To investigate the correlation of HRCT findings with pulmonary metabolic activity in the corresponding regions using 18F-FDG PET/CT and inflammatory markers in patients with systemic sclerosis ...(SSc)-associated interstitial lung disease (ILD).
This was a cross-sectional study involving 23 adult patients with SSc-associated ILD without other connective tissue diseases. The study also involved 18F-FDG PET/CT, HRCT, determination of serum chemokine levels, clinical data, and pulmonary function testing.
In this cohort of patients with long-term disease (disease duration, 11.8 ± 8.7 years), a nonspecific interstitial pneumonia pattern was found in 19 (82.6%). Honeycombing areas had higher median standardized uptake values (1.95; p = 0.85). Serum levels of soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor 1, soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor 2, C-C motif chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2), and C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 10 were higher in SSc patients than in controls. Serum levels of CCL2-a marker of fibroblast activity-were correlated with pure ground-glass opacity (GGO) areas on HRCT scans (p = 0.007). 18F-FDG PET/CT showed significant metabolic activity for all HRCT patterns. The correlation between serum CCL2 levels and GGO on HRCT scans suggests a central role of fibroblasts in these areas, adding new information towards the understanding of the mechanisms surrounding cellular and molecular elements and their expression on HRCT scans in patients with SSc-associated ILD.
18F-FDG PET/CT appears to be unable to differentiate the intensity of metabolic activity across HRCT patterns in chronic SSc patients. The association between CCL2 and GGO might be related to fibroblast activity in these areas; however, upregulated CCL2 expression in the lung tissue of SSc patients should be investigated in order to gain a better understanding of this association.
Understanding gaps in academic representation while considering the intersectionality concept is paramount to promoting real progress towards a more inclusive STEM. Here we discuss ways in which STEM ...careers can be sown and germinated so that inclusivity can flourish.
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is characterized by motor dysfunction, which is preceded by a number of non-motor symptoms including olfactory deficits. Aggregation of α-synuclein (α-syn) gives rise to Lewy ...bodies in dopaminergic neurons and is thought to play a central role in PD pathology. However, whether amyloid fibrils or soluble oligomers of α–syn are the main neurotoxic species in PD remains controversial. Here, we performed a single intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) infusion of α-syn oligomers (α-SYOs) in mice and evaluated motor and non-motor symptoms. Familiar bedding and vanillin essence discrimination tasks showed that α-SYOs impaired olfactory performance of mice, and decreased TH and dopamine levels in the olfactory bulb early after infusion. The olfactory deficit persisted until 45days post-infusion (dpi). α- SYO-infused mice behaved normally in the object recognition and forced swim tests, but showed increased anxiety-like behavior in the open field and elevated plus maze tests 20 dpi. Finally, administration of α-SYOs induced late motor impairment in the pole test and rotarod paradigms, along with reduced TH and dopamine content in the caudate putamen, 45 dpi. Reduced number of TH-positive cells was also seen in the substantia nigra of α-SYO-injected mice compared to control. In conclusion, i.c.v. infusion of α-SYOs recapitulated some of PD-associated non-motor symptoms, such as increased anxiety and olfactory dysfunction, but failed to recapitulate memory impairment and depressive-like behavior typical of the disease. Moreover, α-SYOs i.c.v. administration induced motor deficits and loss of TH and dopamine levels, key features of PD. Results point to α-syn oligomers as the proximal neurotoxins responsible for early non-motor and motor deficits in PD and suggest that the i.c.v. infusion model characterized here may comprise a useful tool for identification of PD novel therapeutic targets and drug screening.
Dengue virus type 3, Brazil, 2002 Nogueira, Rita Maria Ribeiro; Schatzmayr, Hermann Gonçalves; de Filippis, Ana Maria Bispo ...
Emerging infectious diseases,
09/2005, Letnik:
11, Številka:
9
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
During the summer of 2002, Rio de Janeiro had a large epidemic of dengue fever; 288,245 cases were reported. A subset of 1,831 dengue hemorrhagic fever cases occurred. In this study, performed in the ...first half of 2002, samples from 1,559 patients with suspected cases of dengue infection were analyzed. From this total, 1,497 were obtained from patients with nonfatal cases, and 62 were obtained from patients with fatal cases. By the use of different methods, 831 (53.3%) cases, including 40 fatal cases, were confirmed as dengue infection. When virus identification was successful, dengue virus type 3 (DENV-3) was obtained in 99% of cases. Neurologic involvement was shown in 1 patient with encephalitis, confirmed by the detection of DENV-3 RNA in the cerebrospinal fluid. This explosive epidemic of DENV-3 was the most severe dengue epidemic reported in Brazil since dengue viruses were introduced in 1986.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, ODKLJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Canine leishmaniasis (CanL) is a chronic disease caused by Leishmania infantum, and the limitations of the current treatments have encouraged new alternatives, such as the use of immunomodulatory ...nutrients. The objective of this study was to determine the serum levels of vitamin A (retinol), vitamin D (25(OH)VD3), and zinc (Zn) in dogs with CanL and the effect of in vitro supplementation with the respective active forms ATRA, 1,25(OH)2VD3, and SZn on spleen leukocyte cultures. Serum retinol, 25(OH)VD3, and Zn were determined by HPLC, ELISA, and ICP-MS, respectively. Spleen leukocyte cultures were used for the detection of NO and ROS by flow cytometry; the IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-10 levels were determined by ELISA; and the parasite load was determined by microscopy. We detected low serum levels of retinol and Zn and high levels of 25(OH)VD3 in the CanL group. The in vitro supplementation of CanL spleen leukocytes with ATRA, 1,25(OH)2VD3, and SZn, in addition to a soluble leishmania antigen (SLA) treatment, increased the NO and ROS levels, while the treatments with only ATRA and SZn increased the TNF-a levels. Increased IL-10 and IFN-g levels were observed with the addition of SLA to the medium, although the addition of the three nutrients led to a reduction of the IL-10 levels, and the addition of 1,25(OH)2VD3 and SZn led to a reduction of IFN-g. A supplementation with 1,25(OH)2VD3 and SZn reduced the parasite load but only in the absence of SLA. We suggest that the nutrients we tested are involved in the leishmanicidal mechanism, showing a potential for investigation in future studies.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare chronic autoimmune disease characterized by vascular abnormalities and connective tissue disorders. In 2021, the multidisciplinary team of the university hospital ...recognized a demand for oral health information among SSc patients. This study aims to describe the development of an SSc oral health booklet and its validation by people with SSc.
For the development of the booklet, the project creators employed the action research methodology involving ten stages. SSc patients evaluated the material by filling out a digital form.
One hundred and thirty-one people with SSc evaluated the booklet. It received an average score of 9.73 (SD: 0.80) in relevance, 9.82 (SD: 0.47) in explicitness, and 9.49 (SD: 0.93) in aesthetics. The final version was emailed to the participants and posted on social media.
This is the first booklet that deeply addresses these issues in Portuguese and constitutes a soft technology to instruct and assist patients with SSc.
The production of high-quality educational materials on oral health for patients with SSc is necessary. The online distribution increased its reach and had great importance in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
•Systemic sclerosis orofacial abnormalities impose challenges to health professionals.•Health education enables patients to self-manage systemic sclerosis.•Educational booklets must use simple language and illustrations to improve patients' understanding.•Patients' suggestions are essential to improve educational booklets.•The online distribution of educational materials improves their reach.
São Paulo, a densely inhabited state in southeast Brazil that contains the fourth most populated city in the world, recently experienced its largest yellow fever virus (YFV) outbreak in decades. YFV ...does not normally circulate extensively in São Paulo, so most people were unvaccinated when the outbreak began. Surveillance in non-human primates (NHPs) is important for determining the magnitude and geographic extent of an epizootic, thereby helping to evaluate the risk of YFV spillover to humans. Data from infected NHPs can give more accurate insights into YFV spread than when using data from human cases alone. To contextualise human cases, identify epizootic foci and uncover the rate and direction of YFV spread in São Paulo, we generated and analysed virus genomic data and epizootic case data from NHPs in São Paulo. We report the occurrence of three spatiotemporally distinct phases of the outbreak in São Paulo prior to February 2018. We generated 51 new virus genomes from YFV positive cases identified in 23 different municipalities in São Paulo, mostly sampled from NHPs between October 2016 and January 2018. Although we observe substantial heterogeneity in lineage dispersal velocities between phylogenetic branches, continuous phylogeographic analyses of generated YFV genomes suggest that YFV lineages spread in São Paulo at a mean rate of approximately 1km per day during all phases of the outbreak. Viral lineages from the first epizootic phase in northern São Paulo subsequently dispersed towards the south of the state to cause the second and third epizootic phases there. This alters our understanding of how YFV was introduced into the densely populated south of São Paulo state. Our results shed light on the sylvatic transmission of YFV in highly fragmented forested regions in São Paulo state and highlight the importance of continued surveillance of zoonotic pathogens in sentinel species.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Severe and poorly treated pain often accompanies breast cancer. Thus, novel mechanisms involved in breast cancer-induced pain should be investigated. Then, it is necessary to characterize animal ...models that are reliable with the symptoms and progression of the disease as observed in humans. Explaining cancer-induced nociception in a murine model of breast carcinoma was the aim of this study. 4T1 (10
4
) lineage cells were inoculated in the right fourth mammary fat pad of female BALB/c mice; after this, mechanical and cold allodynia, or mouse grimace scale (MGS) were observed for 30 days. To determine the presence of bone metastasis, we performed the metastatic clonogenic test and measure calcium serum levels. At 20 days after tumor induction, the antinociceptive effect of analgesics used to relieve pain in cancer patients (acetaminophen, naproxen, codeine or morphine) or a cannabinoid agonist (WIN 55,212-2) was tested. Mice inoculated with 4T1 cells developed mechanical and cold allodynia and increased MGS. Bone metastasis was confirmed using the clonogenic assay, and hypercalcemia was observed 20 days after cells inoculation. All analgesic drugs reduced the mechanical and cold allodynia, while the MGS was decreased only by the administration of naproxen, codeine, or morphine. Also, WIN 55,212-2 improved all nociceptive measures. This pain model could be a reliable form to observe the mechanisms of breast cancer-induced pain or to observe the efficacy of novel analgesic compounds.
We aimed to assess the prevalence, patient allocation adequacy, and mortality of adults with sepsis in Brazilian emergency departments (ED) in a point-prevalence 3-day investigation of patients with ...sepsis who presented to the ED and those who remained there due to inadequate allocation. Allocation was considered adequate if the patient was transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU), ward, or remained in the ED without ICU admission requests. Prevalence was estimated using the total ED visit number. Prognostic factors were assessed with logistic regression. Of 33,902 ED visits in 74 institutions, 183 were acute admissions (prevalence: 5.4 sepsis per 1000 visits 95% confidence interval (CI): 4.6–6.2), and 148 were already in the ED; totaling 331 patients. Hospital mortality was 32% (103/322, 95% CI 23.0–51.0). Age (odds ratio (OR) 1.22 95% CI 1.10–1.37), Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score (OR 1.41 95% CI 1.28–1.57), healthcare-associated infections (OR 2.59 95% CI 1.24–5.50) and low-resource institution admission (OR 2.65 95% CI 1.07–6.90) were associated with higher mortality. Accredited institutions (OR 0.42 95% CI 0.21–0.86) had lower mortality rates. Allocation within 24 h was adequate in only 52.8% of patients (public hospitals: 42.4% (81/190) vs. private institutions: 67.4% (89/132,
p
< 0.001) with 39.2% (74/189) of public hospital patients remaining in the ED until discharge, of whom 55.4% (41/74) died. Sepsis exerts high burden and mortality in Brazilian EDs with frequent inadequate allocation. Modifiable factors, such as resources and quality of care, are associated with reduced mortality.
Adenoviruses are a highly important public health issue, since they are among the most persistent and ubiquitous viruses present in water and associated with a variety of clinical manifestations. The ...aim of this study was to use molecular techniques for the detection of adenovirus in public and recreational water supplies in Goiânia, Brazil. From December 2007 to November 2008, 54 water samples were collected in 5 different sites in 2 lakes and 2 rivers of the city. The samples were filtered in a positively charged nylon membrane, and the DNA was extracted using the phenol–chloroform–isoamyl alcohol method. Semi-nested PCR was used to detect adenovirus DNA, and sequence analysis of the semi-nested PCR products was performed to identify the recovered viruses. Adenovirus DNA was detected in 43% (24 of 54) of samples collected. Considering all examined sites, MP1 presented the highest occurrence of adenovirus (6 positive from 10 collected samples), followed by MP2 (3 positive from 6 collected samples), JL (10 positive from 21 collected samples), VB (3 positive from 9 collected samples), and BB (2 positive from 8 collected samples), respectively. The methodology employed proved to be feasible, fast, low-cost, and suitable to be used as screening approach on adenovirus detection in water for public sanitation companies.
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