Mesenchymal-derived extracellular vesicles enhance microglia-mediated synapse remodeling after cortical injury in aging Rhesus monkeys.

Understanding the microglial neuro-immune interactions in the primate brain is vital to developing therapeutics for cortical injury, such as stroke or traumatic brain injury. Our previous work showed that mesenchymal-derived extracellular vesicles (MSC-EVs) enhanced motor recovery in aged rhesus monkeys following injury of primary motor cortex (M1), by promoting homeostatic ramified microglia, reducing injury-related neuronal hyperexcitability, and enhancing synaptic plasticity in perilesional cortices. A focal lesion was induced via surgical ablation of pial blood vessels over lying the cortical hand representation of M1 of aged female rhesus monkeys, that received intravenous infusions of either vehicle (veh) or EVs 24 h and again 14 days post-injury.

Femorally inserted central catheters with exit site at mid-thigh: A low risk alternative for central venous catheterization.

Background: Femorally inserted central catheters are increasingly used, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, also thanks to widespread of tunneling techniques that allow the exit site to be moved away from the groin.

Methods: In this retrospective observational study, femorally inserted catheters, with exit site at mid-thigh and the tip in Inferior vena cava or in Inferior vena cava at the junction with right atrium, have been observed and complications have been analyzed. All catheters were inserted by trained Nurses of a tertiary hospital Vascular Access Team.

Lung Ultrasound Patterns in Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)-Characteristics and Prognostic Value.

Objective and design: Following COVID-19 infection, children can develop an hyperinflammatory state termed Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C). Lung Ultrasound (LUS) features of COVID-19 in children have been described, but data describing the LUS findings of MIS-C are limited. The aim of this retrospective observational study conducted between 1 March and 31 December 2020, at a tertiary pediatric hospital in Milano, is to describe LUS patterns in patients with MIS-C and to verify correlation with illness severity.

Sex differences in recovery of motor function in a rhesus monkey model of cortical injury.

Background: Stroke disproportionately affects men and women, with women over 65 years experiencing increased severity of impairment and higher mortality rates than men. Human studies have explored risk factors that contribute to these differences, but additional research is needed to investigate how sex differences affect functional recovery and hence the severity of impairment. In the present study, we used our rhesus monkey model of cortical injury and fine motor impairment to compare sex differences in the rate and degree of motor recovery following this injury.

Extracellular vesicles derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells enhance myelin maintenance after cortical injury in aged rhesus monkeys.

Cortical injury, such as stroke, causes neurotoxic cascades that lead to rapid death and/or damage to neurons and glia. Axonal and myelin damage in particular, are critical factors that lead to neuronal dysfunction and impair recovery of function after injury. These factors can be exacerbated in the aged brain where white matter damage is prevalent.

Treatment with Mesenchymal-Derived Extracellular Vesicles Reduces Injury-Related Pathology in Pyramidal Neurons of Monkey Perilesional Ventral Premotor Cortex.

Functional recovery after cortical injury, such as stroke, is associated with neural circuit reorganization, but the underlying mechanisms and efficacy of therapeutic interventions promoting neural plasticity in primates are not well understood. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles (MSC-EVs), which mediate cell-to-cell inflammatory and trophic signaling, are thought be viable therapeutic targets. We recently showed, in aged female rhesus monkeys, that systemic administration of MSC-EVs enhances recovery of function after injury of the primary motor cortex, likely through enhancing plasticity in perilesional motor and premotor cortices.

Extracellular vesicles from mesenchymal stem cells reduce microglial-mediated neuroinflammation after cortical injury in aged Rhesus monkeys.

Cortical injury, such as injuries after stroke or age-related ischemic events, triggers a cascade of degeneration accompanied by inflammatory responses that mediate neurological deficits. Therapeutics that modulate such neuroinflammatory responses in the aging brain have the potential to reduce neurological dysfunction and promote recovery. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are lipid-bound, nanoscale vesicles that can modulate inflammation and enhance recovery in rodent stroke models.

Mesenchymal derived exosomes enhance recovery of motor function in a monkey model of cortical injury.

Background: Exosomes from mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are endosome-derived vesicles that have been shown to enhance functional recovery in rodent models of stroke.

Objective: Building on these findings, we tested exosomes as a treatment in monkeys with cortical injury.

Methods: After being trained on a task of fine motor function of the hand, monkeys received a cortical injury to the hand representation in primary motor cortex.

Proactive interception and care of Frailty and Multimorbidity in older persons: the experience of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing and the response of Parma Local Health Trust and Lab through European Projects.

According to the 2018 European Union Ageing Report, the demographic profile of the European population is projected to be older. Aging cannot be considered a homogeneous process, and only in certain cases is "successful", with maintained functional ability, which is determined by intrinsic capacity, the environment, and their interaction. When intrinsic capacity is lost, elders with chronic diseases develop frailty, a condition with high-risk of disability.

A method for assessing recovery of fine motor function of the hand in a rhesus monkey model of cortical injury: an adaptation of the Fugl-Meyer Scale and Eshkol-Wachman Movement Notation.

Motor dysfunction of the upper extremity can result from stroke, cortical injury and neurological diseases and causes significant disruption of activities of daily living. While some spontaneous recovery in terms of compensatory movements does occur after injury to cortical motor areas, full recovery is rare. The distinction between complete recovery and compensatory recovery is important as the development of compensatory movements in the upper extremity may not translate into full functional use in human patients.

Cell based therapy reduces secondary damage and increases extent of microglial activation following cortical injury.

Cortical injury elicits long-term cytotoxic and cytoprotective mechanisms within the brain and the balance of these pathways can determine the functional outcome for the individual. Cytotoxicity is exacerbated by production of reactive oxygen species, accumulation of iron, and peroxidation of cell membranes and myelin. There are currently no neurorestorative treatments to aid in balancing the cytotoxic and cytoprotective mechanisms following cortical injury.

Segmental Maternal UPD of Chromosome 7q in a Patient With Pendred and Silver Russell Syndromes-Like Features.

Pendred syndrome (PS) is an autosomal recessive disorder due to mutations in the gene (chr7q22. 3) and characterized by sensorineural hearing loss and variable thyroid phenotype. Silver-Russell syndrome (SRS) is a heterogeneous imprinting disorder including severe intrauterine and postnatal growth retardation, and dysmorphic features.

An infrastructure for precision medicine through analysis of big data.

Background: Nowadays, the increasing availability of omics data, due to both the advancements in the acquisition of molecular biology results and in systems biology simulation technologies, provides the bases for precision medicine. Success in precision medicine depends on the access to healthcare and biomedical data. To this end, the digitization of all clinical exams and medical records is becoming a standard in hospitals.

Cell based therapy enhances activation of ventral premotor cortex to improve recovery following primary motor cortex injury.

Stroke results in enduring damage to the brain which is accompanied by innate neurorestorative processes, such as reorganization of surviving circuits. Nevertheless, patients are often left with permanent residual impairments. Cell based therapy is an emerging therapeutic that may function to enhance the innate neurorestorative capacity of the brain.

Inosine enhances recovery of grasp following cortical injury to the primary motor cortex of the rhesus monkey.

Background: Inosine, a naturally occurring purine nucleoside, has been shown to stimulate axonal growth in cell culture and promote corticospinal tract axons to sprout collateral branches after stroke, spinal cord injury and TBI in rodent models.

Objective: To explore the effects of inosine on the recovery of motor function following cortical injury in the rhesus monkey.

Methods: After being trained on a test of fine motor function of the hand, monkeys received a lesion limited to the area of the hand representation in primary motor cortex.

Are Zygomatic Implants Associated With Maxillary Sinusitis?

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to analyze the relation between zygomatic implants and symptomatic and radiologic modifications of the maxillary sinuses.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective cohort study of patients who underwent zygomatic implant rehabilitation at the Clinic of Dentistry and Maxillofacial Surgery of the University of Verona from January 2005 through May 2014 was designed. The primary predictor variable was time (pre- vs postoperative).

Is Le Fort I Osteotomy Associated With Maxillary Sinusitis?

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the association between Le Fort I osteotomy and the anatomic, radiologic, and symptomatic modifications of the maxillary sinus.

Materials And Methods: Subjects who had undergone Le Fort I osteotomy from January 2008 to December 2013 were enrolled in a retrospective cohort study. The eligibility criteria were the availability of a cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scan taken before and 12 to 24 months after the procedure.

SPECT analysis of a new implant surface: a human preliminary report.

Aim: Several recent medical reports have focused attention on the possible application of skeletal scintigraphy imaging in odontostomatology. The aim of the present report was to assess the influence of a new implant surface on peri-implant osteoblastic activity through bone scintigraphy.

Methods: Implants were placed in one healthy subject.

Recovery of fine motor performance after ischemic damage to motor cortex is facilitated by cell therapy in the rhesus monkey.

We investigated the efficacy on recovery of function following controlled cortical ischemia in the monkey of the investigational cell drug product, CNTO 0007. This drug contains a cellular component, human umbilical tissue-derived cells, in a proprietary thaw and inject formulation. Results demonstrate significantly better recovery of motor function in the treatment group with no difference between groups in the volume or surface area of ischemic damage, suggesting that the cells stimulated plasticity.

Cerebroretinal microangiopathy with calcifications and cysts associated with CTC1 and NDP mutations.

Mutations in the conserved telomere maintenance component 1 (CTC1) gene were recently described in Coats plus syndrome and in cerebroretinal microangiopathy with calcifications and cysts. Norrie disease protein (NDP) gene was found mutated in Norrie disease, in Familial Exudative Vitreoretinopathy, and in Coats syndrome. Here we describe a boy affected by Norrie disease who developed typical features of cerebroretinal microangiopathy with calcifications and cysts.

Recovery from ischemia in the middle-aged brain: a nonhuman primate model.

Studies of recovery from stroke mainly utilize rodent models and focus primarily on young subjects despite the increased prevalence of stroke with age and the fact that recovery of function is more limited in the aged brain. In the present study, a nonhuman primate model of cortical ischemia was developed to allow the comparison of impairments in young and middle-aged monkeys. Animals were pretrained on a fine motor task of the hand and digits and then underwent a surgical procedure to map and lesion the hand-digit representation in the dominant motor cortex.

Assessment of motor function of the hand in aged rhesus monkeys.

In the elderly, intact motor functions of the upper extremity are critical for the completion of activities of daily living. Many studies have provided insight into age-related changes in motor function. However, the precise nature and extent of motor impairments of the upper extremity remains unclear.