Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcal Infections (PANDAS) and Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS) are broad diagnoses that encompass a range of sudden-onset neuropsychiatric symptoms in children, which can include obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), tics, anxiety, emotional instability, and cognitive difficulties. Unlike PANDAS, PANS is not strictly linked to group A streptococcal infections but can be triggered by various infectious or environmental factors. Lights and shadows remain upon the management of children with PANS and PANDAS and there is no clear consensus regarding definition, diagnostic criteria, treatment, and follow-up.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFZwitterionic polymers, with their equal amounts of cationic and anionic functional groups, have found widespread utility including as non-fouling coatings, hydrogel materials, stabilizers, antifreeze materials, and drug carriers. Polysaccharide-derived zwitterionic polymers are attractive because of their sustainable origin, potential for lower toxicity, and possible biodegradability, but previous methods for synthesis of zwitterionic polysaccharide derivatives have been limited in terms of flexibility and attainable degree of substitution (DS) of charged entities. We report herein successful design and synthesis of zwitterionic polysaccharide derivatives, in this case based on cellulose, by reductive amination of oxidized 2-hydroxypropyl cellulose (Ox-HPC) with ω-aminoalkanoic acids.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInteractions between communities of the gut microbiome and with the host could affect the onset and progression of metabolic associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), and can be useful as new diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers. In this study, we performed a multi-omics approach to unravel gut microbiome signatures from 32 biopsy-proven patients (10 simple steatosis -SS- and 22 steatohepatitis -SH-) and 19 healthy volunteers (HV). Human and microbial transcripts were differentially identified between groups (MAFLD vs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUrinary tract infection (UTI) represents one of the most common infectious diseases and a major cause of antibiotic prescription in children. To prevent recurrent infections and long-term complications, low-dose continuous antibiotic prophylaxis (CAP) has been used. However, the efficacy of CAP is controversial.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF