Modification of Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cell-Derived Small Extracellular Vesicles by Calcitonin Gene Related Peptide (CGRP) Antagonist: Potential Implications for Inflammation and Pain Reversal.

During the progression of knee osteoarthritis (OA), the synovium and infrapatellar fat pad (IFP) can serve as source for Substance P (SP) and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), two important pain-transmitting, immune, and inflammation modulating neuropeptides. Our previous studies showed that infrapatellar fat pad-derived mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSC) acquire a potent immunomodulatory phenotype and actively degrade Substance P via CD10 both in vitro and in vivo. On this basis, our hypothesis is that CD10-bound IFP-MSC sEVs can be engineered to target CGRP while retaining their anti-inflammatory phenotype.

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.

Improving Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Survival in COVID-19. Effect of a Bundle of Care.

Veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support surged during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our program changed the model of care pursuing to protect the multidisciplinary team from the risk of infection and to serve as many patients as possible. Patient-healthcare interactions were restricted, and the ECMO bed capacity was increased by reducing the ECMO specialist-patient ratio to 1:4 with non-ECMO trained nurses support.

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.

Cochlear Implants Versus Hearing Aids in a Middle-Income Country: Costs, Productivity, and Quality of Life.

Objective: In Colombia there are three main treatment approaches for bilateral profound sensorineural hearing loss, also known as profound deafness (PD): cochlear implants (CI), hearing aids (HA), and no treatment (NT). The objective of this study is to determine the optimal treatment approach for PD in terms of productivity and cost-effectiveness.

Study Design: Hearing levels and SES data were obtained from audiometric tests conducted on 100 patients with CI.

Latin American Clinical Epidemiology Network Series - Paper 4: Economic evaluation of Kangaroo Mother Care: cost utility analysis of results from a randomized controlled trial conducted in Bogotá.

Background And Objective: Although kangaroo mother care (KMC) has been shown to be safe and effective in randomized controlled trials (RCTs), there are no published complete economic evaluations including the three components of the full intervention.

Methods: A cost utility analysis performed on the results of an RCT conducted in Bogotá, Colombia between 1993 and 1996. Hospital and ambulatory costs were estimated by microcosting in a sample of preterm infants from a University Hospital in Bogotá in 2011 and at a KMC clinic in the same period.

The guidance of stem cell differentiation by substrate alignment and mechanical stimulation.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) represent a promising and clinically relevant cell source for tissue engineering applications. As such, guiding MSCs toward specific lineages and maintaining these phenotypes have been particularly challenging as the contributions of mechanical, chemical and structural cues to the complex differentiation process are largely unknown. To fully harness the potential of MSCs for regenerative medicine, a systematic investigation into the individual and combined effects of these stimuli is needed.

Surgeons overestimate the risk of malignancy in thyroid nodules, evaluation of subjective estimates using a bayesian analysis.

Introduction: Thyroid nodules are the most common endocrine condition treated by surgeons. The main purpose of the evaluation of a thyroid nodule is to rule out a carcinoma. Medical decisions concerning thyroid nodules are highly influenced by subjective beliefs.

[New Beta-lactam agent in the treatment of intra-abdominal sepsis: double blind and randomized stage III study of ertapenem versus piperacillin/tazobactam].

The clinical and safety efficacy of a new wide spectrum beta-lactam agent for most pathogen intra-abdominal infection germs is evaluated herein. Its chemical name is Ertapenem (MK-0826). Its pharmacokinetic characteristics and the known antibacterial spectrum enable the potential use of one daily dose in the treatment of infections by aerobic and anaerobic bacteria.

[ACUTE CHOLECYSTITIS: COMPARATIVE STUDEY OF THREE MEDICAL-SURGICAL ALTERNATIVES].

Three alternatives of surgical treatment for acute cholescystitis were studied. The 40 patients integrating Group I were studied in a retrospective way and received conservative medical treatment and deferred conventional surgery. The 40 patients integrating Group II were studied in a prospective way and they were operated according to conventional technique 72 hours before the beginning of the acute vesicular condition.