Cannabis Cessation, Inflammatory Markers and Schizophrenia.

A dysbalance of the immune system in schizophrenia has been largely described but few studies have investigated the impact of cannabis use on inflammatory markers in patients with schizophrenia. The objective of our study was to investigate the impact of cannabis use on high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), fibrinogen levels and leucocytic formula in patients with schizophrenia. Thirty-eight acutely ill inpatients with schizophrenia were included.

: a New Approach to Identify Species within the Genus Enterobacter.

The taxonomy of the genus Enterobacter can be confusing and has been considerably revised in recent years. We propose a PCR and amplicon sequencing technique based on a partial sequence of the gene for species assignment consistent with DNA-DNA digital hybridization (dDDH) and pairwise average nucleotide identity (ANI). We performed a validation of the method by comparing the type strains of each species, sequences obtained from the GenBank database, and clinical specimens.

Improving upper-limb and trunk kinematics by interactive gaming in individuals with chronic stroke: A single-blinded RCT.

Background: Commercial gaming systems are increasingly being used for stroke rehabilitation; however, their effect on upper-limb recovery versus compensation is unknown.

Objectives: We aimed to compare the effect of upper-limb rehabilitation using interactive gaming (Nintendo Wii) with dose-matched conventional therapy on elbow extension (recovery) and forward trunk motion (compensation) in individuals with chronic stroke. Secondary aims were to compare the effect on (1) clinical tests of impairment and activity, pain and effort, and (2) trajectory kinematics.

Current practice and evolving concepts in septic shock resuscitation.

Clinical and pathophysiological understanding of septic shock has progressed exponentially in the previous decades, translating into a steady decrease in septic shock-related morbidity and mortality. Even though large randomized, controlled trials have addressed fundamental aspects of septic shock resuscitation, many questions still exist. In this review, we will describe the current standards of septic shock resuscitation, but the emphasis will be placed on evolving concepts in different domains such as clinical resuscitation targets, adequate use of fluids and vasoactive drugs, refractory shock, and the use of extracorporeal therapies.

Galaxy Is a Suitable Bioinformatics Platform for the Molecular Diagnosis of Human Genetic Disorders Using High-Throughput Sequencing Data Analysis: Five Years of Experience in a Clinical Laboratory.

Background: To date, the usage of Galaxy, an open-source bioinformatics platform, has been reported primarily in research. We report 5 years' experience (2015 to 2020) with Galaxy in our hospital, as part of the "Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris" (AP-HP), to demonstrate its suitability for high-throughput sequencing (HTS) data analysis in a clinical laboratory setting.

Methods: Our Galaxy instance has been running since July 2015 and is used daily to study inherited diseases, cancer, and microbiology.

Current practices of management of maternal and congenital Cytomegalovirus infection during pregnancy after a maternal primary infection occurring in first trimester of pregnancy: Systematic review.

Introduction: Congenital CMV infection is the first worldwide cause of congenital viral infection but systematic screening of pregnant women and newborns for CMV is still debated in many countries.

Objectives: This systematic review aims to provide the state of the art on current practices concerning management of maternal and congenital CMV infection during pregnancy, after maternal primary infection (PI) in first trimester of pregnancy.

Data Sources: Electronically searches on databases and hand searches in grey literature.

The determinants of very severe immune-related adverse events associated with immune checkpoint inhibitors: A prospective study of the French REISAMIC registry.

Background: Immune-related adverse events (irAEs) remain generally unpredictable, and severe irAEs remain challenging to detect early and manage. Very severe (grade IV-V) irAEs have not been extensively characterised in prospective studies, and their predictive factors remain unknown.

Objective: The objective of the study was to describe and identify predictive factors of very severe (grade IV-V) irAEs.

CD4 T-cell DNA methylation changes during pregnancy significantly correlate with disease-associated methylation changes in autoimmune diseases.

Epigenetics may play a central, yet unexplored, role in the profound changes that the maternal immune system undergoes during pregnancy and could be involved in the pregnancy-induced modulation of several autoimmune diseases. We investigated changes in the methylome in isolated circulating CD4 T-cells in non-pregnant and pregnant women, during the 1 and 2 trimester, using the Illumina Infinium Human Methylation 450K array, and explored how these changes were related to autoimmune diseases that are known to be affected during pregnancy. Pregnancy was associated with several hundreds of methylation differences, particularly during the 2 trimester.

Two new cases of interstitial 7q35q36.1 deletion including CNTNAP2 and KMT2C.

Background: Terminal deletions of the long arm of chromosome 7 are well known and frequently associated with syndromic holoprosencephaly due to the involvement of the SHH (aliases HHG1, SMMCI, TPT, TPTPS, and MCOPCB5) gene region. However, interstitial deletions including CNTNAP2 (aliases Caspr2, KIAA0868, and NRXN4) and excluding the SHH region are less common.

Methods: We report the clinical and molecular characterization associated with pure 7q35 and 7q35q36.

Pre-transplant morphometry by computed tomography scan and post-transplant dialysis risk in overweight or obese kidney transplant recipients.

Purpose: Adipose distribution and sarcopenia could better assess kidney transplantation outcomes than body mass index (BMI) and have been poorly evaluated among obese and overweight recipients. We aimed to evaluate morphometric radiologic markers to predict post-operative dialysis within this population.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study including patients with a BMI > 25 kg/m undergoing kidney transplantation during 5 years.

Cerebrospinal fluid exposure to bictegravir/emtricitabine/tenofovir in HIV-1-infected patients with CNS impairment.

Objectives: The penetration of antiretroviral drugs into deep compartments, such as the CNS, is a crucial component of strategies towards an HIV cure. This study aimed to determine CSF concentrations of bictegravir, emtricitabine and tenofovir in patients with HIV-related CNS impairment (HCI) enrolled in a real-life observational study.

Methods: Patients with HCI treated by optimized ART, including bictegravir/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide (BIC/FTC/TAF) for at least 1 month were enrolled.

Immune checkpoint inhibitor-associated sarcoidosis: A usually benign disease that does not require immunotherapy discontinuation.

Objective: To analyse the clinical patterns of sarcoidosis triggered by immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in patients with cancer.

Patients And Methods: The ImmunoCancer International Registry is a big data-sharing multidisciplinary network from 18 countries dedicated to evaluating the clinical research of immune-related adverse events related to cancer immunotherapies.

Results: We identified 32 patients with biopsy-proven sarcoidosis.

Cytoskeleton and Associated Proteins: Pleiotropic JNK Substrates and Regulators.

This review extensively reports data from the literature concerning the complex relationships between the stress-induced c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNKs) and the four main cytoskeleton elements, which are actin filaments, microtubules, intermediate filaments, and septins. To a lesser extent, we also focused on the two membrane-associated cytoskeletons spectrin and ESCRT-III. We gather the mechanisms controlling cytoskeleton-associated JNK activation and the known cytoskeleton-related substrates directly phosphorylated by JNK.

Outcomes of patients with cancer and sarcoid-like granulomatosis associated with immune checkpoint inhibitors: A case-control study.

Purpose: Sarcoid-like granulomatosis (SLG) reaction caused by immunotherapy remains poorly understood. This study aims to investigate the outcome of patients with cancer and SLG associated with immunotherapy.

Patients And Methods: Between April 2016 and June 2020, 434 patients with immunological adverse events were screened from the ImmunoTOX assessment board of Gustave Roussy, an academic cancer centre in France.

Presence of 2-hydroxymyristate on endotoxins is associated with death in neonates with complex septic shock.

complex species are involved in infections among critically ill patients. After a recent outbreak of fulminant neonatal septic shock, we conducted a study to determine whether septic shock severity and its lethal consequence are related to structural features of the endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide [LPS]) of the strains isolated from hospitalized infants and more specifically its lipid A region. It appeared that the LPSs are very heterogeneous, carrying fifteen different molecular species of lipid A.

Efficacy of Thymosin Alpha 1 in the Treatment of COVID-19: A Multicenter Cohort Study.

Background: Thymosin alpha 1 (Tα1) is widely used to treat patients with COVID-19 in China; however, its efficacy remains unclear. This study aimed to explore the efficacy of Tα1 as a COVID-19 therapy.

Methods: We performed a multicenter cohort study in five tertiary hospitals in the Hubei province of China between December 2019 and March 2020.

CD4/CD8 Ratio and the Risk of Kaposi Sarcoma or Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in the Context of Efficiently Treated Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Infection: A Collaborative Analysis of 20 European Cohort Studies.

Background: A persistently low CD4/CD8 ratio has been reported to inversely correlate with the risk of non-AIDS defining cancer in people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV; PLWH) efficiently treated by combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). We evaluated the impact of the CD4/CD8 ratio on the risk of Kaposi sarcoma (KS) or non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), still among the most frequent cancers in treated PLWH.

Methods: PLWH from the Collaboration of Observational HIV Epidemiological Research Europe (COHERE) were included if they achieved virological control (viral load ≤ 500 copies/mL) within 9 months following cART and without previous KS/LNH diagnosis.

Personalized mechanical ventilation in acute respiratory distress syndrome.

A personalized mechanical ventilation approach for patients with adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) based on lung physiology and morphology, ARDS etiology, lung imaging, and biological phenotypes may improve ventilation practice and outcome. However, additional research is warranted before personalized mechanical ventilation strategies can be applied at the bedside. Ventilatory parameters should be titrated based on close monitoring of targeted physiologic variables and individualized goals.

Potentially inappropriate prescriptions: Associations with the health insurance contract and the quality of the patient-physician relationship?

Context: Potentially Inappropriate Prescriptions (PIP) are often used as an indicator of potential drug overuse or misuse to limit adverse drug events in older people.

Objective: To determine whether PIP exposure differs as a function of the patient's health insurance scheme and the patient-physician relationship.

Methods: Our dataset was collected from two surveys delivered to two cohorts of the Swiss Lc65+ study, together with a stratified random sample of older people in the Swiss canton of Vaud.

Myeloid phenotypes in severe COVID-19 predict secondary infection and mortality: a pilot study.

Background: De-regulated host response to severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), directly referring to the concept of sepsis-associated immunological dysregulation, seems to be a strong signature of severe COVID-19. Myeloid cells phenotyping is well recognized to diagnose critical illness-induced immunodepression in sepsis and has not been well characterized in COVID-19. The aim of this study is to review phenotypic characteristics of myeloid cells and evaluate their relations with the occurrence of secondary infection and mortality in patients with COVID-19 admitted in an intensive care unit.

Changes in pulse pressure variation to assess preload responsiveness in mechanically ventilated patients with spontaneous breathing activity: an observational study.

Background: Pulse pressure variation (PPV) is not reliable in predicting preload responsiveness in patients receiving mechanical with spontaneous breathing (SB) activity. We hypothesised that an increase in PPV after a tidal volume (V) challenge (TVC) or a decrease in PPV during passive leg raising (PLR) can predict preload responsiveness in such cases.

Methods: This prospective observational study was performed in two ICUs and included patients receiving mechanical ventilation with SB, for whom the treating physician decided to test preload responsiveness.

Leukoencephalopathy and conduction blocks in PLEKHG5-associated intermediate CMT disease.

Biallelic variants in PLEKHG5 have been reported so far associated with different clinical phenotypes including Lower motor neuron disease (LMND) [also known as distal hereditary motor neuropathies (dHMN or HMN) or distal spinal muscular atrophy (DSMA4)] and intermediate Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT). We report four patients from two families presenting with intermediate CMT and atypical clinical and para-clinical findings. Patients presented with predominant distal weakness with none or mild sensory involvement and remain ambulant at last examination (22-36 years).

Diagnosis of Infection in a Routine Testing Workflow: Effect of Bacterial Load and Virulence Factors.

Reliable diagnostic methods are mandatory for effective management of infection. Histology and culture are the most common invasive methods in current practice, even if molecular methods are gaining in importance. The performance of these conventional methods varies significantly.