To intubate or not? Balancing anesthesia in rodent fMRI: strategies to mitigate confounding effects.

More than a decade ago, the introduction of intubation and mechanical ventilation for performing blood oxygen level-dependent functional MRI studies in the rodent brain allowed an improved control over the physiological conditions during scanning sessions. An accurate understanding of respiratory parameters permits to respect the 3Rs in animal research, improves significantly the fMRI outcome, and promises improved translational studies. Developments also prompted a better comprehension on anesthetics and their impact on rodent brain physiology and function, bringing new insights on the buildup of carbon dioxide, interhemispheric connectivity, or arousal, which understanding are paramount for maturing better fMRI protocols in awake rodents.

Prospective assessment of canine thyroid cancer-part I: nodal metastatic rate and impact of nodal immunohistochemistry in 70 dogs.

Objective: To determine the rate of nodal metastasis in dogs with thyroid cancer and evaluate whether immunohistochemistry (IHC) identifies additional metastases beyond evaluation with H&E.

Animals: 70 prospectively enrolled client-owned dogs with thyroid cancer managed with thyroidectomy.

Methods: Dogs underwent thyroidectomy with concurrent elective bilateral medial retropharyngeal (MRP) ± deep cervical lymphadenectomy.

Reproducible stability of verbal and spatial functions along the menstrual cycle.

Recent studies have reported brain changes in response to ovarian hormonal fluctuations along the menstrual cycle. However, it remains unclear, whether these brain changes are of an adaptive nature or whether they are linked to changes in behavior along the menstrual cycle, particularly with respect to cognitive performance. To address this knowledge gap, we report results from 3 well-powered behavioral studies with different task designs, leveraging the advantages of each design type.

Outcomes of Strabismus Surgery Following Teprotumumab Therapy.

Purpose: To investigate the results of patients undergoing surgical treatment for strabismic diplopia in thyroid eye disease (TED) following teprotumumab.

Design: Multicenter, retrospective, case series.

Methods: We report 28 patients who underwent extraocular muscle surgery for strabismic diplopia after treatment with teprotumumab at 7 different academic centers.

A systematic review of the relationship between magnetic resonance imaging based resting-state and structural networks in the rodent brain.

Recent developments in rodent brain imaging have enabled translational characterization of functional and structural connectivity at the whole brain level . Nevertheless, fundamental questions about the link between structural and functional networks remain unsolved. In this review, we systematically searched for experimental studies in rodents investigating both structural and functional network measures, including studies correlating functional connectivity using resting-state functional MRI with diffusion tensor imaging or viral tracing data.

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Reverses Stroke-Induced Network Alterations in Mice.

Background: Beyond focal effects, stroke lesions impact the function of distributed networks. We here investigated (1) whether transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) alters the network changes induced by cerebral ischemia and (2) whether functional network parameters predict the therapeutic efficacy of tDCS in a mouse model of focal photothrombotic stroke.

Methods: Starting 3 days after stroke, cathodal tDCS (charge density=39.

UVEAL MELANOMA PRESENTING AS HEPATIC METASTASIS IN A PATIENT WITH OCULODERMAL MELANOCYTOSIS.

Purpose: To report an atypical case of occult uveal melanoma in a patient with oculodermal melanocytosis that first presented with symptoms of hepatic metastasis.

Methods: A previously healthy 16-year-old boy with noted ocular hyperpigmentation developed abdominal pain and vomiting and was found to have a hepatic mass consistent with a metastatic lesion from an occult uveal melanoma.

Results: On examination, the patient's visual acuity was 20/20, and pupils were reactive without an afferent pupillary defect in both eyes.

Development of a Deep Learning Model for Retinal Hemorrhage Detection on Head Computed Tomography in Young Children.

Importance: Abusive head trauma (AHT) in children is often missed in medical encounters, and retinal hemorrhage (RH) is considered strong evidence for AHT. Although head computed tomography (CT) is obtained routinely, all but exceptionally large RHs are undetectable on CT images in children.

Objective: To examine whether deep learning-based image analysis can detect RH on pediatric head CT.

Proton therapy and limited surgery for paediatric and adolescent patients with craniopharyngioma (RT2CR): a single-arm, phase 2 study.

Background: Compared with photon therapy, proton therapy reduces exposure of normal brain tissue in patients with craniopharyngioma, which might reduce cognitive deficits associated with radiotherapy. Because there are known physical differences between the two methods of radiotherapy, we aimed to estimate progression-free survival and overall survival distributions for paediatric and adolescent patients with craniopharyngioma treated with limited surgery and proton therapy, while monitoring for excessive CNS toxicity.

Methods: In this single-arm, phase 2 study, patients with craniopharyngioma at St Jude Children's Research Hospital (Memphis TN, USA) and University of Florida Health Proton Therapy Institute (Jacksonville, FL, USA) were recruited.

Complement C3a treatment accelerates recovery after stroke via modulation of astrocyte reactivity and cortical connectivity.

Despite advances in acute care, ischemic stroke remains a major cause of long-term disability. Approaches targeting both neuronal and glial responses are needed to enhance recovery and improve long-term outcome. The complement C3a receptor (C3aR) is a regulator of inflammation with roles in neurodevelopment, neural plasticity, and neurodegeneration.

Analgesia in Postoperative Adult Strabismus Patients.

This survey of pediatric ophthalmic surgeons on analgesia for postoperative adult strabismus patients indicates that 65% prescribed acetaminophen and/or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and 12% to 16% prescribed opioids. Most surgeons reported reasonable control of pain regardless of analgesia. Acetaminophen and/or NSAIDs may adequately control pain, although certain circumstances may warrant opioid prescriptions.

Pediatric Craniopharyngioma: The Effect of Visual Deficits and Hormone Deficiencies on Long-Term Cognitive Outcomes After Conformal Photon Radiation Therapy.

Purpose: Pediatric patients with craniopharyngioma risk cognitive deficits when treated with radiation therapy. We investigated cognitive outcomes after conformal photon radiation therapy (CRT) and the effect of visual deficits and hormone deficiencies.

Methods And Materials: One hundred one pediatric patients were enrolled on a single institutional protocol beginning in 1998 (n = 76) or followed a similar nonprotocol treatment plan (n = 25).

Transcranial-Direct-Current-Stimulation Accelerates Motor Recovery After Cortical Infarction in Mice: The Interplay of Structural Cellular Responses and Functional Recovery.

Background: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) promotes recovery after stroke in humans. The underlying mechanisms, however, remain to be elucidated. Animal models suggest tDCS effects on neuroinflammation, stem cell proliferation, neurogenesis, and neural plasticity.

Inflate and pack! Pelvic packing combined with REBOA deployment prevents hemorrhage related deaths in unstable pelvic fractures.

Introduction: Resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) is advocated for hemorrhage control in pelvic fracture patients in shock. We evaluated REBOA in patients undergoing preperitoneal pelvic packing (PPP) for pelvic fracture-related hemorrhage.

Methods: Retrospective, single-institution study of unstable pelvic fractures (hemodynamic instability despite 2 units of red blood cells (RBCs) and fracture identified on x-ray).

Time to Look for Another Infectious Source? White Blood Cell Trends during Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia.

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) continues to plague patients in intensive care units (ICUs) throughout the world. Persistent leukocytosis despite antibiotic treatment for VAP can have many etiologies including normal inflammatory response, inadequate VAP antimicrobial therapy, and the presence of additional infectious diagnoses. Surgical patients with VAP and a second infectious source have a different white blood cell count (WBC) trend than patients with VAP alone.

Assessment of Discharge Analgesic Prescription Patterns for Hospitalized Patients With Rib Fractures.

Introduction: There is a paucity of data describing opioid prescribing patterns for trauma patients. We investigated pain medication regimens prescribed at discharge for patients with traumatic rib fractures, as well as potential variables predictive of opioid prescribing.

Methods: A single-center, retrospective analysis was performed of 337 adult patients presenting with ≥1 traumatic rib fractures between January and December 2019.

The Reliability of the CTS-6 for Examiners With Varying Levels of Clinical Experience.

Purpose: To assess the interrater reliability of the CTS-6 for examiners with varying levels of clinical expertise. We also aimed to analyze this instrument's sensitivity (Sn) and specificity (Sp), using the CTS-6 score obtained by a hand surgeon as a reference standard.

Methods: Three examining groups consisting of medical students, occupational hand therapists, and hand surgeons examined a consecutive series of patients in an academic upper-extremity clinic.

Ocular Neuromyotonia in Children and Adolescents Following Radiation Treatment of Pediatric Brain Tumors.

Purpose: To report five cases of ocular neuromyotonia in children and adolescents following radiation therapy for a variety of pediatric brain tumors. Notably, three cases occurred in children younger than 11 years.

Methods: Case series of five patients with ocular neuromyotonia following proton beam therapy or conventional radiation.

Monitoring Neuronal Network Disturbances of Brain Diseases: A Preclinical MRI Approach in the Rodent Brain.

Functional and structural neuronal networks, as recorded by resting-state functional MRI and diffusion MRI-based tractography, gain increasing attention as data driven whole brain imaging methods not limited to the foci of the primary pathology or the known key affected regions but permitting to characterize the entire network response of the brain after disease or injury. Their connectome contents thus provide information on distal brain areas, directly or indirectly affected by and interacting with the primary pathological event or affected regions. From such information, a better understanding of the dynamics of disease progression is expected.

The gut microbiota modulates brain network connectivity under physiological conditions and after acute brain ischemia.

The gut microbiome has been implicated as a key regulator of brain function in health and disease. But the impact of gut microbiota on functional brain connectivity is unknown. We used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging in germ-free and normally colonized mice under naive conditions and after ischemic stroke.

Allergic Fungal Sinusitis: Ophthalmic Complications Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Potential of Telemedicine.

We report a case of a 26-year-old female who initially presented to an outside optometrist with complaints of proptosis and decreased visual acuity. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) obtained at that time was concerning for allergic fungal sinusitis. Unfortunately, the patient's referral to ophthalmology was delayed due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Effect of Premature Tube Extrusion for Simple Congenital Nasolacrimal Duct Obstruction: A Comparison of Monocanalicular and Bicanalicular Intubation.

The objective of this article is to compare the incidence of premature dislocation of silicone tubes and the effect on treatment success between monocanalicular (MCI) and bicanalicular (BCI) intubation in pediatric patients with simple congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction. Retrospective comparative case series of 108 eyes of 78 pediatric patients with simple congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction who underwent probing with either BCI (n = 38 eyes) or MCI (n = 70 eyes) from 2017 to 2020. Premature tube extrusion was defined as any tube removed prior to the 3 month postoperative appointment.

Translating Functional Connectivity After Stroke: Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Detects Comparable Network Changes in Mice and Humans.

Background And Purpose: The translational roadblock has long impeded the implementation of experimental therapeutic approaches for stroke into clinical routine. Considerable interspecies differences, for example, in brain anatomy and function, render comparisons between rodents and humans tricky, especially concerning brain reorganization and recovery of function. We tested whether stroke-evoked changes in neural networks follow similar patterns in mice and patients using a systems-level perspective.