Fresh Insights into Disease Etiology and the Role of Microbial Pathogens.

Pathogens have been implicated in the initiation and/or promotion of systemic sclerosis (scleroderma, SSc); however, no evidence was found to substantiate the direct contribution to this disease in past years. Recently, significant advances have been made in understanding the role of the innate immune system in SSc pathogenesis, supporting the idea that pathogens might interact with host innate immune-regulatory responses in SSc. In light of these findings, we review the studies that identified the presence of pathogens in SSc, along with studies on pathogens implicated in driving the innate immune dysregulation in SSc. The goal of this review is to illustrate how these pathogens, specifically viruses, may play important role both as triggers of the innate immune system, and critical players in the development of SSc disease

Effect of tranexamic acid in traumatic brain injury: a nested randomised, placebo controlled trial (CRASH-2 Intracranial Bleeding Study).

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of tranexamic acid (which reduces bleeding in surgical patients and reduces mortality due to bleeding in trauma patients) on intracranial haemorrhage in patients with traumatic brain injury. METHODS: A nested, randomised, placebo controlled trial. All investigators were masked to treatment allocation. All analyses were by intention to treat. Patients 270 adult trauma patients with, or at risk of, significant extracranial bleeding within 8 hours of injury, who also had traumatic brain injury. INTERVENTIONS: Patients randomly allocated to tranexamic acid (loading dose 1 g over 10 minutes, then infusion of 1 g over 8 hours) or matching placebo. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Intracranial haemorrhage growth (measured by computed tomography) between hospital admission and then 24-48 hours later, with adjustment for Glasgow coma score, age, time from injury to the scans, and initial haemorrhage volume. RESULTS: Of the 133 patients allocated to tranexamic acid and 137 allocated to placebo, 123 (92%) and 126 (92%) respectively provided information on the primary outcome. All patients provided information on clinical outcomes. The mean total haemorrhage growth was 5.9 ml (SD 26.8) and 8.1 mL (SD 29.2) in the tranexamic acid and placebo groups respectively (adjusted difference -3.8 mL (95% confidence interval -11.5 to 3.9)). New focal cerebral ischaemic lesions occurred in 6 (5%) patients in the tranexamic acid group versus 12 (9%) in the placebo group (adjusted odds ratio 0.51 (95% confidence interval 0.18 to 1.44)). There were 14 (11%) deaths in the tranexamic acid group and 24 (18%) in the placebo group (adjusted odds ratio 0.47 (0.21 to 1.04)). CONCLUSIONS: This trial shows that neither moderate benefits nor moderate harmful effects of tranexamic acid in patients with traumatic brain injury can be excluded. However, the analysis provides grounds for further clinical trials evaluating the effect of tranexamic acid in this population. Trial registration ISRCTN86750102

Coatings and Surface Modification of Bioimplants

Proceedings of"Conference on Recent Advances in Biomaterials Dec 17-18 '10"Held at Saveetha School of Engineering, Saveetha University, Thandalam, Chennai-602 105, Tamilnadu, IndiaTheme 2Coatings and Surface Modification of BioimplantsÂ

Presenters & Presentation

Presented at the 2nd International Conference on African Digital Libraries and Archives (ICADLA-2), University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, 14th – 18th November, 201

Biographical Notes on Presenters

Second International Conference on African Digital Libraries and Archives, biographical notes on presenter