Exenatide promotes cognitive enhancement and positive brain metabolic changes in PS1-KI mice but has no effects in 3xTg-AD animals.

Recent studies have shown that type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a risk factor for cognitive dysfunction or dementia. Insulin resistance is often associated with T2DM and can induce defective insulin signaling in the central nervous system as well as increase the risk of cognitive impairment in the elderly. Glucagone like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is an incretin hormone and, like GLP-1 analogs, stimulates insulin secretion and has been employed in the treatment of T2DM.

Is there a real diagnostic impact of elastosonography and contrast-enhanced ultrasonography in the management of thyroid nodules?

Ultrasonography (US) and the new applications US elastography (USE) and contrast-enhanced US (CEUS) are used in the screening of thyroid nodules, for which fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) is the best single diagnostic test. The aim of the study was to compare the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and accuracy of the four examinations in nodules with cytological and histological diagnoses. The study used data from US, FNAB, USE (elasticity (ELX 2/1) index), and CEUS (Peak index and time to peak (TTP) index) evaluated in 73 thyroid nodules in 63 consecutive patients likely to undergo surgery.

Performance of a novel high throughput method for the determination of VX in drinking water samples.

VX (O-ethyl-S-(2-diisopropylaminoethyl) methylphosphonothioate) is a highly toxic organophosphorus nerve agent, and even low levels of contamination in water can be harmful. Measurement of low concentrations of VX in aqueous matrixes is possible using an immunomagnetic scavenging technique and detection using liquid chromatography/tandem-mass spectrometry. Performance of the method was characterized in high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-grade water preserved with sodium omadine, an antimicrobial agent, and sodium thiosulfate, a dechlorinating agent, over eight analytical batches with quality control samples analyzed over 10 days.

Preliminary ultrasound evaluation of the rotator cable in asymptomatic volunteers().

Purpose: To characterize the rotator cable high-resolution ultrasound appearance in asymptomatic shoulders of volunteers of different age.

Materials And Methods: IRB approval and volunteers' written consent was obtained. Excluding subjects with known shoulder affections, we screened 24 asymptomatic volunteers.

Real-time sonoelastography of the plantar fascia: comparison between patients with plantar fasciitis and healthy control subjects.

Purpose: To evaluate the use of axial-strain real-time sonoelastography in patients with plantar fasciitis compared with that in healthy control subjects.

Materials And Methods: Institutional review board approval and patients' consent were obtained. Eighty feet of 80 patients (43 men, 37 women; mean age ± standard deviation, 46.

Effects of long-term treatment with pioglitazone on cognition and glucose metabolism of PS1-KI, 3xTg-AD, and wild-type mice.

In this study, we investigated the effects of long-term (9-month) treatment with pioglitazone (PIO; 20 mg/kg/d) in two animal models of Alzheimer's disease (AD)-related neural dysfunction and pathology: the PS1-KI(M146V) (human presenilin-1 (M146V) knock-in mouse) and 3xTg-AD (triple transgenic mouse carrying AD-linked mutations) mice. We also investigated the effects on wild-type (WT) mice. Mice were monitored for body mass changes, fasting glycemia, glucose tolerance, and studied for changes in brain mitochondrial enzyme activity (complexes I and IV) as well as energy metabolism (lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)).

The risk stratification in atrial fibrillation.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common rhythm disorder and represents a major public health problem because it carries an increased risk of arterial thromboembolism and ischemic stroke. Because the absolute benefit of antithrombotic therapy depends on the underlying risk of stroke, an accurate stratification of patients' risk is needed to choose the appropriate antithrombotic strategy. Over the years, several stroke risk stratification models (RSMs) were developed based on the 'classic' risk factors for stroke such as increasing age, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and left ventricular dysfunction.

Air-filled vs water-filled intragastric balloon: a prospective randomized study.

Background: The positioning of an intragastric saline-filled balloon has been developed as temporary and reversible therapeutic option for treatment of morbid obesity. Recently, an air-filled balloon was also developed. The aim of this study is to prospectively compare these two devices in terms of weight loss parameters, safety, and tolerance.

Helicobacter pylori: usefulness of an empirical fourth-line rifabutin-based regimen.

Helicobacter pylori represents the major cause of gastric cancer, gastric lymphoma and peptic ulcer diseases. In some cases, the infection persists even after three rounds of treatment. The evaluated article reports on the efficacy of an empirical multicenter, prospective fourth‑line rescue study with rifabutin in patients with three consecutive eradication failures.

Role of foetal MRI in the evaluation of ischaemic-haemorrhagic lesions of the foetal brain.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to define the role of foetal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in evaluating cerebral ischaemic-haemorrhagic lesions and the extension of parenchymal injuries.

Study Design: From September 2006 to September 2010, 271 foetal MRI have been performed on cases referred to us for ultrasound suspect of brain abnormalities or cytomegalovirus infection and Toxoplasma serum conversion. Foetal MRI was performed with a 1.

T cells in gastric cancer: friends or foes.

Gastric cancer is the second cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Helicobacter pylori is the major risk factor for gastric cancer. As for any type of cancer, T cells are crucial for recognition and elimination of gastric tumor cells.

Novel POMGNT1 point mutations and intragenic rearrangements associated with muscle-eye-brain disease.

Congenital muscular dystrophies due to defects in genes encoding proteins involved in α-dystroglycan (α-DG) glycosylation are a heterogeneous group of muscle disorders variably associated with central nervous system and eye abnormalities. One of the more severe is muscle-eye-brain disease (MEB). Mutations in genes coding for proven or putative glycosyltransferases (POMT1, POMT2, POMGnT1, fukutin, FKRP, and LARGE), the DPM3 gene encoding a DOL-P-Man synthase subunit, and the DAG1 gene encoding α-dystroglycan, have been associated with altered α-DG glycosylation.

Metabolic effects of the iodothyronine functional analogue TRC150094 on the liver and skeletal muscle of high-fat diet fed overweight rats: an integrated proteomic study.

A novel functional iodothyronine analogue, TRC150094, which has a much lower potency toward thyroid hormone receptor (α1/β1) activation than triiodothyronine, has been shown to be effective at reducing adiposity in rats simultaneously receiving a high-fat diet (HFD). Here, by combining metabolic, functional and proteomic analysis, we studied how the hepatic and skeletal muscle phenotypes might respond to TRC150094 treatment in HFD-fed overweight rats. Drug treatment increased both the liver and skeletal muscle mitochondrial oxidative capacities without altering mitochondrial efficiency.

Clinical indications for musculoskeletal ultrasound: a Delphi-based consensus paper of the European Society of Musculoskeletal Radiology.

Objective: To develop clinical guidelines for musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSKUS) referral in Europe.

Methods: Sixteen musculoskeletal radiologists from seven European countries participated in a consensus-based interactive process (Delphi method) using consecutive questionnaires and consensus procedure meetings at several European radiology meetings. The evaluation of musculoskeletal diseases was established by literature reviews, followed by consensus on clinical utility in three consensus meetings.

Statistical mechanics for natural flocks of birds.

Flocking is a typical example of emergent collective behavior, where interactions between individuals produce collective patterns on the large scale. Here we show how a quantitative microscopic theory for directional ordering in a flock can be derived directly from field data. We construct the minimally structured (maximum entropy) model consistent with experimental correlations in large flocks of starlings.

High-resolution ultrasound evaluation of extrinsic wrist ligaments in patients affected by rheumatoid arthritis.

Objectives: To evaluate the ultrasound features of the extrinsic wrist ligaments in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients in comparison with healthy volunteers.

Methods: Twenty-one consecutive patients affected by RA (12 men, 9 women; mean age 57 ± 14.6 years) were compared with 21 controls (12, 9; 54 ± 12.

Ultrasound assessment of the rotator cuff cable: comparison between young and elderly asymptomatic volunteers and interobserver reproducibility.

Our aim was to characterize rotator cable ultrasound appearance in shoulders of different-aged asymptomatic volunteers, also estimating interobserver reproducibility. We studied 83 shoulders in 42 young volunteers (mean age 26 ± 7.0 years, range 21-35 years) and 66 shoulders in 36 elderly volunteers (65-81 years, 73 ± 4.

Nonthyrotoxic prevention of diet-induced insulin resistance by 3,5-diiodo-L-thyronine in rats.

Objective: High-fat diets (HFDs) are known to induce insulin resistance. Previously, we showed that 3,5-diiodothyronine (T2), concomitantly administered to rats on a 4-week HFD, prevented gain in body weight and adipose mass. Here we investigated whether and how T2 prevented HFD-induced insulin resistance.