There are limited longitudinal data from non-industrialized settings on patterns and determinants of gut bacterial microbiota development in early childhood. We analysed epidemiological data and stool samples collected from 60 children followed from early infancy to 5 years of age in a rural tropical district in coastal Ecuador. Data were collected longitudinally on a wide variety of individual, maternal, and household exposures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe objective of the present study was to systematically review the existing literature for studies examining the association between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and stroke risk and perform a meta-analysis to obtain a pooled risk estimate describing the association. A literature search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, PSYCInfo, and CINAHL to identify relevant studies. Cohort and cross-sectional studies that reported PTSD exposure (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Patients with ischemic strokes that have undergone mechanical thrombectomy (MT) can still have poor functional outcomes. Limited research exists on factors that impact functional outcomes in these patients who are discharged to inpatient rehabilitation. We examined patient characteristics correlated with 90-day outcomes in ischemic stroke patients having undergone MT and undergo acute rehabilitation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is mainly characterized by deficits in social interaction and communication and repetitive behaviors. Known causes of ASD are mutations of certain risk genes like the postsynaptic protein SHANK3 and environmental factors including prenatal infections.
Methods: To analyze the gene-environment interplay in ASD, we combined the Shank3Δ11-/- ASD mouse model with maternal immune activation (MIA) via an intraperitoneal injection of polyinosinic/polycytidylic acid (Poly I:C) on gestational day 12.
Mutations or deletions of the SHANK3 gene are causative for Phelan-McDermid syndrome (PMDS), a syndromic form of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). We analyzed Shank3Δ11(-/-) mice and organoids from PMDS individuals to study effects on myelin. SHANK3 was found to be expressed in oligodendrocytes and Schwann cells, and MRI analysis of Shank3Δ11(-/-) mice revealed a reduced volume of the corpus callosum as seen in PMDS patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn face of the pandemic of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the management of patients with cardiovascular risk factors and/or disease is challenging. The cardiovascular complications evidenced in patients with COVID-19 derive from several mechanisms, ranging from direct viral injury to complications secondary to the inflammatory and thrombotic responses to the infection. The proper care of patients with COVID-19 requires special attention to the cardiovascular system aimed at better outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Asthma is the most prevalent chronic disease of childhood. Recently, we identified a critical window early in the life of both mice and Canadian infants during which gut microbial changes (dysbiosis) affect asthma development. Given geographic differences in human gut microbiota worldwide, we studied the effects of gut microbial dysbiosis on atopic wheeze in a population living in a distinct developing world environment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Salivary hemeprotein electrophoresis in starch gels is a recent technique used for differentiation of Rhodnius species with great phenotypic similarity. Furthermore, populations of the same species can be differentiated from geographically separated locales. Of the 15 described Rhodnius species in Latin America, at least eight have been reported in Colombia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Rhodnius colombiensis is a sylvatic triatomine associated with wine palm trees (Attalea butyracea) in the high basin of the Magdalena river (Colombia). The frequent invasion of these vectors into human dwellings and the high prevalences of natural infection with Trypanosoma cruzi of these insects suggest an important role in the transmission of Chagas disease.
Objective: The length of the life cycles of R.
Introduction: Rhodnius colombiensis occasionally comes into human dwellings and consequently its role as an important potential vector in the transmission of American trypanosomiasis has been suggested.
Objective: The potential role of R. colombiensis as vector was defined by comparing the feeding and defecation patterns between R.