Publications by authors named "M D'Almeida"
Article Synopsis
- Regulatory T cells (Treg) are crucial for managing immune responses in newborns, especially regarding tolerance to maternal antigens and fighting infections at birth.
- This study, focusing on newborns in West Africa, found that neonates with early-onset sepsis (EOS) had reduced Treg frequency and expression of the Foxp3 marker compared to healthy newborns with prenatal risk factors, indicating a compromised immune profile.
- The findings suggest that specific Treg markers like CTLA-4, PD-1, and CD39 could serve as potential early diagnostic indicators for EOS, as their expression correlates with the severity and outcome of the condition.
Introduction: Epigenetic modifications have emerged as key contributors to the enduring behavioral, molecular and epigenetic neuroadaptations during withdrawal from chronic alcohol exposure. The present study investigated the long-term consequences of chronic alcohol exposure on spatial working memory (WM) and associated changes of transcriptionally repressive histone H3 lysine 9 dimethylation (H3K9me) in the prefrontal cortex (PFC).
Methods: Male C57BL/6 mice were allowed free access to either 12% (v/v) ethanol for 5 months followed by a 3-week abstinence period or water.
Article Synopsis
- Fear extinction is a process that helps reduce the expression of fearful memories and is important for treating anxiety and trauma disorders.
- Research on male mice shows that a specific pathway between the cerebellum and other brain regions is crucial for fear extinction.
- Inhibiting this pathway leads to increased activity in certain brain neurons that hinder the extinction process, highlighting the cerebellum's role in managing fear responses.
Article Synopsis
- Integrase inhibitors (INIs) are effective for treating HIV but there is limited knowledge about drug resistance in West African children with HIV/AIDS.
- A study involving 107 HIV-1-infected children from Benin and Mali found no major mutations linked to INI resistance, even among those who had undergone antiretroviral therapy.
- However, several accessory resistance mutations were identified, suggesting while INIs may be a safe treatment option, monitoring for resistance patterns is necessary.
Article Synopsis
- Few effective biomarkers for diagnosing neonatal sepsis exist, particularly in regions with high sepsis rates and limited resources, highlighting the need for exploring new host response biomarkers.
- A multicentre study in Abomey-Calavi, South Benin, evaluated the accuracy of various transcriptional and proteic biomarkers alongside clinical characteristics in diagnosing and predicting outcomes of neonatal sepsis among 581 newborns.
- The study found that while certain biomarkers like PCT, IL-6, and IP-10 were related to sepsis diagnosis, clinical criteria combinations were more effective, and CD74 was the most accurate biomarker for predicting mortality associated with neonatal sepsis.