Quantitative Kinematic Characterization of Reaching Impairments in Mice After a Stroke

Background and Objective. Kinematic analysis of reaching movements is increasingly used to evaluate upper extremity function after cerebrovascular insults in humans and has also been applied to rodent models. Such analyses can require time-consuming frame-by-frame inspections and are affected by the experimenter's bias. In this study, we introduce a semi-automated algorithm for tracking forepaw movements in mice. This methodology allows us to calculate several kinematic measures for the quantitative assessment of performance in a skilled reaching task before and after a focal cortical stroke. Methods. Mice were trained to reach for food pellets with their preferred paw until asymptotic performance was achieved. Photothrombosis was then applied to induce a focal ischemic injury in the motor cortex, contralateral to the trained limb. Mice were tested again once a week for 30 days. A high frame rate camera was used to record the movements of the paw, which was painted with a nontoxic dye. An algorithm was then applied off-line to track the trajectories and to compute kinematic measures for motor performance evaluation. Results. The tracking algorithm proved to be fast, accurate, and robust. A number of kinematic measures were identified as sensitive indicators of poststroke modifications. Based on end-point measures, ischemic mice appeared to improve their motor performance after 2 weeks. However, kinematic analysis revealed the persistence of specific trajectory adjustments up to 30 days poststroke, indicating the use of compensatory strategies. Conclusions. These results support the use of kinematic analysis in mice as a tool for both detection of poststroke functional impairments and tracking of motor improvements following rehabilitation. Similar studies could be performed in parallel with human studies to exploit the translational value of this skilled reaching analysis

A rat decellularized small bowel scaffold that preserves villus-crypt architecture for intestinal regeneration.

Management of intestinal failure remains a clinical challenge and total parenteral nutrition, intestinal elongation and/or transplantation are partial solutions. In this study, using a detergent-enzymatic treatment (DET), we optimize in rats a new protocol that creates a natural intestinal scaffold, as a base for developing functional intestinal tissue. After 1 cycle of DET, histological examination and SEM and TEM analyses showed removal of cellular elements with preservation of the native architecture and connective tissue components. Maintenance of biomechanical, adhesion and angiogenic properties were also demonstrated strengthen the idea that matrices obtained using DET may represent a valid support for intestinal regeneration

Activation of Regulatory T Cells during Inflammatory Response Is Not an Exclusive Property of Stem Cells

BACKGROUND: Sepsis and systemic-inflammatory-response-syndrome (SIRS) remain major causes for fatalities on intensive care units despite up-to-date therapy. It is well accepted that stem cells have immunomodulatory properties during inflammation and sepsis, including the activation of regulatory T cells and the attenuation of distant organ damage. Evidence from recent work suggests that these properties may not be exclusively attributed to stem cells. This study was designed to evaluate the immunomodulatory potency of cellular treatment during acute inflammation in a model of sublethal endotoxemia and to investigate the hypothesis that immunomodulations by cellular treatment during inflammatory response is not stem cell specific. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Endotoxemia was induced via intra-peritoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in wild type mice (C3H/HeN). Mice were treated with either vital or homogenized amniotic fluid stem cells (AFS) and sacrificed for specimen collection 24 h after LPS injection. Endpoints were plasma cytokine levels (BD™ Cytometric Bead Arrays), T cell subpopulations (flow-cytometry) and pulmonary neutrophil influx (immunohistochemistry). To define stem cell specific effects, treatment with either vital or homogenized human-embryonic-kidney-cells (HEK) was investigated in a second subset of experiments. Mice treated with homogenized AFS cells showed significantly increased percentages of regulatory T cells and Interleukin-2 as well as decreased amounts of pulmonary neutrophils compared to saline-treated controls. These results could be reproduced in mice treated with vital HEK cells. No further differences were observed between plasma cytokine levels of endotoxemic mice. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The results revealed that both AFS and HEK cells modulate cellular immune response and distant organ damage during sublethal endotoxemia. The observed effects support the hypothesis, that immunomodulations are not exclusive attributes of stem cells

Age-related modifications of muscle synergies and spinal cord activity during locomotion

Recent findings have shown that neural circuits located in the spinal cord drive muscular activations during locomotion while intermediating between descending signals and peripheral sensory information. This relationship could be modified by the natural aging process. To address this issue, the activity of twelve ipsilateral leg muscles was analyzed in young and elderly people (7 subjects per group) while walking at six different cadences (40-140 steps/min). These signals were used to extract synergies underlying muscle activation and to map the motoneuronal activity of the pools belonging to the lumbosacral enlargement (L2-S2). The comparison between the two groups showed that neither temporal patterning of motor primitives nor muscles loading synergies seemed to be significantly affected by aging. Conversely, as the cadence increased, spinal maps differ significantly between the groups, showing higher and scattered activity during the whole gait cycle in elders and well defined bursts in young subjects. The results suggested that motor primitives lead the synchronization of muscle activation mainly depending on the biomechanical demand of the locomotion; hence, they are not significantly affected by aging. Nevertheless, at the spinal cord level, biomechanical requirements, peripheral afference and descending inputs are differently integrated between the two groups, probably reflecting age-related changes of both nervous system and motor control strategies during locomotion

The role of non-invasive imaging modalities in cardiac allograft vasculopathy: an updated focus on current evidences

Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) is an obliterative and diffuse form of vasculopathy affecting almost 50% of patients after 10 years from heart transplant and represents the most common cause of long-term cardiovascular mortality among heart transplant recipients. The gold standard diagnostic technique is still invasive coronary angiography, which however holds potential for complications, especially contrast-related kidney injury and procedure-related vascular lesions. Non-invasive and contrast-sparing imaging techniques have been advocated and investigated over the past decades, in order to identify those that could replace coronary angiography or at least reach comparable accuracy in CAV detection. In addition, they could help the clinician in defining optimal timing for invasive testing. This review attempts to examine the currently available non-invasive imaging techniques that may be used in the follow-up of heart transplant patients, spanning from echocardiography to nuclear imaging, cardiac magnetic resonance and cardiac computed tomography angiography, weighting their advantages and disadvantages

The fat anchor orchiopexy technique: results and outcomes from 150 cases surgical experience

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to evaluate results and outcomes in a long-time follow-up period, by performing a novel testicular fixation procedure, known as “fat anchor orchidopexy” (FAO), for the treatment of palpable low inguinal undescended testis. Materials and methods: We retrospectively reviewed all patients who underwent scrotal orchiopexy technique, from May 2013 to May 2019, at the Pediatric Surgery Division of Department of Surgical Pathology, University of Pisa (Italy). FAO (Spinelli’s technique) consists in anchoring the testicles to sub-scrotal fat with a single trans-scrotal incision. All the patients enrolled had history of unilateral or bilateral undescended testis. Data collected included patient’s age, operative times and complications. Results: A total of 150 children with cryptorchidism were treated using a single trans-scrotal orchiopexy. Of them, 130 patients (86.7%) had unilateral undescended testis and 20 (13.3%) bilateral cryptorchidism. Mean patient’s age was 21 months (range: 14–28 months). All the procedures were planned in a day-surgery setting. Trans-scrotal orchiopexy was successful in all cases and no patients required an additional groin incision. No intraoperatively and postoperatively major complications were observed. Patients’ post-operative pain was mild (mean pediatric visual analog scale = 2). In all cases, the healing process was rapid and no surgical wounds infections were reported during the post-operative period, referring excellent cosmesis results. During a mean 48-month follow-up period, no testicular retraction, recurrence or testis atrophy was reported. Conclusion: The original Spinelli’s technique (FAO) proves to be a safe and effective method for the treatment of palpable or distal-to-external-inguinal-ring testes. No immediate and delayed post-surgery complications were reported. In all cases, the anchored testicle remained in the scrotal position with normal vascularization. This novel surgical technique could give better options for scrotal fixation in case of low-lying cryptorchid testes

Acute respiratory distress for late-presenting congenital diaphragmatic hernia

Abstract Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) presents a wide spectrum of anatomical variants and clinical pictures depending on the topography and dimensions of the diaphragmatic defect and on the patient age. Most CDH cases acutely present with tachypnea, cyanosis, and respiratory failure within the first minutes to hours of life. Despite significant advances in neonatal medicine, this congenital anomaly still presents a high mortality rate, especially for associated malformations. On the other hand, there is a rare subset of CDH patients who present outside the neonatal period. The most common symptoms of late-presenting CDH include recurrent pulmonary infections, dyspnea, wheezing, abdominal pain, failure to thrive, vomiting, diarrhea and anorexia. Although late-presenting CDH generally presents good prognosis after early surgical correction, misdiagnosis is quite frequent because of its wide spectrum of clinical manifestations. The following case report describes a six-month-old infant presenting with acute respiratory distress and vomiting caused by late-presenting left-sided CDH