Management Approaches to Intraluminal Thrombi in Acutely Symptomatic Carotid Stenosis.

Background: The presence of an intraluminal thrombus in acutely symptomatic carotid stenosis is thought to represent a high-risk lesion for short-term stroke reccurrence though evidence on natural history and treatment is lacking, leading to equipoise and much variation in practice. The objective of this study was to map these variations in practice (medical management and timing of revascularization), determine the considerations that influence clinician decision-making in this condition and gather opinions that inform the development and design of future trials in the area.

Methods: This was a mixed-methods study using both quantitative survey methods and qualitative interview-based methods.

Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate Receptor Mutations Associated with Human Disease: Insights into Receptor Function and Dysfunction.

Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptors (IPRs) are ubiquitous intracellular Ca2+ release channels. Their activation, subcellular localization, abundance, and regulation play major roles in defining the spatiotemporal characteristics of intracellular Ca2+ signals, which are in turn fundamental to the appropriate activation of effectors that control a myriad of cellular events. Over the past decade, ∼100 mutations in s associated with human diseases have been documented.

Mechanism of acid-sensing ion channel modulation by Hi1a.

Acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs) are trimeric cation-selective channels activated by extracellular acidification. Amongst many pathological roles, ASICs are an important mediator of ischemic cell death and hence an attractive drug target for stroke treatment as well as other conditions. A peptide called Hi1a, isolated from Australian funnel web spider venom, inhibits ASIC1a and attenuates cell death in a stroke model up to 8 h after stroke induction.

Comparison of four quick and reliable methods of assessing body fat appropriate for clinical settings among young, middle-age, and older healthy male and female adults.

[Purpose] Compare four quick (approximately 60 s), reliable methods of assessing %body-fat (%BF) among young (Y, 18-34 years), middle-age (M, 35-59 years), and older (O, 60-88 years) healthy-adults. [Participants and Methods] One-hundred-eighty healthy males-and-females were equally (n=30) divided into Y, M, and O age groups to assess %BF. The %BF methods were: 1) Bioelectrical-impedance-Inbody770 (IB)-criterion reference; 2) Body-mass-index (BMI); 3) Abdominal-and-hip circumferences (CIR); and 4) Skinfold (SF).

Proline substitutions in the ASIC1 β11-12 linker slow desensitization.

Desensitization is a prominent feature of nearly all ligand-gated ion channels. Acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs) undergo desensitization within hundreds of milliseconds to seconds upon continual extracellular acidification. The ASIC mechanism of desensitization is primarily due to the isomerization or "flipping" of a short linker joining the 11th and 12th β sheets in the extracellular domain.