Introduction: Extracellular vesicles (EVs) can potently inhibit inflammation yet there is a lack of understanding about the impact of donor characteristics on the efficacy of EVs. The goal of this study was to determine whether the sex and age of donor platelet-derived EVs (PEV) affected their ability to inhibit viral myocarditis.
Methods: PEV, isolated from men and women of all ages, was compared to PEV obtained from women under 50 years of age, which we termed premenopausal PEV (pmPEV).
Background: Myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart muscle most often caused by viral infections. Sex differences in the immune response during myocarditis have been well described but upstream mechanisms in the heart that might influence sex differences in disease are not completely understood.
Methods: Male and female BALB/c wild type mice received an intraperitoneal injection of heart-passaged coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) or vehicle control.
Objectives: Patients with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS) and hypermobility spectrum disorders (HSD) experience a wide array of symptoms and system disorders. This study aimed to identify whether differences occurred in 115 self-reported symptoms and comorbidities in patients diagnosed with hEDS or HSD.
Methods: In this study we analysed self-reported data from an EDS Clinic intake questionnaire in patients diagnosed with hEDS, HSD or no hypermobile conditions.
A hallmark of neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) is the progressive loss of proteostasis, leading to the accumulation of misfolded proteins or protein aggregates, with subsequent cytotoxicity. To combat this toxicity, cells have evolved degradation pathways (ubiquitin-proteasome system and autophagy) that detect and degrade misfolded proteins. However, studying the underlying cellular pathways and mechanisms has remained a challenge, as formation of many types of protein aggregates is asynchronous, with individual cells displaying distinct kinetics, thereby hindering rigorous time-course studies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA hallmark of neurodegenerative diseases is the progressive loss of proteostasis, leading to the accumulation of misfolded proteins or protein aggregates, with subsequent cytotoxicity. To combat this toxicity, cells have evolved degradation pathways (ubiquitin-proteasome system and autophagy) that detect and degrade misfolded proteins. However, studying the underlying cellular pathways and mechanisms has remained a challenge, as formation of many types of protein aggregates is asynchronous, with individual cells displaying distinct kinetics, thereby hindering rigorous time-course studies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Endometrial cancer is a multifactorial disease with inflammatory, metabolic and potentially microbial cues involved in disease pathogenesis. The endometrial cancer microbiome has been poorly characterised so far and studies have often overestimated bacterial biomass due to lack of integration of appropriate contamination controls. There is also a scarcity of evidence on the functionality of microbial microenvironments in endometrial cancer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe parasite Cryptosporidium is a leading agent of diarrhoeal disease in young children, and a cause and consequence of chronic malnutrition. There are no vaccines and only limited treatment options. The parasite infects enterocytes, in which it engages in asexual and sexual replication, both of which are essential to continued infection and transmission.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe world is currently in the midst of a global food crisis brought about and exacerbated by a series of mutually reinforcing shocks to food systems This study investigated the resilience of food systems in six Asian countries (Bangladesh, Kyrgyz Republic, Lao PDR, Pakistan, Philippines, and Sri Lanka) amidst the global 'polycrisis' caused by COVID-19, geopolitical conflicts, and climate change. Trend analyses were performed for 19 indicators sourced from global databases and World Food Programme national data, representing the four domains of food system resilience: exposure to shocks; resilience capacities and agro- and food diversity, resilience responses and strategies; and long-term resilience outcomes. The analysis revealed that all six countries experienced the effects of the 'polycrisis', leading to diverse impacts on exchange rates, with Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Lao PDR facing significant currency depreciation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw
June 2024
The ability to see or hide one's own image is a typical feature of videoconferencing platforms. Previous research, informed primarily by self-reported data, has suggested that enabling self-view mode is associated with videoconferencing fatigue, particularly for women. Our goal in this study is to test this assumption by gathering neurophysiological evidence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Defective connective tissue structure may cause individuals with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS) or hypermobility spectrum disorders (HSD) to develop cardiac defects.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review of adult patients treated in the EDS Clinic from November 1, 2019, to June 20, 2022 to identify those with cardiac defects. Echocardiogram data were collected using a data collection service.
Background: Mental health difficulties are common in children and young people with chronic health conditions, but many of those in need do not access evidence-based psychological treatments. The study aim was to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of integrated mental health treatment for children and young people with epilepsy, a common chronic health condition known to be associated with a particularly high rate of co-occurring mental health difficulties.
Methods: We conducted a parallel group, multicentre, open-label, randomised controlled trial of participants aged 3-18 years, attending epilepsy clinics across England and Northern Ireland who met diagnostic criteria for a common mental health disorder.
Background: Myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart muscle most often caused by an immune response to viral infections. Sex differences in the immune response during myocarditis have been well described but upstream mechanisms in the heart that might influence sex differences in disease are not completely understood.
Methods: Male and female BALB/c wild type mice received an intraperitoneal injection of heart-passaged coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) or vehicle control.
Objectives: Flight attendants perform physically demanding work such as lifting baggage, pushing service carts and spending the workday on their feet. We examined if more frequent exposure to occupational physical demands could explain why previous studies have found that flight attendants have a higher reported prevalence of menstrual cycle irregularities than other workers.
Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 694 flight attendants and 120 teachers aged 18-44 years from three US cities.
Myocarditis is typically caused by viral infections, but most cases are thought to be subclinical. Echocardiography is often used for initial assessment of myocarditis patients but is poor at detecting subtle changes in cardiac dysfunction. Cardiac strain, such as global longitudinal strain (GLS) and global circumferential strain (GCS), represents an increasingly used set of measurements which can detect these subtle changes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Post-COVID services have been set up in England to treat children with ongoing symptoms of Long COVID. To date, the characteristics of children seeking treatment from these services has not been described.
Purpose: (1) to describe the characteristics of children aged 11-17 referred to the Pan-London Post-COVID service and (2) to compare characteristics of these children with those taking part in the United Kingdom's largest research study of Long COVID in children (CLoCk).
Mayo Clin Proc Innov Qual Outcomes
October 2023
Objective: To examine the association of COVID-19 convalescent plasma transfusion with mortality and the differences between subgroups in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.
Patients And Methods: On October 26, 2022, a systematic search was performed for clinical studies of COVID-19 convalescent plasma in the literature from January 1, 2020, to October 26, 2022. Randomized clinical trials and matched cohort studies investigating COVID-19 convalescent plasma transfusion compared with standard of care treatment or placebo among hospitalized patients with confirmed COVID-19 were included.
Allogeneic invariant natural killer T cells (allo-iNKTs) induce clinical remission in patients with otherwise incurable cancers and COVID-19-related acute respiratory failure. However, their functionality is inconsistent among individuals, and they become rapidly undetectable after infusion, raising concerns over rejection and limited therapeutic potential. We validate a strategy to promote allo-iNKT persistence in dogs, an established large-animal model for novel cellular therapies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAs opioid fatalities rise in North America, the need to improve the supports available to those who are dependent on opioids and pregnant has become more urgent. This paper discusses the social organisation of drug treatment supports for those who are pregnant, using Canadian clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) as a case study. Pregnant patients are a priority population for MMT, both in Canada and internationally; the regulatory bodies that oversee MMT in Canada are the provincial Colleges of Physician and Surgeons and Health Canada.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHealthcare (Basel)
September 2023
The current study aimed to examine whether asthma moderates the association between the Big Five personality traits and life satisfaction. By analyzing data from 3934 people with asthma (40.09% males) with a mean age of 49.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLife satisfaction refers to the degree a person enjoys their life. An integrated account of life satisfaction is discussed in the literature, which proposes that life satisfaction is made up of personality traits and areas of life satisfaction (e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPatients with viral myocarditis are at risk of sudden death and may progress to dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Currently, no disease-specific therapies exist to treat viral myocarditis. Here it is examined whether reconstituted, lyophilized extracellular vesicles (EVs) from platelets from healthy men and women reduce acute or chronic myocarditis in male mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: The aim was to study laryngological complaints in patients with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS) or hypermobility spectrum disorders (HSD).
Methods: A total of 363 patients met inclusion for the study by completing questions related to voice, upper airway, and swallowing between July 7, 2020 and July 13, 2022. Demographic data, voice-related questions, and hypermobility diagnosis were analyzed retrospectively.
Although previous studies have investigated the presence of psychometric comorbidities in individuals with emphysema, our understanding of the impact of emphysema on general mental health and specific dimensions of mental health, such as social dysfunction and anhedonia, depression and anxiety, and loss of confidence, remains limited. This research aims to examine the influence of emphysema on general mental health and its dimensions using the GHQ-12 assessment. By employing confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), the predictive normative approach, and one-sample -test, we analyzed data from Understanding Society: the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS), including 97 individuals clinically diagnosed with emphysema and 8980 individuals without a clinical diagnosis of emphysema.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEthnopharmacological Relevance: Modified Simiaowan (MSM) is a six-herb formula that has been shown to be effective in gouty arthritis (GA) has been proven, but its regulatory mechanism has not been fully elucidated.
Aim Of The Study: To investigate the therapeutic effects and mechanism of MSM on gouty arthritis.
Materials And Methods: Mouse J774A.