Cell surface markers for mesenchymal stem cells related to the skeletal system: A scoping review.

Multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have been described as bone marrow stromal cells, which can form cartilage, bone or hematopoietic supportive stroma. In 2006, the International Society for Cell Therapy (ISCT) established a set of minimal characteristics to define MSCs. According to their criteria, these cells must express CD73, CD90 and CD105 surface markers; however, it is now known they do not represent true stemness epitopes. The objective of the present work was to determine the surface markers for human MSCs associated with skeletal tissue reported in the literature (1994-2021). To this end, we performed a scoping review for hMSCs in axial and appendicular skeleton. Our findings determined the most widely used markers were CD105 (82.9%), CD90 (75.0%) and CD73 (52.0%) for studies performed in vitro as proposed by the ISCT, followed by CD44 (42.1%), CD166 (30.9%), CD29 (27.6%), STRO-1 (17.7%), CD146 (15.1%) and CD271 (7.9%) in bone marrow and cartilage. On the other hand, only 4% of the articles evaluated in situ cell surface markers. Even though most studies use the ISCT criteria, most publications in adult tissues don't evaluate the characteristics that establish a stem cell (self-renewal and differentiation), which will be necessary to distinguish between a stem cell and progenitor populations. Collectively, MSCs require further understanding of their characteristics if they are intended for clinical use.

Diversity of Rickettsia in ticks collected from wild animals in Panama.

This paper presents new data about Rickettsia species detected in ticks collected from wild animals, using 16S rRNA, gltA and ompA. Rickettsia DNA was found in 66 of 101 ticks. Using EZ BioCloud libraries were produced reads that identified Rickettsia aeschlimannii, and Illumina BaseSpace produced reads of Rickettsia rickettsii group, Rickettsia bellii group, and unclassified Rickettsia. Using gltA and ompA gene-specific primers, R. aeschlimannii could not be confirmed, but detection of Rickettsia amblyommatis was achieved in Amblyomma auricularium, Amblyomma geayi, Amblyomma mixtum, and Amblyomma pacae; R. bellii from Amblyomma dissimile, "Candidatus Rickettsia colombianensi" from A. dissimile, Rickettsia spp. closely related to R. raoultii from A. geayi, Rickettsia tamurae from A. dissimile, and Rickettsia endosymbionts of Ixodes from Ixodes affinis. There were no databases available specifically for 16S rRNA of Neotropical Rickettsia, highlighting the need to use species primers over only 16S rRNA primers to achieve more accurate interpretations and identifications. These findings increase the number of Rickettsia species detected in Panama and highlight the need to establish isolates to further characterize the nature of Rickettsia in the area.

Differential Antifungal Activity of Human and Cryptococcal Melanins with Structural Discrepancies.

Melanin is a pigment found in all biological kingdoms, and plays a key role in protection against ultraviolet radiation, oxidizing agents, and ionizing radiation damage. Melanin exerts an antimicrobial activity against bacteria, fungi, and parasites. We demonstrated an antifungal activity of synthetic and human melanin against Candida sp. The members of the Cryptococcus neoformans and C. gattii species complexes are capsulated yeasts, which cause cryptococcosis. For both species melanin is an important virulence factor. To evaluate if cryptococcal and human melanins have antifungal activity against Cryptococcus species they both were assayed for their antifungal properties and physico-chemical characters. Melanin extracts from human hair and different strains of C. neoformans (n = 4) and C. gattii (n = 4) were investigated. The following minimum inhibitory concentrations were found for different melanins against C. neoformans and C. gattii were (average/range): 13.7/(7.8-15.6) and 19.5/(15.6-31.2) µg/mL, respectively, for human melanin; 273.4/(125->500) and 367.2/(125.5->500) µg/mL for C. neoformans melanin and 125/(62.5-250) and 156.2/(62-250) µg/mL for C. gattii melanin. Using Scanning Electron Microscopy we observed that human melanin showed a compact conformation and cryptococcal melanins exposed an amorphous conformation. Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) showed some differences in the signals related to C-C bonds of the aromatic ring of the melanin monomers. High Performance Liquid Chromatography established differences in the chromatograms of fungal melanins extracts in comparison with human and synthetic melanin, particularly in the retention time of the main compound of fungal melanin extracts and also in the presence of minor unknown compounds. On the other hand, MALDI-TOF-MS analysis showed slight differences in the spectra, specifically the presence of a minor intensity ion in synthetic and human melanin, as well as in some fungal melanin extracts. We conclude that human melanin is more active than the two fungal melanins against Cryptococcus. Although some physico-chemical differences were found, they do not explain the differences in the antifungal activity against Cryptococcus of human and cryptococcal melanins. More detailed studies on the structure should be considered to associate structure and antifungal activity.

Efecto de las resinas secuestradoras de ácidos biliares en los desenlaces cardiovasculares y en los niveles séricos de lípidos: A systematic review / Effect of bile acid sequestrants on cardiovascular outcomes and seric lipids

Antecedentes: Las guías internacionales recientes proponen el uso de estatinas como piedra angular del manejo de la dislipidemia en adultos. Sin embargo, no se ha definido con claridad el tratamiento de los pacientes con intolerancia o efectos adversos asociados con estas. Las resinas secuestradoras de ácidos biliares son una alternativa interesante, pese a que la evidencia que avala su uso no ha sido evaluada cuidadosamente. Métodos: Se realizó una búsqueda de la literatura en MEDLINE, Embase y en la Biblioteca Cochrane hasta junio de 2013, acerca de artículos publicados en inglés y español, identificando experimentos clínicos aleatorizados y estudios de cohortes que evaluaran el impacto de las resinas secuestradoras de ácidos biliares en mortalidad, eventos cardiovasculares, niveles de lípidos séricos y efectos adversos. Se presenta la información de forma descriptiva. Resultados: Se identificaron cuatro experimentos clínicos aleatorizados y un estudio de cohortes, que incluían 6.833 pacientes. Solo uno de los estudios evaluó el impacto en la mortalidad cardiovascular, evidenciando que no hay diferencia estadísticamente significativa en comparación con placebo (RR de 0,76; IC 95% 0,5:1,15), aunque se observó una reducción del 16% en la incidencia de infarto agudo de miocardio (RR 0,84; IC 95% 0,67:1,00). Tres estudios evaluaron cambios en las fracciones lipídicas, los cuales mostraron disminución moderada en los niveles de colesterol LDL, sin percibir diferencias clínicamente significativas en los niveles de colesterol HDL y triglicéridos. Conclusión: La evidencia que respalda el uso de resinas secuestradoras de ácidos biliares es limitada y no avala su empleo como terapia de primera línea en pacientes con dislipidemia; no obstante, son una alternativa en pacientes con efectos adversos o intolerancia al manejo con estatinas.

Background: Recent international guidelines have proposed statins as the corner stone of dyslipidemia management in adults. However it is not clear if they are best option for patients with statin related intolerance or what their adverse effects are. The bile acid sequestrants are an interesting alternative, however its evidence has not been carefully evaluated. Methods: A search was conducted on MEDLINE, Embase and Cochrane library databases for articles published up to June 2013, limited to Spanish and English language. Randomized clinical trials (RCT) and cohort studies evaluating the impact of bile acid sequestrants on mortality, cardiovascular outcomes, seric lipids and adverse effects were selected. Information was presented in a descriptive way. Results: Four RCT and one cohort study with aggregate data on 6833 people were included. Just one study evaluated cardiovascular mortality showing no statistically significant difference when compared with placebo, (RR 0.76; 95% CI 0.5:1.15), however there was a 16% reduction on acute myocardial infarction incidence. (RR 0.84; 95% IC 0.67: 1.00). Three studies evaluated seric lipids changes showing a moderate reduction in LDL levels without clinical significant differences on HDL and triglyceride levels. Conclusions: The evidence supporting bile acid sequestrants use is lacking and not conclusive to recommend its use as first-line therapy in dyslipidemic patients; however, these are an alternative option for patients with statin-related intolerance or adverse effects.

Anestesia de alta frecuencia con jet / Jet high-frequency anesthesia

Se señalalan los diferentes empleos de la alta frecuencia ventilatoria con jet (HPVJ) como método ventilatorio. Se realiza la presentación de un caso al cual se le realizó el proceder quirúrgico por vía endoscópica y donde se empleó esta técnica ventilatoria. Se comentan las alteraciones más notables en el paciente

Pruebas ergonométricas repetidas en pacientes con angina de esfuerzo: comparación de resultados / Comparative study of results from repeated ergometric tests in patients with stable angina of effort

Mediante pruebas ergonométricas fueron estudiados 80 pacientes de ambos sexos afectados de angina de esfuerzo de curso estable con diferentes grados funcionales. A cada paciente se le indicó 4 pruebas ergométricas en diferentes días con intervalos de 48 horas en condiciones basales, sin fármacos y según un protocolo único. Los aspectos evaluados fueron: doble producto, carga máxima alcanzada, tiempo total de duración de la prueba y grado de infradesnivel isquémico del segmento ST. Los resultados permitieron descartar la presencia del factor de entrenamiento o adaptación al esfuerzo físico en pruebas repetidas. La demostración de un umbral de isquemia fijo en cada una de las 4 pruebas realizadas permitió corroborar el diagnóstico clínico de angina de esfuerzo

Diez Años de atención al paciente crítico (II). Utilidad del apache II y riesgo de muerte como índices pronósticos

Se realiza el calculo del sistema APACHE II y el Riesgo de Muerte (R), al ingreso en nuestra Unidad, de dos grupos de pacientes admitidos en dos épocas diferentes (1979-1988); con el objetivo de evaluar su utilidad predictiva en los pacientes admitidos en dos épocas diferentes (1979-1988); con el objetivo de evaluar su utilidad predictiva en los pacientes estudiados. Las características clínicas de ambos grupos se describen en el trabajo precedente. Se demuestran diferencias significativas (p<0.001) de los indicadores ante mencionados en dos series estudiadas, 1979: APACHE II Media 11.81 + 7.83 y R Media 1935 + 22.25; 1988: APACHE II Media 8.52 + 7.77 y R Media 10.77 + 12.98. Se comparan los resultados en vivos y fallecidos obteniendose resultados altamente significativos