In vivo biocompatibility assessment of 3D printed bioresorbable polymers for brain tissue regeneration. A feasibility study.

Introduction: The limited capacity of brain tissue to regenerate after acute injury, hampered by cell death, edema and inflammation, has led to an interest in promising and innovative approaches such as implantable regenerative scaffolds designed to improve brain plasticity. Leveraging the capabilities of bioprinting, these scaffolds can be tailored to match the intricate architecture of the brain.

Methods: In this methodological study, we performed in vivo biocompatibility assessments after a brain lesion on three distinct bioeliminable or bioresorbable materials: Poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA), Polycaprolactone (PCL) and a PEGDA mixed with gelatin methacrylate (PEGDA-GelMA).

Simple hybrid polymeric nanostructures encapsulating macro-cyclic Gd/Eu based complexes: luminescence properties and application as MRI contrast agent.

Lanthanide-based macrocycles are successfully incorporated into hybrid polyionic complexes, formed by adding a mixture of zirconium ions to a solution of a double-hydrophilic block copolymer. The resulting nanoobjects with an average radius of approximately 10-15 nm present good colloidal and chemical stability in physiological media even in the presence of competing ions such as phosphate or calcium ions. The final optical and magnetic properties of these objects benefit from both their colloidal nature and the specific properties of the complexes.

Assemblies of poly(-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone)-based double hydrophilic block copolymers triggered by lanthanide ions: characterization and evaluation of their properties as MRI contrast agents.

Because of the formation of specific antibodies to poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) leading to life-threatening side effects, there is an increasing need to develop alternatives to treatments and diagnostic methods based on PEGylated copolymers. Block copolymers comprising a poly(-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) (PVP) segment can be used for the design of such vectors without any PEG block. As an example, a poly(acrylic acid)--poly(-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) (PAA--PVP) copolymer with controlled composition and molar mass is synthesized by reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization.

Pseudoprogression in GBM versus true progression in patients with glioblastoma: A multiapproach analysis.

Background And Purpose: To investigate the feasibility of using a multiapproach analysis combining clinical data, diffusion- and perfusion-weighted imaging, and 3D magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging to distinguish true tumor progression (TP) from pseudoprogression (PSP) in patients with glioblastoma.

Materials And Methods: Progression was suspected within 6 months of radiotherapy in 46 of the 180 patients included in the Phase-III SpectroGlio trial (NCT01507506). Choline/creatine (Cho/Cr), choline/N-acetyl aspartate (Cho/NAA) and lactate/N-acetyl aspartate (Lac/NAA) ratios were extracted.

Evidence of cerebral hypoperfusion consecutive to ultrasound-mediated blood-brain barrier opening in rats.

Purpose: This work aims to explore the effect of Blood Brain Barrier (BBB) opening using ultrasound combined with microbubbles injection on cerebral blood flow in rats.

Methods: Two groups of n = 5 rats were included in this study. The first group was used to investigate the impact of BBB opening on the Arterial Spin Labeling (ASL) signal, in particular on the arterial transit time (ATT).

Long-Term Intranasal Nerve Growth Factor Treatment Favors Neuron Formation in Brain Tissue.

Objective: To date, no safe and effective pharmacological treatment has been clinically validated for improving post-stroke neurogenesis. Growth factors are good candidates but low safety has limited their application in the clinic. An additional restraint is the delivery route.

Present and future avenues of cell-based therapy for brain injury: The enteric nervous system as a potential cell source.

Cell therapy is a promising strategy in the field of regenerative medicine; however, several concerns limit the effective clinical use, namely a valid cell source. The gastrointestinal tract, which contains a highly organized network of nerves called the enteric nervous system (ENS), is a valuable reservoir of nerve cells. Together with neurons and neuronal precursor cells, it contains glial cells with a well described neurotrophic potential and a newly identified neurogenic one.

Quality control of 3D MRSI data in glioblastoma: Can we do without the experts?

Purpose: Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (1H MRSI) is a noninvasive technique for assessing tumor metabolism. Manual inspection is still the gold standard for quality control (QC) of spectra, but it is both time-consuming and subjective. The aim of the present study was to assess automatic QC of glioblastoma MRSI data using random forest analysis.

A Reproducible New Model of Focal Ischemic Injury in the Marmoset Monkey: MRI and Behavioural Follow-Up.

Ischemic stroke mostly affects the primary motor cortex and descending motor fibres, with consequent motor impairment. Pre-clinical models of stroke with reproducible and long-lasting sensorimotor deficits in higher-order animals are lacking. We describe a new method to induce focal brain damage targeting the motor cortex to study damage to the descending motor tracts in the non-human primate.

Insulin-like Growth Factor Binding Protein 2 predicts mortality risk in heart failure.

Background: Insulin-like Growth Factor Binding Protein 2 (IGFBP2) showed greater heart failure (HF) diagnostic accuracy than the "grey zone" B-type natriuretic peptides, and may have prognostic utility as well.

Objectives: To determine if IGFBP2 provides independent information on cardiovascular mortality in HF.

Methods: A retrospective study of 870 HF patients from 3 independent international cohorts.

Post-stroke remodeling processes in animal models and humans.

After cerebral ischemia, events like neural plasticity and tissue reorganization intervene in lesioned and non-lesioned areas of the brain. These processes are tightly related to functional improvement and successful rehabilitation in patients. Plastic remodeling in the brain is associated with limited spontaneous functional recovery in patients.

Focal Malonate Injection Into the Internal Capsule of Rats as a Model of Lacunar Stroke.

Stroke is the first cause of disability in adults in western countries. Infarct of the internal capsule (IC) may be related to motor impairment and poor prognosis in stroke patients. Functional deficits due to medium-sized infarcts are difficult to predict, except if the specific site of the lesion is taken into account.

Differential protein profiling as a potential multi-marker approach for obese patients with heart failure: A retrospective study.

Identification of novel circulating biomarkers predicting death and major cardio-metabolic events in obese patients with heart failure (HF) remains a research priority. In this study, we compared multi-marker profile of non-obese (NOB) and obese (OB) HF patients in relation to mortality outcome. The new multiplex proximity extension assay technology was used to analyze the levels of 92 proteins in plasma samples from HF patients according to body mass index (BMI) categories.

Paradoxical Effect of Nonalcoholic Red Wine Polyphenol Extract, Provinols™, in the Regulation of Cyclooxygenases in Vessels from Zucker Fatty Rats (/).

The aim of this work was to study the vascular effects of dietary supplementation of a nonalcoholic red wine polyphenol extract, Provinols, in Zucker fatty (ZF) obese rats. ZF or lean rats received diet supplemented or not with Provinols for 8 weeks. Vasoconstriction in response to phenylephrine (Phe) was then assessed in small mesenteric arteries (SMA) and the aorta with emphasis on the contribution of cyclooxygenases (COX).

Increased mean aliphatic lipid chain length in left ventricular hypertrophy secondary to arterial hypertension: A cross-sectional study.

About 77.9 million (1 in 4) American adults have high blood pressure. High blood pressure is the primary cause of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), which represents a strong predictor of future heart failure and cardiovascular mortality.

Apelin regulates FoxO3 translocation to mediate cardioprotective responses to myocardial injury and obesity.

The increasing incidence of obesity accentuates the importance of identifying mechanisms and optimal therapeutic strategies for patients with heart failure (HF) in relation to obesity status. Here, we investigated the association between plasma level of apelin, an adipocyte-derived factor, and clinicopathological features of obese and non-obese patients with HF. We further explored potential regulatory mechanisms of cardiac cell fate responses in conditions combining myocardial injury and obesity.

The prognostic value of plasma galectin-3 in chronic heart failure patients is maintained when treated with mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists.

Objective: Galectin-3 (Gal-3) is considered as a myocardial fibrosis biomarker with prognostic value in heart failure (HF). Since aldosterone is a neurohormone with established fibrotic properties, we aimed to investigate if mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRAs) would modulate the prognostic value of Gal-3.

Methods: The IBLOMAVED cohort comprised 427 eligible chronic HF patients (CHF) with echocardiography and heart failure biomarkers assessments (BNP).

Benefits of cardiac rehabilitation in heart failure patients according to etiology: INCARD French study.

We investigated the impact of heart failure (HF) etiology on the outcome of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) assessed by functional and clinical parameters. Treatment of chronic HF requires multidisciplinary approaches with a recognized role for CR. INCARD is a French study aimed at evaluating the benefits of sustainable CR in coronary (C) and noncoronary patients (NC) treated and educated during a 24-month period of follow-up.

Apolipoprotein O is mitochondrial and promotes lipotoxicity in heart.

Diabetic cardiomyopathy is a secondary complication of diabetes with an unclear etiology. Based on a functional genomic evaluation of obesity-associated cardiac gene expression, we previously identified and cloned the gene encoding apolipoprotein O (APOO), which is overexpressed in hearts from diabetic patients. Here, we generated APOO-Tg mice, transgenic mouse lines that expresses physiological levels of human APOO in heart tissue.

Metabonomics analysis of plasma reveals the lactate to cholesterol ratio as an independent prognostic factor of short-term mortality in acute heart failure.

Objective: Mortality in heart failure (AHF) remains high, especially during the first days of hospitalization. New prognostic biomarkers may help to optimize treatment. The aim of the study was to determine metabolites that have a high prognostic value.

Blood signature of pre-heart failure: a microarrays study.

Background: The preclinical stage of systolic heart failure (HF), known as asymptomatic left ventricular dysfunction (ALVD), is diagnosed only by echocardiography, frequent in the general population and leads to a high risk of developing severe HF. Large scale screening for ALVD is a difficult task and represents a major unmet clinical challenge that requires the determination of ALVD biomarkers.

Methodology/principal Findings: 294 individuals were screened by echocardiography.

Red wine polyphenols prevent metabolic and cardiovascular alterations associated with obesity in Zucker fatty rats (Fa/Fa).

Background: Obesity is associated with increased risks for development of cardiovascular diseases. Epidemiological studies report an inverse association between dietary flavonoid consumption and mortality from cardiovascular diseases. We studied the potential beneficial effects of dietary supplementation of red wine polyphenol extract, Provinols, on obesity-associated alterations with respect to metabolic disturbances and cardiovascular functions in Zucker fatty (ZF) rats.

Interest of fluorine-19 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in the detection, identification and quantification of metabolites of anticancer and antifungal fluoropyrimidine drugs in human biofluids.

Background: The metabolism of fluorouracil and fluorocytosine, two 5-fluoropyrimidine drugs in clinical use, was investigated.

Methods: (19)F nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was used as an analytical technique for the detection, identification and quantification of fluorinated metabolites of these drugs in intact human biofluids as well as fluorinated degradation compounds of fluorouracil in commercial vials.

Results: (19)F NMR provides a highly specific tool for the detection and absolute quantification, in a single run, of all the fluorinated species, including unexpected substances, present in biofluids of patients treated with fluorouracil or fluorocytosine.