Microvascular retinal abnormalities in acute intracerebral haemorrhage and lacunar infarction.

BACKGROUND: Retinal microvascular changes have been previously associated with cerebral MRI markers of small vessel disease (SVD). Whether retinal changes differ between patient with intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) and patients with lacunar infarction (LI) caused by small vessel disease has been poorly investigated. OBJECTIVE: The study aims to compare the frequency of retinal changes between patients with LI and patients with ICH at the acute stage of stroke-related SVD. METHODS: Microvascular wall signs (arteriolar occlusion, arteriovenous nicking, focal arterial narrowing) and retinopathy lesions (microanevrysms, cotton wool spots, retinal haemorrhages, hard exudates) were assessed by retinography up to three months after stroke onset. RESULTS: Forty-eight non-diabetic patients with acute stroke-related to SVD (26 LI, 22 ICH) were recruited prospectively in the study. Retinal wall signs (arteriovenous nicking, and focal arterial narrowing) were found in more than three quarters of subjects and most often bilaterally in both groups. Retinopathy lesions (cotton wool spots, retinal haemorrhages) were found more frequently in ICH patients than in LI patients (22.2% vs. 15.4%, 50% vs. 34% respectively, P>0.005). The frequency of bilateral cotton wool spots and of bilateral retinal haemorrhages was significantly higher in ICH patients than in LI patients (12.5% vs. 0%, P=0.012, 41.2% vs. 7.7%, P=0.029 respectively). CONCLUSION: These results confirm the high frequency of microvascular alterations in patients with hypertension-related SVD leading to LI or ICH and suggest that retinal tissue alterations are more frequent in ICH than in LI. Further investigations are needed to investigate the mechanisms underlying this difference.

Challenges faced by young otolaryngologists-head & neck surgeons around the world.

OBJECTIVES: To document work-related stressors and to identify coping strategies employed by young board-certified otolaryngologists-head & neck surgeons (OTL-HNS) around the world. The second objective is to evaluate demographic and professional characteristics associated with a higher level of work-related stress. METHODS: A survey was sent to all OTL-HNS under 45 years old from the 2017 IFOS meeting. This survey was conducted by the YO-IFOS group (Young Otolaryngologists of the International Federation of Otolaryngological Societies). Data were collected for a period of 1 month. Demographic characteristics and information concerning challenges encountered by OTL-HNS during the early years of their career were collected. RESULTS: Among the 2787 attendees, 928 responded to the survey (response rate=33.3%). The three most frequent challenges faced by OTL-HNS in the early years of their career were related to administrative workload (45%), high patient quota (42%) and desire to achieve adequate work-life balance (42%). Practices used by OTL-HNS to cope with stress were physical activity (37%), recreational activities (35%) and self-organization (32%). Higher levels of stress were frequently found in participants who possessed five to ten years of experience (P=0.007) and who were employed by an academic institution (P=0.020). On the other hand, lower levels of stress were often encountered in participants who had 5 years or less of experience (P=0.002). CONCLUSION: This study provides insight on characteristics that are associated with various levels of stress. Moreover, it demonstrates the work-related stressors and the resilience techniques employed by OTL-HNS in early years of their career. Stress will always be present during the surgeon's career. Therefore, knowing how to recognize it and how to deal with it is key. More resources should be made available for OTL-HNS needing aid. Because surgeons must be in control of their stress if they want to provide high quality health care.

Management of otitis media with effusion in children. Société française d'ORL et de chirurgie cervico-faciale clinical practice guidelines.

The Société française d'ORL et de chirurgie cervico-faciale clinical practice guidelines concern the management of otitis media with effusion (OME) in children under the age of 12 years. They are based on extensive review of MEDLINE and Cochrane Library publications in English or French from 1996 to 2016 concerning the methods of diagnosis and assessment of otitis media with effusion, as well as the efficacy of tympanostomy tubes and medical and surgical treatments of OME.

Transforming growth factor beta inhibits the proliferation of the blast cells of acute myeloblastic leukemia.

The effect of transforming growth factor beta (TGF beta) on proliferation and differentiation of peripheral blast precursors in acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML) was investigated. TGF beta induced a dose-dependent inhibition of blast clonogenic cells in suspension and methylcellulose cultures in the presence of optimal concentrations of stimulators provided by conditioned media from the bladder cell line HTB9 (HTB9-CM) or the recombinant granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). On removal of TGF beta, blast clonogenic cell proliferation recovers to the same level as that observed in control cultures, indicating that the effect is reversible. There was no induction of cell differentiation, as indicated by morphological and functional studies (production of superoxyde anions). Cell cycle analysis by thymidine uptake and flow cytometry with a DNA binding dye indicated that TGF beta caused a delay in progression into S and G2/M phases of the cell cycle without affecting cell viability. Thus, TGF beta appears to have a cytostatic rather than cytolytic effect on blast precursors and might therefore play a role as a negative regulator in hematopoiesis.

Molecular identification of two species of myiasis-causing Cuterebra by multiplex PCR and RFLP.

The myiasis-causing flies Cuterebra grisea (Coquillet) and Cuterebra fontinella (Clark) (Diptera: Oestridae) are normally parasites of mice, predominantly of the genus Peromyscus. The morphological similarities of these species and the existence of intermediate morphotypes bearing characters of both species make the identification of adults problematic; furthermore the identification of larvae is apparently not possible. This study presents two molecular approaches to discriminate between these species using specific band patterns: (i) species-specific primers designed in the cytochrome oxidase II (COII) region used in multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and (ii) restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) on amplified segments of cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene. Both methods were tested on Cuterebra larvae and on adult museum specimens. The two techniques showed a clear difference between C. grisea and C. fontinella, although species-specific primers were more successful than RFLP for degraded DNA. No intraspecific variation in RFLP and species-specific amplifications were detected for the two species of Cuterebra. The results exhibit discrepancies between molecular and morphological identification, suggesting that some of the adults were misidentified.

Steel factor sustains SCL expression and the survival of purified CD34+ bone marrow cells in the absence of detectable cell differentiation.

CD34+ cells express the basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor SCL, which is essential for blood cell formation in vivo. In addition, their survival is critically dependent on hemopoietic growth factors. We therefore compared the effects of Steel factor (SF) and GM-CSF on the survival, proliferation, and differentiation of primary human CD34+ cells, as well as the role of SCL during these processes. GM-CSF suppresses apoptosis in CD34+ cells, which proliferate and differentiate into mature granulocytic and monocytic cells (CD34-CD13+) and loose SCL expression. In contrast, SF suppresses apoptosis without a significant increase in cell numbers, and the cells remain CD34+ and SCL+ with a blast-like morphology. Examination of apoptosis by the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL) reaction and of the cell cycle status indicated that SF is both a survival factor and a mitogenic factor for CD34+ cells. There was, however, constant cell death in a fraction of the population, which could be rescued by GM-CSF. Co-addition of SF and GM-CSF prevents the downregulation of SCL observed in the presence of GM-CSF by itself, allows for prolonged survival and expansion of CD34+ cells in culture, inhibits monocytic differentiation and impairs granulocytic differentiation. Finally, exposure to an antisense SCL but not a control oligonucleotide decreases SCL protein levels and prevents the suppression of apoptosis by SF without affecting GM-CSF-dependent cell survival. These observations suggest that the hemopoietic transcription factor SCL regulates the survival of CD34+ cells in response to SF.