Ponatinib-Induced Pneumonitis with Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.

Unlabelled: Ponatinib is a third-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) that can effectively treat patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), particularly those with Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+ALL) subtype, who are resistant or have previously received other TKIs. We report a case of a 42-year-old female with Ph+ALL who was admitted to the intensive care unit with respiratory failure and severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), while on treatment with ponatinib. Despite being treated with multiple antibiotics and antivirals, the patient's condition continued to worsen, and pulmonary complications secondary to TKI were suspected.

Pneumocephalus Secondary to Cerebral Air Embolism After Acute Bleeding in an Emphysema Bulla.

Pneumocephalus is the presence of air in the intracranial space and has multiple causes, including cerebral air embolism. Its presentation may range from asymptomatic to decrease mental status, coma, and seizures. We present a case of cerebral air embolism secondary to acute bleeding inside an emphysema bulla.

Cell-based serum anticholinergic activity assay and working memory in cognitively healthy older adults before and after scopolamine: An exploratory study.

Background: A new cell-based serum anticholinergic activity (cSAA) assay that measures anticholinergic activity specifically at muscarinic M1 receptors and eliminates many of the drawbacks of the existing assay was developed by our team.

Aims: We aimed to study the relationship between changes in working memory and executive function with changes in cSAA using the new assay in cognitively healthy older adults.

Methods: Cognitively healthy participants aged 50 years and above, received a single dose of 0.

Skimboarding: An Increasingly Recognized Cause of Life-Threatening Spinal Cord Injury.

Skimboarding is a sport that combines elements from aquatic and terrestrial sports and has gained popularity with increased riskier maneuvers. Spinal cord injuries associated with this sport have rarely been reported. Here we present a case of a previously healthy 44-year-old male with a life-threatening C2/C3 fracture and dislocation after a skimboarding fall.

Antidepressant activity of pharmacological and genetic deactivation of the small-conductance calcium-activated potassium channel subtype-3.

Rationale: The voltage-insensitive, small-conductance calcium-activated potassium (SK) channel is a key regulator of neuronal depolarization and is implicated in the pathophysiology of depressive disorders.

Objective: We ascertained whether the SK channel is impaired in the chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) model and whether it can serve as a molecular target of antidepressant action.

Methods: We assessed the depressive-like behavioral phenotype of CUS-exposed rats and performed post-mortem SK channel binding and activity-dependent zif268 mRNA analyses on their brains.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Antibodies Among Healthcare Workers After Vaccine Administration in an Intensive Care Unit.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emerged in China in December 2019. Healthcare workers (HCWs) are one of the high-risk groups of infection and knowledge of the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among this class is very important, not only to understand the spread of COVID-19 among health institutions but also to assess the success of public health interventions. The objective of this prospective study was to determine the seroprevalence of COVID-19 immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies after vaccine administration and assess the symptomatology associated with the number of IgG antibodies.

A calcium fluorescence assay for quantification of cholinergic receptor activity of clinical drugs in serum - comparison with radioactive methods.

A new approach is described for quantifying cholinergic receptor activation status human blood samples, based on M1 receptor-driven mobilization of intracellular calcium stores. The assay identifies anticholinergic as well as agonist cholinergic receptor activity. As a cell-based procedure, the assay shares the high efficiency of recently developed M1 receptor binding protocols, but differs from the latter in relying on fluorescence rather than radioactivity measurements.

Antidepressant action of transcranial direct current stimulation in olfactory bulbectomised adolescent rats.

Background: Antidepressant drugs in adolescent depression are sometimes mired by efficacy issues and paradoxical effects. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) could represent an alternative.

Aims/methods: We tested the antidepressant action of prefrontal tDCS and paroxetine (20 mg/kg, intraperitoneal) in olfactory bulbectomised (OBX) adolescent rats.

Relationships Between a New Cultured Cell-Based Serum Anticholinergic Activity Assay and Anticholinergic Burden Scales or Cognitive Performance in Older Adults.

Objectives: Anticholinergic burden has been associated with deleterious effects on cognition particularly in those with an underlying brain disorder. We developed a new assay based on cultured cells to measure serum anticholinergic activity (cSAA). We report on its relationships with established anticholinergic burden rating scales and cognitive assessments in older patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or major depressive disorder (MDD) in remission or both.

Endocannabinoid modulating drugs improve anxiety but not the expression of conditioned fear in a rodent model of post-traumatic stress disorder.

The endocannabinoid (eCB) system is a potential target for the treatment of symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Similar to clinical PTSD, approximately 25-30% of rats that undergo cued fear conditioning exhibit impaired extinction learning. In addition to extinction-resistant fear, these "weak extinction" (WE) rats show persistent anxiety-like behaviors.

Effects of exposure to chronic uncertainty and a sensitizing regimen of amphetamine injections on locomotion, decision-making, and dopamine receptors in rats.

Gambling disorder (GD) is a behavioral addiction that may be linked to alterations in dopamine (DA) systems. Gambling involves chronic exposure to uncertain reward, which can sensitize the activity of DA systems. Here we explored how combinations of Pavlovian and instrumental uncertainty impact DA sensitization and risky decision-making.

D3 dopamine receptors and a missense mutation of fatty acid amide hydrolase linked in mouse and men: implication for addiction.

The endocannabinoid and dopaminergic systems have independently been implicated in substance use disorder and obesity. We investigated a potential interaction between genetically inherited variation in fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH, C385A), which metabolizes the cannabis-like endocannabinoid anandamide, and dopaminergic system, measured by dopamine receptor levels and mRNA. Binding of the dopamine D3 preferring probe [C-11]-(+)-PHNO was measured with positron emission tomography (PET) in 79 human subjects genotyped for the FAAH C385A polymorphism (36/79 AC + AA).

A Key Role for Prefrontocortical Small Conductance Calcium-Activated Potassium Channels in Stress Adaptation and Rapid Antidepressant Response.

The muscarinic acetylcholine receptor antagonist scopolamine elicits rapid antidepressant activity, but its underlying mechanism is not fully understood. In a chronic stress model, a single low-dose administration of scopolamine reversed depressive-like reactivity. This antidepressant-like effect was mediated via a muscarinic M1 receptor-SKC pathway because it was mimicked by intra-medial prefrontal cortex (intra-mPFC) infusions of scopolamine, of the M1 antagonist pirenzepine or of the SKC antagonist apamin, but not by the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant fluoxetine.

Ethanol-induced changes in synaptic amino acid neurotransmitter levels in the nucleus accumbens of differentially sensitized mice.

Rationale: Ethanol-induced behavioural sensitization (EBS) does not occur uniformly in mice exposed to the sensitization paradigm. This suggests innate differential responses to ethanol (EtOH) in the reward circuitry of individual animals.

Objectives: To better characterize the adaptive differences between low-sensitized (LS) and high-sensitized (HS) mice, we examined excitatory amino acid (EAA) and inhibitory amino acid (IAA) neurotransmitter levels in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) during EBS expression.

In Vivo Brain Sampling Using a Microextraction Probe Reveals Metabolic Changes in Rodents after Deep Brain Stimulation.

Brain metabolomics is an emerging field that complements the more traditional approaches of neuroscience. However, typical brain metabolomics workflows require that animals be sacrificed and tend to involve tedious sample preparation steps. Microdialysis, the standard technique to study brain metabolites in vivo, is encumbered by significant limitations in the analysis of hydrophobic metabolites, which are prone to adsorption losses on microdialysis equipment.

Rostrocaudal subregions of the ventral tegmental area are differentially impacted by chronic stress.

Rationale: The ventral tegmental area (VTA) is implicated in the pathophysiology of depression and addictive disorders and is subject to the detrimental effects of stress. Chronic stress may differentially alter the activity pattern of its different subregions along the rostrocaudal and dorsoventral axes, which may relate to the variable behavioral sensitivity to stress mediated by these subregions.

Objectives: Here, chronic stress-exposed rats were tested for depressive-like reactivity.

Esophageal and Gastroduodenal Hemorrhagic Necrosis: A Unique Finding in the Setting of Septic Shock and Vasopressor Use.

Esophageal and gastroduodenal necrosis are rare conditions with poor prognosis. We describe a case that was diagnosed with upper endoscopy in the setting of severe septic shock. To our knowledge, this is the first case in which esophageal and gastroduodenal necrosis occurred simultaneously in this setting.

Multiple Victims of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning in the Aftermath of a Wildfire: A Case Series.

Introduction: Carbon monoxide poisoning may occur in several contexts.

Material And Methods: Retrospective of 37 carbon monoxide poisoning cases that underwent hyperbaric oxygen during wildfires in Funchal in August 2016.

Results: The studied sample included 37 patients, mean age of 38 years, 78% males.

High frequency stimulation of the anterior vermis modulates behavioural response to chronic stress: involvement of the prefrontal cortex and dorsal raphe?

Some evidence suggests that the cerebellum modulates affect via connectivities with mood-regulating corticolimbic structures, such as the prefrontal cortex and monoamine nuclei. In rats exposed to chronic unpredictable stress (CUS), we examined the neuro-behavioural effects of high frequency stimulation and surgical ablation/disconnection of the cerebellar vermis. CUS reduced sucrose preference, increased novelty-induced feeding suppression and passive coping.

Deep brain stimulation and fluoxetine exert different long-term changes in the serotonergic system.

Both selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) deep brain stimulation (DBS) modulate serotonergic activity. We compared the acute (1 day) and long-term (12 days) effects of vmPFC stimulation and fluoxetine on serotonin (5-HT) release and receptor expression in rats. Samples to measure serotonin levels were collected from the hippocampus using microdialysis.

Antidepressant effects of focused ultrasound induced blood-brain-barrier opening.

In many cases, hippocampal neurogenesis appears to be a hallmark of antidepressant treatments. One novel technique for inducing this type of neurogenesis is using focused ultrasound waves, in conjunction with circulating microbubbles, to open the blood-brain-barrier. The present experiment aimed to test whether this technique has antidepressant effects in a rodent model.

Deep brain stimulation induces antidepressant-like effects in serotonin transporter knockout mice.

Background: Some of the antidepressant-like effects of ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) deep brain stimulation (DBS) in rodents have been attributed to the modulation of prefrontal-raphe pathways. This is largely different from selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which increase serotonin (5-HT) levels by inhibiting the serotonin transporter (SERT). SSRIs have limited efficacy when given to SERT knockout (KO) mice, or patients with mutations in the serotonin transporter promoter gene (5-HTTLPR).

A role for nucleus accumbens glutamate in the expression but not the induction of behavioural sensitization to ethanol.

Mechanisms underlying differential sensitivity to behavioural sensitization to ethanol (EtOH) remain poorly understood, although accumulating evidence suggests a role for glutamatergic processes in the ventral striatum. Efforts to address this issue can benefit from the well-documented fact that in any given cohort, some of the mice (High sensitized; HS) show robust sensitization, while others (Low sensitized; LS) show little, if any, sensitization. Here, we examined whether this variability might be differentially associated with nucleus accumbens (NAc) glutamate processes.