Pathophysiology最新文献

The mortality of COVID-19 patients has left the world devastated. Many scoring systems have been developed to predict the mortality of COVID-19 patients, but several scoring components cannot be carried out in limited health facilities. Herein, the authors attempted to create a new and easy scoring system involving mean arterial pressure (MAP), PF Ratio, or SF ratio-respiration rate (SF Ratio-R), and lymphocyte absolute, which were abbreviated as MPL or MSLR functioning, as a predictive scoring system for mortality within 30 days for COVID-19 patients. Of 132 patients with COVID-19 hospitalized between March and November 2021, we followed up on 96 patients. We present bivariate and multivariate analyses as well as the area under the curve (AUC) and Kaplan-Meier charts. From 96 patients, we obtained an MPL score of 3 points: MAP < 75 mmHg, PF Ratio < 200, and lymphocyte absolute < 1500/µL, whereas the MSLR score was 6 points: MAP < 75 mmHg, SF Ratio < 200, lymphocyte absolute < 1500/µL, and respiration rate 24/min. The MPL cut-off point is 2, while the MSLR is 4. MPL and MSLR have the same sensitivity (79.1%) and specificity (75.5%). The AUC value of MPL vs. MSLR was 0.802 vs. 0.807. The MPL ≥ 2 and MSLR ≥ 4 revealed similar predictions for survival within 30 days (p < 0.05). Conclusion: MPL and MSLR scores are potential predictors of mortality in COVID-19 patients within 30 days in a resource-limited country.

Mutations in the FLT3 gene not only lead to abnormalities in its structure and function, but also affect the expression of other genes involved in leukemogenesis. This study evaluated the expression of genes that are more characteristic of neuroblastoma but less studied in leukemia. N-MYC oncogene expression was found to be more than 3-fold higher in primary AML patients carrying the FLT3-ITD mutation compared to carriers of other mutations as well as patients with normal karyotype (p = 0.03946). In contrast to the expression of several genes (C-MYC, SPT16, AURKA, AURKB) directly correlated to the allelic load of FLT3-ITD, the expression of the N-MYC oncogene is extremely weakly related or independent of it (p = 0.0405). Monitoring of N-MYC expression in some patients with high FLT3-ITD allelic load receiving therapy showed that a decrease in FLT3-ITD allelic load is not always accompanied by a decrease in N-MYC expression. On the contrary, N-MYC expression may remain elevated during the first three months after therapy, which is additional evidence of the emergence of resistance to therapy and progression of AML.

Rats manifest a condition called hemorrhagic cystitis after spinal cord injury (SCI). The mechanism of this condition is unknown, but it is more severe in male rats than in female rats. We assessed the role of sex regarding hemorrhagic cystitis and pathological chronic changes in the bladder. We analyzed the urine of male and female Sprague-Dawley and Fischer 344 rats after experimental spinal cord contusion, including unstained microscopic inspections of the urine, differential white blood cell counts colored by the Wright stain, and total leukocyte counts using fluorescent nuclear stains. We examined bladder histological changes in acute and chronic phases of SCI, using principal component analysis (PCA) and clustered heatmaps of Pearson correlation coefficients to interpret how measured variables correlated with each other. Male rats showed a distinct pattern of macroscopic hematuria after spinal cord injury. They had higher numbers of red blood cells with significantly more leukocytes and neutrophils than female rats, particularly hypersegmented neutrophils. The histological examination of the bladders revealed a distinct line of apoptotic umbrella cells and disrupted bladder vessels early after SCI and progressive pathological changes in multiple bladder layers in the chronic phase. Multivariate analyses indicated immune cell infiltration in the bladder, especially hypersegmented neutrophils, that correlated with red blood cell counts in male rats. Our study highlights a hitherto unreported sex difference of hematuria and pathological changes in males and females' bladders after SCI, suggesting an important role of immune cell infiltration, especially neutrophils, in SCI-induced hemorrhagic cystitis.

Introduction: The aim of the study was to analyse the total protein (TP), casein (CAS), lactose (LAC), and fat content of milk from cows with subclinical (SCM) and clinical mastitis (CM) caused by Streptococcus spp.

Material and methods: A total of 60 milk samples from diseased cows and 30 milk samples from healthy cows were included in the study. Milk samples were taken from Holstein-Friesian cows from four dairy farms in Lublin Province. The bacteriological examination of the milk was performed and the somatic cells count in 1 mL of milk was determined using a SomaCount FC automatic cell counter. Determination of TP, CAS, LAC, FAT and FA levels in milk was carried out using a DairySpec FT automated Fourier transform infrared spectrometer.

Results: Total protein in milk from HE was significantly higher than in milk from cows with mastitis (4.04% vs 3.57% in milk from SCM cows and 3.7% in milk from CM cows, P = 0.001). The CAS level was 2.73% in milk from CM cows and 2.92% in milk from SCM cows vs 3.30% in milk from HE cows, P = 0.001. The changes in CAS and TP in milk resulted in a significant difference in the CAS/TP ratio (81.7% in milk from HE cows vs 73.8% in milk from CM cows). A decrease in levels was also recorded for LAC (4.8% in milk from HE cows vs 4.51% in milk from SCM cows and 4.01% in milk from CM cows, P = 0.001). The fat level was significantly higher in milk from healthy cows than in milk from cows with mastitis (4.0% vs 2.3% in milk from SCM cows and 1.64% in milk from CM cows, P = 0.001).

Conclusion: It should be emphasised that the decrease in the levels of TP, LAC and FAT was significant not only in milk from CM cows but also in milk from SCM cows. This is very unfavourable, because the reduction in the main milk components results in poor quality dairy products and impairs line processes.

Vestibulo-atactic syndrome (VAS), which represents a combination of motor and vestibular disorders, can be manifested as a clinical complication of breast cancer treatment and has a significant impact on patients' quality of life. The identification of novel potential biomarkers that might help to predict the onset of VAS and its progression could improve the management of this group of patients. In the current study, the levels of intercellular cell adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1), platelet/endothelial cell adhesion molecule 1 (PECAM-1), NSE (neuron-specific enolase), and the antibodies recognizing NR-2 subunit of NMDA receptor (NR-2-ab) were measured in the blood serum of BC survivor patients with vestibulo-atactic syndrome (VAS) and associated with the brain connectome data obtained via functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies. A total of 21 patients were registered in this open, single-center trial and compared to age-matched healthy female volunteers (control group) (n = 17). BC patients with VAS demonstrated higher serum levels of ICAM-1, PECAM-1, and NSE and a lower value of NR-2-ab, with values of 654.7 ± 184.8, 115.3 ± 37.03, 49.9 ± 103.9, and 0.5 ± 0.3 pg/mL, respectively, as compared to the healthy volunteers, with 230.2 ± 44.8, 62.8 ± 15.6, 15.5 ± 6.4, and 1.4 ± 0.7 pg/mL. According to the fMRI data (employing seed-to-voxel and ROI-to-ROI methods), in BC patients with VAS, significant changes were detected in the functional connectivity in the areas involved in the regulation of postural-tonic reflexes, the coordination of movements, and the regulation of balance. In conclusion, the detected elevated levels of serum biomarkers may reveal damage to the CNS neurons and endothelial cells that is, in turn, associated with the change in the brain connectivity in this group of patients.

Antioxidant protection is one of the key reactions of cardiomyocytes (CMCs) in response to myocardial damage of various origins. The thioredoxin interacting protein (TXNIP) is an inhibitor of thioredoxin (TXN). Over the recent few years, TXNIP has received significant attention due to its wide range of functions in energy metabolism. In the present work, we studied the features of the redox-thiol systems, in particular, the amount of TXNIP and glutathione synthetase (GS) as markers of oxidative damage to CMCs and antioxidant protection, respectively. This study was carried out on 38-week-old Wistar-Kyoto rats with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (DM) induced by streptozotocin, on 38- and 57-week-old hypertensive SHR rats and on a model of combined hypertension and DM (38-week-old SHR rats with DM). It was found that the amount of TXNIP increased in 57-week-old SHR rats, in diabetic rats and in SHR rats with DM. In 38-week-old SHR rats, the expression of TXNIP significantly decreased. The expression of GS was significantly higher compared with the controls in 57-week-old SHR rats, in DM rats and in the case of the combination of hypertension and DM. The obtained data show that myocardial damage caused by DM and hypertension are accompanied by the activation of oxidative stress and antioxidant protection.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is associated with a worse prognosis in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. Identification of AKI, particularly in COVID-19 patients, is important for improving patients' management. The study aims to assess risk factors and comorbidities of AKI in COVID-19 patients. We systematically searched PubMed and DOAJ databases for relevant studies involving confirmed COVID-19 patients with data on risk factors and comorbidities of AKI. The risk factors and comorbidities were compared between AKI and non-AKI patients. A total of 30 studies involving 22385 confirmed COVID-19 patients were included. Male (OR: 1.74 (1.47, 2.05)), diabetes (OR: 1.65 (1.54, 1.76)), hypertension (OR: 1.82 (1.12, 2.95)), ischemic cardiac disease (OR: 1.70 (1.48, 1.95)), heart failure (OR: 2.29 (2.01, 2.59)), chronic kidney disease (CKD) (OR: 3.24 (2.20, 4.79)), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (OR: 1.86 (1.35, 2.57)), peripheral vascular disease (OR: 2.34 (1.20, 4.56)), and history of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) (OR: 1.59 (1.29, 1.98)) were independent risk factors associated with COVID-19 patients with AKI. Patients with AKI presented with proteinuria (OR: 3.31 (2.59, 4.23)), hematuria (OR: 3.25 (2.59, 4.08)), and invasive mechanical ventilation (OR: 13.88 (8.23, 23.40)). For COVID-19 patients, male gender, diabetes, hypertension, ischemic cardiac disease, heart failure, CKD, COPD, peripheral vascular disease, and history of use of NSAIDs are associated with a higher risk of AKI.

There are several pathophysiological outcomes associated with substance abuse including metabolic disbalance, neurodegeneration, and disordered redox. Drug use in pregnant women is a topic of great concern due to developmental harm which may occur during gestation and the associated complications in the neonate after delivery. We sought to determine what the trajectory of drug use is like in children aged 0-4 years and mothers of neonates. Urine drug screen (UDS) results were obtained of our target demographic during 1998-2011 and 2012-2019 from LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport (LSUHSC-S). Statistical analysis was performed using R software. We observed an increase in cannabinoid-positive UDS results in both Caucasian (CC) and African American (AA) groups between 1998-2011 and 2012-2019 periods. Cocaine-positive UDS results decreased in both cohorts. CC children had higher UDS positive results for opiates, benzodiazepines, and amphetamines, while AA children had a higher percentage for illicit drugs such as cannabinoids and cocaine. Neonate's mothers had similar UDS trends to that in children during 2012-2019. Overall, while percentage of positive UDS results for both AA and CC 0-4 year old children started to decline for opiate, benzodiazepine, and cocaine during 2012-2019, cannabinoid- and amphetamine (CC)-positive UDS steadily increased. These results suggest a shift in the type of drug use by mothers from opiates, benzodiazepines, and cocaine to cannabinoids and/or amphetamines. We also observed that 18-year-old females who tested positive for opiates, benzodiazepine, or cocaine had higher than average chances of testing positive for cannabinoids later in life.

The primary aim of the study was to assess cerebral circulation in healthy young subjects during an ultra-short (45 min) session of ground-based microgravity modeled by "dry" immersion (DI), with the help of a multifunctional Laser Doppler Flowmetry (LDF) analyzer. In addition, we tested a hypothesis that cerebral temperature would grow during a DI session. The supraorbital area of the forehead and forearm area were tested before, within, and after a DI session. Average perfusion, five oscillation ranges of the LDF spectrum, and brain temperature were assessed. Within a DI session, in the supraorbital area most of LDF parameters remained unchanged except for a 30% increase in respiratory associated (venular) rhythm. The temperature of the supraorbital area increased by up to 38.5 °C within the DI session. In the forearm area, the average value of perfusion and its nutritive component increased, presumably due to thermoregulation. In conclusion, the results suggest that a 45 min DI session does not exert a substantial effect on cerebral blood perfusion and systemic hemodynamics in young healthy subjects. Moderate signs of venous stasis were observed, and brain temperature increased during a DI session. These findings must be thoroughly validated in future studies because elevated brain temperature during a DI session can contribute to some reactions to DI.

In addition to mandibular advancement devices, dental expansion appliances are an important clinical approach for achieving an increased intra-oral space that promotes airflow and lessens the frequency or severity of apneic events in patients diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). It has been thought that dental expansion in adults must be preceded by oral surgery; however, in this paper, we examine the results of a new technique for slow maxillary expansion without any surgical procedures. The palatal expansion device, DNA (Daytime-Nighttime Appliance), was reviewed in this retrospective study, particularly regarding its effects on measurements of transpalatal width, airway volume, and apnea-hypopnea indices (AHI) as well as its common modalities and complications. The DNA effectively reduced AHI by 46% (p = 0.00001) and significantly increased both airway volume and transpalatal width (p < 0.00001). After DNA treatment, 80% of patients showed some improvement in AHI scores with 28% of patients having their OSA symptoms completely resolved. Compared to the use of mandibular appliances, this approach is intended to create a sustained improvement in airway management that can reduce or eliminate dependence on continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or other OSA treatment devices.