Compound Muscle Action Potential and Myosin-Loss Pathology in Patients With Critical Illness Myopathy: Correlation and Prognostication.

Background And Objectives: Prolonged compound muscle action potential (CMAP) duration and preferential loss of myosin are considered the diagnostic hallmarks of critical illness myopathy (CIM); however, their correlation and prognostic values have not been studied. We aimed to investigate the correlation between CMAP duration and myosin loss and their effect on mortality by comparing between patients with CIM with and without myosin loss.

Methods: We searched the Mayo Clinic Electromyography Laboratory databases (1986-2021) for patients diagnosed with CIM on the basis of prolonged distal CMAP durations (>15 msec in fibular motor nerve studies recording over the tibialis anterior or >8 msec in other motor nerves) and needle EMG findings compatible with myopathy.

Environmental determinants of vegetation in the drawdown zones of a Columbia River Treaty reservoir: a template for ecosystem enhancement.

Water storage reservoirs alternately inundate and expose the drawdown zones, limiting riparian vegetation that provides wildlife habitats and contributes to the aquatic food-web. To characterize plant distributions and hydrogeomorphic associations, we inventoried quadrats in transects extending from the full-pool (FP) margin, downwards 12 m through the drawdown zones at sites around the Duncan Reservoir in British Columbia, Canada. Among the 69 plant species, black cottonwoods (Populus trichocarpa), willows (primarily Salix sitchensis) and other trees and shrubs occurred sparsely, rarely extending below 2 m below FP.

Filamentous tangles with nemaline rods in MYH2 myopathy: a novel phenotype.

The MYH2 gene encodes the skeletal muscle myosin heavy chain IIA (MyHC-IIA) isoform, which is expressed in the fast twitch type 2A fibers. Autosomal dominant or recessive pathogenic variants in MYH2 lead to congenital myopathy clinically featured by ophthalmoparesis and predominantly proximal weakness. MYH2-myopathy is pathologically characterized by loss and atrophy of type 2A fibers.

Defining Spatial Relationships Between Spinal Cord Axons and Blood Vessels in Hydrogel Scaffolds.

Positively charged oligo(poly(ethylene glycol) fumarate) (OPF+) hydrogel scaffolds, implanted into a complete transection spinal cord injury (SCI), facilitate a permissive regenerative environment and provide a platform for controlled observation of repair mechanisms. Axonal regeneration after SCI is critically dependent upon nutrients and oxygen from a newly formed blood supply. Our objective was to investigate fundamental characteristics of revascularization in association with the ingrowth of axons into hydrogel scaffolds, thereby defining spatial relationships between axons and the neovasculature.

Alterations of mesenchymal stromal cells in cerebrospinal fluid: insights from transcriptomics and an ALS clinical trial.

Background: Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have been studied with increasing intensity as clinicians and researchers strive to understand the ability of MSCs to modulate disease progression and promote tissue regeneration. As MSCs are used for diverse applications, it is important to appreciate how specific physiological environments may stimulate changes that alter the phenotype of the cells. One need for neuroregenerative applications is to characterize the spectrum of MSC responses to the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) environment after their injection into the intrathecal space.

Mechano growth factor interacts with nucleolin to protect against cisplatin-induced neurotoxicity.

Mechano growth factor (MGF) is an alternatively spliced form of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) that has shown to be neuroprotective against 6-hydroxydopamine toxicity and ischemic injury in the brain. MGF also induces neural stem cell proliferation in the hippocampus and preserves olfactory function in aging mice. Cisplatin is a chemotherapy drug that induces peripheral neuropathy in 30-40% of treated patients.

Oncolytic vesicular stomatitis viruses selectively target M2 macrophages.

Macrophages have been identified as key players within the tumor microenvironment, with classically (M1) and alternatively (M2) activated macrophages exhibiting anti-tumoral and pro-tumoral functions, respectively. The goal of this study was to determine the response of macrophage populations to infection with oncolytic vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV). THP-1 monocytes were differentiated into various macrophage subsets and infected with wild-type (rwt virus) or matrix (M) protein mutant (rM51R-M virus) strains of VSV.

Synthesis and structure elucidation of 2,3,5,6,7,8-hexahydro-1 H-[1,2,4]triazolo[1,2-a]pyridazine-1-thione, 3,3-disubstituted and 2-substituted derivatives and evaluation of their inhibitory activity against inducible nitric oxide synthase.

The 3-monosubstituted 2,3,5,6,7,8-hexahydro-1 H-[1,2,4]triazolo[1,2-a]pyridazine-1-thiones 3 (R1, R3 = H) were recently reported to possess inhibitory activity against inducible nitric oxide synthase in a cell based assay (Schulz et al. 2013). The 3,3-disubstituted 2,3,5,6,7,8-hexahydro-1H-[1,2,4]triazolo[1,2-a]pyridazine-1-thiones 3 and 4 (R2,R3 ≠ H) were synthesized by cyclocondensation of the hexahydropyridazine-1-carbothioamides 1 with ketones.

Investigations on synthesis and structure elucidation of novel [1,2,4]triazolo[1,2-a]pyridazine-1-thiones and their inhibitory activity against inducible nitric oxide synthase.

The inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) is a target of great research interest due to its importance in a number of diseases, for example, septic shock and inflammatory lung diseases. A variety of 3-substituted [1,2,4]triazolo[1,2-a]pyridazine derivatives was synthesized by ring closure with hexahydropyridazine-1-carbothioamide by using aliphatic and aromatic aldehydes. The activity of the new substances was tested on the insulin-secreting rat insulinoma cell line RINm5F.