A New Emotional Stroop-Like Task: Application to the Down Syndrome Population

The present study proposed to test the applicability of a new emotional Stroop-like paradigm among 49 adults with Down syndrome (DS), matched with typically developing children on gender and receptive vocabulary. Stimuli with neutral and emotional content were presented in two identical computerized tasks. This experimental design allowed comparisons of inhibition performance according to the nature of the material. Main results showed that the DS group processed the emotional material more poorly than the control group in the inhibition condition, whereas all participants performed near or at ceiling in the control condition. Regarding the response latencies, both groups processed emotional material slower than the neutral material. The DS participants did not take more time to respond than their controls, but they presented a distinct response latency pattern during the task: while the control group kept their response times constant, the DS group showed an improvement during the tas

Procalcitonin and C-reactive protein in pericardial fluid for postmortem diagnosis of sepsis

The aim of this study was to investigate the presence and concentrations of procalcitonin and C-reactive protein in pericardial fluid and compare these levels to those found in the postmortem serum obtained from the femoral blood. Two groups were formed, a sepsis-related fatalities group and a control group. Postmortem native CT scans, autopsies, histology, neuropathology and toxicology as well as other postmortem biochemistry investigations were performed in all cases. Pericardial fluid procalcitonin levels were significantly different between the cases of sepsis-related fatalities and those of the control group. Postmortem serum procalcitonin levels below the detection limit were also reflected in undetectable pericardial fluid levels. Similarly, a large increase in postmortem serum procalcitonin levels was reflected in a large increase of procalcitonin pericardial fluid levels. Based on these findings, pericardial fluid could be an alternative to postmortem serum for the determination of procalcitonin levels in cases where postmortem serum is not available and measurements of procalcitonin are required to circumstantiate the pathogenesis of deat

Prospective study evaluating the predictability of need for retreatment with intravitreal ranibizumab for age-related macular degeneration

Purpose: To investigate the rhythm and predictability of the need for retreatment with intravitreal injections of ranibizumab for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD). Methods: This prospective study enrolled 39 patients with treatment-naïve nAMD. After three loading doses of intravitreal ranibizumab, patients underwent an intensified follow-up for 12months (initially weekly, then with stepwise increases to every 2weeks and to monthly after each injection). Patients were retreated on an as-needed basis if any fluid or increased central retinal thickness (CRT) (>50μm) was found on spectral domain optical coherence tomography (OCT). Statistical analysis included patients who received at least two retreatments (five injections). Results: A mean of 7.5 injections (range 0-12) were given between months 3 and 15. The mean visual acuity increased by 13.1 and 12.6 ETDRS letters at months 12 and 15 respectively. Two or more injection-retreatment intervals were found in 31 patients. The variability of their intra-individual intervals up to 14weeks was small (SD 0-2.13weeks), revealing a high regularity of the retreatment rhythm. The SD was correlated with the mean interval duration (r = 0.89, p < 0.001). The first interval was a good predictor of the following intervals (regression coefficient =0.81). One retreatment criterion was stable in 97% of patients (cysts or subretinal fluid). Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrate a high intra-individual predictability of retreatment need with ranibizumab injections for nAMD. These findings may be helpful for developing individualized treatment plans for maintained suppression of disease activity with a minimum of injections and visit