Biomarkers.

Background: Dementia, encompassing Alzheimer's disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), poses a substantial public health challenge in Latin America. Barriers such as a shortage of healthcare professionals, limited medical accessibility, and underdiagnosis contribute to the complexity. While biomarkers aligned with the ATN framework (Amyloid, Tau, Neurodegeneration) have revolutionized diagnosis, their cost limits adoption in Latin America.

Biomarkers.

Background: Predicting Alzheimer's disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) using polygenic risk scores (PRS) for late-onset forms holds promise, but its accuracy might be influenced by social determinants of health (SDOH). This study explores how considering SDOH alongside genes can improve prediction, focusing on potential differences for each disease.

Methods: Employing logistic regression in 677 individuals (287 AD, 102 FTD, and 288 controls) aged 40-80 from the ReDLat study across six Latin American countries, we investigated the potential for SDOH to modify the association between PRS and susceptibility to AD and FTD.

Cervix-Deep Rectal Temperature Differential on the Day of Ovulation is Correlated With Embryo Recovery Results in Mares.

Variations in temperature throughout the reproductive tract have been noted in many species. A recent study found the cervix-rectum temperature differential (CR-TD) in cattle was related to fertility. The present study aimed to assess the CR-TD in mares around the time of ovulation and relate it to embryo recover.

Successful vitrification of equine embryos >300 microns without puncture or aspiration.

Background: Equine embryos >300 μm require puncture before vitrification. Protocols that do not require pre-puncture would make vitrification easier and allow for its widespread use.

Objectives: To design a successful vitrification protocol for embryos >300 μm without puncture as a pre-treatment.

Neurodevelopmental assessment of normocephalic children born to Zika virus exposed and unexposed pregnant people.

Background: Studies examining the association between in utero Zika virus (ZIKV) exposure and child neurodevelopmental outcomes have produced varied results.

Methods: We aimed to assess neurodevelopmental outcomes among normocephalic children born from pregnant people enrolled in the Zika in Pregnancy in Honduras (ZIPH) cohort study, July-December 2016. Enrollment occurred during the first prenatal visit.

Development and biological evaluation of pNIPAM-based nanogels as vaccine carriers.

"Smart" nanogels are an attractive tool for the development of new strategies of immunization in veterinary medicine. Here, we reported the synthesis and physicochemical characterization of thermoresponsive nanogels based on poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAM) and theirin vitro, ex vivoand in vivo (mice model) performance. Smart nanogels of ca.

[Results of a surveillance strategy with SARS-CoV-2 antigen testing].

The objective was to describe the results of a surveillance strategy based on the use of SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen detection tests. A retrospective cohort study was held between December 2020 and March 2021, which included suspected cases of COVID-19 evaluated by rapid antigen tests at a public hospital, with confirmatory molecular tests in negative cases. Positive cases and their close contacts were followed up by telephone.

Understanding progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy: links between milky-way appearance and mismatch T2/FLAIR.

Background: Magnetic resonance imaging is essential to diagnose progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy. The broad radiological spectrum may partially be explained by genetic viral mutations and their differential neurotropism. Recent pharmacovigilance-magnetic resonance imaging studies have provided new insight into pathophysiology and radiological markers of early stages.

Measurement of Head Circumference: Implications for Microcephaly Surveillance in Zika-Affected Areas.

Worldwide recognition of the Zika virus outbreak in the Americas was triggered by an unexplained increase in the frequency of microcephaly. While severe microcephaly is readily identifiable at birth, diagnosing less severe cases requires comparison of head circumference (HC) measurement to a growth chart. We examine measured values of HC and digit preference in those values, and, by extension, the prevalence of microcephaly at birth in two data sources: a research study in Honduras and routine surveillance data in Uruguay.

Uncoupling interferon signaling and antigen presentation to overcome immunotherapy resistance due to JAK1 loss in melanoma.

Defects in tumor-intrinsic interferon (IFN) signaling result in failure of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) against cancer, but these tumors may still maintain sensitivity to T cell-based adoptive cell therapy (ACT). We generated models of IFN signaling defects in B16 murine melanoma observed in patients with acquired resistance to ICB. Tumors lacking or did not respond to ICB, whereas ACT was effective against tumors, but not tumors, where both type I and II tumor IFN signaling were defective.

Hereditary spastic paraplegia: An "ears of the lynx" magnetic resonance imaging sign in a patient with recessive genetic type 11.

Hereditary spastic paraplegias are an uncommon group of monogenic diseases that include 79 types of genetic disorders. The most frequent cause of recessive hereditary spastic paraplegia is a mutation in the spastic paraplegia gene type 11 followed by type 15. This group is usually associated with non-specific clinical features like cognitive decline and may precede the progressive weakness and spasticity of lower limbs.

Accuracy of nigrosome-1 detection to discriminate patients with Parkinson's disease and essential tremor.

Purpose: The use of susceptibility weighted imaging in high field magnetic resonance imaging scanners can detect the nigrosome-1 area located in the caudo-lateral region of the pars compacta in the substantia nigra. This structure comprises a significant amount of dopaminergic neurons and degenerates in the early stages of Parkinson's disease. Essential tremor is a neurological condition that in some cases could be confused with the early stages of Parkinson's disease with a possible error in clinical diagnosis.

Sellar region: magnetic resonance imaging assessment of uncommon tumors and pseudotumors.

Objective: To show the usefulness of magnetic resonance imaging in the anatomic and pathologic characterization of the sellar region, emphasizing the differential diagnosis of uncommon non-adenomatous tumors and pseudotumors studied in our institution.

Conclusion: The sellar region is a complex anatomic space with diverse types of tissues from which a wide spectrum of diseases can arise. Magnetic resonance imaging's high tissue resolution and ability to characterize the patterns of tumor growth and biological behavior make it the best imaging technique to study this region.

Brain volume loss and no evidence of disease activity over 3 years in multiple sclerosis patients under interferon beta 1a subcutaneous treatment.

The objective of our study was to evaluate the relationship of percentage of annualized brain volume loss (aBVL) and no evidence of disease activity (NEDA) in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients under interferon beta 1-a subcutaneous treatment (IFN-beta) during 3 years of follow up. Relapsing remitting MS (RRMS) patients, with less than three years from disease onset, expanded disability status scale (EDSS) ≤3 and in which IFN beta 1-a 44 mcg was indicated, were included. Demographic, clinical and structural parameters from the magnetic resonance (MR) during the 3 years of follow up were analyzed and compared between patients with and without NEDA (defined as the absence of: (a) three-month confirmed disability progression defined as an increase in EDSS score of 1.

Thalamus volume change and cognitive impairment in early relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients.

Aims The objective of the study was to assess whether changes in the volume of the thalamus during the onset of multiple sclerosis predict cognitive impairment after accounting for the effects of brain volume loss. Methods A prospective study included patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis less than 3 years after disease onset (defined as the first demyelinating symptom), Expanded Disability Status Scale of 3 or less, no history of cognitive impairment and at least 2 years of follow-up. Patients were clinically followed up with annual brain magnetic resonance imaging and neuropsychological evaluations for 2 years.

Structural sex differences at disease onset in multiple sclerosis patients.

Background: Male sex is associated with worsening disability and a more rapid progression of multiple sclerosis (MS). This study analysed structural sex differences in magnetic resonance images of the brain, comparing women whose disease started before and after the menopause with a control group of men.

Methods: This was a case control study in which female patients whose MS started before (Group 1) and after (Group 2) the menopause were included.

Antiangiogenic Resistance and Cancer Metabolism: Opportunities for Synthetic Lethality.

Antiangiogenic resistance is a major problem in cancer therapeutics. Preclinical research has identified several compensatory proangiogenic pathways that arise upon vascular endothelial growth factor inhibition, several of which have led to the development of novel drugs. However, the combination of two or more targeted agents in the angiogenesis system is hampered by toxicity, as the system is involved in normal physiology.

Usefulness of the apparent diffusion coefficient for the evaluation of the white matter to differentiate between glioblastoma and brain metastases.

Objective: To determine whether there are significant differences in the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) between the apparently normal peritumor white matter surrounding glioblastomas and that surrounding brain metastases.

Material And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 42 patients with histologically confirmed glioblastomas and 42 patients with a single cerebral metastasis. We measured the signal intensity in the apparently normal peritumor white matter and in the abnormal peritumor white matter on the ADC maps.

Oncogenic Transformation Can Orchestrate Immune Evasion and Inflammation in Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells Independently of Extrinsic Immune-Selective Pressure.

Immune escape is a hallmark of cancer, but whether it relies upon extrinsic immune-selective pressure or is inherently orchestrated by oncogenic pathways is unresolved. To address this question, we took advantage of an in vitro model of sequentially transformed human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC). Neoplastic transformation in this model increased the natural immune-evasive properties of hMSC, both by reducing their immunogenicity and by increasing their capacity to inhibit mitogen-driven T-cell proliferation.

Relationship between genotoxic effects of breast cancer treatments and patient basal DNA integrity.

Radiotherapy and chemotherapy cause genotoxic side effects that are highly variable among patients. In this study, we evaluated DNA integrity using the comet assay in peripheral blood lymphocytes from breast cancer patients before ("pre-treatment patients"; n=47) and after ("post-treatment patients"; n=24) radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy treatment and from healthy donors (n=15). Comet evaluation was made by visual (types 0-4) and digital (percentage of DNA remaining in the comet head=% head DNA) analysis.

Oncogenic transformation tunes the cross-talk between mesenchymal stem cells and T lymphocytes.

Stem cells from mesenchymal origin (MSC) exert a plethora of immunomodulatory effects. We created a neoplastic model based on in vitro step-wise transformation to assess whether oncogenic pathways have the capacity to mould the cross-talk of MSC and lymphocytes. Neoplastic MSC exhibit an increased inhibitory effect on T cell proliferation, either directly or mediated by myeloid derived suppressor cells.

Oncogenic transformation of mesenchymal stem cells decreases Nrf2 expression favoring in vivo tumor growth and poorer survival.

Background: The transcription factor Nrf2 is a key regulator of the cellular antioxidant response, and its activation by chemoprotective agents has been proposed as a potential strategy to prevent cancer. However, activating mutations in the Nrf2 pathway have been found to promote tumorigenesis in certain models. Therefore, the role of Nrf2 in cancer remains contentious.

Expression of FUS-CHOP fusion protein in immortalized/transformed human mesenchymal stem cells drives mixoid liposarcoma formation.

Increasing evidence supports that mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs) may represent the target cell for sarcoma development. Although different sarcomas have been modeled in mice upon expression of fusion oncogenes in MSCs, sarcomagenesis has not been successfully modeled in human MSCs (hMSCs). We report that FUS-CHOP, a hallmark fusion gene in mixoid liposarcoma (MLS), has an instructive role in lineage commitment, and its expression in hMSC sequentially immortalized/transformed with up to five oncogenic hits (p53 and Rb deficiency, hTERT over-expression, c-myc stabilization, and H-RAS(v12) mutation) drives the formation of serially transplantable MLS.