Macrophage polarization following chitosan implantation.

Macrophages are a key cell in the host response to implants and can be polarized into different phenotypes capable of inducing both detrimental and beneficial outcomes in tissue repair and remodeling, being important in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. The objective of this study was to evaluate the macrophage response to 3D porous chitosan (Ch) scaffolds with different degrees of acetylation (DA, 5% and 15%). The M1/M2 phenotypic polarization profile of macrophages was investigated in vivo using a rodent air-pouch model.

Activated microglia mediate synapse loss and short-term memory deficits in a mouse model of transthyretin-related oculoleptomeningeal amyloidosis.

Oculoleptomeningeal amyloidosis (OA) is a fatal and untreatable hereditary disease characterized by the accumulation of transthyretin (TTR) amyloid within the central nervous system. The mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of OA, and in particular how amyloid triggers neuronal damage, are still unknown. Here, we show that amyloid fibrils formed by a mutant form of TTR, A25T, activate microglia, leading to the secretion of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and nitric oxide.

Activation of the endoplasmic reticulum stress response by the amyloid-beta 1-40 peptide in brain endothelial cells.

Neurovascular dysfunction arising from endothelial cell damage is an early pathogenic event that contributes to the neurodegenerative process occurring in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Since the mechanisms underlying endothelial dysfunction are not fully elucidated, this study was aimed to explore the hypothesis that brain endothelial cell death is induced upon the sustained activation of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response by amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptide, which deposits in the cerebral vessels in many AD patients and transgenic mice. Incubation of rat brain endothelial cells (RBE4 cell line) with Aβ1-40 increased the levels of several markers of ER stress-induced unfolded protein response (UPR), in a time-dependent manner, and affected the Ca(2+) homeostasis due to the release of Ca(2+) from this intracellular store.

N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide shows diagnostic accuracy for detecting atrial fibrillation in cryptogenic stroke patients.

Background: Diagnosing paroxysmal atrial fibrillation in patients with stroke can be difficult. We aimed to determine if N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide can help identify paroxysmal atrial fibrillation in cryptogenic stroke.

Methods And Results: Among 264 ischemic stroke patients, serum levels of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide were measured within 72 h of stroke onset.

Microglia and macrophages in malignant gliomas: recent discoveries and implications for promising therapies.

Malignant gliomas are the most common primary brain tumors. Their deadliest manifestation, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), accounts for 15% of all primary brain tumors and is associated with a median survival of only 15 months even after multimodal therapy. There is substantial presence of microglia and macrophages within and surrounding brain tumors.

Membrane elastic properties and cell function.

Recent studies indicate that the cell membrane, interacting with its attached cytoskeleton, is an important regulator of cell function, exerting and responding to forces. We investigate this relationship by looking for connections between cell membrane elastic properties, especially surface tension and bending modulus, and cell function. Those properties are measured by pulling tethers from the cell membrane with optical tweezers.

Poly(ester amide)s based on (L)-lactic acid oligomers and α-amino acids: influence of the α-amino acid side chain in the poly(ester amide)s properties.

Novel biodegradable and low cytotoxic poly(ester amide)s (PEAs) based on α-amino acids and (L)-lactic acid (L-LA) oligomers were successfully synthesized by interfacial polymerization. The chemical structure of the new polymers was confirmed by spectroscopic analyses. Further characterization suggests that the α-amino acid plays a critical role on the final properties of the PEA.

Middle ear adenoma with neuroendocrine differentiation: relate of two cases and literature review.

Introduction:  Adenomas with neuroendocrine differentiation are defined as neuroendocrine neoplasms, and they are rarely found in the head and neck.

Objective:  To describe two cases of a middle ear adenoma with neuroendocrine differentiation, with a literature review.

Case Report:  Patient 1 was a 41-year-old woman who presented with a 3-year history of left aural fullness associated with ipsilateral "hammer beating" tinnitus.

First measurements of spin-dependent double-differential cross sections and the Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn Integrand from 3He(γ,n)pp at incident photon energies of 12.8 and 14.7 MeV.

The first measurement of the three-body photodisintegration of longitudinally polarized (3)He with a circularly polarized γ-ray beam was carried out at the High Intensity γ-ray Source facility located at Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory. The spin-dependent double-differential cross sections and the contributions from the three-body photodisintegration to the (3)He Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn integrand are presented and compared with state-of-the-art three-body calculations at the incident photon energies of 12.8 and 14.

The clinical impact of chromosomal rearrangements with breakpoints upstream of the SOX9 gene: two novel de novo balanced translocations associated with acampomelic campomelic dysplasia.

Background: The association of balanced rearrangements with breakpoints near SOX9 [SRY (sex determining region Y)-box 9] with skeletal abnormalities has been ascribed to the presumptive altering of SOX9 expression by the direct disruption of regulatory elements, their separation from SOX9 or the effect of juxtaposed sequences.

Case Presentation: We report on two sporadic apparently balanced translocations, t(7;17)(p13;q24) and t(17;20)(q24.3;q11.

Analyzing power Ay(θ) of n-3He elastic scattering between 1.60 and 5.54 MeV.

Comprehensive and high-accuracy n-3He elastic scattering analyzing power Ay(θ) angular distributions were obtained at five incident neutron energies between 1.60 and 5.54 MeV.

A brief history of mastoidectomy.

Aim:  To describe to the new generation of otologists the origins of mastoidectomy as well as the difficulties our predecessors encountered and the solutions they devised to improve otologic surgery.

Method:  Retrospective literature review-based study.

Results:  Before the mid-19th century, mastoidectomy was performed only sporadically and in most cases as a desperate attempt to save the lives of people suffering from complications of infectious otitis.

Time course of NT-proBNP levels after acute ischemic stroke.

Background: Studies suggest that N-terminal-pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) can be a biomarker of cardioembolic stroke. However, the best time to measure it after stroke is unknown. We studied the time course of NT-proBNP in patients with ischemic stroke.

Speech perception performance of double array multichannel cochlear implant users with standard and duplicated maps in each of the arrays.

Objective: The present investigation evaluated the speech perception performance of patients with ossified cochlea implanted with the 24M Double Array cochlear implant, using standard and duplicated maps in each of the arrays.

Study Design: Retrospective case review.

Setting: Tertiary referral center.

Does anticoagulation promote mural hematoma growth or delayed occlusion in spontaneous cervical artery dissections?

Background: In case of spontaneous cervical artery dissection (CAD), a medical treatment with anticoagulant or antiplatelet (AP) drugs would avoid the occurrence of an ischemic stroke. Although immediate anticoagulation (AC) is advocated, evidence from randomized trials is lacking. Since CAD is characterized by a mural accumulation of blood, the dissecting hematoma may enlarge under AC, with subsequent lumen narrowing.

Drug abuse and stroke.

Cerebrovascular disorders contribute to the morbidity and disability associated with illicit drug use. Drug abusers have an increased risk of both hemorrhagic and ischemic stroke. In geographic areas with a high prevalence of illicit drug use, drug abuse is a frequent cause of stroke in the young adult.

Snoring and severity of symptomatic and asymptomatic carotid stenosis: a population-based study.

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea has increasingly been linked to cardiovascular damage. More recently, the snoring component itself has been independently linked to the presence of carotid atheroma, via local arterial trauma. We aimed to identify whether a snoring history is a risk factor for carotid stenosis in individuals presenting with a TIA or ischemic stroke.

Palliative care of elderly patients in intensive care units: a systematic review.

Objective: The use of interventionist medical technology in terminal elderly patients must be associated with palliative care as a measure of clinical support in intensive care units. Palliative care is an important component of end-of-life care, and the assistance provided by the healthcare team should be guided by decisions made by patients and their family members. Prolongation of life not accompanied by therapies aimed at relieving symptoms, such as pain and dyspnea, contributes to patient and family member stress suffering.

Fish oil improves the lipid profile and reduces inflammatory cytokines in Wistar rats with precancerous colon lesions.

A fatty diet is regarded as one of the most important risk factors related to the etiology of colorectal cancer, and this effect is linked to the quantity and principal types of fatty acids consumed. In this study, the chemopreventive effects of different oils on rats were investigated. Forty Wistar rats received 1,2-dimetilhidrazine (DMH) and were divided into 4 groups fed normal lipid diets to which 4% olive, fish, flaxseed, or soybean oils (control) were added.

PLP1 duplication at the breakpoint regions of an apparently balanced t(X;22) translocation causes Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease in a girl.

PLP1 (proteolipid protein1 gene) mutations cause Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease (PMD), characterized by hypomyelination of the central nervous system, and affecting almost exclusively males. We report on a girl with classical PMD who carries an apparently balanced translocation t(X;22)(q22;q13). By applying array-based comparative genomic hybridization (a-CGH), we detected duplications at 22q13 and Xq22, encompassing 487-546 kb and 543-611 kb, respectively.

Microglial stress inducible protein 1 promotes proliferation and migration in human glioblastoma cells.

Microglial activation is a key event in the progression and infiltration of tumors. We have previously demonstrated that the co-chaperone stress inducible protein 1 (STI1), a cellular prion protein (PrP(C)) ligand, promotes glioblastoma (GBM) proliferation. In the present study, we examined the influence of microglial STI1 in the growth and invasion of the human glioblastoma cell line GBM95.

Bridging therapy for early surgery in patients on dual antiplatelet therapy after drug-eluting stent implantation.

Objectives: To evaluate stent-related adverse cardiac events and bleeding complications within 30 days after surgical procedures in patients with recent drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation, in whom a bridging protocol was used.

Methods: In our centre a bridging protocol is used in patients scheduled for cardiac or non-cardiac surgery within 6 months after PCI with DES implantation. Clopidogrel and in some cases also acetylsalicylic acid is discontinued 5 days prior to the planned intervention and patients are admitted 2 to 3 days before the intervention for tirofiban infusion.