Publications by authors named "A CASTELLANOS"
Comparative Temporal Analysis of Morbidity and Early Mortality in Heart Transplantation with Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Support: Exploring Trends over Time.
Biomedicines
September 2024
Article Synopsis
- - The study investigates the impacts of using venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) as a support mechanism for patients undergoing urgent heart transplants over a 17-year period, focusing on morbidity and mortality rates.
- - Results indicate that while the number of patients able to receive transplants without mechanical ventilation has increased, there have been no significant changes in overall mortality rates within 30 days, one year, or five years across different time periods.
- - Comorbidity rates were high, averaging 3.33 per patient, with common complications including vascular issues, the need for post-transplant ECMO, and myopathy, especially more pronounced in recent years.
Article Synopsis
- ClC-K/barttin channels play a vital role in chloride transport in the kidneys and inner ear, and mutations in their genes can lead to Bartter's syndrome.
- Research shows that a specific amino acid change in barttin enhances ClC-K currents, but the exact mechanism and significance in living organisms is still unclear.
- Experiments using Xenopus oocytes and mice indicate that mutations in a particular YxxØ motif on barttin can increase its stability at the plasma membrane and improve function, although these mutations do not change overall protein expression levels under certain diet conditions.
The ketogenic diet, characterized by high fat and low carbohydrates, has gained popularity not only as a strategy for managing body weight but also for its efficacy in delaying cognitive decline associated with neurodegenerative diseases and the aging process. Since this dietary approach stimulates the liver's production of ketone bodies, primarily β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), which serves as an alternative energy source for neurons, we investigated whether BHB could mitigate impaired AMPA receptor trafficking, synaptic dysfunction, and cognitive decline induced by metabolic challenges such as saturated fatty acids. Here, we observe that, in cultured primary cortical neurons, exposure to palmitic acid (200μM) decreased surface levels of glutamate GluA1-containing AMPA receptors, whereas unsaturated fatty acids, such as oleic acid and ω-3 docosahexaenoic acid (200μM), and BHB (5mM) increased them.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Objectives: Hospitalized families who use languages other than English (LOE) for care encounter unique communication challenges, as do children with medical complexity (CMC). We sought to better understand communication challenges and opportunities to improve care of families who use LOE from the perspectives of hospital staff and Spanish-speaking parents of CMC.
Methods: This qualitative project involved secondary analysis of transcripts from a study on family safety reporting at 2 quaternary care children's hospitals and additional primary data collection (interviews) of staff and parents.
The function of the chloride channel ClC-1 is crucial for the control of muscle excitability. Thus, reduction of ClC-1 functions by CLCN1 mutations leads to myotonia congenita. Many different animal models have contributed to understanding the myotonia pathophysiology.
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