Effect of non-invasive spinal cord stimulation in unmedicated adults with major depressive disorder: a pilot randomized controlled trial and induced current flow pattern.

Converging theoretical frameworks suggest a role and a therapeutic potential for spinal interoceptive pathways in major depressive disorder (MDD). Here, we aimed to evaluate the antidepressant effects and tolerability of transcutaneous spinal direct current stimulation (tsDCS) in MDD. This was a double-blind, randomized, sham-controlled, parallel group, pilot clinical trial in unmedicated adults with moderate MDD. Twenty participants were randomly allocated (1:1 ratio) to receive "active" 2.5 mA or "sham" anodal tsDCS sessions with a thoracic (anode; T10)/right shoulder (cathode) electrode montage 3 times/week for 8 weeks. Change in depression severity (MADRS) scores (prespecified primary outcome) and secondary clinical outcomes were analyzed with ANOVA models. An E-Field model was generated using the active tsDCS parameters. Compared to sham (n = 9), the active tsDCS group (n = 10) showed a greater baseline to endpoint decrease in MADRS score with a large effect size (-14.6 ± 2.5 vs. -21.7 ± 2.3, p = 0.040, d = 0.86). Additionally, compared to sham, active tsDCS induced a greater decrease in MADRS "reported sadness" item (-1.8 ± 0.4 vs. -3.2 ± 0.4, p = 0.012), and a greater cumulative decrease in pre/post tsDCS session diastolic blood pressure change from baseline to endpoint (group difference: 7.9 ± 3.7 mmHg, p = 0.039). Statistical trends in the same direction were observed for MADRS "pessimistic thoughts" item and week-8 CGI-I scores. No group differences were observed in adverse events (AEs) and no serious AEs occurred. The current flow simulation showed electric field at strength within the neuromodulation range (max. ~0.45 V/m) reaching the thoracic spinal gray matter. The results from this pilot study suggest that tsDCS is feasible, well-tolerated, and shows therapeutic potential in MDD. This work also provides the initial framework for the cautious exploration of non-invasive spinal cord neuromodulation in the context of mental health research and therapeutics. The underlying mechanisms warrant further investigation. Clinicaltrials.gov registration: NCT03433339 URL: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03433339 .

Optimized high-definition tDCS in patients with skull defects and skull plates.

Introduction: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been shown to benefit patients with brain lesions or traumatic brain injury (TBI). These patients usually have skull defects with different sizes and electrical conductivities. There is very little data in the literature that show how to optimally stimulate these patients with the presence of skull defects. Methods: Here we leveraged high-resolution (1 mm) realistic head models to explore the best montages targeting right beneath the skull defects with different sizes and conductivities. Specifically, open-source software ROAST was used to solve for the lead field on the publicly available MIDA model. Four different skull defects/plates were modeled with the center above the right primary motor cortex: a larger defect (10 cm diameter) modeled as either titanium or acrylic plate, and a smaller defect (2.5 cm diameter) modeled as either acute state filled with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or chronic state with scar tissue. Optimized stimulation with maximal intensity was run using ROAST targeting the right primary motor cortex. Results: We show that optimized high-definition montages can achieve an average of 0.3 V/m higher stimulation intensities at the target compared to un-optimized montages (M1-SO or 4×1). Large skull defects with titanium or acrylic plates significantly reduce the stimulation intensity by about 80%, while small defects with acute (CSF) or chronic (scar) tissues significantly increase the stimulation intensity by about 200%. Furthermore, one can use M1-SO to achieve almost the same stimulation strength as the optimized montage if the skull has a large defect with titanium plate, and there is no significant difference in stimulation intensity between 4×1 montage and the optimized montage for small skull defects with scar tissue. Discussion: Based on this work, future modeling studies leveraging individual anatomy of skull defects may help guide tDCS practice on patients with skull defects and skull plates.

Impact of modeled field of view in electroconvulsive therapy current flow simulations.

Background: The field of view (FOV) considered in MRI-guided forward models of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) are, as expected, limited to the MRI volume collected. Therefore, there is variation in model extent considered across simulation efforts. This study examines the impact of FOV on the induced electric field (E-field) due to two common electrode placements: right unilateral (RUL) and bilateral (BL). Methods: A full-body dataset was obtained and processed for modeling relevant to ECT physics. Multiple extents were derived by truncating from the head down to four levels: upper head (whole-brain), full head, neck, and torso. All relevant stimulation and focality metrics were determined. The differences in the 99th percentile peak of stimulation strength in the brain between each extent to the full-body (reference) model were considered as the relative error (RE). We also determine the FOV beyond which the difference to a full-body model would be negligible. Results: The 2D and 3D spatial plots revealed anticipated results in line with prior efforts. The RE for BL upper head was ~50% reducing to ~2% for the neck FOV. The RE for RUL upper head was ~5% reducing to subpercentage (0.28%) for the full-head FOV. As shown previously, BL was found to stimulate a larger brain volume-but restricted to the upper head and for amplitude up to ~480 mA. To some extent, RUL stimulated a larger volume. The RUL-induced volume was larger even when considering the neural activation threshold corresponding to brief pulse BL if ECT amplitude was >270 mA. This finding is explained by the BL-induced current loss through the inferior regions as more FOV is considered. Our result is a departure from prior efforts and raises questions about the focality metric as defined and/or inter-individual differences. Conclusion: Our findings highlight that BL is impacted more than RUL with respect to FOV. It is imperative to collect full-head data at a minimum for any BL simulation and possibly more. Clinical practice resorts to using BL ECT when RUL is unsuccessful. However, the notion that BL is more efficacious on the premise of stimulating more brain volume needs to be revisited.

Impact of galvanic vestibular stimulation electrode current density on brain current flow patterns: Does electrode size matter?

BACKGROUND: Galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) uses at least one electrode placed on the mastoid process with one or multiple placed over other head areas to stimulate the vestibular system. The exact electrode size used is not given much importance in the literature and has not been reported in several studies. In a previous study, we compared the clinical effects of using different electrode sizes (3 cm2 and 35 cm2) with placebo but with the same injected current, on postural control. We observed significant improvement using the smaller size electrode but not with the bigger size electrode. The goal of this study was to simulate the current flow patterns with the intent to shed light and potentially explain the experimental outcome. METHODS: We used an ultra-high-resolution structural dataset and developed a model to simulate the application of different electrode sizes. We considered current flow in the brain and in the vestibular labyrinth. RESULTS: Our simulation results verified the focality increase using smaller electrodes that we postulated as the main reason for our clinical effect. The use of smaller size electrodes in combination with the montage employed also result in higher induced electric field (E-field) in the brain. CONCLUSIONS: Electrode size and related current density is a critical parameter to characterize any GVS administration as the choice impacts the induced E-field. It is evident that the higher induced E-field likely contributed to the clinical outcome reported in our prior study.

Repair of an anomalous origin of the left pulmonary artery from the ascending aorta.

Anomalous origin of a left pulmonary artery from the ascending aorta is a very uncommon congenital cardiac malformation. Different surgical techniques have been employed. The direct implantation has been the strategy of choice. However, postoperative restenosis across the anastomotic site is frequently observed. We present a case in which a flap of the left pulmonary artery was used downward along the main pulmonary artery after excision, in a transverse diamond-shape, of the fusion of the media wall between them. This technique is feasible and effective to achieve a noncircular anastomosis without any prosthetic material.

Morbilidad y mortalidad posoperatoria en niños con corazón univentricular según diagnóstico morfológico / Postoperative mortality and morbidity found in children with univentricular heart according to the morphological diagnosis

Introducción: la atresia tricuspídea es la cardiopatía congénita cianótica que motiva mayor indicación de cirugía univentricular. El tratamiento quirúrgico consiste en separar las circulaciones sistémica y pulmonar a través de una derivación cavopulmonar total (proceder de Fontan). Objetivo: comparar la evolución posoperatoria del proceder de Fontan entre enero de 1990 y diciembre de 2010 en relación con el diagnóstico morfológico. Métodos: se ordenaron en 2 grupos de estudio (AT: atresia tricuspídea y No AT: con diagnóstico diferente a atresia tricuspídea). Las variables cualitativas y cuantitativas se analizaron a través de las pruebas chi cuadrado y t de student para un nivel de significación £ 0,05. Resultados: presentaron atresia tricuspídea 31 pacientes y 61 no atresia tricuspídea. En el posoperatorio 68 pacientes presentaron complicaciones, 23 con atresia tricúspidea (74,2 por ciento) y 45 con diagnóstico diferente a atresia tricuspídea (73,7 por ciento). Treinta pacientes presentaron efusiones pleurales persistentes durante el posoperatorio, 11 (35,5 por ciento) y 19 (31,4 por ciento) para la atresia tricúspidea y con diagnóstico diferente a atresia tricuspídea respectivamente. Fallecieron 18 enfermos, sin diferencia significativa entre ambos grupos. Durante el seguimiento, la causa de morbilidad más frecuentes fue por capacidad funcional disminuida de forma moderada o grave, en 13 pacientes con atresia tricúspidea (44,8 `por ciento) y en 20 (44,4 por ciento) en el otro grupo (p= 1). Conclusiones: el proceder de Fontan es una opción quirúrgica que permite la supervivencia de los pacientes con corazón univentricular asociada a morbilidad posoperatoria a largo plazo. El diagnóstico morfológico de atresia tricuspídea no se relaciona con la morbilidad y mortalidad

Introduction: tricuspid atresia is the cyanotic congenital heart disease that more frequently involves the indication of univentricular heart surgery. The surgical treatment consists of separating the systemic circulation from the pulmonary one through total cavopulmonary shunt (Fontan procedure). Objective: to compare the evolution of Fontan procedure postoperatively from January 1990 to December 2010 with the morphological diagnosis. Methods: the children were divided into 2 study groups (Triscupid atresia and Triscupid atresia-free with diagnosis different from that of tricuspid atresia). Chi square and Student's tests helped to analyze qualitative and quantitative variables for significance level £ 0.05. Results: tricuspid atresia was observed in 31 patients and 61 tricuspid atresia-free. In the postoperative period, 68 patients suffered complications, 23 with tricuspid atresia (74.2 percent) and 45 diagnosed with a disease other than tricuspid atresia (73.7 percent). Thirty patients had persistent pleural effusions during the postoperative period, 11 (35.5 percent) and 19 (31.4) in the tricuspid atresia group and in the tricuspid atresia-free group respectively. Eighteen patients died and no significant association was found in neither of the groups. During the follow-up, the most frequent cause of morbidity was reduced functional capacity either moderate or severe in 13 patients with tricuspid atresia (44.8 percent) and in 20 children (44.4 percent)from the other group (p= 1). Conclusions: Fontan procedure is a surgical option that allows the survival of patients with univentricular heart associated to long-term postoperative morbidity. The morphological diagnosis of tricuspid atresia is not related to morbility and mortality

Morbilidad y mortalidad posoperatoria en niños con corazón univentricular según diagnóstico morfológico / Postoperative mortality and morbidity found in children with univentricular heart according to the morphological diagnosis

Introducción: la atresia tricuspídea es la cardiopatía congénita cianótica que motiva mayor indicación de cirugía univentricular. El tratamiento quirúrgico consiste en separar las circulaciones sistémica y pulmonar a través de una derivación cavopulmonar total (proceder de Fontan). Objetivo: comparar la evolución posoperatoria del proceder de Fontan entre enero de 1990 y diciembre de 2010 en relación con el diagnóstico morfológico. Métodos: se ordenaron en 2 grupos de estudio (AT: atresia tricuspídea y No AT: con diagnóstico diferente a atresia tricuspídea). Las variables cualitativas y cuantitativas se analizaron a través de las pruebas chi cuadrado y t de student para un nivel de significación £ 0,05. Resultados: presentaron atresia tricuspídea 31 pacientes y 61 no atresia tricuspídea. En el posoperatorio 68 pacientes presentaron complicaciones, 23 con atresia tricúspidea (74,2 por ciento) y 45 con diagnóstico diferente a atresia tricuspídea (73,7 por ciento). Treinta pacientes presentaron efusiones pleurales persistentes durante el posoperatorio, 11 (35,5 por ciento) y 19 (31,4 por ciento) para la atresia tricúspidea y con diagnóstico diferente a atresia tricuspídea respectivamente. Fallecieron 18 enfermos, sin diferencia significativa entre ambos grupos. Durante el seguimiento, la causa de morbilidad más frecuentes fue por capacidad funcional disminuida de forma moderada o grave, en 13 pacientes con atresia tricúspidea (44,8 `por ciento) y en 20 (44,4 por ciento) en el otro grupo (p= 1). Conclusiones: el proceder de Fontan es una opción quirúrgica que permite la supervivencia de los pacientes con corazón univentricular asociada a morbilidad posoperatoria a largo plazo. El diagnóstico morfológico de atresia tricuspídea no se relaciona con la morbilidad y mortalidad(AU)

Introduction: tricuspid atresia is the cyanotic congenital heart disease that more frequently involves the indication of univentricular heart surgery. The surgical treatment consists of separating the systemic circulation from the pulmonary one through total cavopulmonary shunt (Fontan procedure). Objective: to compare the evolution of Fontan procedure postoperatively from January 1990 to December 2010 with the morphological diagnosis. Methods: the children were divided into 2 study groups (Triscupid atresia and Triscupid atresia-free with diagnosis different from that of tricuspid atresia). Chi square and Student's tests helped to analyze qualitative and quantitative variables for significance level £ 0.05. Results: tricuspid atresia was observed in 31 patients and 61 tricuspid atresia-free. In the postoperative period, 68 patients suffered complications, 23 with tricuspid atresia (74.2 percent) and 45 diagnosed with a disease other than tricuspid atresia (73.7 percent). Thirty patients had persistent pleural effusions during the postoperative period, 11 (35.5 percent) and 19 (31.4) in the tricuspid atresia group and in the tricuspid atresia-free group respectively. Eighteen patients died and no significant association was found in neither of the groups. During the follow-up, the most frequent cause of morbidity was reduced functional capacity either moderate or severe in 13 patients with tricuspid atresia (44.8 percent) and in 20 children (44.4 percent)from the other group (p= 1). Conclusions: Fontan procedure is a surgical option that allows the survival of patients with univentricular heart associated to long-term postoperative morbidity. The morphological diagnosis of tricuspid atresia is not related to morbility and mortality(AU)

Extracción de un catéter fracturado mediante cateterismo cardíaco intervencionista en un paciente prematuro de 1 600 g / Removal of a fractured catheter by means of interventionist cardiac catheterization in a premature patient weighing 1 600 g

Se documenta el caso de un paciente de 1 mes de edad, prematuro, con peso de 1 600 g, cuyo catéter epicutáneo se fracturó y desplazó hasta ubicarse en la porción distal en la rama izquierda de la arteria pulmonar. El catéter se extrajo por vía femoral mediante un procedimiento de cateterismo cardíaco intervencionista, con lo que se demostró la efectividad de dicho procedimiento ante este tipo de complicación

This is the case of a premature patient aged one month weighing 1 600 g, whose epicutaneous catheter was fractured moving to be located in the distal portion in the left branch of pulmonary artery. The catheter was removed by femoral route by interventionist cardiac catheterization allowing us to demonstrate the effectiveness of such procedure in this type of complication

Extracción de un catéter fracturado mediante cateterismo cardíaco intervencionista en un paciente prematuro de 1 600 g / Removal of a fractured catheter by means of interventionist cardiac catheterization in a premature patient weighing 1 600 g

Se documenta el caso de un paciente de 1 mes de edad, prematuro, con peso de 1 600 g, cuyo catéter epicutáneo se fracturó y desplazó hasta ubicarse en la porción distal en la rama izquierda de la arteria pulmonar. El catéter se extrajo por vía femoral mediante un procedimiento de cateterismo cardíaco intervencionista, con lo que se demostró la efectividad de dicho procedimiento ante este tipo de complicación(AU)

This is the case of a premature patient aged one month weighing 1 600 g, whose epicutaneous catheter was fractured moving to be located in the distal portion in the left branch of pulmonary artery. The catheter was removed by femoral route by interventionist cardiac catheterization allowing us to demonstrate the effectiveness of such procedure in this type of complication(AU)

Cirugía de la válvula mitral en Pediatría / Mitral valve surgery in Pediatrics

Las lesiones valvulares mitrales son, con poca frecuencia con respecto a la edad adulta, causa de indicación quirúrgica. Se realizó un estudio descriptivo y retrospectivo de las intervenciones quirúrgicas sobre la válvula mitral, realizadas en un período de 15 años en el Cardiocentro del Hospital Pediátrico Universitario "William Soler", con el objetivo de mostrar el comportamiento de nuestra experiencia. Se operaron 60 pacientes, el 76 por ciento de ellos mayores de 5 años de edad. La causa de la lesión más frecuente fue la lesión congénita valvular, expresada clínicamente como insuficiencia mitral. A 35 pacientes se les realizó sustitución valvular y al resto algún proceder de reparación y conservación del aparato valvular nativo. La morbilidad y mortalidad y fue mayor en el grupo de pacientes a los cuales se les sustituyó la válvula nativo. Tres de los enfermos que recibieron plastia mitral, necesitaron en el posoperatorio mediato, sustitución valvular. La mortalidad general fue de 13,3 por ciento. La sustitución valvular debe ser la segunda opción quirúrgica ante la enfermedad mitral en la edad pediátrica(AU)

Drenaje anómalo total de venas pulmonares. Nuestra experiencia / Total anomalous pulmonary venous drainage. Our experience

El drenaje anómalo total de venas pulmonares es una cardiopatía congénita cianótica con una alta mortalidad en el primer año de vida. Se expone una revisión retrospectiva de los resultados de nuestro Centro en un período de 15 años de trabajo, en el tratamiento quirúrgico de esta infrecuente enfermedad. Se operaron 85 pacientes, 39 de ellos con drenaje supracardíaco, 9 con drenaje infracardíaco, la forma más grave y de mayor mortalidad. Se operaron 47 pacientes con menos de 5 kg de peso corporal, 8 de ellos por debajo de los 3 kg. Sólo 16 pacientes sobrepasaron el año de edad en el momento de la operación. Las complicaciones posoperatorias se presentaron en 50 pacientes. La mortalidad fue de 30,5 (por ciento). El drenaje anómalo total de venas pulmonares constituye hoy un reto para el enfrentamiento quirúrgico en el primer año de vida

Drenaje anómalo total de venas pulmonares. Nuestra experiencia / Total anomalous pulmonary venous drainage. Our experience

El drenaje anómalo total de venas pulmonares es una cardiopatía congénita cianótica con una alta mortalidad en el primer año de vida. Se expone una revisión retrospectiva de los resultados de nuestro Centro en un período de 15 años de trabajo, en el tratamiento quirúrgico de esta infrecuente enfermedad. Se operaron 85 pacientes, 39 de ellos con drenaje supracardíaco, 9 con drenaje infracardíaco, la forma más grave y de mayor mortalidad. Se operaron 47 pacientes con menos de 5 kg de peso corporal, 8 de ellos por debajo de los 3 kg. Sólo 16 pacientes sobrepasaron el año de edad en el momento de la operación. Las complicaciones posoperatorias se presentaron en 50 pacientes. La mortalidad fue de 30,5 (por ciento). El drenaje anómalo total de venas pulmonares constituye hoy un reto para el enfrentamiento quirúrgico en el primer año de vida(AU)