Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a progressive disease characterized by widespread white matter lesions in the brain and spinal cord. In addition to well-characterized motor deficits, MS results in cognitive impairments in several domains, notably in episodic autobiographical memory. Recent studies have also revealed that patients with MS exhibit deficits in episodic future thinking, i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Physical disability, cognitive impairment, depression, and fatigue are poorly understood in Latin American patients with multiple sclerosis following alemtuzumab infusion.
Objectives: To describe Sustained changes in physical disability in an average 22-month follow-up period after alemtuzumab infusion, and which demographical or clinical variables modulate change in EDSS, and adverse events, changes in cognition, fatigue, and depressive symptoms after an average 15-month follow-up period.
Method: Retrospective cohort observational study.
Background: Cognitive impairment has been recognized as an important factor in multiple sclerosis (MS) in the past few years. One brief, reliable and valid tool to assess cognition in MS is the BICAMS, which encompasses the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT), the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT II), and the Brief Visuospatial Memory Test - Revised (BVMT-R). Continuing with the international initiative to validate the BICAMS in different countries, here we present the results obtained from the efforts in validating such test in the Colombian population.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe overexpression of immunomarker programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and engagement of PD-1 to its ligand, PD-L1, are involved in the functional impairment of cluster of differentiation 8 (CD8) T cells, contributing to cancer progression. However, heterogeneities in PD-L1 expression and variabilities in biopsy-based assays render current approaches inaccurate in predicting PD-L1 status. Therefore, PD-L1 screening alone is not predictive of patient response to treatment, which motivates us to simultaneously detect multiple immunomarkers engaged in immune modulation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStreptococcus agalactiae, also known as Group B Streptococcus (GBS), is a major cause of chorioamnionitis and neonatal sepsis. This study evaluates Raman spectroscopy (RS) to identify spectral characteristics of infection and differentiate GBS from Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus during ex vivo infection of human fetal membrane tissues. Unique spectral features were identified from colonies grown on agar and infected fetal membrane tissues.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAccurate depth assessment of burn wounds is a critical task to provide the right treatment and care. Currently, laser Doppler imaging is able to provide better accuracy compared to the standard clinical evaluation. However, its clinical applicability is limited by factors like scanning distance, time, and cost.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStaphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus) is a leading cause of hospital-acquired infections, such as bacteremia, pneumonia, and endocarditis. Treatment of these infections can be challenging since strains of S.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA decline in the inherent quality of bone tissue is a † Equal contributors contributor to the age-related increase in fracture risk. Although this is well-known, the important biochemical factors of bone quality have yet to be identified using Raman spectroscopy (RS), a nondestructive, inelastic light-scattering technique. To identify potential RS predictors of fracture risk, we applied principal component analysis (PCA) to 558 Raman spectra (370-1720 cm) of human cortical bone acquired from 62 female and male donors (nine spectra each) spanning adulthood (age range = 21-101 years).
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