The local signs and symptoms following snakebites are similar to those of cellulitis caused by bacterial infections. This leads to empirical treatment with antibiotics, which however is not supported by evidence. Procalcitonin (PCT) is a biomarker with good diagnostic accuracy for bacterial infection. We studied serum PCT concentration in 100 patients aged 13 years or more, presenting to the hospital with significant local manifestations (crossing the joint proximal to the bitten wound) within 24 hours after snakebite. The extent and progression of local manifestations were monitored 12 hourly. Baseline PCT measurement was carried out for all patients and measurement was repeated 12 hourly only in those patients with progressive local manifestations. The median interqartile range PCT concentration did not differ significantly by the severity of local manifestation at presentation (Grade 2 = 0.28 [0.26-0.30]; Grade 3 = 0.28 [0.26-0.32]; Grade 4 = 0.27 [0.26-0.32] ng/mL; = 0.15). Furthermore, we did not observe an increase in PCT concentration on serial estimation in those with progressive local manifestation (0.28, 0.29, and 0.29 ng/mL) over 36 hours. These observations suggest that the local manifestations following snakebites were not caused by bacterial infection.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.17-0892 | DOI Listing |
Sci Rep
January 2025
Center for Medical Genetics, Hunan Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics, MOE Key Lab of Rare Pediatric Diseases, School of Life Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, 410000, Hunan, China.
Autosomal dominant deafness-15 which is caused by mutation in the POU4F3 gene, has been reported with a wide degree of clinical heterogeneity, even between intrafamilial members. However, the reason is still elusive. In this study, A four-generation Chinese family with 11 patients manifesting late-onset progressive non-syndromic hearing loss was recruited.
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January 2025
Department of Pharmacology, School of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Cortical interneurons generated from ganglionic eminence via a long-distance journey of tangential migration display evident cellular and molecular differences across brain regions, which seeds the heterogeneous cortical circuitry in primates. However, whether such regional specifications in interneurons are intrinsically encoded or gained through interactions with the local milieu remains elusive. Here, we recruit 685,692 interneurons from cerebral cortex and subcortex including ganglionic eminence within the developing human and macaque species.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCell Death Dis
January 2025
Tianjian Laboratory of Advanced Biomedical Sciences, Academy of Medical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China.
Mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) is a therapeutic vulnerability in glycolysis-deficient cancers. Here we show that inhibiting OXPHOS similarly suppresses the proliferation and tumorigenicity of glycolytically competent colorectal cancer (CRC) cells in vitro and in patient-derived CRC xenografts. While the increased glycolytic activity rapidly replenished the ATP pool, it did not restore the reduced production of aspartate upon OXPHOS inhibition.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFeNeuro
January 2025
Department of Neuroscience, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
High-frequency stimulation (HFS)-induced long-term potentiation (LTP) is generally regarded as a homosynaptic Hebbian-type LTP, where synaptic changes are thought to occur at the synapses that project from the stimulation site and terminate onto the neurons at the recording site. In this study, we first investigated HFS-induced LTP on urethane-anesthetized rats and found that cortical HFS enhances neural responses at the recording site through the strengthening of local connectivity with nearby neurons at the stimulation site, rather than through synaptic strengthening at the recording site. This enhanced local connectivity at the stimulation site leads to increased output propagation, resulting in signal potentiation at the recording site.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMJ Case Rep
January 2025
Internal Medicine, MS Ramaiah Medical College, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.
Tumour-induced osteomalacia (TIO) is an uncommon, debilitating disorder often characterised by non-specific clinical manifestations, posing a significant diagnostic challenge. The tumours causing TIO can be minuscule and occur in unusual areas, further complicating diagnosis. This report details the case of a woman in her early 30s presenting with chronic pain who subsequently developed fragility fractures.
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