Prions: a model of conformational disease?

The discovery that a protein could mimic viral and bacterial pathogens around 1980 by Stanley Prusiner was unexpected. Evidence shows now that Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and related disorders are caused by prions. Prions and, for example neurodegeneratives diseases, arise from the same general disease mechanism.

Cerebral cavernous malformations arise independent of the heart of glass receptor.

Background And Purpose: The Heart of Glass (HEG) receptor binds KRIT1 and functions with KRIT1, CCM2, and PDCD10 in a common signaling pathway required for heart and vascular development. Mutations in KRIT1, CCM2, and PDCD10 also underlie human cerebral cavernous malformation (CCM) and postnatal loss of these genes in the mouse endothelium results in rapid CCM formation. Here, we test the role of HEG in CCM formation in mice and in humans.

Loss of α1β1 soluble guanylate cyclase, the major nitric oxide receptor, leads to moyamoya and achalasia.

Moyamoya is a cerebrovascular condition characterized by a progressive stenosis of the terminal part of the internal carotid arteries (ICAs) and the compensatory development of abnormal "moyamoya" vessels. The pathophysiological mechanisms of this condition, which leads to ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, remain unknown. It can occur as an isolated cerebral angiopathy (so-called moyamoya disease) or in association with various conditions (moyamoya syndromes).

[Treatment of manic phases of bipolar disorder: critical synthesis of international guidelines].

Introduction: Bipolar disorder (BD) is the seventh leading cause of disability per year of life among all diseases in the population aged 15 to 44. It is a group of heterogeneous diseases, with frequent comorbid psychiatric or somatic disorders, variable treatment response and frequent residual symptoms between episodes. The major impairment associated with this disorder is related to the high relapse and recurrence rates, the functional impact of comorbidities and cognitive impairment between episodes.

Xpert GBS assay for rapid detection of group B streptococcus in gastric fluid samples from newborns.

The Xpert GBS real-time PCR assay was applied to gastric fluid samples from 143 newborns, and it detected group B streptococcus (GBS) within 1 h for 16 (11.2%) cases, while microscopic examination detected only 2 cases. The sensitivity and specificity of the Xpert GBS were 80% and 100%, respectively, with regard to 20 cases of GBS colonization or infection.

Dysfunctional parental styles perceived during childhood in outpatients with substance use disorders.

People who suffer from substance use disorders (SUDs) frequently report to have undergone childhood adversity that is often associated with father or mother dysfunction, or both. Yet that issue has been barely addressed in opiate dependent patients. Therefore we sought to evaluate parent-specific dysfunctional styles perceived during childhood in a clinical sample from an outpatient addiction treatment program using the Measure Of Parental Styles (MOPS) questionnaire.

[Severe poisonings in intensive care unit: study of announced substances in 2011].

Introduction: To treat poisonings, physicians must rapidly make a diagnosis. As of today, exhaustive data on most frequently reported toxics are not available in France.

Materials And Methods: This was a retrospective study of announced substances at patients' admissions in intensive care unit for poisoning in 2011 at Lariboisière hospital.

Effect of dynamic humeral centring (DHC) treatment on painful active elevation of the arm in subacromial impingement syndrome. Secondary analysis of data from an RCT.

Background: The physiotherapy dynamic humeral centring (DHC) aims to prevent subacromial impingement of rotator cuff tendons during elevation of the arm. The objective of the study was to determine whether DHC acts via an effect on subacromial impingement mechanism by assessing its effect on painful elevation of the arm in subacromial impingement syndrome.

Methods: This is a secondary analysis of results of a randomised controlled trial of the effectiveness of DHC.

[Cognitions and functioning in euthymic bipolar patients: screening and treatment].

Persistent cognitive deficits in euthymic bipolar patients are now well documented. Indeed, several studies and meta-analyzes clearly establish the existence of cognitive deficits in specific domains: attention (in particular sustained attention), Memory (in particular verbal memory) and executive functions. The impact of cognitive deficits on patient's functioning is also well documented and their role appear to be more important than expected by comparison with the impairment related to thymic residual symptoms.