Association between sleep stages and brain microstructure in preterm infants: Insights from DTI analysis.

Study Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between sleep stages and neural microstructure - measured using diffusion tensor imaging - of the posterior limb of the internal capsule and corticospinal tract in preterm infants.

Methods: A retrospective cohort of 50 preterm infants born between 24 + 4 and 29 + 3 weeks gestational age was included in the study. Sleep stages were continuously measured for 5-7 consecutive days between 29 + 0 and 31 + 6 weeks postmenstrual age using an in-house-developed, and recently published, automated sleep staging algorithm based on routinely measured heart rate and respiratory rate.

Internal carotid and vertebral artery dissections - a comparison of clinical, radiological and prognostic characteristics.

Aim Of Study: To examine whether baseline characteristics, potential risk factors, clinical symptoms, radiological presentation, and long-term outcomes differ between internal carotid artery dissection (ICAD) and vertebral artery dissection (VAD).

Clinical Rationale For Study: Cervical artery dissection (CeAD) is a major cause of cerebral ischaemia in young adults. Its clinical course is highly variable, resulting in challenges in making a proper diagnosis.

Evaluation of Acute Mountain Sickness by Unsedated Transnasal Esophagogastroduodenoscopy at High Altitude.

Background & Aims: It is not clear how rapid ascent to a high altitude causes the gastrointestinal symptoms of acute mountain sickness (AMS). We assessed the incidence of endoscopic lesions in the upper gastrointestinal tract in healthy mountaineers after a rapid ascent to high altitude, their association with symptoms, and their pathogenic mechanisms.

Methods: In a prospective study, 25 mountaineers (10 women; mean age, 43.

Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome as a rare phenotype of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

We reported the case of a patient with Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome (WKs) as an early clinical manifestation of sporadic Creutzfeld-Jakob disease (sCJD). The 66-year-old female complained of dizziness and imbalance which mostly occurred while walking. A neurological examination revealed a triad of symptoms characteristic for WKs such as gaze paresis, ataxia of limbs and trunk as well as memory disturbances with confabulations.

Prdx6 Deficiency Ameliorates DSS Colitis: Relevance of Compensatory Antioxidant Mechanisms.

Background And Aims: An imbalance between cellular antioxidant defence system[s] and reactive oxygen species [ROS]-driven oxidative stress has been implicated in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease. Peroxiredoxin [PRDX] 6 contributes to an appropriate redox balance by clearing ROS and reducing peroxidized membrane phospholipids. We here studied the role of PRDX6 in acute and chronic dextran sodium sulphate [DSS]-induced colitis.

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles exacerbate DSS-induced colitis: role of the NLRP3 inflammasome.

Objective: Western lifestyle and diet are major environmental factors playing a role in the development of IBD. Titanium dioxide (TiO) nanoparticles are widely used as food additives or in pharmaceutical formulations and are consumed by millions of people on a daily basis. We investigated the effects of TiO in the development of colitis and the role of the nucleotide-binding oligomerisation domain receptor, pyrin domain containing (NLRP)3 inflammasome.

Downregulation of duodenal SLC transporters and activation of proinflammatory signaling constitute the early response to high altitude in humans.

Solute carrier (SLC) transporters mediate the uptake of biologically active compounds in the intestine. Reduced oxygenation (hypoxia) is an important factor influencing intestinal homeostasis. The aim of this study was to investigate the pathophysiological consequences of hypoxia on the expression and function of SLCs in human intestine.

Hypoxia induces the expression of transketolase-like 1 in human colorectal cancer.

Background And Aims: Transketolase-like (TKTL) 1 is one of the key enzymes for anaerobic sugar degradation even in the presence of oxygen (aerobic glycolysis). Transketolase-dependent reactions supply malignant tumors with ribose and NADPH. Therefore, TKTL1 activity could be crucial for tumor proliferation and survival.

Regulation of the expression of chaperone gp96 in macrophages and dendritic cells.

The chaperone function of the ER-residing heat shock protein gp96 plays an important role in protein physiology and has additionally important immunological functions due to its peptide-binding capacity. Low amounts of gp96 stimulate immunity; high quantities induce tolerance by mechanisms not fully understood. A lack of gp96 protein in intestinal macrophages (IMACs) from Crohn`s disease (CD) patients correlates with loss of tolerance against the host gut flora, leading to chronic inflammation.

High altitude journeys and flights are associated with an increased risk of flares in inflammatory bowel disease patients.

Background And Aims: Hypoxia can induce inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract. However, the impact of hypoxia on the course of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is poorly understood. We aimed to evaluate whether flights and/or journeys to regions lying at an altitude of >2000 m above the sea level are associated with flare-ups within 4 weeks of the trip.

Adaptation of iron transport and metabolism to acute high-altitude hypoxia in mountaineers.

Unlabelled: Human iron homeostasis is regulated by intestinal iron transport, hepatic hepcidin release, and signals from pathways that consume or supply iron. The aim of this study was to characterize the adaptation of iron homeostasis under hypoxia in mountaineers at the levels of (1) hepatic hepcidin release, (2) intestinal iron transport, and (3) systemic inflammatory and erythropoietic responses. Twenty-five healthy mountaineers were studied.

The effects of vitamin A on cells of innate immunity in vitro.

Retinoid treatment is suggested to promote development of inflammatory bowel disease, although preclinical studies are not supportive. We evaluated the effect of retinoids on cytokine response in in vitro-differentiated human dendritic cells (ivDCs) and macrophages (ivMACs) derived from healthy human donors and in cultured human THP-1 cells. Effect on human intestinal epithelial cell integrity was also assessed.

[Management of ureteric sticture via a percutaneous double J stent implantation--description of 2 cases].

Ureteric stricture is the cause of urinary retention above the stricture level and obstructive nephropathy development with progressive renal parenchyma destruction leading to the renal failure. In the management of ureteric stricture, apart from surgery, less-invasive methods of recanalization are applied: transurethral (retrograde) double J stent implantation or, if the above method is unsuccessful, percutaneous (antegrade) double J stent implantation. In this paper we present 2 cases of percutaneous double J stent implantation: in patient after cystoprostatectomy with ureteric stricture at the level of uretero-ileostomy and in patient after renal transplantation with ureteric stricture at the level of ureterovesicostomy.

[Endovascular treatment of a subclavian fistula as a complication after cardiac pacemaker implantation].

Increasing number of complications of cardiac pacemaker implantations is related to increasing number of this procedures due to the aging of the population. A rare complication after pacemaker implantation is subclavian fistula. We present endovascular treatment of subclavian fistula with a covered stent after implantation of cardiac pacemaker.

Fc gamma receptor CD64 modulates the inhibitory activity of infliximab.

Background: Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is an important cytokine in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Anti-TNF antibodies have been successfully implemented in IBD therapy, however their efficacies differ among IBD patients. Here we investigate the influence of CD64 Fc receptor on the inhibitory activity of anti-TNFs in cells of intestinal wall.

Protein tyrosine phosphatase nonreceptor type 2 regulates autophagosome formation in human intestinal cells.

Background: Autophagy is a process of central importance for maintaining cell homeostasis, survival, and the regulation of inflammation. Recent studies associated variants within the gene loci, encoding protein tyrosine phosphatase nonreceptor type 2 (PTPN2), and autophagy genes, such as autophagy-related 16-like 1 (ATG16L1), with chronic inflammatory disorders, such as Crohn's disease (CD). We show that PTPN2 regulates autophagy in human intestinal epithelial cells (IEC) and primary colonic lamina propria fibroblasts (CLPF).

pH-dependent internalization of muramyl peptides from early endosomes enables Nod1 and Nod2 signaling.

Nod1 and Nod2 are members of the Nod-like receptor family that detect intracellular bacterial peptidoglycan-derived muramyl peptides. The biological effects of muramyl peptides have been described for over three decades, but the mechanism underlying their internalization to the cytosol remains unclear. Using the human epithelial cell line HEK293T as a model system, we demonstrate here that Nod1-activating ligands entered cells through endocytosis, most likely by the clathrin-coated pit pathway, as internalization was dynamin-dependent but not inhibited by methyl-beta-cyclodextrin.

Changes in mRNA expression levels of solute carrier transporters in inflammatory bowel disease patients.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an inflammatory condition that affects the gastrointestinal tract. The solute carrier (SLC) superfamily of transporters comprise proteins involved in the uptake of drugs, hormones, and other biologically active compounds. The purpose of this study was to determine the mRNA expression levels of 15 solute carrier transporters in two regions of the intestine in IBD patients.

Regulatory subunit I-controlled protein kinase A activity is required for apical bile canalicular lumen development in hepatocytes.

Signaling via cAMP plays an important role in apical cell surface dynamics in epithelial cells. In hepatocytes, elevated levels of cAMP as well as extracellular oncostatin M stimulate apical lumen development in a manner that depends on protein kinase A (PKA) activity. However, neither the identity of PKA isoforms involved nor the mechanisms of the cross-talk between oncostatin M and cAMP/PKA signaling pathways have been elucidated.

Agmatine enhances the anticonvulsant action of phenobarbital and valproate in the mouse maximal electroshock seizure model.

Accumulating evidence indicates that agmatine (AGM--an endogenous neuromodulator/neurotransmitter in the brain) exerts the anticonvulsant action in various in vivo experiments. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the influence of AGM on the protective action of numerous conventional and newer antiepileptic drugs [carbamazepine (CBZ), lamotrigine (LTG), oxcarbazepine (OXC), phenobarbital (PB), phenytoin (PHT), topiramate (TPM) and valproate (VPA)] in the mouse maximal electroshock seizure (MES) model. Results indicate that AGM (up to 100 mg/kg, i.

cAMP-dependent protein kinase A and the dynamics of epithelial cell surface domains: moving membranes to keep in shape.

Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and cAMP-dependent protein kinase A (PKA) are evolutionary conserved molecules with a well-established position in the complex network of signal transduction pathways. cAMP/PKA-mediated signaling pathways are implicated in many biological processes that cooperate in organ development including the motility, survival, proliferation and differentiation of epithelial cells. Cell surface polarity, here defined as the anisotropic organisation of cellular membranes, is a critical parameter for most of these processes.

Anchoring of protein kinase A-regulatory subunit IIalpha to subapically positioned centrosomes mediates apical bile canalicular lumen development in response to oncostatin M but not cAMP.

Oncostatin M and cAMP signaling stimulate apical surface-directed membrane trafficking and apical lumen development in hepatocytes, both in a protein kinase A (PKA)-dependent manner. Here, we show that oncostatin M, but not cAMP, promotes the A-kinase anchoring protein (AKAP)-dependent anchoring of the PKA regulatory subunit (R)IIalpha to subapical centrosomes and that this requires extracellular signal-regulated kinase 2 activation. Stable expression of the RII-displacing peptide AKAP-IS, but not a scrambled peptide, inhibits the association of RIIalpha with centrosomal AKAPs and results in the repositioning of the centrosome from a subapical to a perinuclear location.

Dynamic perfusion CT: optimizing the temporal resolution for the calculation of perfusion CT parameters in stroke patients.

Purpose: To assess the influence of different temporal sampling rates on the accuracy of the results from cerebral perfusion CTs in patients with an acute ischemic stroke.

Material And Methods: Thirty consecutive patients with acute stroke symptoms received a dynamic perfusion CT (LightSpeed 16, GE). Forty millilitres of iomeprol (Imeron 400) were administered at an injection rate of 4 ml/s.

Interactions of excitatory amino acid receptor antagonists with antiepileptic drugs in three basic models of experimental epilepsy.

Successful management of epilepsy still remains a vital problem. Despite using various combinations of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), 20-25% of epileptic patients are insensitive to currently available medication. Therefore, there is a considerable need for finding a more effective AED or synergistic combinations of AEDs.

Endogenous neuroprotective factors: neurosteroids.

Neurosteroids are a group of steroid hormones synthesized by the brain in the presence of steroidogenic enzymes. Specific neurosteroids modulate function of several receptors, and also regulate growth of neurons, myelinization and synaptogenesis in the central nervous system. Some neurosteroids have been shown to display neuroprotective properties, which may have important implications for their potential use in the treatment of various neuropathologies such as: age-dependent dementia, stroke, epilepsy, spinal cord injury, Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD) and Niemann-Pick type C disease (NP-C).