Crowned dens syndrome: An uncommon mimic of meningitis in the emergency department.

Crowned dens syndrome is characterized by severe neck pain with stiffness of the neck, sometime febrile, due to calcification of the transverse atlas ligament. We describe the case of a 65-year-old woman referred to the emergency department with a suspicion of meningitis. Several anamnestic and clinical signs ruled out this hypothesis.

The effect of age on efficacy, safety and patient-centered outcomes with rucaparib: A post hoc exploratory analysis of ARIEL3, a phase 3, randomized, maintenance study in patients with recurrent ovarian carcinoma.

Background: In the phase 3 trial ARIEL3, maintenance treatment with the poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor rucaparib provided clinical benefit versus placebo for patients with recurrent, platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer. Here, we evaluate the impact of age on the clinical utility of rucaparib in ARIEL3.

Methods: Patients with platinum-sensitive, recurrent ovarian carcinoma with ≥2 prior platinum-based chemotherapies who responded to their last platinum-based therapy were enrolled in ARIEL3 and randomized 2:1 to rucaparib 600 mg twice daily or placebo.

Ultrasonography for Screening and Follow-Up of Diaphragmatic Dysfunction in the ICU: A Pilot Study.

Purpose: Reversibility and impact of diaphragmatic dysfunction (DD) are unknown. The principal aim was to describe diaphragmatic function as assessed by ultrasonography during weaning trials.

Materials And Methods: The present study is a 6-month single-center prospective study.

Group A Escherichia coli-related purpura fulminans: an unusual manifestation due to an unusual strain?

We describe an exceptional case of life-threatening group A Escherichia coli-induced purpura fulminans. Genotyping of common polymorphisms in genes involved in innate immunity or coagulation did not reveal known susceptibility to such a manifestation. Genetic analysis of the strain revealed an unusual conserved virulence plasmidic region, pointing out its potential virulence.

Oxygen challenge test in septic shock patients: prognostic value and influence of respiratory status.

Transcutaneous oxygen pressure (PtcO2) value in response to an increase of FiO2 or oxygen challenge test (OCT) in ventilated patients has been reported to be related to peripheral perfusion and outcome during septic shock. However, patients with sepsis-related acute respiratory distress syndrome could demonstrate compromised arterial oxygenation with OCT impairment decoupled to circulatory failure. The aims of this study were to confirm the prognostic value of OCT and to explore the influence of respiratory status on OCT results.

Guidewire localization by transthoracic echocardiography during central venous catheter insertion: a periprocedural method to evaluate catheter placement.

Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility of guidewire detection in right cardiac cavities by transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) in order to detect catheter misplacement and to optimize central venous catheter (CVC) positioning. Ultrasonic control for catheter tip positioning was compared to that by chest X-ray (CXR).

Methods: We conducted a monocentric prospective observational study (January-November 2010).

Role of kinin B2 receptors in opioid-induced hyperalgesia in inflammatory pain in mice.

Postoperative pain management is a clinical challenge that can be complicated by opioid-induced hyperalgesia (OIH). Kinin receptors could mediate both the acute and chronic phases of inflammation and pain. A few recent studies suggest that dynorphin A could maintain neuropathic pain by activating the bradykinin (BK) receptor.

Association of the Pro12Ala and C1431T variants of PPARgamma and their haplotypes with susceptibility to gestational diabetes.

Background: The protective role of the Ala allele in the Pro12Ala polymorphism of PPARγ on type 2 diabetes has been well established but not confirmed in the context of pregnancy, for gestational diabetes, a known predictor of later type 2 diabetes onset. Another PPARγ polymorphism, the C1431T, is in strong linkage disequilibrium with Pro12Ala and has been shown to be associated with body weight, but its association with diabetes is controversial.

Research Design And Methods: In 1708 women of the EDEN mother-child cohort, the PPARγ Pro12Ala and C1431T polymorphisms were genotyped and analyzed in association with maternal prepregnancy body mass index, obesity before pregnancy, and gestational diabetes, separately and also combined in haplotypes.

Urokinase plasminogen activator receptor in adipose tissue macrophages of morbidly obese subjects.

Objective: At present, circulating markers characterizing the inflammatory infiltration of white adipose tissue (WAT) in human obesity are not well known. We previously identified, by a pangenomic approach (microarrays), the urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (PLAUR or CD87) as a potential marker of subcutaneous adipose tissue macrophage infiltration (ATM).

Method: We studied i) the presence of PLAUR protein in WAT; ii) the PLAUR amount in plasma of obese patients; iii) the circulating variations during surgery-induced weight loss, and iv) the correlations between PLAUR circulating levels and bioclinical parameters.

Serum amyloid A and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome before and after surgically-induced weight loss in morbidly obese subjects.

Background: Serum amyloid A (SAA) is an inflammatory marker associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and found to be increased in obesity. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) syndrome, a frequent complication of obesity also associated with CVD risk, is improved after surgically-induced weight loss. To explore the potential role of SAA in the relation between OSA and CVD, we investigated relationships between changes in SAA concentrations and nocturnal respiratory events in obese subjects undergoing bariatric surgery.

Serum amyloid A: a marker of adiposity-induced low-grade inflammation but not of metabolic status.

Objective: Adipocytes secrete a series of acute phase proteins including serum amyloid A (SAA); the link with metabolic status is unknown. We studied the variations of expression of the SAA gene in adipose and liver tissues and of SAA serum levels, as well as their relationships with metabolic features during weight loss.

Research Methods And Procedures: Plasmatic variations of SAA, inflammatory markers (high sensitivity C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, fibrinogen, and orosomucoid), and adipokines (adiponectin, leptin) were studied in 60 morbidly obese patients before and after gastric surgery.

Relationship between single nucleotide polymorphisms in leptin, IL6 and adiponectin genes and their circulating product in morbidly obese subjects before and after gastric banding surgery.

Background: Certain adipose-produced signals are secreted in proportion to body fat mass and are involved in regulation of the energy metabolism of the whole body. Leptin, IL6 and adiponectin can be considered as adiposity signals. Several Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes encoding for these molecules are known to influence their concentration in situations of stable weight.

Evidence for different polymorphisms with and without an external electric field in a series of bent-shaped molecules.

Five fluid tilted mesophases are observed in a series of achiral banana-shaped compounds. The terminal chain length is the pertinent molecular parameter which induces the polymorphism change. All the phases, refer to tilted lamellar structure without in-plane order in the layers.

Switching of banana liquid crystal mesophases under field.

Taking advantage of the great number of bent-core or "banana" compounds synthesized and studied in the laboratory, we describe their behaviour under the application of an external electric field. If the field were a static one, we would work within the frame of an equilibrium phase diagram in a (field E, temperature T) space where some phases would be simple dielectrics and others ferroelectric ones with a macroscopic polarization, either spontaneous or induced by the field. In this paper, we deal with the basic responses of "banana" liquid crystals under the application of a low frequency (1 to 100 Hz) AC field.