Unusual Cases of Syncope in the Pediatric Age Group.

Syncope is common in the pediatric population and occurs in up to 15 percent of children prior to the end of adolescence. While the etiology of syncope in children is often benign and the majority of cases can be explained by isolated changes in vasomotor tone, a thorough evaluation is warranted to rule out more serious, life-threatening causes of syncope. Here, we present three atypical cases of syncope: a young judo player with recurrent syncope and dizziness, a teenage boy with syncopal episodes always preceded by stretching, and a child who experienced urticaria before losing consciousness.

Frontline Science: HIV infection of Kupffer cells results in an amplified proinflammatory response to LPS.

End-stage liver disease is a common cause of non-AIDS-related mortality in HIV patients, despite effective anti-retroviral therapies (ARTs). HIV-1 infection causes gut CD4 depletion and is thought to contribute to increased gut permeability, bacterial translocation, and immune activation. Microbial products drain from the gut into the liver via the portal vein where Kupffer cells (KCs), the resident liver macrophage, clear translocated microbial products.