The RICA-2 registry: design and baseline characteristics of the first 1,000 patients.

Background And Objective: Heart failure (HF) is a syndrome of epidemic proportions and one of the main reasons for hospital admission. Patient registries provide real-world clinical practice information which is complementary to clinical trials. RICA-2 is a registry of the Spanish Society of Internal Medicine.

Impaired LAIR-1-mediated immune control due to collagen degradation in fibrosis.

Tissue repair is disturbed in fibrotic diseases like systemic sclerosis (SSc), where the deposition of large amounts of extracellular matrix components such as collagen interferes with organ function. LAIR-1 is an inhibitory collagen receptor highly expressed on tissue immune cells. We questioned whether in SSc, impaired LAIR-1-collagen interaction is contributing to the ongoing inflammation and fibrosis.

Exploring the influence of baseline rheumatoid factor levels on TNF inhibitor retention rate in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a multicentre and retrospective study.

Objective: To assess whether the retention rate of certolizumab pegol (CZP) was longer than that of other tumour necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) based on baseline rheumatoid factor (RF) levels.

Methods: Longitudinal, retrospective and multicentre study including patients with RA who were treated with any TNFi (monoclonal antibodies (mAB), etanercept (ETA) or CZP). Log-rank test and Cox regressions were conducted to evaluate the retention rate in the three groups according to the level of RF, with the third quartile of the baseline levels used as cut-off: <200 ( View Article and Find Full Text PDF

West Nile virus in Mexico: Why vectors matter for explaining the current absence of epidemics.

Since 2002, West Nile Virus (WNV) has been reported in 18 states in Mexico, either by PCR or serological testing. However, it is believed that the virus is present in more states. Only four states (out of 32) have reported confirmed human cases, and one state has serological evidence.

Programmed Cell Death-1 (PD-1) anchoring to the GPI-linked co-receptor CD48 reveals a novel mechanism to modulate PD-1-dependent inhibition of human T cells.

Activation of PD-1 by anchoring it to Antigen Receptor (AR) components or associated co-receptors represents an attractive approach to treat autoimmune conditions. In this study, we provide evidence that CD48, a common lipid raft and Src kinase-associated coreceptor, induces significant Src kinase-dependent activation of PD-1 upon crosslinking, while CD71, a receptor excluded from these compartments, does not. Functionally, using bead-conjugated antibodies we demonstrate that CD48-dependent activation of PD-1 inhibits proliferation of AR-induced primary human T cells, and similarly, PD-1 activation using PD-1/CD48 bispecific antibodies inhibits IL-2, enhances IL-10 secretion, and reduces NFAT activation in primary human and Jurkat T cells, respectively.

Multicenter randomized trial comparing diagnostic sensitivity and cellular abundance with aggressive versus standard biliary brushing for bile duct stenosis without mass syndrome.

BACKGROUND : The diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma in patients with a biliary stricture without mass syndrome can be obtained by biliary brushing with a sensitivity of ~50 %. We performed a multicenter randomized crossover trial comparing the aggressive Infinity brush with the standard RX Cytology Brush. The aims were to compare sensitivity for cholangiocarcinoma diagnosis and cellularity obtained.

Chronic changes in oligodendrocyte sub-populations after middle cerebral artery occlusion in neonatal mice.

Neonatal stroke is common and causes life-long motor and cognitive sequelae. Because neonates with stroke are not diagnosed until days-months after the injury, chronic targets for repair are needed. We evaluated oligodendrocyte maturity and myelination and assessed oligodendrocyte gene expression changes using single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA seq) at chronic timepoints in a mouse model of neonatal arterial ischemic stroke.

Development of the Functional Connectome Topology in Adolescence: Evidence from Topological Data Analysis.

Adolescence is a crucial developmental period in terms of behavior and mental health. Therefore, understanding how the brain develops during this stage is a fundamental challenge for neuroscience. Recent studies have modeled the brain as a network or connectome, mainly applying measures from graph theory, showing a change in its functional organization, such as an increase in its segregation and integration.

Beta-blocker use in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and sinus rhythm.

Introduction: Beta-adrenergic receptor blockers (beta-blockers) are frequently used for patients with heart failure (HF) with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), although evidence-based recommendations for this indication are still lacking. Our goal was to assess which clinical factors are associated with the prescription of beta-blockers in patients discharged after an episode of HFpEF decompensation, and the clinical outcomes of these patients.

Methods: We assessed 1078 patients with HFpEF and in sinus rhythm who had experienced an acute HF episode to explore whether prescription of beta-blockers on discharge was associated with one-year all-cause mortality or the composite endpoint of one-year all-cause death or HF readmission.

Expanding the Phenotypic Spectrum of Alazami Syndrome: Two Unrelated Spanish Families.

Alazami syndrome is a rare disorder with an autosomal recessive inheritance caused by pathogenic biallelic variants in the gene. Clinically, it is mainly characterized by short stature, intellectual disability, and dysmorphic facial features. However, the phenotype is not yet well-defined because less than 50 cases have been described to date.

First national record of (Diptera: Culicidae) in Mexico.

Aedes (Ochlerotatus) melanimon Dyar 1924 has been considered an important pest in agricultural and rural communities. Aedes melanimon is a vector of WEEV and CEV and is a competent laboratory vector of WNV. The known range of Ae.

New records of in an urban area of Southwest Mexico.

The recently described Triatoma huehuetenanguensis, has been reported in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras. In Mexico, the species has been collected primarily in rural areas; it has the potential to colonize human dwellings, however, its contribution to Chagas outbreaks remains unclear. In 2021, T.

Hereditary cerebral small vessel disease: Assessment of a HTRA1 variant using protein stability predictors and 3D modelling.

Cerebral autosomal recessive arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CARASIL) is an autosomal recessive vascular disorder caused by biallellic variants in HTRA1. Recently, it has been reported that several heterozygous mutations in HTRA1 are responsible for a milder late-onset cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) with an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance. The majority of them are missense that affects the Htr1A protease activity due to a dominant-negative effect caused by defective trimerization or monomer activation.

Heterozygous and Homozygous Variants in Gene in Alzheimer's Disease Patients: Clinical, Neuroimaging and Neuropathological Findings.

In the last few years, the SORL1 gene has been strongly implicated in the development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We performed whole-exome sequencing on 37 patients with early-onset dementia or family history suggestive of autosomal dominant dementia. Data analysis was based on a custom panel that included 46 genes related to AD and dementia.

An Approach to Integrating Sentiment Analysis into Recommender Systems.

Recommender systems have been applied in a wide range of domains such as e-commerce, media, banking, and utilities. This kind of system provides personalized suggestions based on large amounts of data to increase user satisfaction. These suggestions help client select products, while organizations can increase the consumption of a product.

First female with Allan-Herndon-Dudley syndrome and partial deletion of X-inactivation center.

Allan-Herndon-Dudley is an X-linked recessive syndrome caused by pathogenic variants in the SLC16A2 gene. Clinical manifestations are a consequence of impaired thyroid metabolism and aberrant transport of thyroid hormones to the brain. Carrier females are generally asymptomatic and may show subtle symptoms of the disease.

COVID-19 and its impact on the control of Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti mosquito and epidemiological surveillance of arbovirus infections.

In American countries, simultaneously with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, epidemics caused by different arboviruses (dengue, chikungunya and Zika viruses) are occurring. In Mexico, several of the strategies to control the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which transmits arboviruses, involve the interaction of health personnel with the community. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing and home confinement measures have been implemented.

Biallelic variants in genes previously associated with dominant inheritance: CACNA1A, RET and SLC20A2.

A subset of families with co-dominant or recessive inheritance has been described in several genes previously associated with dominant inheritance. Those recessive families displayed similar, more severe, or even completely different phenotypes to their dominant counterparts. We report the first patients harboring homozygous disease-related variants in three genes that were previously associated with dominant inheritance: a loss-of-function variant in the CACNA1A gene and two missense variants in the RET and SLC20A2 genes, respectively.

Pathological and sub-pathological changes in European rabbit bones: Two reference cases to be applied to the analysis of archaeological assemblages.

Objective: To provide prevalence data for future comparative analysis of the health status of rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) accumulated in the archaeological record.

Materials: Two contrasting assemblages were analysed for pathological and sub-pathological changes: 1) an assemblage of domestic modern rabbit bones; and 2) a non-anthropogenic accumulation of archaeological rabbit remains.

Methods: The lesions observed macroscopically, under magnification, and radiographically in both assemblages are quantified and described.

Influence of the degree of anaemia on the prognosis of older adults with heart failure (SPAN-HF study).

Objective: To assess whether a sustained optimal haemoglobin value in the 3 months after admission for heart failure (HF) decompensation reduces morbidity and mortality during the 12 months after admission for acute HF.

Patients And Method: Retrospective study of the 1408 patients older than 65 years included in the RICA registry divided into 3 groups: no anaemia (group A), recovered anaemia (group B), and persistent anaemia (group C), according to haemoglobin levels on admission, and 3 months after discharge. Kaplan-Meier curves were constructed, comparing the groups using the log-rank test and a Cox regression model was performed to analyse survival.