This study describes a young girl who presented with involuntary weight loss, spontaneous vomiting and behavioural change. Imaging confirmed hypothalamic and brainstem involvement. Routine ...investigations (including cerebrospinal fluid analysis and neuromyelitis optica IgG) were unhelpful. Biopsy of the hypothalamic lesion implicated an aggressive inflammatory aetiology. There was a response to conventional immunosuppression, while a further relapse responded to plasma exchange. She died 21 months after presentation. Postmortem examination was highly suggestive of neuromyelitis optica, which was subsequently confirmed following the identification of aquaporin 4 antibodies.
Herein, for the first time, we demonstrated that novel biofunctionalized semiconductor nanomaterials made of Cd-containing fluorescent quantum dot nanoconjugates with the surface capped by an ...aminopolysaccharide are not biologically safe for clinical applications. Conversely, the ZnS-based nanoconjugates proved to be noncytotoxic, considering all the parameters investigated. The results of in vitro cytotoxicity were remarkably dependent on the chemical composition of quantum dot (CdS or ZnS), the nature of the cell (human cancerous and embryonic types), and the concentration and time period of exposure to these nanomaterials, caused by the effects of Cd
on the complex nanotoxicity pathways involved in cellular uptake. Unexpectedly, no decisive evidence of nanotoxicity of CdS and ZnS conjugates was observed in vivo using intravenous injections in BALB/c mice for 30 days, with minor localized fluorescence detected in liver tissue specimens. Therefore, these results proved that CdS nanoconjugates could pose an excessive threat for clinical applications due to unpredicted and uncorrelated in vitro and in vivo responses caused by highly toxic cadmium ions at biointerfaces. On the contrary, ZnS nanoconjugates proved that the "safe by design" concept used in this research (ie, biocompatible core-shell nanostructures) could benefit a plethora of applications in nanomedicine and oncology.
Background and purpose
Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disorder characterized by fatigable muscle weakness due to antibody‐mediated impairment of neuromuscular transmission. The aim of this ...study was to investigate the incidence and prevalence of MG in Latvia, and to characterize this population by well‐established clinical parameters such as age at onset, presence of associated antibodies and thymus pathology.
Methods
All prevalent cases on 1 January 2015 and cases of patients newly presenting with MG symptoms from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2014 were selected from the database of the Neuromuscular Disease Clinic of Pauls Stradins Clinical University Hospital and Children's Clinical University Hospital. Crude rates were calculated based on population data. These were directly age‐standardized to the European and World Health Organization world standard populations. The analysis of clinical characteristics was carried out in a cohort of patients who had undergone a complete set of electrophysiological, serological and radiological investigations (n = 153; 68%).
Results
During the study period 99 incident and 226 prevalent cases were identified. The total crude MG incidence was 9.7 per million person‐years. The prevalence of MG on 1 January 2015 was 113.8 per million. 54.2% of patients tested positive for acetylcholine receptor antibodies, 7.8% for muscle specific kinase antibodies and 1.3% for lipoprotein related protein 4 antibodies.
Conclusions
This is the first study of MG in Latvia and the second population‐based study of MG in Eastern Europe. Our epidemiological results are similar to those in some other European and Northern American countries, and show high prevalence and increasing incidence of late‐onset MG.
We describe a 40-year-old female who presented with progressive breathlessness and hypercapnic respiratory failure during pregnancy secondary to undiagnosed muscle-specific kinase myasthenia gravis. ...Her presentation was progressive and protracted, having over five contacts with healthcare professionals over nine months, many of these predating her pregnancy. Her atypical presentation for myasthenia with minimal limb weakness led to consideration of other causes of hypercapnic respiratory failure. Once diagnosed, she was treated with intravenous immunoglobulin and non-invasive ventilation. She gave birth to a pre-term infant by planned caesarean section. Her insidious presentation and the progressive nature of her breathlessness were unusual and our report highlights the predominant involvement of respiratory muscles in muscle-specific kinase myasthenia. Her pregnancy may have further delayed her diagnosis due the attribution of some symptoms to normal pregnancy. Early recognition and treatment of myasthenia gravis are important to prevent life-threatening complications.
This work reports on the properties of GaN films grown by reactive magnetron sputtering onto glass substrate kept at relatively low temperature (400°C), using different RF power applied to the Ga ...target. Their structural, morphological, vibrational and optical properties were characterized by X-ray diffraction, atomic force and scanning electron microscopies, Raman spectroscopy and UV-vis spectrophotometry. The films have wurtzite phase with strong preferential orientation in the c-axis direction. Moreover, two clear contributions to the (0002) diffraction peak could be found, indicating the presence of two different morphologies, which were discussed in terms of the formation of an intermediate layer between the substrate and a dominating columnar-like microstructured film.
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•Sb doped SnO2 nanowires were sucessfully synthetized using the VLS mechanism.•Doping effectiveness was confirmed by the single antimony oxidation state detected by XPS.•Doping ...induced local symmetry changes were detected by inactive vibrational modes.
We here report the growth and structural characterization of Sb-doped SnO2 nanowires synthesized by Vapor-Liquid-Solid technique using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Raman spectroscopy. Both X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy exhibited typical features of the rutile phase of SnO2 nanowires for all samples. The analysis of XPS confirmed the Sb doping effectiveness. In addition, Raman spectra revealed inactive modes (242 and 284 cm−1) attributed to local structural disorder caused by the incorporation of the dopant into the SnO2 lattice and leading to the breakdown of the Raman selection rules.
Abstract Aim Our aim was to test the hypothesis that co-exposure to lead and fluoride alter the severity of enamel fluorosis. Materials and methods Wistar rats were allocated in four groups: control, ...and 3 groups that received water containing 100 ppm of fluoride (F), 30 ppm of lead (Pb), or 100 ppm of F and 30 ppm of Pb (F + Pb) from the beginning of gestation. Enamel analysis and F and Pb determinations in enamel, dentine, and bone were performed in 81-day-old animals. Fluorosis was quantified using a new fluorosis index based on the identification of incisor enamel defects (white bands and white islets, representing hypomineralization, and cavities) weighted according to their severity and quantity. Hypomineralization was validated histopathologically by polarizing microscopy and microradiography. Scores were given by two blinded calibrated examiners (intra and interexaminer kappa values were 0.8 and 0.86, respectively). Results The control and the Pb groups presented normal enamel. The F + Pb group presented more severe enamel defects compared with the F group ( P < 0.0001). Conclusions This study shows that lead exacerbates dental fluorosis in rodents, suggesting that co-exposure to lead may affect the degree of fluorosis.
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