Neurocognitive Profile of the Post-COVID Condition in Adults in Catalonia-A Mixed Method Prospective Cohort and Nested Case-Control Study: Study Protocol.

The diagnosis of the post-COVID condition is usually achieved by excluding other diseases; however, cognitive changes are often found in the post-COVID disorder. Therefore, monitoring and treating the recovery from the post-COVID condition is necessary to establish biomarkers to guide the diagnosis of symptoms, including cognitive impairment. Our study employs a prospected cohort and nested case-control design with mixed methods, including statistical analyses, interviews, and focus groups. Our main aim is to identify biomarkers (functional and structural neural changes, inflammatory and immune status, vascular and vestibular signs and symptoms) easily applied in primary care to detect cognitive changes in post-COVID cases. The results will open up a new line of research to inform diagnostic and therapeutic decisions with special considerations for cognitive impairment in the post-COVID condition.

Re-exposure causing rapid onset of vancomycin induced thrombocytopenia.

Vancomycin is used for the treatment of gram-positive infections. The increasing prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus since the 1980 s has led to a significant increase in the clinical utility of vancomycin in the United States. The diagnosis of vancomycin induced thrombocytopenia (VIT) poses a challenge since it requires the exclusion of other etiologies of thrombocytopenia, such as infectious or immunologic diseases and alternative drugs. Physicians should be aware that VIT is a rare but important complication of IV vancomycin therapy and failure to recognize this diagnosis may lead to a delay in discontinuation of vancomycin and serious complications.

Impact of Melatonin Supplementation in Women with Unexplained Infertility Undergoing Fertility Treatment.

Unexplained infertility occurs when common causes for a couple's inability to conceive have been excluded. Although origins of idiopathic infertility are still unclear, factors, such as an altered oxidative balance, are believed to be involved. Melatonin is an outstanding antioxidant reportedly present in the follicular fluid (FF), which has been suggested as a useful tool in the management of human fertility. Herein, we observed that intrafollicular concentrations of melatonin were blunted in women with unexplained infertility (UI), which was associated with a marked oxidative imbalance in UI patients' FF. Based on these findings, this randomized pilot study was aimed at assessing whether exogenous melatonin ameliorated oxidative stress and improved in vitro fertilization (IVF) success rates in UI. Thus, 3 mg/day or 6 mg/day of melatonin were given to UI patients for a period spanning from the first appointment to control ovarian stimulation until the day of follicular puncture. Our results indicate that melatonin supplementation, irrespective of the two doses tested, ameliorated intrafollicular oxidative balance and oocyte quality in UI patients, and that this translated into a slight increase in the rate of pregnancies/live births. Therefore, although the indoleamine has shown therapeutic potential in this clinical setting, larger clinical trials in populations with different backgrounds are encouraged to corroborate the usefulness of melatonin.

Educating in antimicrobial resistance awareness: adaptation of the Small World Initiative program to service-learning.

The Small World Initiative (SWI) and Tiny Earth are a consolidated and successful education programs rooted in the USA that tackle the antibiotic crisis by a crowdsourcing strategy. Based on active learning, it challenges young students to discover novel bioactive-producing microorganisms from environmental soil samples. Besides its pedagogical efficiency to impart microbiology content in academic curricula, SWI promotes vocations in research and development in Experimental Sciences and, at the same time, disseminates the antibiotic awareness guidelines of the World Health Organization. We have adapted the SWI program to the Spanish academic environment by a pioneering hierarchic strategy based on service-learning that involves two education levels (higher education and high school) with different degrees of responsibility. Throughout the academic year, 23 SWI teams, each consisting of 3-7 undergraduate students led by one faculty member, coordinated off-campus programs in 22 local high schools, involving 597 high school students as researchers. Post-survey-based evaluation of the program reveals a satisfactory achievement of goals: acquiring scientific abilities and general or personal competences by university students, as well as promoting academic decisions to inspire vocations for science- and technology-oriented degrees in younger students, and successfully communicating scientific culture in antimicrobial resistance to a young stratum of society.

Diagnóstico preaatal integral de síndrome de don en la paz- Bolivia, correlaciión sérica, ecográfica, citogenética y molecular: a propósito de un csoo / Integral renatall diagnosis of down syndrome in la paz - Bolivia, serum, ultrasound, cytogenetic and molecular correlation

El Síndrome de Down es una enfermedad genética causada por trisomía del par 21. Actualmente existe la posibilidad de ofrecer diagnóstico prenatal de esta entidad mediante procedimientos no invasivos como la medición de hormonas maternas específicas durante el 1er y 2do trimestre de gestación y el estudio ecográfico del feto en busca de malformaciones, así como a través de procedimientos invasivos (amniocentesis) para cariotipo fetal o pruebas moleculares dirigidas. El diagnóstico prenatal se basa en la utilización conjunta de estos marcadores más la edad materna para evaluar el riesgo en un feto de tener anomalías congénitas (síndrome de Down y otros). La presente investigación describe la utilidad de la correlación sérica, ecográfica, citogenética y molecular de los marcadores prenatales de síndrome de Down. Se trata de una paciente de 21 años primigesta (16 semanas de gestación) con datos séricos y ecográficos compatibles con una cromosomopatía, la amniocentesis diagnóstica permitió obtener material genético del feto para análisis citogenético y caracterización molecular, con un cariotipo 47,XY,+21. De manera que se ilustra la relevancia de la evaluación integral en el diagnóstico prenatal, así como el enfoque multidisciplinario.

Down syndrome (DS) is a genetic disease caused by 21 chromosome, we have now the possibility to offer prenatal diagnosis by non-invasive procedures such as: serum measurement of maternal hormones during the first and second trimester of pregnancy and the fetus ultrasound study searching for malformations, and by invasive procedures like amniocentesis for fetal karyotype or directed molecular test. Prenatal diagnosis is based on combined use of these markers to assess the risk of having fetus with congenital abnormalities (Down syndrome and others). We describe the utility of serum, ultrasound, cytogenetic and molecular correlation like markers of prenatal Down syndrome. The case of a 21 year old female primigravida with 16 weeks pregnancy and serum plus ultrasound data consistent with a chromosomal abnormality. Diagnostic amniocentesis was performed also to obtain fetal genetic for cytogenetic study and molecular characterization), with a fetal karyotype 47,XY,+21. Therefore, importance of comprehensive assessment in prenatal diagnosis and the multidisciplinary approach.