The eagle jugular syndrome

The elongation of the styloid process is historically associated with two variants of the Eagle syndrome. The classic one, mainly characterized by pain and dysphagia, and the carotid variant characterized by pain and sometimes by cerebral ischemia. We observed a further variant characterized by a styloid elongation coursing adjacent to the transverse process of C1, causing significant compression of the internal jugular vein

Coenzyme Q Metabolism Is Disturbed in High Fat Diet-Induced Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Rats

Oxidative stress is believed to be a major contributory factor in the development of non alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the most common liver disorder worldwide. In this study, the effects of high fat diet-induced NAFLD on Coenzyme Q (CoQ) metabolism and plasma oxidative stress markers in rats were investigated. Rats were fed a standard low fat diet (control) or a high fat diet (57% metabolizable energy as fat) for 18 weeks. The concentrations of total (reduced + oxidized) CoQ9 were increased by >2 fold in the plasma of animals fed the high fat diet, while those of total CoQ10 were unchanged. Reduced CoQ levels were raised, but oxidized CoQ levels were not, thus the proportion in the reduced form was increased by about 75%. A higher percentage of plasma CoQ9 as compared to CoQ10 was in the reduced form in both control and high fat fed rats. Plasma protein thiol (SH) levels were decreased in the high fat-fed rats as compared to the control group, but concentrations of lipid hydroperoxides and low density lipoprotein (LDL) conjugated dienes were unchanged. These results indicate that high fat diet-induced NAFLD in rats is associated with altered CoQ metabolism and increased protein, but not lipid, oxidative stress

Effect of body-part specificity and meaning in gesture imitation in left hemisphere stroke patients

Previous studies showed that imitation of finger and hand/arm gestures could be differentially impaired after brain damage. However, so far, the interaction between gesture meaning and body part in imitation deficits has not been fully assessed. In the present study, we aimed at filling this gap by testing 36 unilateral left brain-damaged patients with and without apraxia (20 apraxics), and 29 healthy controls on an imitation task of either finger or hand/arm meaningful (MF) gestures and meaningless (ML) movements, using a large sample of stimuli and controlling for the composition of the experimental list. Left-brain damaged patients imitated ML finger worse than hand/arm movements, whereas they did not show the same difference in MF gesture imitation. In addition, apraxic patients imitated finger movements worse than hand/arm movements. Furthermore, apraxic patients' imitation performance was equally affected irrespective of the action meaning, whereas non-apraxic patients showed better imitation performance on MF gestures. Results suggest that MF gestures are processed as a whole, as imitation of these gestures relies on the stored motor programs in long-term memory, independently of the body part involved. In contrast, ML movements seem to be processed through direct visuo-motor transformations, with left-brain damage specifically disrupting imitation performance of the more cognitive demanding finger movements

Association between exposure to pesticides and ADHD or Autism Spectrum Disorder: a systematic review of the literature

Objective:To conduct a systematic review of studies assessing the relationship between exposure to pesticides and ADHD or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).Methods:Based on a pre-registered protocol in PROPSERO (CRD42018107847), we searched PubMed, Ovid databases, and ISI Web of Knowledge with no date/language/document type restrictions, up to May 2019. The Newcastle Ottawa Scale was used to assess study quality.Results:Among the 29 retained studies, 13 focused on ADHD, 14 on ASD, and two on both disorders. Ten studies reported a significant association between exposure to pesticides and ADHD/ADHD symptoms and 12 studies found a significant association with ASD/ASD traits. The strengths of the association and the possible confounders controlled for varied substantially across studies.Conclusion:Whilst there is some evidence suggesting a possible link between pesticides and ADHD/ASD, heterogeneity across studies prevents firm conclusions. We provide methodological indications for future studies

DIFFERENCES IN THE SERUM METABOLOME PROFILE OF DAIRY COWS AFFECTED BY SUBCLINICAL MASTITIS

Mastitis is an inflammatory response of mammary tissue caused by physical trauma or infectious agents, representing one of the main diseases in dairy cows’ farms leading to significant economic losses due to reduced milk production, treatment costs, milk wastage due to drug withdrawal times and prematurely reformed animals [1][2]. This study was part of the LATSAN project performed in three Friesian-Holstein Italian selected dairy farms with the presence of contagious mastitis. The aim of this study was to evaluate serum metabolome differences in animals affected by subclinical intramammary infection (sIMI) caused by Streptococcus agalactiae and Prototheca spp. After an initial blood sampling and bacteriological milk screening (T0) performed on all animals (n = 450), aimed at detecting cows with sIMI and at obtaining serum (n.75), the animals were followed up after two (T1) weeks from T0. For this study 40 out of 75 sIMI animals were selected and grouped according to the infectious status confirmed in both period (T0 and T1): G0 for negative animals (n=16), G1 for animals affected by Streptococcus agalactiae mastitis (n=17), G2 for animals affected by Prototheca spp. (n=7). Serum samples of T0 were processed to perform metabolomic analysis through 1H-NMR. Statistical differences between groups of the main characteristics as parity, somatic cell count (SCC), milk composition and blood metabolites were evaluated by one-way ANOVA. A p-value < 0.05 was considered as significant, while a trend for significance was considered with 0.05 ≤ p-value ≤ 0.10. According to the statistical analysis, SCC significantly differed among the 3 groups: in G1 the highest value was observed, in G0 the lowest instead. From serum samples, 43 metabolites were identified, of which 10 (3-Hydroxybutyrate, Acetate, Acetone, Allantoin, Asparagine, Carnitine, Citrulline, Ethanol, Lactose, Methylguanidine) showed significant differences among groups and 4 (Citrate, Dimethylamine, Histidine, Valine) a trend for significance. In conclusion, sIMI may influence blood metabolome also according to different etiological pathogens