Visual and semi-quantitative analysis of 6-[18F]FDOPA PET/CT in patients with brain tumors and suspected tumor recurrence versus radionecrosis.

INTRODUCTION: Amino acid PET is a tool recommended by the main neuroimaging societies in the differential diagnosis between radionecrosis (RNC) and umour recurrence (TR) in brain tumours, but its use in our country is still limited. The aim of this work is to present our experience with 6-[18F]FDOPA PET/CT (FDOPA) in brain tumours (primary and M1), comparing these results with other published results. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Retrospective study of 62 patients with suspected tumour recurrence (TR): 42 brain metastases (M1) and 20 primary, who underwent FDOPA. Images were analysed visually and semi-quantitatively, obtaining SUVmax and SUVmaxlesion/SUVmaxstriatum (L/S) and SUVmaxlesion/SUVmaxcortex (L/C) ratios. The diagnostic validity of PET was analysed and the best performing cut-off points were calculated. PET results were compared with clinical-radiological follow-up and/or histopathology. RESULTS: TR was identified in 49% of M1 and 76% of brain primaries. The best performing FDOPA interpretation was visual and semi-quantitative, with a sensitivity and specificity in primaries of 94% and 80% and in M1s of 96% and 72% respectively. The cut-off points with the best diagnostic performance were L/C1.44 in M1 and L/C1.55 in primaries. There are discrepant results with other published results. CONCLUSION: FDOPA PET/CT is a useful tool in the differential diagnosis between recurrence and RNC in brain tumours. It is needed a standardization to contribute to homogenise FDOPA results a inter-centre level.

Management of patients with localized prostate cancer and biochemical recurrence in Spain: A medical survey.

INTRODUCTION: The management of patients with prostate cancer (PCa) is established in clinical practice guidelines, which are based on randomized studies according to the level of evidence. In Spain, the degree of compliance with these guidelines in clinical practice is unknown. OBJECTIVES: To describe the profiles of PCa patients at the time of diagnosis and the management of patients with localized PCa and those with BCR in Spain. MATERIALS & METHODS: A medical survey was conducted in specialized care (85 urologists [UROs], 64 radiation oncologists [ROs], and 21 medical oncologists [MOs]). Three questionnaires were developed for this study with 22 (UROs and ROs) or 21 questions (MOs). RESULTS: The annual incidence of PCa was 24,057 in participating hospitals (N = 131). The extrapolated annual incidence in Spain is 40,531 cases. The estimated prevalence of PCa in Spain is 221,689. Of note, 79% and 80% of patients seen by UROs and ROs, respectively had localized PCa at diagnosis. Biopsy was the most used diagnostic test among the three specialties, followed by abdominopelvic computer tomography. More than 90% of patients with BCR underwent standard tests. Next generation imaging tests and PET-choline/PSMA are still used residually. Most patients with localized PCa are currently treated with either surgery or radiotherapy, while for BCR patients, UROs and ROs prefer radiotherapy and MOs androgen deprivation therapy alone or in combination. CONCLUSION: This study describes patient profiles at the time of diagnosis and provides an overview of the current therapeutic management of localized PCa and BCR in clinical practice in Spain.

Comparative analysis of anticholinergic burden scales to explain iatrogenic cognitive impairment and self-reported side effects in the euthymic phase of bipolar disorders: Results from the FACE-BD cohort.

Bipolar disorders (BD) are characterized by cognitive impairment during the euthymic phase, to which treatments can contribute. The anticholinergic properties of medications, i.e., the ability of a treatment to inhibit cholinergic receptors, are associated with cognitive impairment in elderly patients and people with schizophrenia but this association has not been well characterized in individuals with remitted BD. Moreover, the validity of only one anticholinergic burden scale designed to assess the anticholinergic load of medications has been tested in BD. In a literature review, we identified 31 existing scales. We first measured the associations between 27 out of the 31 scales and objective cognitive impairment in bivariable regressions. We then adjusted the bivariable models with covariates: the scales significantly associated with cognitive impairment in bivariable and multiple logistic regressions were defined as having good concurrent validity to assess cognitive impairment. In a sample of 2,031 individuals with euthymic BD evaluated with a neuropsychological battery, two scales had good concurrent validity to assess cognitive impairment, whereas chlorpromazine equivalents, lorazepam equivalents, the number of antipsychotics, or the number of treatments had not. Finally, similar analyses with subjective anticholinergic side-effects as outcome variables reported 14 scales with good concurrent validity to assess self-reported peripheral anticholinergic side-effects and 13 to assess self-reported central anticholinergic side-effects. Thus, we identified valid scales to monitor the anticholinergic burden in BD, which may be useful in estimating iatrogenic cognitive impairment in studies investigating cognition in BD.

Association between Hashimoto's thyroiditis and melanoma: a retrospective matched cohort study.

An inflammatory microenvironment has been shown to increase risk for malignant melanoma, suggesting that melanoma may be related to a pro-inflammatory state. Though Hashimoto's thyroiditis is one of the most common autoimmune diseases, there are no investigations of its relationship with melanoma. We aim to determine if Hashimoto's increases risk of developing melanoma. A retrospective, validated cohort of patients with a diagnosis of Hashimoto's between 2005 and 2020 were identified using the Olmsted County database. Patients were age and sex matched to controls without a Hashimoto's diagnosis. The primary outcomes were development of melanoma and time to first melanoma diagnosis. 4805 patients were included in the study, with 1726 (36%) having a diagnosis of Hashimoto's. Hashimoto's patients had no significant difference in risk of melanoma (relative risk 0.96, 95% CI 0.78-1.17) or nonmelanoma skin cancer (relative risk 0.95, 95% CI 0.86-1.06) compared with matched controls. This suggests that the local proinflammatory environment present in Hashimoto's does not contribute significantly to melanoma risk. Larger studies may be needed to further characterize the relationship between these diseases.

Imaging of Lymphomas Involving the CNS: An Update-Review of the Full Spectrum of Disease with an Emphasis on the World Health Organization Classifications of CNS Tumors 2021 and Hematolymphoid Tumors 2022.

Lymphomas of the CNS are the second most frequent primary brain malignancy in adults after gliomas. Presurgical suspicion of lymphoma greatly impacts patient management. The radiologic features of this tumor have been widely covered in the literature for decades, but under current classifications, mainly corresponding to the most common presentations of the most frequent type: primary diffuse large B-cell lymphoma of the CNS. Nevertheless, rarer presentations of this specific lymphoma and of other World Health Organization lymphoma subtypes with different imaging features are rarely treated. Moreover, important advances in imaging techniques, changing epidemiologic factors with relevant impact on these tumors (eg, immunodeficiency/dysregulation), and recent updates of the World Health Organization Classification of CNS Tumors 2021 and Hematolymphoid Tumors 2022 may have rendered some accepted concepts outdated. In this article, the authors aim to fulfill a critical need by providing a complete update-review, emphasizing the latest clinical-radiologic features of the full spectrum of lymphomas involving the CNS.

Diffuse Large B-Cell Epstein-Barr Virus-Positive Primary CNS Lymphoma in Non-AIDS Patients: High Diagnostic Accuracy of DSC Perfusion Metrics.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Immunodeficiency-associated CNS lymphoma may occur in different clinical scenarios beyond AIDS. This subtype of CNS lymphoma is diffuse large B-cell and Epstein-Barr virus-positive. Its accurate presurgical diagnosis is often unfeasible because it appears as ring-enhancing lesions mimicking glioblastoma or metastasis. In this article, we describe clinicoradiologic features and test the performance of DSC-PWI metrics for presurgical identification. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients without AIDS with histologically confirmed diffuse large B-cell Epstein-Barr virus-positive primary CNS lymphoma (December 2010 to January 2022) and diagnostic MR imaging without onco-specific treatment were retrospectively studied. Clinical, demographic, and conventional imaging data were reviewed. Previously published DSC-PWI time-intensity curve analysis methodology, to presurgically identify primary CNS lymphoma, was used in this particular lymphoma subtype and compared with a prior cohort of 33 patients with Epstein-Barr virus-negative CNS lymphoma, 35 with glioblastoma, and 36 with metastasis data. Normalized curves were analyzed and compared on a point-by-point basis, and previously published classifiers were tested. The standard percentage of signal recovery and CBV values were also evaluated. RESULTS: Seven patients with Epstein-Barr virus-positive primary CNS lymphoma were included in the study. DSC-PWI normalized time-intensity curve analysis performed the best for presurgical identification of Epstein-Barr virus-positive CNS lymphoma (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.984 for glioblastoma and 0.898 for metastasis), followed by the percentage of signal recovery (0.833 and 0.873) and CBV (0.855 and 0.687). CONCLUSIONS: When a necrotic tumor is found in a potentially immunocompromised host, neuroradiologists should consider Epstein-Barr virus-positive CNS lymphoma. DSC-PWI could be very useful for presurgical characterization, with especially strong performance of normalized time-intensity curves.

Cellular lipids and protein alteration during biodegradation of expanded polystyrene by mealworm larvae under different feeding conditions.

The present study reports the biodegradation of polystyrene (PS) by mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) following different feeding regimes. Changes in lipids and protein were studied to evaluate possible differences in the growth and metabolic pathways of the insects depending on the diets. Thermo-gravimetric analysis of the excretions (frass) revealed a decrease in the molecular mass of the PS polymers. The insects' biomass contained less protein when PS was part of the diet, suggesting that the insects undergo a certain level of stress compared to control diets. The frass also contained lower amount of nitrogen content compared to that from insects fed a control diet. NH4+ and other cations involved in biochemical processes were also measured in insects' frass, including potassium, sodium, magnesium, and calcium, combined with a small pH change. The decrease in the mineral content of the frass was attributed to increased cellular activity in PS-fed insects. A higher amount of ceramides and cardiolipins, biomarkers of apoptosis, were also found in association with PS consumption. It was concluded that the insects could metabolize PS, but this caused an increase in its stress levels.

Procuramiento y uso de aloinjertos cutáneos de piel total criopreservados obtenidos de pacientes sometidas a abdominoplastía / Procurement and use of cryopreserved whole skin cutaneous allografts obtained from patients undergoing abdominoplasty

Resumen Introducción: Los aloinjerto cutáneos (AC) son excelentes sustitutos cutáneos temporales, sin embargo, la donación y procura de piel cadavérica, fuente habitual de AC, es baja. Objetivo: Evaluar la factibilidad de utilizar la piel proveniente de abdominoplastías como fuente de AC y su eficacia clínica. Materiales y Método: Entre el 17 de agosto de 2020 al 28 de febrero de 2021 se analizó una cohorte prospectiva de 14 pacientes femeninas sometidas a abdominoplastía por motivos estéticos, que aceptaron donar la piel del colgajo cutáneo abdominal redundante, la cual fue criopreservada. Se utilizaron los AC de piel total criopreservados (ACPTC) en 10 pacientes con diagnósticos de: pie diabético (4), laparostomía contenida (2) herida compleja extremidad inferior (2), sarcoma de cuero cabelludo recidivado (1) y melanoma (1). Resultados: Se obtuvieron 14 colgajos de piel total, los cuales fueron procesados obteniendo una superficie promedio de 302 cm2 y 8,3 láminas de distintos tamaños de utilidad clínica por paciente. En todos los pacientes en que se utilizó ACPTC hubo un prendimiento inicial del AC para posteriormente, en promedio 21 días, presentar una escara necrótica que al ser retirada presentaba un tejido vital adherido al receptor rico en fibroblastos, siendo algunos pacientes auto injertados y otros manejados con cicatrización por segunda intención como tratamiento definitivo. Discusión: Los ACPTC proporcionan una cobertura intermedia, pues una parte se integra en forma definitiva, actuando como un andamiaje biológico para la formación de una interfase sobre la cual se puede autoinjertar o dejar evolucionar con cicatrización por segunda intención y una parte es rechazada. Conclusión: La procura de piel de donante vivo, en pacientes sometidos a cirugías de contorno corporal es un proceso factible, fuente de ACPTC, los cuales permiten una nueva cobertura intermedia con múltiples aplicaciones clínicas.

Introduction: Skin allografts (SA) are outstanding temporary skin substitutes; however, cadaveric skin donation and procurement, a common source of SA, remains low. Aim: To evaluate the feasibility and clinical efficacy of using skin from abdominoplasties as a source of SA. Materials and Method: A prospective cohort was analyzed from August 17th, 2020 and February 28th, 2021, with 14 female patients submitted to abdominoplasty surgeries for aesthetic motives, who authorized skin donation from the redundant abdominal flap which was posteriorly cryopreserved. Cryopreserved total skin allografts (CTSA) was used in 10 patients with the following diagnoses: diabetic foot (4), contained laparostomy (2) complex wound of the lower limb (2), relapsing sarcoma of the scalp (1), and melanoma (1). Results: 14 CTSA were obtained, which were processed, obtaining an average area of 302 cm2 and 8.3 sheets of different sizes and clinical applications from each patient. In all patients who received CTSA, an initial attachment was observed, followed by the appearance of a necrotic scar in an average of21 days. The peeling of the latter revealed a vital tissue tightly adhered to the receptor and rich in fibroblasts. Some of the patients received autografts, and others were managed with secondary intention scarring as a definite treatment. Discussion: CTSA provide an intermediate coverage since one part is definitely adhered to, acting as a biologic scaffolding for the formation of an interface that can be autografted or left for a secondary intention scarring, and the host rejects the other portion. Conclusión: skin procurement from a living donor in patients submitted to body contour surgeries is a feasible process and significant source of CTSA, which permits a new intermediate coverage with multiple clinical uses.

Presurgical Identification of Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma with Normalized Time-Intensity Curve: A Pilot Study of a New Method to Analyze DSC-PWI.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: DSC-PWI has demonstrated promising results in the presurgical diagnosis of brain tumors. While most studies analyze specific parameters derived from time-intensity curves, very few have directly analyzed the whole curves. The aims of this study were the following: 1) to design a new method of postprocessing time-intensity curves, which renders normalized curves, and 2) to test its feasibility and performance on the diagnosis of primary central nervous system lymphoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Diagnostic MR imaging of patients with histologically confirmed primary central nervous system lymphoma were retrospectively reviewed. Correlative cases of glioblastoma, anaplastic astrocytoma, metastasis, and meningioma, matched by date and number, were retrieved for comparison. Time-intensity curves of enhancing tumor and normal-appearing white matter were obtained for each case. Enhancing tumor curves were normalized relative to normal-appearing white matter. We performed pair-wise comparisons for primary central nervous system lymphoma against the other tumor type. The best discriminatory time points of the curves were obtained through a stepwise selection. Logistic binary regression was applied to obtain prediction models. The generated algorithms were applied in a test subset. RESULTS: A total of 233 patients were included in the study: 47 primary central nervous system lymphomas, 48 glioblastomas, 39 anaplastic astrocytomas, 49 metastases, and 50 meningiomas. The classifiers satisfactorily performed all bilateral comparisons in the test subset (primary central nervous system lymphoma versus glioblastoma, area under the curve = 0.96 and accuracy = 93%; versus anaplastic astrocytoma, 0.83 and 71%; versus metastases, 0.95 and 93%; versus meningioma, 0.93 and 96%). CONCLUSIONS: The proposed method for DSC-PWI time-intensity curve normalization renders comparable curves beyond technical and patient variability. Normalized time-intensity curves performed satisfactorily for the presurgical identification of primary central nervous system lymphoma.

Diagnostic delay and outcome in immunocompetent patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma in Spain: a multicentric study.

INTRODUCTION: To assess the management of immunocompetent patients with primary central nervous system lymphomas (PCNSL) in Spain. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of 327 immunocompetent patients with histologically confirmed PCNSL diagnosed between 2005 and 2014 in 27 Spanish hospitals. RESULTS: Median age was 64 years (range: 19-84; 33% ≥ 70 years), 54% were men, and 59% had a performance status (PS) ≥ 2 at diagnosis. Median delay to diagnosis was 47 days (IQR 24-81). Diagnostic delay > 47 days was associated with PS ≥ 2 (OR 1.99; 95% CI 1.13-3.50; p = 0.016) and treatment with corticosteroids (OR 2.47; 95% CI 1.14-5.40; p = 0.023), and it did not improve over the years. Patients treated with corticosteroids (62%) had a higher risk of additional biopsies (11.7% vs 4.0%, p = 0.04) but corticosteroids withdrawal before surgery did not reduce this risk and increased the diagnostic delay (64 vs 40 days, p = 0.04). Median overall survival (OS) was 8.9 months [95% CI 5.9-11.7] for the whole series, including 52 (16%) patients that were not treated, and 14.1 months (95%CI 7.7-20.5) for the 240 (73.4%) patients that received high-dose methotrexate (HD-MTX)-based chemotherapy. Median OS was shorter in patients ≥ 70 years (4.1 vs. 13.4 months; p < 0.0001). Multivariate analysis identified age ≥ 65 years, PS ≥ 2, no treatment, and cognitive/psychiatric symptoms at diagnosis as independent predictors of short survival. CONCLUSIONS: Corticosteroids withdrawal before surgery does not decrease the risk of a negative biopsy but delays diagnosis. In this community-based study, only 73.4% of patients could receive HD-MTX-based chemotherapy and OS remains poor, particularly in elderly patients ≥ 70 years.

Presencia y biometría de bazo accesorio en individuos chilenos: estudio por tomografía computarizada / Presence and biometry of accessory spleen in Chilean individuals: study by computerized tomography

El bazo se localiza en el cuadrante superior izquierdo del abdomen, relacionándose posteriormente con la 9a a 11a costilla, de las que se separa por el diafragma y el receso costodiafragmático, se localiza por detrás del estómago y lateralmente al riñón izquierdo. Por alteraciones en su desarrollo pueden generarse bazos accesorios (BA), considerándose un tejido ectópico del bazo. Se consideran tejido normal, con los mismos procesos fisiológicos que el bazo principal. Con el propósito de localizar y determinar aspectos biométricos de los mismos, se realizó un estudio de corte transversal y de carácter descriptivo, sobre una muestra de 220 exámenes de TC pertenecientes a pacientes mayores de 18 años del Hospital Regional Hernán Henríquez Aravena, Temuco, Chile. Para este estudio se excluyeron toda aquellas TC con antecedentes de esplenectomía y lesiones de Bazo o peri-esplénicas. El análisis de los datos mostró una prevalencia de 32,3 % de BA, pudiendo ser de una única presencia, dos e incluso tres BA por paciente.De un total de 71 personas que tienen al menos un BA, 34 (47,89 %) fueron de sexo femenino y 37 (52,11 %) de sexo masculino. Hubo 56 pacientes (78,9 %) con un BA, 29 (40,85 %) del sexo femenino y 27 (38,03 %) del masculino; 15 (21,1 %) presentaron más de un BA, 5 (7,04 %) de sexo femenino y 10 (14,08 %) de sexo masculino, si bien se puede observar variación en la cantidad de BA según sexo, no existe una relación estadísticamente significativa entre dichas variables. La ubicación más frecuente encontrada en el plano axial fue la zona antero-medial con 59 casos (66,29 %); asimismo, en el plano sagital, la localización más frecuente fue en el polo inferior con 40 casos (44,44 %). Datos biométricos de estos BA son mostrados en Tablas. Esta información será de gran valor morfológico y médico debido a la escasa literatura existente sobre esta materia en individuos chilenos.

The spleen is located in the upper left quadrant of the abdomen, subsequently related to the 9th to 11th rib, from which it is separated by the diaphragm and the cost-diaphragmatic recess, it is located behind the stomach and laterally to the left kidney. Due to alterations in its development, accessory spleens (AS) can be generated, being considered an ectopic tissue of the spleen. The AS are considered normal tissue, with the same physiological processes as the main spleen. With the purpose of locating and determining biometric aspects of them, a cross-sectional and descriptive study was carried out on a sample of 220 CT scans belonging to patients over 18 years of age at the Hernán Henríquez Aravena Regional Hospital, Temuco, Chile. For this study, all CT scans with a history of splenectomy and spleen or peri-splenic lesions were excluded. The analysis of the data showed a prevalence of 32.3 % of AS, being able to be of a single presence, two and even three AS per patient. Of a total of 71 people who have at least one AS, 34 (47.89 %) were female and 37 (52.11 %) male. There were 56 patients (78.9 %) with a one AS, 29 (40.85 %) of the female sex and 27 (38.03 %) of the male; 15 (21.1 %) presented more than one AS, 5 (7.04 %) female and 10 (14.08 %) male, although variation in the amount of AS according to sex can be observed, no there is a statistically significant relationship between these variables. The most frequent location found in the axial plane was the anteromedial zone with 59 cases (66.29 %); also, in the sagittal plane, the most frequent location was in the lower pole with 40 cases (44.44 %). Biometric data of these AS are shown in tables. This information will be of great morphological and medical value due to the limited existing literature on this subject in Chilean individuals.

New technologies for controlling emerging infectious diseases in Guinea and the Democratic Republic of the Congo: their role in response to the Ebola epidemic.

Emerging infectious diseases appear recurrently and represent a threat to global health security. Africa is particularly exposed to the risks of infectious epidemics, due to both the number of circulating infectious agents, especially in wildlife, and the social and environmental factors that promote their epidemic spread. Ebola outbreaks in West Africa in 2014 and those in the DRC that began in 2018 were an opportunity to develop and deploy new diagnostic techniques in laboratories in Guinea and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). These tools made it possible to identify the infectious agent rapidly, to trace contamination chains in real time to enable effective interventions, and to develop a reliable serological tool for differential diagnoses. Today, equipped and functional facilities exist in both countries, led by Guinean and Congolese researchers trained to high levels of competence and benefiting from unique experience and field knowledge.

[Translation, adaptation and validation in Catalan of a questionnaire about patient safety culture: The MOSPSC (Medical Office Survey on Patient Safety Culture) questionnaire]. / Traducción, adaptación y validación en catalán de un cuestionario sobre cultura de seguridad del paciente: el cuestionario MOSPSC (Medical Office Survey on Patient Safety Culture).

INTRODUCTION: Patient safety is an essential dimension of quality of care and a priority in health policies. The diffusion of the security culture is a key strategy and the questionnaire MOSPSC (Medical Office Survey on Patient Safety Culture), in its English and Spanish versions, has proved to be a good instrument to 'measure it'. The aim of this work is to translate, adapt and validate the questionnaire in Catalan. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Translation, retrotranslation and adaptation of MOSPSC questionnaire of the AHRQ (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality). Reliability and validity analysis of the adapted questionnaire. RESULTS: It is a simple, well accepted and valued questionnaire, although extensive. Catalan version facilitates more precise comprehension and improves completion. We found small response percentages 'do not apply or do not know' in questions from Section F (At the Center) but notable in some questions referred to specific professional staff. For most items show suitable discrimination rates and both the complete questionnaire and subscales extracted after factor analysis obtain good reliability indexes. CONCLUSIONS: Final version, very similar to original and Spanish adapted, will allow comparisons as well as monitoring/follow-up after implementation of improvement strategies. Due to its length, it could be assessed using only related dimensions.

Orphan Formulations in Pediatric Schistosomiasis Treatment: Development and Characterization of Praziquantel Nanoparticle-Loaded Powders for Reconstitution.

Praziquantel is a broad spectrum antihelmintic agent and represents the drug of choice for the treatment of schistosomiasis. However, its low aqueous solubility and strong bitter taste highly affect the bioavailability and compliance in pediatric patients. Thus, the purpose of this study was to develop a dry nanosuspension, by a combination of high-pressure homogenization and spray drying, intended for redispersion in a pleasant taste vehicle for extemporaneous use. Three formulations, varying stabilizers to drug ratio, were developed and characterized in terms of particle size distribution, crystallinity, morphology, in vitro dissolution, and sedimentation-redispersibility behavior. A significant reduction in particle size was achieved after the high-pressure homogenization process, and the nanoparticles were further microencapsulated by spray drying technique. The redispersed dried powders exhibited a conserved particle size distribution (in the nanometric range) and certain crystallinity extent, with satisfactory redispersion ability. Besides, the enhancement of the dissolution performance obtained after comminution was conserved, even after drying and redispersion of the extemporaneous powdered formulation. In conclusion, the developed nanoparticle-loaded powders comprise an interesting tool for the administration of praziquantel to preschool-age children.

Digital Literacy Program for the Use of Social Media, Aimed at Health Professionals.

The WHO Strategy and Plan of Action on eHealth 2012-2017 highlights knowledge management and digital literacy as key elements for quality of care, health promotion and disease prevention, insofar as they guarantee training and better access to information in an equitable manner. This work proposes a digital literacy program for the development of skills in social media use for information management, communication and eLearning, aimed at Cuban health professionals.

Polineuropatía desmielinizante inflamatoria crónica: revisión a propósito de un caso / Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy: review, case and report

Resumen La polineuropatía desmielinizante inflamatoria crónica (CIDP por sus siglas en inglés) corresponde a un espectro de diferentes fenotipos clínicos caracterizados por lesiones de naturaleza autoinmune, inflamatoria y desmielinizante, que afectan primariamente nervios periféricos y raíces nerviosas. Generalmente, los pacientes con CIDP presentan un curso crónico de discapacidad neurológica, pero hasta un tercio de los casos puede exhibir un curso remitente-recidivante. El fenotipo clásico involucra compromiso simétrico de la fuerza muscular y la sensibilidad proximal y distal, asociado a arreflexia generalizada. El diagnóstico requiere la demostración de la desmielinización de nervios mediante electromiografía o biopsia de nervios. Debido a la afectación de personas relativamente jóvenes, laboralmente activos, y a la gran discapacidad neurológica que puede generar, el tratamiento debiera ser iniciado precozmente. Los pilares de la terapia en su fase inicial son los corticoides intravenosos en altas dosis, inmunoglobulina intravenosa y la plasmaféresis, mientras que la terapia de mantención se basa, principalmente, en el uso de corticoides orales a bajas dosis. Este artículo presenta el caso de un paciente evaluado en nuestro hospital y diagnosticado con CIDP, y expone una revisión bibliográfica actualizada de la enfermedad.

Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP) can be defined as a spectrum of different clinical phenotypes which are characterized by autoimmune, inflammatory and demyelinating injuries, primarily affecting the peripheral nerves and nerve roots. Most patients with CIDP have a chronic course of neurological disability, but about a third of cases exhibit a relapsing-remitting course. Classic phenotype of CIDP involves symmetric compromise of proximal and distal muscle strength and sensitivity, associated with generalized areflexia. For an accurate diagnosis, demonstration of nerve demyelination by electromyography or nerve biopsy is required. Due to the affectation of relatively young, labor-active people and the high risk for neurological disability by the disease, treatment should be initiated early. The predominant lines of therapy, in its initial phase, are high-dose intravenous corticosteroids, intravenous immunoglobulin and plasmapheresis, while the maintenance therapy is mainly based on low-dose oral corticosteroids. This article presents a case report of a patient evaluated in our hospital and diagnosed with CIDP and exposes an updated literature review about this disease.

Praziquantel systems with improved dissolution rate obtained by high pressure homogenization.

Praziquantel (PZQ), an antihelmintic agent commonly administered to humans and cattle, has low aqueous solubility, which compromises its bioavailability and efficacy. The purpose of this study was to develop a new formulation, in order to improve PZQ dissolution rate. PZQ dispersions have been developed by high-pressure homogenization (HPH) using different stabilizers, selected upon PZQ saturation solubility. After the screening, two promising formulations were developed, combining poloxamer 188 with polyvinylpyrrolidone or maltodextrin. Characterization studies including particle size distribution, crystallinity, morphology, drug content, and in vitro dissolution profiles, were performed over selected formulations. The scanning electronic micrographs revealed that the morphology of suspended particles corresponded to elongated shapes, with an average particle size close to the micron range. X-ray powder diffractometry and differential scanning calorimetry results confirmed the drug crystallinity, before and after the HPH process. Besides, differential scanning calorimetry revealed the absence of interactions between PZQ and excipients. The dissolution rate of PZQ dispersions was significantly enhanced compared with raw PZQ, either in phosphate buffer or hydrochloric acid, mainly due to particle size reduction, thus improved saturation solubility.

Robotic Implementation of the Necessary Mechanism for the Human Characteristics Simulation: Approach from Self-Care Conceptual Modeling.

The vertiginous development of robotics, as part of the Artificial Intelligence, is currently raising its potential from the point of view of care. The purpose of the present article is the robotic implementation of a logical sequence model of the phases that happen in proper care. This requires approaching the representation and formalization of knowledge about care, what and how the care is: starting with the conceptual dissertation between life, and human characteristics, and also consider this care with the aim to lay the groundwork for Robots based on care..

The structure of schizotypal personality traits: a cross-national study.

BACKGROUND: Schizotypal traits are considered a phenotypic-indicator of schizotypy, a latent personality organization reflecting a putative liability for psychosis. To date, no previous study has examined the comparability of factorial structures across samples originating from different countries and cultures. The main goal was to evaluate the factorial structure and reliability of the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) scores by amalgamating data from studies conducted in 12 countries and across 21 sites. METHOD: The overall sample consisted of 27 001 participants (37.5% males, n = 4251 drawn from the general population). The mean age was 22.12 years (s.d. = 6.28, range 16-55 years). The SPQ was used. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and Multilevel CFA (ML-CFA) were used to evaluate the factor structure underlying the SPQ scores. RESULTS: At the SPQ item level, the nine factor and second-order factor models showed adequate goodness-of-fit. At the SPQ subscale level, three- and four-factor models displayed better goodness-of-fit indices than other CFA models. ML-CFA showed that the intraclass correlation coefficients values were lower than 0.106. The three-factor model showed adequate goodness of fit indices in multilevel analysis. The ordinal α coefficients were high, ranging from 0.73 to 0.94 across individual samples, and from 0.84 to 0.91 for the combined sample. CONCLUSIONS: The results are consistent with the conceptual notion that schizotypal personality is a multifaceted construct and support the validity and utility of SPQ in cross-cultural research. We discuss theoretical and clinical implications of our results for diagnostic systems, psychosis models and cross-national mental health strategies.

Seizure-susceptible brain regions in glioblastoma: identification of patients at risk.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The main aim of this study was to identify which patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) have a higher risk of presenting seizures during follow-up. METHODS: Patients with newly diagnosed GBM were reviewed (n = 306) and classified as patients with (Group 1) and without (Group 2) seizures at onset. Group 2 was split into patients with seizures during follow-up (Group 2A) and patients who never had seizures (Group 2B). The anatomical location of GBM was identified and compared by voxel-based lesion symptom mapping (discovery set). Seizure-susceptible brain regions obtained were assessed visually and automatically in external GBM validation series (n = 85). RESULTS: In patients with GBM who had no seizures at onset, an increased risk of presenting seizures during follow-up was identified in the superior frontal and inferior occipital lobe, as well as in inferoposterior regions of the temporal lobe. Conversely, those patients with GBM located in medial and inferoanterior temporal areas had a significantly lower risk of suffering from seizures during follow-up. Additionally, the seizure-susceptible brain region maps obtained classified patients in the validation set with high positive and negative predictive values. CONCLUSIONS: Tumor location is a useful marker to identify patients with GBM who are at risk of suffering from seizures during follow-up. These results may help to support the use of antiepileptic prophylaxis in a selected GBM population and to improve stratification in antiepileptic clinical trials.