30 research outputs found

    Abstract 1122‐000124: Dural Arteriovenous Fistula and Implications in Aneurysmal Genesis

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    Introduction: There is a reported association of cerebral arteriovenous malformations and aneurysms, however, data regarding patients presenting with dural arteriovenous fistulas (dAVF) and aneurysms is limited. Here, we present a patient who was incidentally diagnosed with 2 aneurysms in addition to a dAVF; and her treatment course. Previous to her diagnosis, she denied any and all symptomatology that would prompt further evaluation. Methods: Case description: 60‐year‐old female with history of hypertension, hypothyroidism and gastroesophageal reflux disease who initially presented to an outside hospital after a motor vehicle collision in 2016, at that time she reports being diagnosed with multiple aneurysms; but was lost to follow up. In 2020 she was referred to interventional neuroradiology and underwent diagnostic digital cerebral angiogram. Which reported a 13 × 12 × 13.3 mm left para‐ophthalmic internal carotid artery (ICA) aneurysm with a 7 mm neck. A 5.7 × 7.7 × 6.1 mm basilar tip artery aneurysm with a 5.6 mm neck and a right Cognard type four occipital dAVF, with feeding vessels from the right posterior cerebral artery and right occipital artery and anterograde drainage to the dural sinuses. From the time of diagnosis to the initiation of interventions, patient denied any concerning symptomatology. Treatment was initiated 4 months after diagnostic angiogram. She received 5 days of Dual Antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) with aspirin and Plavix previous to the deployment of a woven endobridge device (WEBℱ 8‐3mm) into the basilar tip aneurysm; as this was felt to be the aneurysm with highest probability of rupture. Post‐operative course was unremarkable and DAPT was discontinued. Three months after WEBℱ deployment, the patient underwent embolization of the right occipital dAVF with a liquid embolic agent (onyxℱ). Post operatively, she developed decreased peripheral vision in her left eye, though the rest of her hospitalization was unremarkable. 3 months after embolization, she underwent left para‐ophthalmic artery aneurysm flow diversion with a pipelineℱ (4‐18mm) flow diverter, with an uncomplicated admission. She was subsequently evaluated by neuro‐ophthalmology who has reported a stable peripheral left eye left inferior quadrantic defect along with a supertemporal defect in her right eye. Results: Discussion: Interestingly, the patient presented 2 aneurysms, one in the anterior circulation and the most concerning, located in the posterior circulation. One could draw conclusions that the dAVF was associated with the basilar aneurysm. As dAVFs are acquired lesions, it is feasible to assume that there may be an association between both types of lesions, perhaps due to flow or pressure being exerted on weakened vessel walls, thus leading to aneurysmal formation. Conclusions: Conclusion: Because a potential for implication in the flow dynamics of the dAVF in aneurysmal formation. We have opted to use computational fluid dynamics to analyze said flow within the dAVF to better understand the causal relationship between aneurysms and dural fistulae. In the long run research into genesis of aneurysms secondary to coexisting vascular lesions could further elucidate the mechanisms by which aneurysms develop

    Role of IL-10 in immune suppression in cervical cancer

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    350-356Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in the women worldwide and the most frequent in developing countries, including India. Human papilloma virus (HPV) is the major etiological factor in cervical cancer patients. Host factors are also critical in regulating tumor growth and cytokines that modulate immunologic control may be of particular importance. In the present study, we investigated the correlation between the presence of HPV and type of cytokines expressed in cervical carcinomas and attempted to elucidate the possible reasons for the immune suppression. Cytokines investigated were type-1 cytokine IFN-ϒ (shows immunostimulatory function and capable of limiting tumor growth) and type-2 cytokines IL-4, IL-10 and IL-6 (show immunosuppressive function and capable of stimulating tumor growth). Our data demonstrated the presence of HPV sub-types 16 and 18 in 86% and 13.8% of cervical tumor biopsies, respectively. The cervical tumor biopsies showed increased presence for mRNA for IL-10 and IL-1α, while none of the biopsies showed expression for IFN-ϒ. A correlation was observed between the presence of HPV in cervical tumor biopsies and mRNA for IL-10. Increased percentages of CD4âșCD25âș regulatory T cells (Tregs) were observed in circulation in cervical cancer patients, providing evidence for increased immune suppression. IL-10 may play a key role in maintenance of Tregs and explains the immunosuppressive state of cervical cancer patients

    CNN based color balancing and denoising technique for underwater images: CNN-CBDT

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    Underwater image deteriorates due to the scattering effect of light in the water. The challenging factor in underwater image analysis is the blurring of the image and color distortion. Various techniques were explored to offer solutions for underwater image restoration. But, still, it has some regression exists in these techniques. This proposal introduces the deep CNN-based color balancing and denoising technique (CNN-CBDT) to enhance underwater images. One of the advantages of underwater characteristics is color, mostly green and blue. Due to its low color contrast, the image exists in fuzzy nature. CNN-based CBDT restores the image with the help ReLU unit in the CNN. Lastly, the suggested method's cutting-edge performance is validated by comparing experimental findings to GLNet, Histeq, and ACE algorithms in conditions of structural similarity (SSIM), peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR), structural similarity (SSIM), UCIQE, and UIQM. The suggested approach eliminates the impact of underwater elements, enhancing the color of the picture. It enhances PSNR by 17% having the highest value of 19.580 and SSIM by 15% having a value of 0.952. To make it applicable to real robots, the computation speed is calculated. As a result, the proposed method achieved a computation speed of 9.868 frames per second

    MR Diffusion Tractography to Identify and Characterize Microstructural White Matter Tract Changes in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Patients

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    Purpose Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a predominantly female autoimmune disease that can affect the central nervous system. Neuropsychiatric symptoms are found in 25–70% of SLE patients. Using diffusion tensor imaging, various studies have reported changes in white matter integrity in SLE patients with neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPSLE patients). The purpose of this study was to investigate if changes can be detected in the individual white matter tracts in SLE patients regardless if neuropsychiatric symptoms are present or not. Materials and Methods Magnetic resonance diffusion tractography in several individual white matter tracts that are involved in language and memory tasks, including tracts to cortical association areas, was applied in 21 patients with NPSLE (mean age: 40.7 ± 12.8 years; range: 22–67 years), 18 patients with non-neurologic systemic lupus erythematosus (non-NPSLE) (mean age: 40.6 ± 12 years; range: 22–67 years), and 20 healthy control (HC) individuals (mean age: 40.64 ± 12.7 years; range: 19–60 years). Additional patients were evaluated; however, because of the inability to complete the scans required, they were excluded from the study. The fractional anisotropy of individual fiber tracts was measured and correlated with cognitive function and lupus disease severity index (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index [SLEDAI]) to assess predictability and diagnostic value of these measures for NPSLE. Results Analyses of variance of the tractography data from the analysis of 21 tracts revealed decreased fractional anisotropy in uncinate fasciculus in the NPSLE patients when compared to non-NPSLE lupus patients and HC individuals (P = 0.002). Non-NPSLE patients also demonstrated decreased fractional anisotropy when compared to healthy patients (P = 0.03). Decreased fractional anisotropy was also identified in the corpus callosum and corona radiata in NPSLE patients when compared to HC individuals; however, these tracts did not show a significant difference between NPSLE and non-NPSLE patients. Decreased fractional anisotropy in the uncinate fasciculus correlated with low SLEDAI score (R2 = 0.32). Conclusions Diffusion tensor tractography corroborates findings of decreased white matter integrity within the anterior corona radiate as well as the corpus callosum as previously described. Specifically, our study identified changes in the uncinate fasciculus in NPSLE and non-NPSLE patients that correlate with clinical changes (SLEDAI scores) and are independent of conventional T2 lesion burden

    To start or to complete? – Challenges in implementing tuberculosis preventive therapy among people living with HIV: a mixed-methods study from Karnataka, India

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    Background: Isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT) has been shown to reduce the risk of tuberculosis (TB) among people living with HIV (PLHIV). In 2017, India began a nationwide roll-out of IPT, but there is a lack of evidence on the implementation and the challenges. Objectives: Among PLHIV newly initiated on antiretroviral therapy (ART) from January 2017 to June 2018, to: (i) assess the proportion who started and completed IPT and (ii) explore reasons for non-initiation and non-completion from health-care providers’ and patients’ perspectives. Methods: An explanatory mixed-methods study was conducted in two selected districts of Karnataka, South India. A quantitative phase (cohort analysis of routinely collected program data) was followed by a qualitative phase involving thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with providers (n = 22) and patients (n = 8). Results: Of the 4020 included PLHIV, 3780 (94%) were eligible for IPT, of whom, 1496 (40%, 95% CI: 38%-41%) were initiated on IPT. Among those initiated, 423 (28.3%) were still on IPT at the time of analysis. Among 1073 patients with declared IPT outcomes 870 (81%, 95% CI: 79%-83%) had completed the six-month course of IPT. The main reason for IPT non-initiation and non-completion was frequent drug stock-outs. This required health-care providers to restrict IPT initiation in selected patient subgroups and earmark six-monthly courses for each patient to ensure that, once started, treatment was not interrupted. The other reasons for non-completion were adverse drug effects and loss to follow-up. Conclusion: The combined picture of ‘low IPT initiation and high completion’ seen in our study mirrors findings from other countries. Drug stock-out was the key challenge, which obliged health-care providers to prioritize ‘IPT completion’ over ‘IPT initiation’. There is an urgent need to improve the procurement and supply chain management of isoniazid
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