cloud for Sport Activity Monitoring

eHealth systems provide medical support to users and contribute to the development of mobile and quality health care. They also provide results on the prevention and follow-up of diseases by monitoring health-status indicators and methodical data gathering in patients. Telematic management of health services by means of the Internet of Things provides immediate support and it is cheaper than conventional physical presence methods. Currently, wireless communications and sensor networks allow a person or group to be monitored remotely. The aim of this paper is to develop and assess a system for monitoring physiological parameters to be applied in different scenarios, such as health or sports. This system is based on a distributed architecture, where physiological data of a person are collected by several sensors; next, a Raspberry Pi joins the information and makes a standardization process; then, these data are sent to the Cloud to be processed. Our Cloud system stores the received data and makes a data fusion process in order to indicate the athlete's fatigue status at every moment. This system has been tested in collaboration with a small group of voluntary tri-athletes. A network simulation has been performed to plan a monitoring network for a bigger group of athletes. Finally, we have found that this system is useful for medium-term monitoring of the sports activitie

Métodos no radiológicos para la valoración de las deformidades del raquis

La escoliosis y otras deformidades de la columna vertebral clásicamente son evaluadas para su diagnóstico y seguimiento mediante métodos radiográficos. El problema radica en los efectos nocivos de dosis repetidas de radiación ionizante en los pacientes en crecimiento, así como en el hecho de que el método de Cobb radiográfico no caracteriza por sí solo la deformidad vertebral, ya que depende de otros factores. Se presenta una revisión actualizada sobre nuevas técnicas no invasivas que han surgido a lo largo de los últimos veinte años para la evaluación de las deformidades vertebrales con el objetivo de complementar y sustituir, al menos parcialmente, los estudios radiográficosScoliosis and other deformities of spine are typically evaluated for diagnosis and follow-through with radiographic methods. The problem lies in the deleterious effects of repeated doses of ionizing radiation in patients on growth and in the fact that radiographic Cobb method can’t characterize alone the spinal deformity, as it depends on other factors. An update on new non-invasive techniques that have emerged over the last twenty years for the assessment of vertebral deformities in order to complement and, at least partially, to replace radiographic studies is presente

Revisión y actualización de la eficacia del screening o cribado en la escoliosis idiopática del adolescente.

La escoliosis idiopática del adolescente es el tipo más frecuente de escoliosis. Actualmente, la realización rutinaria de un "screening" o cribado para la escoliosis resulta ser un tema controvertido puesto que existen dudas sobre su eficacia real en disminuir la tasa de cirugía en estos pacientes y supone una importante tasa de falsos positivos. Se realiza, por ello, una revisión y actualización sobre el tema del "screening" en la escoliosis idiopática del adolescente.Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis is the most common type of scoliosis. Nowadays, routine screening in scoliosis turns out to be controversial as to there are doubts about its actual effectiveness in reducing the rate of surgery in these patients and its significant rate of false positives. Therefore, a review and update on the current status of the issue of screening in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis is made

Quantitative Analysis of Real-Time Infrared Thermography for the Assessment of Lumbar Sympathetic Blocks: A Preliminary Study

[EN] Lumbar sympathetic blocks (LSBs) are commonly performed to treat pain ailments in the lower limbs. LSBs involve injecting local anesthetic around the nerves. The injection is guided by fluoroscopy which is sometimes considered to be insufficiently accurate. The main aim was to analyze the plantar foot skin temperature data acquired while performing LSBs in patients with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) affecting the lower limbs. Forty-four LSBs for treating lower limb CRPS in 13 patients were assessed. Pain medicine physicians visualized the infrared thermography (IRT) video in real time and classified the performance depending on the observed thermal changes within the first 4 min. Thirty-two percent of the cases did not register temperature variations after lidocaine was injected, requiring the needle to be relocated. Differences between moments are indicated using the 95% confidence intervals of the differences (CI 95%), the Cohen effect size (ES) and the significance (p value). In successful cases, after injecting lidocaine, increases at minute 7 for the mean (CI 95% (1.4, 2.1 °C), p < 0.001 and ES = 0.5), at minute 5 for maximum temperature (CI 95% (2.3, 3.3 °C), p < 0.001 and ES = 0.6) and at minute 6 for SD (CI 95% (0.2, 0.3 °C), p < 0.001 and ES = 0.5) were observed. The results of our preliminary study showed that the measurement of skin temperature in real time by infrared thermography is valuable for assessing the success of lumbar sympathetic blocks.Cañada-Soriano, M.; Priego-Quesada, JI.; Bovaira, M.; García-Vitoria, C.; Salvador Palmer, R.; Ortiz De Anda, RC.; Moratal, D. (2021). Quantitative Analysis of Real-Time Infrared Thermography for the Assessment of Lumbar Sympathetic Blocks: A Preliminary Study. Sensors. 21(11):1-17. https://doi.org/10.3390/s21113573S117211

Oxidative Stress, Neuroinflammation and Mitochondria in the Pathophysiology of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive motor neuron (MN) disease. Its primary cause remains elusive, although a combination of different causal factors cannot be ruled out. There is no cure, and prognosis is poor. Most patients with ALS die due to disease-related complications, such as respiratory failure, within three years of diagnosis. While the underlying mechanisms are unclear, different cell types (microglia, astrocytes, macrophages and T cell subsets) appear to play key roles in the pathophysiology of the disease. Neuroinflammation and oxidative stress pave the way leading to neurodegeneration and MN death. ALS-associated mitochondrial dysfunction occurs at different levels, and these organelles are involved in the mechanism of MN death. Molecular and cellular interactions are presented here as a sequential cascade of events. Based on our present knowledge, the discussion leads to the idea that feasible therapeutic strategies should focus in interfering with the pathophysiology of the disease at different steps

Footwear outsole temperature may be more related to plantar pressure during a prolonged run than foot temperature

Objective: The temperature of the sole of the foot has been suggested as an alternative to the measurement of plantar pressure during running despite the scarce evidence about their relationship. The temperature of the footwear outsole could also be representative of plantar pressure distribution due to its less multifactorial dependence. The aim of the study was to determine if plantar pressure during a prolonged run could be related to plantar temperature, either of the sole of the foot or the footwear outsole. Approach: Thirty recreational runners (15 males and 15 females) performed a 30-minute running test on a treadmill. Thermographic images of the sole of the foot and the footwear outsole were taken before and immediately after the test, and dynamic plantar pressure was measured at the end of the test. Pearson correlations and stepwise multiple linear regressions were performed. Main results: Plantar pressure percentage was related to a moderate correlation with plantar temperature percentage in forefoot and rearfoot (P<0.05), showing a greater relationship with the footwear outsole than with the sole of the foot (r=0.52–0.73 vs r=0.40–0.61, respectively). Moreover, moderate correlations were also observed between footwear outsole and sole of the foot temperature variables, especially in rearfoot. Significance: Footwear outsole temperature may be better related to plantar pressure distribution than sole of the foot temperature, in the forefoot and rearfoot. The midfoot is the most sensitive and variable region to analyze, as it does not seem to have any relationship with plantar pressure

Correlation between Topographic Parameters Obtained by Back Surface Topography Based on Structured Light and Radiographic Variables in the Assessment of Back Morphology in Young Patients with Idiopathic Scoliosis

Study DesignOptical cross-sectional study.PurposeTo study the correlation between asymmetry of the back (measured by means of surface topography) and deformity of the spine (quantified by the Cobb angle).Overview of LiteratureThe Cobb angle is considered the gold standard in diagnosis and follow-up of scoliosis but does not correctly characterize the three-dimensional deformity of scoliosis. Furthermore, the exposure to ionizing radiation may cause harmful effects particularly during the growth stage, including breast cancer and other tumors.MethodsPatients aged 13.15±1.96 years (range, 7–17 years; n=88) with Cobb angle greater than 10° were evaluated with X-rays and our back surface topography method through three variables: axial plane (DHOPI), coronal plane (POTSI), and profile plane (PC). Pearson's correlation was applied to determine the correlation between topographic and radiographic variables. One-way analysis of variance and Bonferroni correction were used to compare groups with different grades of scoliosis. Significance was set at p<0.01 and, in some cases, at p<0.05.ResultsWe detected a positive, statistically significant correlation between Cobb angle with DHOPI (r=0.810) and POTSI (r=0.629) and between PC variables with thoracic kyphosis angle (r=0.453) and lordosis lumbar angle (r=0.275). In addition, we found statistically significant differences for DHOPI and POTSI variables according to the grade of scoliosis.ConclusionsAlthough the back surface topography method cannot substitute for radiographs in the diagnosis of scoliosis, correlations between radiographic and topographic parameters suggest that it offers additional quantitative data that may complement radiologic study

Association between physiological stress and skin temperature response after a half marathon

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine the association between skin temperature response and the physiological stress after a half marathon. APPROACH: Seventeen runners were measured 48 h before, 24 h before, 24 h after and 48 h after completing a half marathon. The measurements on each day of testing included blood markers (creatine kinase [CK] and glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase [GOT]), perception of pain and fatigue (using a visual analogue scale), skin temperature (using infrared thermography), and jump performance (using countermovement jump test). MAIN RESULTS: CK (p     1.0) increased 24 h after the half marathon, whereas jump performance decreased (p   <  0.01 and ES  =  0.4). No increase of skin temperature was observed in the tests after the competition and no regression model was able to predict physiological stress using skin temperature. Only a bivariate correlation was observed between the 24 h variation (pre-24 h) of CK and the skin temperature of the posterior upper limb (p   =  0.04 and r  =  0.5), and between the 48 h variation (pre-48 h) of pain perceived and the skin temperature of the knee (p   <  0.01 and r  =  0.6). SIGNIFICANCE: In conclusion, follow-up on basal skin temperatures does not seem to be an adequate method to detect physiological stress after a half marathon. In line with the observed results, we recommend caution when interpreting peaks in basal skin temperature in field sports assessments

Estudio de las deformidades de la columna vertebral mediante la topografía de superficie de la espalda basada en luz estructurada

Actualmente, la prueba “gold estándar” para el diagnóstico de la escoliosis y otras deformidades de la columna vertebral es la radiografía de raquis completo (ángulo de Cobb), pero este método presenta una serie de limitaciones ya que no caracteriza completamente la deformidad tridimensional del raquis y puede conllevar, en dosis repetidas, graves riesgos para la salud. Por estos motivos, se presenta un nuevo método óptico, no invasivo, de topografía de superficie de espalda basada en luz estructurada para el estudio de las deformidades vertebrales, que permite cuantificar las asimetrías de la forma de la espalda en los tres planos del espacio mediante tres variables topográficas: DHOPI, POTSI y PC. Esta técnica puede tener gran utilidad clínica como complementaria al estudio radiográficoCurrently the gold standard test for the diagnosis of scoliosis and other spinal deformities is the full-spine radiograph (Cobb angle). However this method has a number of limitations since it does not fully characterize the three-dimensional deformation of the spine resulting in some cases, in unnecessary repeated doses, which could cause serious health risks. Therefore, a new non-invasive optical method to assess the topography of the back has been developed. This method is based on structured light and it has been used in this study to evaluate spinal deformities. The method quantifies the asymmetry of the back in three planes of space using three topographic variables: DHOPI, POTSI and PC. This technique might be of the greatest clinical utility as a complementary method to the radiographic study