High Seroprevalence of CMV Among Women of Childbearing Age Implicates High Burden of Congenital Cytomegalovirus Infection in Poland

Cytomegaloviruses are common worldwide, with variable frequency of infections. The infection in pregnancy may lead to pregnancy loss or serious sequelae for the child. To understand the risk posed by CMV in Poland we conducted cross-sectional study on women aged 15–49 basing on existing serum bank. Age dependent CMV incidence, the rates of congenital infection and sequelae were modelled from sero-prevalence, literature and demographic data. The overall anti-CMV IgG prevalence was 81.9% increasing from 74.3% in < 30 years old to 94.3% in subjects 45+ years old. The lowest incidence was estimated at the age of 15 and the highest at the age 34 (3.8 and 8.95 respec­tively/100 women/year). The estimated rate of cCMV varies from 22.4 to 37.2 per 1000 live birth depending on the assumptions made. The proportion of cases due to secondary infection ranged from 34.8% to 49.9% accordingly

Men With a Terminal Illness Relax Their Criteria for Facial Attractiveness

According to the life history paradigm, in life-threatening conditions, sexual selection criteria are relaxed in order to increase the probability of a last resort reproduction, ultimately contributing to reproductive success. This should be reflected in loosened mating preferences — a process observed in nonhuman animals. Studies investigating this aspect in humans, however, are scarce. This study explored the aesthetic preferences towards facial and nonfacial stimuli in terminally ill patients with heart failure (HF) and their healthy, same-sex peers. The aim was to examine if these two groups of men demonstrate different patterns of aesthetic judgments. Using a 7-point scale, 65 male patients with HF and 143 healthy men evaluated the perceived attractiveness of 15 photographs (five adult male faces, five adult female faces, and five nonfacial pictures). A mixed-design analysis of variance was run to assess group differences in aesthetic preferences. Compared to healthy controls, stimuli. HF patients rated the pictures using significantly higher scores, but this applied only to male and female, but not nonfacial, stimuli. We propose that lower criteria for facial attractiveness in HF patients are linked to relaxation of mate preferences as a result of a life-threatening conditions, and that this process can be an adaptive mating strategy from an ultimate, evolutionary perspective. However, other mechanisms (e.g., seeking social support) may be also responsible for the observed patterns

State of knowledge concerrning congenital cmv infection among pregnant women and those who plan pregnancy

Wprowadzenie. Wirus cytomegalii jest najczęstszą przyczyną zakażeń wrodzonych na świecie. Zakażenie wrodzone CMV dotyczy średnio 0,64% żywych urodzeń na całym świecie, przy czym wartość ta waha się w zależności od badanej populacji od 0,3% do 2,3%. Każdego dnia na świecie rodzi się 2500 dzieci zakażonych CMV, a 1/5 z nich umiera lub rozwija trwałą niepełnosprawność. Cel pracy. Przegląd piśmiennictwa dotyczący aktualnego stanu wiedzy wśród kobiet ciężarnych i planujących ciążę na temat zakażenia wrodzonego CMV, jego konsekwencji i możliwości zapobiegania mu. Skrócony opis stanu wiedzy. Prowadzone w różnych krajach badania ankietowe ujawniły, że większość badanych kobiet ciężarnych lub planujących ciążę nie jest świadoma konsekwencji, jakie dla płodu może mieć zakażenie CMV. Wysoki jest odsetek kobiet, które nie znały, nie słyszały i nigdy nie czytały nic na temat zakażenia CMV w ciąży. Większość ankietowanych nie potrafiła podać konkretnych objawów związanych z zakażeniem wrodzonym CMV, czynników ryzyka, dróg transmisji i sposobów zapobiegania zakażeniu. Najczęściej jako konsekwencję tego zakażenia podawano opóźnienie umysłowe i utratę słuchu. Wśród zachowań higienicznych, które mogą uchronić przed zakażeniem CMV, kobiety wymieniały przede wszystkim mycie rąk, unikanie kontaktu z moczem i całowania dzieci w usta. Podsumowanie. Działania podejmowane w celu zapobiegania temu zakażeniu nadal są niewystarczające i niewspółmierne do konsekwencji, jakie niesie to zakażenie dla kobiet ciężarnych i ich dzieci. Dlatego też bardzo istotne jest podnoszenie poziomu świadomości na temat zakażenia wrodzonego CMV i jego następstw oraz dostępnych możliwości zapobiegania mu nie tylko wśród kobiet planujących ciążę lub będących w ciąży, ale ogółu społeczeństwa.Introduction. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the most common cause of congenital infections worldwide. Congenital CMV infection concerns an average of 0.64% live births worldwide, the value varies depending on the tested population from 0.3% – 2.3%. Every day in the world 2500 children infected with CMV are born, and 1/5 of them die or develop permanent disability. Objective. Review of literature concerning the current state of knowledge about congenital CMV infection, its consequences and possibilities of prevention among pregnant women and planning to become pregnant. Brief description of the state of knowledge. Surveys carried out in various countries revealed that most of the pregnant women or planning to become pregnant are not aware of what consequences for the fetus may have CMV infection. A high percentage of women did not know, never heard and never did not read anything about CMV infection in pregnancy. Most of the respondents could not give specific symptoms associated with congenital CMV infection, risk factors, routes of transmission and ways to prevent infection. Mental retardation and hearing loss were the most frequently indicated consequence of this infection. Among the hygienic behavior, which can prevent infection with CMV women exchanged primarily hand washing, avoiding contact with urine and children kissing on the lips. Summary. The measures taken to prevent congenital CMV infection are still inadequate and disproportionate to the consequences posed by this infection for pregnant women and their children. Therefore, it is important to raise awareness of congenital CMV infection and its consequences, and possibilities available to prevent him not only among women planning to become pregnant or pregnant women, but the general public

Badanie elektrofizjologiczne gałki ocznej – Wzrokowe Potencjały Wywołane (WPW)

Wzrokowe Potencjały Wywołane (WPW) stanowią odpowiedź całej drogi wzrokowej na zadziałanie bodźca na siatkówkę. Droga wzrokowa stanowi swojego rodzaju autostradę, po której wywołany przez bodziec sygnał biegnie aż do płata potylicznego w mózgu, gdzie w polu 17 zlokalizowane są ośrodki odpowiedzialne za proces widzenia (Rys. 1a, 1b). Sygnał świetlny zamieniany jest w siatkówce na sygnał elektryczny, który daje informacje, w jakim stopniu „działa” przewodnictwo w obrębie drogi wzrokowej. Wzrokowe Potencjały Wywołane stanowią ważny element diagnostyki okulistycznej, gdyż pozwalają na diagnozowanie i monitorowanie wielu procesów związanych nie tylko z okulistyką, ale i neurologicznymi schorzeniami, takimi jak np. stwardnienie rozsiane (SM) [1, 5]

Pseudoporphyria secondary to renal failure

Introduction . Pseudoporphyria is a rare disease associated with chronic renal failure. Symptoms of pseudoporphyria may develop in response to UV exposure and medications. The literature reports cases of pseudoporphyria in patients infected with hepatis C virus, HIV and undergoing dialysis therapy. Objective . Presentation of the case of a patient with pseudoporphyria and uraemic pruritus, and overview of therapeutic management. Case report . A 64-year-old male patient, who had been on dialysis for chronic renal failure secondary to type 2 diabetes for the past 11 years, presented with tense bullae located on sun-exposed skin which had persisted for the previous 5 months. The patient was diagnosed with pseudoporphyria, and treatment was prescribed including N-acetylcysteine, chloroquine, paroxetine and mianserin. An improvement in the patient’s clinical condition and a regression of pruritus were achieved. Conclusions . Patients with renal failure may develop symptoms of pseudoporphyria requiring differentiation from porphyria cutanea tarda

Heart Failure Care: Testing Dyadic Dynamics Using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM)—A Scoping Review

Self-care behaviors are essential for the effective treatment of heart failure (HF), and poor self-care may lead to adverse clinical events in patients with HF. A growing body of literature addresses the need to analyze the characteristics of both patient and caregiver since they are in mutual, long-term interaction, and their reactions to events are dependent on each other. One of the most common approaches for analyzing data on HF self-care dyads is the Actor–Partner Interdependence Model (APIM). The purpose of this study was to conduct a scoping review to answer the following question: what did we learn from HF dyadic studies based on the APIM approach? Medline, Academic Search Ultimate, and CINAHL Complete databases were searched, using the terms “dyad,” “dyadic,” and “heart failure,” for studies published between 2009 and April 2021. Fifteen studies were reviewed from a pool of 106 papers. Studies using the APIM approach revealed interrelated patient and caregiver characteristics that influence self-care and explain many complex dyadic behaviors. Our analysis provided evidence that (1) APIM is a useful analytical approach; (2) a family-oriented approach can improve the functioning of a patient with HF; and (3) social support from caregivers significantly enhances patients’ adaptation to illness

Review article Psychological aspects of heart failure – beyond depression, anxiety and quality of life

The progression of heart failure (HF), similarly to other chronic and/or terminal diseases, affects the psychological status of the patients, with consequences for general well-being. The changes in psychological features can be measured and quantified using numerous psychological questionnaires, which do not establish any diagnosis of pathology, although they may be important for the effectiveness of applied treatment of patients with HF. In this paper, we summarize and discuss available evidence on psychological phenomena occurring in the course of HF, such as: ‘Type D’ personality, anxiety, psychological distress, coping strategies, sense of coherence, affectivity, sense of self-efficacy, sense of control and health perception, along with the presentation of available and validated measures of psychological features