[Effectiveness of anti-CGRP monoclonal antibodies in the preventive treatment of migraine: A prospective study of 63 patients]. / Efectividad de anticuerpos monoclonales anti-PRGC en el tratamiento preventivo de la migraña: estudio prospectivo de 63 pacientes.

INTRODUCTION: Calcitonine Gen-Related Peptide (CGRP) established a revolution in migraine pathophysiology knowledge and has led to the development of new drugs specifically targeting this disease. METHODS: We present a prospective study in which 63 episodic and chronic migraine patients have been treated with anti-CGRP monoclonal antibodies describing their efficacy, security and relapses after their interruption. Response predictors have been analyzed such they can help us to create a better treatment plan. RESULTS: Average age was 48.3 ± 11.81 years old, 84.1% of them being women. The average was of 15.59 migraine days per month (MDM). 63.5% of all patients suffered chronic migraine. The initial dose of Erenumab in all patient was 70 mg subcutaneous. This was increased to 140 mg in 47.6% of the patients. An MDM reduction between 49.85% and 59.53% was obtained within three to twelve months from the start of treatment. Constipation was present in 17.5% of the patients and 4.8% suffered injection site reaction. The treatment was changed to Galcanezumab in 17.9% of the patients. After interrupting the treatment, 23 patients relapsed with a good response on reintroduction of the treatment. It was not possible to establish a clear response predictor, however a statistically significant increase in the number of days of improvement was observed with more MDM at baseline level (p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: Anti-CGRP monoclonal antibodies are effective, safe, and well tolerated drugs. We have observed that their discontinuation, in some cases can lead to frequent and early relapses so we strongly recommend to extend the treatment in those patients with a higher MDM.

An epigenetic model for pigment patterning based on mechanical and cellular interactions.

Pigment patterning in animals generally occurs during early developmental stages and has ecological, physiological, ethological, and evolutionary significance. Despite the relative simplicity of color patterns, their emergence depends upon multilevel complex processes. Thus, theoretical models have become necessary tools to further understand how such patterns emerge. Recent studies have reevaluated the importance of epigenetic, as well as genetic factors in developmental pattern formation. Yet epigenetic phenomena, specially those related to physical constraints that might be involved in the emergence of color patterns, have not been fully studied. In this article, we propose a model of color patterning in which epigenetic aspects such as cell migration, cell-tissue interactions, and physical and mechanical phenomena are central. This model considers that motile cells embedded in a fibrous, viscoelastic matrix-mesenchyme-can deform it in such a way that tension tracks are formed. We postulate that these tracks act, in turn, as guides for subsequent cell migration and establishment, generating long-range phenomenological interactions. We aim to describe some general aspects of this developmental phenomenon with a rather simple mathematical model. Then we discuss our model in the context of available experimental and morphological evidence for reptiles, amphibians, and fishes, and compare it with other patterning models. We also put forward novel testable predictions derived from our model, regarding, for instance, the localization of the postulated tension tracks, and we propose new experiments. Finally, we discuss how the proposed mechanism could constitute a dynamic patterning module accounting for pattern formation in many animal lineages.

Cytoskeletal and extracellular matrix proteins resist the burning of bones.

Due the proteins from bone remains are highly resistant to pass of time and environmental conditions, they could tell us about the events that probably happened in the past. In the forensic and physical anthropology context, burnt bone remains are one of the most common pieces of recovered evidence and, generally, they are associated with funerary practices, criminal scenes or massive catastrophic events. In the present study, bone pieces of pigs were calcined at different calcination temperatures, and proteins were searched using biochemical, immunochemical and ultrastructure visualization under these experimentally conditions. For this purpose, it was successfully developed a non-demineralizing protein extraction method from burnt bone remains and the use of specific antibodies permitted the identification of different extracellular matrix and intracellular proteins. While collagen proteins type I and IV were identified and detected under middle and high calcination temperatures (300°C and 600°C); cytoskeletal proteins as actin, tubulin and, the microtubule associated protein Tau, were found under calcination process, even up high calcination temperatures. Under ultrastructural analysis, fibrous materials with a classical disposition of collagens were observed even at high calcination temperatures of the burnt bone remains. The protein identification and characterization in burnt bones as performed in present studies, is clearly demonstrating that using specific strategies for protein characterizations it is possible to found protein biomarkers in burnt bone remains and this strategy could be useful for forensic and anthropological purposes.

Conway's "Game of Life" and the Epigenetic Principle.

Cellular automatons and computer simulation games are widely used as heuristic devices in biology, to explore implications and consequences of specific theories. Conway's Game of Life has been widely used for this purpose. This game was designed to explore the evolution of ecological communities. We apply it to other biological processes, including symbiopoiesis. We show that Conway's organization of rules reflects the epigenetic principle, that genetic action and developmental processes are inseparable dimensions of a single biological system, analogous to the integration processes in symbiopoiesis. We look for similarities and differences between two epigenetic models, by Turing and Edelman, as they are realized in Game of Life objects. We show the value of computer simulations to experiment with and propose generalizations of broader scope with novel testable predictions. We use the game to explore issues in symbiopoiesis and evo-devo, where we explore a fractal hypothesis: that self-similarity exists at different levels (cells, organisms, ecological communities) as a result of homologous interactions of two as processes modeled in the Game of Life.

Autocuidado en profesional de enfermería con relación al uso del calzado. Hospital de Clínicas, San Lorenzo- Paraguay 2017 / Self-care in nursing professional with regard to the use of the footwear. Hospital de Clínicas, San Lorenzo-Paraguay 2007

El objetivo fue analizar si el profesional de enfermería aplicaba el autocuidado en el uso del calzado en horario laboral. Es un estudio observacional, analítico, de corte trasversal con enfoque cuantitativo. La población estuvo constituida por 1.037 profesionales de Enfermería del Hospital de Clínicas, institución de carácter público, situada en la ciudad de San Lorenzo, Paraguay. Se incluyeron 366 profesionales de Enfermería a través de un muestreo probabilístico, la selección de la muestra fue multietápica con muestreo aleatorio simple. Se aplicó estadística descriptiva y chi2 para determinar asociaciones. Los hallazgos más relevantes fueron que mayoritariamente eran del grupo etario de 24 a 48 años con una media de 35 años; soltero, con una antigüedad de 10 años, con más de un empleo y del servicio de urgencias. Solo el 11,7% refirió conocer el calzado anatómico, sin embargo, 50,2% lo utilizaba. Más del 60% no tenía en cuenta las características del calzado anatómico al momento de adquirirlo, entre otros aspectos relacionados al utilizarlo en horario laboral. En el grupo etario de 31 a 35 años se concentró la mayor cantidad de trastornos músculo-esqueléticos (40%). En conclusión, el profesional de enfermería utilizaba de forma deficitaria el calzado adecuado; además, se ha encontrado evidencia de asociación (chi2 0,05) entre el tipo de calzado utilizado y la cantidad de trastornos músculo-esqueléticos que presentaba cada individuo

The objective was to analyze if the nursing professional applied self-care in the use of footwear during working hours. It was an observational, analytical, cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach. The population was constituted by 1,037 nursing professionals from the Hospital de Clínicas, a public institution, located in the city of San Lorenzo, Paraguay. The sample included 366 nursing professionals and the sampling wasprobabilistic while the selection of the multistage sample with simple random sampling. Descriptive statistics and Chi2 were applied to determine associations. The most relevant findings were that they were mainly in the age group of 24 to 48 years with an average of 35 years, single, with a career of 10 years, more than one job and from the emergency service. Only 11.7% referred to know the anatomical footwear, however, 50.2% used it. More than 60% did not take into account characteristics of the anatomical footwear at the time of purchase, among other aspects related to using it during working hours. The greatest number (40%) of musculoskeletal disorders were concentrated in the age group from 31 to 35 years. In conclusion, the nursing professional uses the right footwear in a loss-making way. In addition, evidence was found of an association between the type of footwear used and the number of musculoskeletal disorders that each individual presents

Mechanical forces as information: an integrated approach to plant and animal development.

Mechanical forces such as tension and compression act throughout growth and development of multicellular organisms. These forces not only affect the size and shape of the cells and tissues but are capable of modifying the expression of genes and the localization of molecular components within the cell, in the plasma membrane, and in the plant cell wall. The magnitude and direction of these physical forces change with cellular and tissue properties such as elasticity. Thus, mechanical forces and the mesoscopic fields that emerge from their local action constitute important sources of positional information. Moreover, physical and biochemical processes interact in non-linear ways during tissue and organ growth in plants and animals. In this review we discuss how such mechanical forces are generated, transmitted, and sensed in these two lineages of multicellular organisms to yield long-range positional information. In order to do so we first outline a potentially common basis for studying patterning and mechanosensing that relies on the structural principle of tensegrity, and discuss how tensegral structures might arise in plants and animals. We then provide some examples of morphogenesis in which mechanical forces appear to act as positional information during development, offering a possible explanation for ubiquitous processes, such as the formation of periodic structures. Such examples, we argue, can be interpreted in terms of tensegral phenomena. Finally, we discuss the hypothesis of mechanically isotropic points as a potentially generic mechanism for the localization and maintenance of stem-cell niches in multicellular organisms. This comparative approach aims to help uncovering generic mechanisms of morphogenesis and thus reach a better understanding of the evolution and development of multicellular phenotypes, focusing on the role of physical forces in these processes.