SPARC preserves endothelial glycocalyx integrity, and protects against adverse cardiac inflammation and injury during viral myocarditis.

Myocardial damage as a consequence of cardiotropic viruses leads to a broad variety of clinical presentations and is still a complicated condition to diagnose and treat. Whereas the extracellular matrix protein Secreted Protein Acidic and Rich in Cysteine or SPARC has been implicated in hypertensive and ischemic heart disease by modulating collagen production and cross-linking, its role in cardiac inflammation and endothelial function is yet unknown. Absence of SPARC in mice resulted in increased cardiac inflammation and mortality, and reduced cardiac systolic function upon coxsackievirus-B3 induced myocarditis. Intra-vital microscopic imaging of the microvasculature of the cremaster muscle combined with electron microscopic imaging of the microvasculature of the cardiac muscle uncovered the significance of SPARC in maintaining endothelial glycocalyx integrity and subsequent barrier properties to stop inflammation. Moreover, systemic administration of recombinant SPARC restored the endothelial glycocalyx and consequently reversed the increase in inflammation and mortality observed in SPARC KO mice in response to viral exposure. Reducing the glycocalyx in vivo by systemic administration of hyaluronidase, an enzyme that degrades the endothelial glycocalyx, mimicked the barrier defects found in SPARC KO mice, which could be restored by subsequent administration of recombinant SPARC. In conclusion, the secreted glycoprotein SPARC protects against adverse cardiac inflammation and mortality by improving the glycocalyx function and resulting endothelial barrier function during viral myocarditis.

MRI findings of postherpetic abdominal wall pseudohernia: A case report.

Herpes zoster is caused by the reactivation of latent varicella-zoster virus from dorsal root ganglia. Although infrequent, simultaneous damage to the anterior horn cells or anterior nerve roots at the same level may result in motor neuropathy. When motor involvement is localized in the abdominal wall, a pseudohernia may be the clinical presentation. We report a case of abdominal wall post-herpetic pseudohernia, with clinical, ultrasound and MRI correlation. MRI demonstrated increased T2/STIR signal intensity in the abdominal wall muscles, suggesting acute denervation. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of postherpetic pseudohernia with acute denervation demonstrated on MRI.

Transneuronal tracing of neural pathways controlling abdominal musculature in the ferret.

Abdominal musculature participates in generating a large number of behaviors and protective reflexes, although each abdominal muscle is frequently activated differentially during particular motor responses. For example, rectus abdominis has been reported to play less of a role in respiration than other abdominal muscles, such as transversus abdominis. In the present study, the inputs to transversus abdominis and rectus abdominis motoneurons were determined and compared using the transneuronal transport of two recombinant isogenic strains of pseudorabies virus. After a 5-day post-inoculation period, infected presumed motoneurons were observed principally in cord levels T10-T15 ipsilateral to the injections. The injection of a monosynaptic tracer, beta-cholera toxin, into transversus abdominis confirmed the distribution of motoneurons innervating this muscle. In the brainstem, neurons transneuronally infected following injection of pseudorabies virus into rectus abdominis or transversus abdominis were located in the same regions, which included the medial medullary reticular formation, the medullary raphe nuclei, and nucleus retroambiguus (the expiration region of the caudal ventral respiratory group). Double-labeled cells providing inputs to both rectus and transversus motoneurons were present in both the medial medullary reticular formation and nucleus retroambiguus. These data show that the medial medullary reticular formation contains neurons influencing the activity of multiple abdominal muscles, and support our hypothesis that this region globally affects the excitability of motoneurons involved in respiration.

[Abdominal distension due to herpes zoster]. / Distensión abdominal por herpes zoster.

A case is reported in which an abdominal protrusion appeared in relation with a zosteric eruption at 11th dorsal dermatome. The motor deficit in zoster is unusual (2-3% in the reported series) and generally recognized when the extremities are affected. The frequency with which the abdominal muscles are involved is estimated to be around 0.17%, according to a clinical series. The aim of this report is to draw attention to the abdominal wall paresis that can result when zoster involves the caudal dorsal dermatomyotomes. This in turn, leads to abdominal distension which needs to be differentiated from other causes.

Parálisis de la musculatura abdominal tras herpes zóster. Serie de casos / Paralysis of the abdominal muscles after herpes zoster. Case series

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Cutaneous reinnervation of the rectus abdominis musculocutaneous flap after chest wall reconstruction: development of herpes zoster in the transplanted musculocutaneous flap.

We report a patient in whom herpes zoster developed in the transplanted rectus abdominis musculocutaneous flap 14 months after a chest wall reconstruction for recurrent breast cancer. Based on the distribution of the varicella zoster virus spreading along the sensory nerve fibers, we concluded that the virus spread along the reinnervated sensory nerves from the dorsal ganglia, through the intercostal nerves, and into the flap skin. It is suggested that this finding demonstrates the pathway of reinnervation into the transferred musculocutaneous flap on the chest wall.

Distension abdominal por herpes zoster / Abdominal distension due to herpes zoster

A case is reported in which an abdominal protrusion appeared in relation with a zosteric eruption at 11th dorsal dermatome. The motor deficit in zoster is unusual (2-3 percento in the reported series) and generally recognized when the extremities are affected. The frequency with which the abdominal muscles are involved is estimated to be around 0.17 percento, according to a clinical series. The aim of this report is to draw attention to the abdominal wall paresis that can result when zoster involves the caudal dorsal dermatomyotomes. This in turn, leads to abdominal distension which needs to be differentiated from other causes. (AU)