Bedside laparotomy in newborns -A single institute experience.

Background/purpose: Intra hospital transfer of sick newborns is known to cause adverse events with potential morbidity. Interventions at the bedside in a sick neonate can reduce the need for transport and in turn, potential hazards of transfer. Our single institute experience of performing bedside laparotomies in unstable newborns is reported here.

Double J stent removal in paediatric patients by Vellore Catheter Snare technique: a randomised control trial.

Background: Double J (DJ) stents placed at the end of paediatric urological procedures require another cystoscopy under general anaesthesia for removal. The second author developed a reproducible technique for snaring the DJ stent using an infant feeding tube (6-Fr or 8-Fr) and a 3-0 polypropylene suture per urethra. Having demonstrated the proof of concept, ethical clearance was obtained for an institutional randomised controlled trial.

Update on biomarkers in neuromyelitis optica.

Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) (and NMO spectrum disorder) is an autoimmune inflammatory disease of the CNS primarily affecting spinal cord and optic nerves. Reliable and sensitive biomarkers for onset, relapse, and progression in NMO are urgently needed because of the heterogeneous clinical presentation, severity of neurologic disability following relapses, and variability of therapeutic response. Detecting aquaporin-4 (AQP4) antibodies (AQP4-IgG or NMO-IgG) in serum supports the diagnosis of seropositive NMO.

Use of Advanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging Techniques in Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder.

Brain parenchymal lesions are frequently observed on conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of patients with neuromyelitis optica (NMO) spectrum disorder, but the specific morphological and temporal patterns distinguishing them unequivocally from lesions caused by other disorders have not been identified. This literature review summarizes the literature on advanced quantitative imaging measures reported for patients with NMO spectrum disorder, including proton MR spectroscopy, diffusion tensor imaging, magnetization transfer imaging, quantitative MR volumetry, and ultrahigh-field strength MRI. It was undertaken to consider the advanced MRI techniques used for patients with NMO by different specialists in the field.

Challenges and opportunities in designing clinical trials for neuromyelitis optica.

Current management of neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is noncurative and only partially effective. Immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory agents are the mainstays of maintenance treatment. Safer, better-tolerated, and proven effective treatments are needed.

Integrative continuum: accelerating therapeutic advances in rare autoimmune diseases.

Autoimmune diseases are chronic, life threatening, and of burgeoning public health concern. They rank among the 10 most common causes of death in women, and some have incidence rates surpassing those of heart disease and cancer. Emerging information regarding molecular and cellular mechanisms affords opportunities for the discovery of novel therapeutic strategies or the repurposing of FDA-approved pharmacologic agents.

Brain glucose metabolism in hypothyroidism: a positron emission tomography study before and after thyroid hormone replacement therapy.

Context: Hypothyroidism is frequently associated with subtle behavioral and psychiatric symptoms. The consequences of inadequate thyroid hormone availability to brain metabolism are poorly understood.

Objective: This study assessed the relationships between neuropsychiatric symptoms and changes in relative regional cerebral glucose metabolism in hypothyroid patients undergoing thyroid hormone replacement therapy.

Verbal memory retrieval deficits associated with untreated hypothyroidism.

The effects of inadequate thyroid hormone availability to the brain on adult cognitive function are poorly understood. This study assessed the effects of hypothyroidism on cognitive function using a standard neuropsychological battery in 14 patients suffering from untreated hypothyroidism and complaining of subjective cognitive difficulties in comparison with 10 age-matched healthy comparison subjects. Significant differences between groups were limited to verbal memory retrieval as measured by the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT).

Memory improvement with treatment of hypothyroidism.

The consequences of inadequate thyroid hormone availability to the brain and treatment effects of levothyroxine on cognitive function are still poorly understood. This study prospectively assessed the effects of thyroid replacement therapy on cognitive function in patients suffering from biochemical evidenced, untreated hypothyroidism. Significant effects between the untreated hypothyroid group and control group were limited to verbal memory retrieval.

Coronary vasomotor abnormalities in insulin-resistant individuals.

Background: Insulin resistance is a metabolic spectrum that progresses from hyperinsulinemia to the metabolic syndrome, impaired glucose tolerance, and finally type 2 diabetes mellitus. It is unclear when vascular abnormalities begin in this spectrum of metabolic effects.

Objective: To evaluate the association of insulin resistance with the presence and reversibility of coronary vasomotor abnormalities in young adults at low cardiovascular risk.

Prevention of diabetes in nonobese diabetic mice by dendritic cell transfer.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of dendritic cell (DC) transfers on the incidence of diabetes in female nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice. Groups of 4-wk-old NOD female mice were given a single foot pad of DCs (70-90% purity) isolated from the draining lymph nodes (LN) of the pancreas (PLN), the cervical LNs, or the axillary/inguinal LNs. In addition, other groups of NOD mice received purified spleen DCs, purified PLN T cells (the major contaminating population in DC preparations), or the injection vehicle PBS.

Immunodetection of thyroid tumors: role of immuno aggregates.

To understand the inconsistent immunodetection of tumors in vivo, a labelled monoclonal antibody (MAb) against a human follicular cancer cell line (UCLA RO 82 W-1) was used as a model for in vitro and in vivo studies. The 131I labelled MAb x RO 82 W-1 bound to its target cells (10% to 70%) mainly because of the generation of immunoglobulin aggregates. Aggregates generated by the freezing process were shown by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) and their removal by filtration.