The prevention and management of hospital admissions for urinary tract infection in patients with multiple sclerosis

Introduction Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are one of the commonest reasons for patients with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) presenting to hospital. Management of recurrent UTIs in PwMS can be challenging and characteristics of such patients are not well described. Aims To describe the neurological and urological features of PwMS presenting to hospital for UTIs and identify areas of management that could be improved to reduce UTI frequency. Methods Health episode statistics data were used to identify PwMS presenting to a tertiary hospital with UTI over a 5-year period. Medical records were reviewed for demographic, MS and urological history. The seven PwMS with the highest numbers of encounters were seen in a multidisciplinary clinic to enable detailed assessments. Results 52 PwMS (25 female, 27 male) with mean age of 60 had 112 emergency department presentations and 102 inpatient admissions for UTI. 24 presented multiple times and were more likely to be older and male with progressive MS. Almost two-thirds were using a urinary catheter. Less than half were under current urological and neurological follow-up. Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas spp were the commonest organisms cultured. Resistance to antibiotics was more frequent in patients with multiple presentations. Conclusions PwMS presenting to hospital for UTIs are more often male, older, with progressive MS and high levels of disability. A small group of PwMS accounted for a large number of encounters. Preventative and management strategies can be applied in primary and secondary care settings, with an emphasis on bladder, catheter and general physical care

Types of Stem Cells in Regenerative Medicine: A Review

Two basic and clinical researches accomplished during the recent years on embryonic and adult stem cells constituted a mutation in regenerative therapy. These cells can be used for treating some degenerative diseases. Between them, age-related functional defects, hematopoietic and immune system disorders, heart failures, chronic liver injuries, diabetes, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, arthritis and muscular, skin, lung, eye, and digestive disorders, aggressive and regressive cancers can be treated by cell therapies. This review focused on types of stem cells used in regenerative medicine

Evaluation of Silver Nanoparticle Toxicity in Skin in Vivo and Keratinocytes in Vitro

IntroductionProducts using the antimicrobial properties of silver nanoparticles (Ag-nps) may be found in health and consumer products that routinely contact skin.ObjectivesThis study was designed to assess the potential cytotoxicity of Ag-nps in human epidermal keratinocytes (HEKs) and their inflammatory and penetrating potential into porcine skin in vivo.Materials and MethodsWe used eight different Ag-nps in this study [unwashed/uncoated (20, 50, and 80 nm particle diameter), washed/uncoated (20, 50, and 80 nm), and carbon-coated (25 and 35 nm)]. Skin was dosed topically for 14 consecutive days. HEK viability was assessed by MTT, alamarBlue (aB), and CellTiter 96 AQueous One (96AQ). Release of the proinflammatory mediators interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were measured.ResultsThe effect of the unwashed Ag-nps on HEK viability after a 24-hr exposure indicated a significant dose-dependent decrease (p < 0.05) at 0.34 μg/mL with aB and 96AQ and at 1.7 μg/mL with MTT. However, both the washed Ag-nps and carbon-coated Ag-nps showed no significant decrease in viability at any concentration assessed by any of the three assays. For each of the unwashed Ag-nps, we noted a significant increase (p < 0.05) in IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α concentrations. We observed localization of all Ag-nps in cytoplasmic vacuoles of HEKs. Macroscopic observations showed no gross irritation in porcine skin, whereas microscopic and ultrastructural observations showed areas of focal inflammation and localization of Ag-nps on the surface and in the upper stratum corneum layers of the skin.ConclusionThis study provides a better understanding Ag-nps safety in vitro as well as in vivo and a basis for occupational and risk assessment. Ag-nps are nontoxic when dosed in washed Ag-nps solutions or carbon coated

Rib head protrusion into the central canal in type 1 neurofibromatosis

Intraspinal rib head dislocation is an important but under-recognized consequence of dystrophic scoliosis in patients with neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1). To present clinical and imaging findings of intraspinal rib head dislocation in NF1. We retrospectively reviewed clinical presentation, imaging, operative reports and post-operative courses in four NF1 patients with intraspinal rib head dislocation and dystrophic scoliosis. We also reviewed 17 cases from the English literature. In each of our four cases of intraspinal rib head dislocation, a single rib head was dislocated on the convex apex of the curve, most often in the mid- to lower thoracic region. Cord compression occurred in half of these patients. Analysis of the literature yielded similar findings. Only three cases in the literature demonstrates the MRI appearance of this entity; most employ CT. All of our cases include both MRI and CT; we review the subtle findings on MRI. Although intraspinal rib head dislocation is readily apparent on CT, sometimes MRI is the only cross-sectional imaging performed. It is essential that radiologists become familiar with this entity, as subtle findings have significant implications for surgical management

The Rossiter-McLaughlin effect in Exoplanet Research

The Rossiter-McLaughlin effect occurs during a planet's transit. It provides the main means of measuring the sky-projected spin-orbit angle between a planet's orbital plane, and its host star's equatorial plane. Observing the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect is now a near routine procedure. It is an important element in the orbital characterisation of transiting exoplanets. Measurements of the spin-orbit angle have revealed a surprising diversity, far from the placid, Kantian and Laplacian ideals, whereby planets form, and remain, on orbital planes coincident with their star's equator. This chapter will review a short history of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect, how it is modelled, and will summarise the current state of the field before describing other uses for a spectroscopic transit, and alternative methods of measuring the spin-orbit angle.Comment: Review to appear as a chapter in the "Handbook of Exoplanets", ed. H. Deeg & J.A. Belmont

Combined ATR and DNA-PK Inhibition Radiosensitizes Tumor Cells Independently of Their p53 Status.

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a significant cause of cancer deaths. Cisplatin-based chemoradiotherapy is a standard of care for locally advanced disease. ATR and DNA-PK inhibition (DNA-PKi) are actively being investigated in clinical trials with preclinical data supporting clinical translation as radiosensitizers. Here, we hypothesized that targeting both ATR and DNA-PK with small molecule inhibitors would increase radiosensitization of HNSCC cell lines. Radiosensitization was assessed by Bliss independence analysis of colony survival data. Strong cell cycle perturbing effects were observed with ATR inhibition reversing the G2/M arrest observed for radiation-DNA-PKi. Increased apoptosis in combination groups was measured by Sub-G1 DNA populations. DNA-PKi increased radiation-induced RAD51 and gamma-H2Ax foci, with the addition of ATR inhibition reducing levels of both. A sharp increase in nuclear fragmentation after aberrant mitotic transit appears to be the main driver of decreased survival due to irradiation and dual ATR/DNA-PKi. Dual inhibition of DNA-PK and ATR represents a novel approach in combination with radiation, with efficacy appearing to be independent of p53 status. Due to toxicity concerns, careful assessment is necessary in any future translation of single or dual radiosensitization approaches. Ongoing clinical trials into the ATR inhibitor AZD6738 plus radiation, and the phenotypically similar combination of AZD6738 and the PARP inhibitor olaparib, are likely to be key in ascertaining the toxicity profile of such combinations

Robust Detection of Hierarchical Communities from Escherichia coli Gene Expression Data

Determining the functional structure of biological networks is a central goal of systems biology. One approach is to analyze gene expression data to infer a network of gene interactions on the basis of their correlated responses to environmental and genetic perturbations. The inferred network can then be analyzed to identify functional communities. However, commonly used algorithms can yield unreliable results due to experimental noise, algorithmic stochasticity, and the influence of arbitrarily chosen parameter values. Furthermore, the results obtained typically provide only a simplistic view of the network partitioned into disjoint communities and provide no information of the relationship between communities. Here, we present methods to robustly detect coregulated and functionally enriched gene communities and demonstrate their application and validity for Escherichia coli gene expression data. Applying a recently developed community detection algorithm to the network of interactions identified with the context likelihood of relatedness (CLR) method, we show that a hierarchy of network communities can be identified. These communities significantly enrich for gene ontology (GO) terms, consistent with them representing biologically meaningful groups. Further, analysis of the most significantly enriched communities identified several candidate new regulatory interactions. The robustness of our methods is demonstrated by showing that a core set of functional communities is reliably found when artificial noise, modeling experimental noise, is added to the data. We find that noise mainly acts conservatively, increasing the relatedness required for a network link to be reliably assigned and decreasing the size of the core communities, rather than causing association of genes into new communities.Comment: Due to appear in PLoS Computational Biology. Supplementary Figure S1 was not uploaded but is available by contacting the author. 27 pages, 5 figures, 15 supplementary file

Author Correction: Enhanced NF-κB signaling in type-2 dendritic cells at baseline predicts non-response to adalimumab in psoriasis.

Funder: Department of HealthBiologic therapies have transformed the management of psoriasis, but clinical outcome is variable leaving an unmet clinical need for predictive biomarkers of response. Here we perform in-depth immunomonitoring of blood immune cells of 67 patients with psoriasis, before and during therapy with the anti-TNF drug adalimumab, to identify immune mediators of clinical response and evaluate their predictive value. Enhanced NF-κBp65 phosphorylation, induced by TNF and LPS in type-2 dendritic cells (DC) before therapy, significantly correlates with lack of clinical response after 12 weeks of treatment. The heightened NF-κB activation is linked to increased DC maturation in vitro and frequency of IL-17+ T cells in the blood of non-responders before therapy. Moreover, lesional skin of non-responders contains higher numbers of dermal DC expressing the maturation marker CD83 and producing IL-23, and increased numbers of IL-17+ T cells. Finally, we identify and clinically validate LPS-induced NF-κBp65 phosphorylation before therapy as a predictive biomarker of non-response to adalimumab, with 100% sensitivity and 90.1% specificity in an independent cohort. Our study uncovers important molecular and cellular mediators underpinning adalimumab mechanisms of action in psoriasis and we propose a blood biomarker for predicting clinical outcome

Successful reduced-intensity SCT from unrelated cord blood in three patients with X-linked SCID

We describe three males with X-linked SCID (X-SCID) who were successfully treated by reduced-intensity SCT from unrelated cord blood (CB). Mean age at transplant was 5.7 months (range, 3–9 months). Pre-transplant conditioning for all patients consisted of fludarabine (FLU) (30 mg/m2 per day) from day −7 to day −2 (total dose 180 mg/m2) and BU 4 mg/kg per day from day −3 to day −2 (total dose 8 mg/kg). All CB units were serologically matched at HLA-A, B and DR loci. Although two patients had suffered from fungal or bacterial pneumonia before transplantation, there were no other infectious complications during transplantation. All patients engrafted and achieved 100% donor chimerism. We also confirmed full donor chimerism of both T and B cells. Only one patient developed acute GVHD grade III, which was resolved by increasing the dose of oral corticosteroid. None of the patients has developed chronic GVHD during follow up for 21–77 months. None of the patient received i.v. Ig replacement post transplant, or showed delay in psychomotor development. Reduced-intensity conditioning consisting of FLU and BU and transplantation from unrelated CB was an effective and safe treatment for these patients with X-SCID