Analysis of Risk Scores to Predict Mortality in Patients Undergoing Cardiac Surgery for Endocarditis.

Background: Risk scores are available for use in daily clinical practice, but knowing which one to choose is still fraught with uncertainty.

Objectives: To assess the logistic EuroSCORE, EuroSCORE II, and the infective endocarditis (IE)-specific scores STS-IE, PALSUSE, AEPEI, EndoSCORE and RISK-E, as predictors of hospital mortality in patients undergoing cardiac surgery for active IE at a tertiary teaching hospital in Southern Brazil.

Methods: Retrospective cohort study including all patients aged ≥ 18 years who underwent cardiac surgery for active IE at the study facility from 2007-2016.

Corrigendum to "Behaviour of the Foramen Ovale Flow in Fetuses with Intrauterine Growth Restriction".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2018/1496903.].

Behaviour of the Foramen Ovale Flow in Fetuses with Intrauterine Growth Restriction.

Background: Foramen ovale (FO) flow may be altered in IUGR. This study was designed to test this hypothesis.

Methods: Forty pregnant women (24-38 weeks) were divided into 3 groups: group I (IUGR), group II (adequate growth and maternal hypertension), and group III (normal controls).

Dynamics of pulmonary venous flow in fetuses with intrauterine growth restriction.

Objective: To test the hypothesis that the pulmonary vein pulsatility index (PVPI) is higher in fetuses with growth restriction (IUGR) than in normal fetuses.

Methods: Twenty-two fetuses with IUGR and twenty-one (21) fetuses with appropriate growth for gestational age from healthy mothers were studied. PVPI was calculated by Doppler echocardiography [maximal velocity (systolic or diastolic peak) - pre-systolic peak / mean velocity].

Long-lasting recognition memory impairment and alterations in brain levels of cytokines and BDNF induced by maternal deprivation: effects of valproic acid and topiramate.

Exposure to stressful events early in life may have permanent deleterious consequences on nervous system function and increase the susceptibility to psychiatric conditions later in life. Maternal deprivation, commonly used as a source of neonatal stress, impairs memory in adult rats and reduces hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels. Inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukins (IL) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) have been shown to be increased in the peripheral blood of patients with psychiatric disorders.

Prenatal effects of maternal consumption of polyphenol-rich foods in late pregnancy upon fetal ductus arteriosus.

Fetal circulation has characteristic features, being morphologically and functionally different from extrauterine circulation. The ductus arteriosus plays a fundamental role in directing the blood flow to fetal inferior body parts. Basically, the ductus arteriosus directs 80-85% of the right ventricular output arising from the superior vena cava, coronary sinus, and a small part from the inferior vena cava to descending aorta.

Differential effects of modafinil on memory in naïve and memory-impaired rats.

Modafinil is a wake-promoting drug and has been approved for the treatment of excessive daytime sleepiness in narcolepsy and obstructive sleep apnea. Modafinil was shown to improve learning and memory in rodents, and to reverse memory deficits induced by sleep deprivation or stress. However, depending on the memory paradigm used, modafinil might also impair memory.

Maternal restriction of polyphenols and fetal ductal dynamics in normal pregnancy: an open clinical trial.

Background: We have recently demonstrated reversal of fetal ductal constriction after dietary maternal restriction of polyphenol-rich foods (PRF), due to its inhibitory action on prostaglandin synthesis.

Objective: To test the hyphotesis that normal third trimester fetuses also improve ductus arteriosus dynamics after maternal restriction of polyphenols.

Methods: Open clinical trial with 46 fetuses with gestational age (GA) > 28 weeks submitted to 2 Doppler echocardiographic studies with an interval of at least 2 weeks, being the examiners blinded to maternal dietary habits.

Myocardial velocities, dynamics of the septum primum, and placental dysfunction in fetuses with growth restriction.

Introduction: Diastolic dysfunction may occur in fetuses with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and may be assessed by myocardial tissue Doppler (MTD). We previously have shown that excursion index of the septum primum (EISP) is reduced in IUGR fetuses over 30 weeks because of a higher left atrial pressure.

Patients, Setting, And Design: The sample was made up of 14 fetuses with IUGR.

Memory-rescuing effects of cannabidiol in an animal model of cognitive impairment relevant to neurodegenerative disorders.

Rationale: Cannabidiol, the main nonpsychotropic constituent of Cannabis sativa, possesses a large number of pharmacological effects including anticonvulsive, sedative, hypnotic, anxiolytic, antipsychotic, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective, as demonstrated in clinical and preclinical studies. Many neurodegenerative disorders involve cognitive deficits, and this has led to interest in whether cannabidiol could be useful in the treatment of memory impairment associated to these diseases.

Objectives: We used an animal model of cognitive impairment induced by iron overload in order to test the effects of cannabidiol in memory-impaired rats.