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Aim: To investigate whether medical devices coated with a synthesized nanocomposite of poly(methylmethacrylate-co-dimethyl acrylamide) (PMMDMA) and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) could improve their antibiofilm and antimicrobial activities. We also investigated the nanocomposite's safety. Materials & methods: The nanocomposite was synthesized and characterized using analytical techniques. Medical devices coated with the nanocomposite were evaluated for bacterial adhesion and hemolytic activity in vitro. Results: The nanocomposite formation was demonstrated with the incorporation of AgNPs into the polymer matrix. The nanocomposite proved to be nonhemolytic and significantly inhibited bacterial biofilm formation. Conclusion: The PMMDMA-AgNPs nanocomposite was more effective in preventing biofilm formation than PMMDMA alone and is a promising strategy for coating medical devices and reducing mortality due to hospital-acquired infections.

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We investigated the effects of obesity on metabolic, inflammatory, and oxidative stress parameters in the adipose tissue of patients with fatal COVID-19. Postmortem biopsies of subcutaneous adipose tissue were obtained from 25 unvaccinated inpatients who passed from COVID-19, stratified as nonobese (N-OB; body mass index [BMI], 26.5 ± 2.3 kg m-2) or obese (OB BMI 34.2 ± 5.1 kg m-2). Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that body composition was responsible for most of the variations detected in the metabolome, with greater dispersion observed in the OB group. Fifteen metabolites were major segregation factors. Results from the OB group showed higher levels of creatinine, myo-inositol, O-acetylcholine, and succinate, and lower levels of sarcosine. The N-OB group showed lower levels of glutathione peroxidase activity, as well as higher content of IL-6 and adiponectin. We revealed significant changes in the metabolomic profile of the adipose tissue in fatal COVID-19 cases, with high adiposity playing a key role in these observed variations. These findings highlight the potential involvement of metabolic and inflammatory pathways, possibly dependent on hypoxia, shedding light on the impact of obesity on disease pathogenesis and suggesting avenues for further research and possible therapeutic targets.

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Glioblastoma (GBM) is an aggressive, common brain cancer known to disrupt redox biology, affecting behavior and DNA integrity. Past research remains inconclusive. To further understand this, an investigation was conducted on physical training's effects on behavior, redox balance, and genomic stability in GBMA models. Forty-seven male C57BL/6J mice, 60 days old, were divided into GBM and sham groups (n = 15, n = 10, respectively), which were further subdivided into trained (Str, Gtr; n = 10, n = 12) and untrained (Sut, Gut; n = 10, n = 15) subsets. The trained mice performed moderate aerobic exercises on a treadmill five to six times a week for a month while untrained mice remained in their enclosures. Behavior was evaluated using open-field and rotarod tests. Post training, the mice were euthanized and brain, liver, bone marrow, and blood samples were analyzed for redox and genomic instability markers. The results indicated increased latency values in the trained GBM (Gtr) group, suggesting a beneficial impact of exercise. Elevated reactive oxygen species in the parietal tissue of untrained GBM mice (Gut) were reduced post training. Moreover, Gtr mice exhibited lower tail intensity, indicating less genomic instability. Thus, exercise could serve as a promising supplemental GBM treatment, modulating redox parameters and reducing genomic instability.

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BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is associated with a high mortality rate around the world due to its aggressiveness and high resistance to conventional therapies. Sanguinarine (SAN) and Chelerythrine (CHE) are plant alkaloids extracted from Sanguinaria canadensis and Macleaya cordata, which have been studied for their bioactivities. OBJECTIVE: To determine the anticancer activities of Sanguinarine (SAN) and Chelerythrine (CHE) plant alkaloids. METHOD: The MTT assay, the alkaline comet assay and cell cycle analyses by flow cytometry were performed. RESULTS: It was observed that SAN was cytotoxic to human breast adenocarcinoma cells (MCF-7) at concentrations of 7.5 µM (24 and 48 hours), effectively reducing cell viability from the concentration of 10 µM for 24 hours and 7.5 µM for 48 hours, by the MTT test. CHE, in turn, was cytotoxic at concentrations of 10 and 20 µM (48 hours), but did not compromise the cellular viability. The comet assay indicated that SAN was genotoxic to the MCF-7 cells, with a significant increment of damage at 10 µM, while none of the tested concentrations of CHE showed a genotoxic effect. The flow cytometry analysis indicated that no cell cycle arrest was caused by both alkaloids, but SAN 10 µM induced a sub-G1 cell population. CONCLUSION: The results of cytotoxicity, genotoxicity and cell cycle monitoring that are presented in this paper have suggested that SAN has more of a chemotherapeutic activity, as well as having the potential for the development of new therapies for breast cancer, when compared to CHE.

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PURPOSE: To investigate neonatal malformation, prematurity, and stillbirth in singleton and multiple pregnancies derived from different Assisted Reproductive Techniques (ART). METHODS: In this prospective cohort study data were collected, from private and public Spanish IVF units, during the years 2008 and 2009. During this period, 8,682 pregnancies were analysed from the initial 14,119 pregnancies reported. Pregnancies included in the study derived from IUI (n = 1,065), IVF (n = 838), ICSI (n = 5,080), FET (n = 1,404) and PGD (n = 295). This first analysis focuses primarily on neonatal malformation, prematurity, and stillbirth both in singleton and multiple pregnancies derived from different ART. Malformations were classified according to the WHO ICD 10 code. RESULTS: Malformations were found in 0.83 % of our newborns. No differences in malformations were observed between singletons or multiples independently of the ART used. There was a significant difference in prematurity rate among singletons depending on treatment but this association was not observed in multiple pregnancies. Stillbirth was significantly lower in singleton (0.72 %) than in multiple pregnancies (1.82 %). CONCLUSIONS: The percentage of malformations observed in ART newborns was similar to the rate observed in the normally-conceived Spanish population. Multiplicity seems to be the most important factor associated with an increased incidence of newborn complications such as prematurity or stillbirth.

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En nuestra sociedad actual, la proporción de personas mayores en relación a la población general va en aumento, considerándose que en los próximos años se incrementará de forma significativa la población de personas de más de 65 años, especialmente en los países desarrollados. Este envejecimiento de la población plantea toda una serie de necesidades a nivel de salud, así como en el ámbito psicológico y social. A la vez, se incrementará la incidencia de la dependencia, especialmente la derivada de patologías como las demencias y la enfermedad de Alzheimer, con las consiguientes repercusiones familiares y sociales. En este sentido, cabe tener presente la importancia de la detección e intervención temprana del deterioro cognitivo y del lenguaje, con la finalidad de optimizar el proceso de envejecimiento y facilitar que las personas afectadas puedan iniciar lo antes posible un tratamiento que favorezca su calidad de vida(AU)

Nowadays in our society, the proportion of aged people among the general population is growing in such a way that it is thought that in the near future the sector of the population over 65 will undergo a significant rise. This tendency will be particularly dramatic in the developed countries. This aging of the population will give rise to a series of special needs in the health, psychological and social fields. Furthermore there will be an increase in the incidence of dependence, especially in that arising from pathologies as dementia and Alzheimer disease. This will have widespread repercussions throughout family and society. In this respect we should bear in mind the great significance of an early detection of cognitive and language impairment. Early detection and intervention will optimize the aging process and allow affected people to be treated as soon as possible, thus improving their quality of life(AU)

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Las alteraciones del lenguaje se consideran una de las manifestaciones más habituales de la enfermedad de Alzheimer (EA). Los trastornos del lenguaje acostumbran a aparecer después de la afectación de la memoria y poseen un patrón de afectación característico, de forma que ya en fases tempranas de la EA pueden aparecer dificultades de lenguaje incluso antes de evidenciarse ninguna de las manifestaciones clínicas que caracterizan el inicio del deterioro más evidente. Recientemente, en la literatura científica ha aumentado la atención hacia los trastornos del lenguaje en la EA, no sólo porque pueden ser útiles en el diagnóstico sino también porque su presencia puede distinguir subgrupos de pacientes con inicio precoz de demencia los cuales pueden beneficiarse de una intervención en programas de tratamiento temprano de logopedia, psicoestimulación, etc. En este artículo presentamos un caso de un paciente de 59 años de edad remitido para valoración, tratamiento y seguimiento de un posible diagnóstico de EA, caracterizado desde su inicio por un rápido y progresivo empobrecimiento de la capacidad lingüística, así como graves dificultades de comunicación referidas por la familia, tanto en el ámbito familiar como laboral. El paciente llevó a cabo un programa de tratamiento de psicoestimulación y de logopedia, con el objetivo de mantener el máximo de tiempo la capacidad del lenguaje así como reforzar la capacidad intelectual general mediante la estimulación cognitiva. La evolución del paciente fue controlada mediante sucesivas valoraciones neuropsicológicas que siguieron mostrando un deterioro característico del lenguaje, así como de la memoria y otras funciones cognitivas. Sin embargo, los resultados del tratamiento individualizado de psicoestimulación y logopedia influyó positivamente en la evolución de la enfermedad, así como en el soporte emocional percibido por los familiares(AU)

Language disorders are one of the commonest manifestations of Alzheimer's disease. Language disorders usually appear following memory affectation and show a typical pattern. Thus at the early phases of the disease speech difficulties can already be observed, even before the onset of any of the clinical manifestations characteristic of the most evident impairment. Lately a growing interest for language disorders in Alzheimer's disease has been observed in scientific publications. The reason is not only that these disorders can be useful for the diagnosis of the disease but also that, if present, they allow to identify subgroups of patients with an early onset of dementia, who could benefit from an intervention in programs of early speech therapy, psychostimulation, etc. In this article we present the clinical case of a 59- years-old patient referred for assessment, treatment and follow-up of a possible diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease. From the beginning, the patient showed a quick and progressive impoverishment of his language abilities, together with severe communication difficulties reported by his family, both in family and work circles. A psychostimulation and speech therapy program was applied to the patient in order to maintain his language abilities as long as possible, and to reinforce his general intellectual functions through cognitive stimulation. The patient's evolution was studied through consecutive neuropsychological assessments. Results showed that the typical impairment in language, memory and other cognitive functions persisted. However, the personal psychostimulation and speech therapy program proved to have a positive influence in the disease evolution and in the emotional support perceived by the patient's family(AU)

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Objetivo: La gestación cervical es una rara complicación con unas graves consecuencias si no se diagnostica y trata precozmente; por tanto, es un evento en el que siempre se debería pensar ante toda hemorragia vaginal en el primer trimestre. Método: Se presenta un caso de una gestante a la que se le detectó un embarazo ectópico cervical en la sexta semana de gestación; tras su ingreso fueron necesarias 3 dosis de metotrexato intramuscular. Después de éstas, la situación se resolvió clínica (expulsión del saco gestacional) y bioquímicamente (descenso de los valores de gonadotropina coriónica humana). Conclusión: Esta grave e infrecuente circunstancia (ectópico cervical) se puede resolver de una manera conservadora sin necesidad de recurrir a terapias más agresivas, manteniendo la paciente su fertilidad conservada

Objective: Cervical ectopic pregnancy is a rare complication that can have severe consequences if an early diagnosis is not made. This diagnosis should always be considered in vaginal bleeding in the first trimester of pregnancy. Method: We present a case of cervical ectopic pregnancy diagnosed in the sixth week of gestation. Three doses of methotrexate resolved the situation clinically (expulsion of the gestational sac) and biochemically (decreased â-human chorionic gonadotrophin levels). Conclusion: Cervical ectopic pregnancy is a serious and infrequent entity that can be resolved by conservative medical therapy that maintains the patient's fertility and avoids the need to resort to more aggressive treatment

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OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the contribution of in utero infection to the vertical transmission of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 during the second trimester. STUDY DESIGN: We examined fetal tissues from 21 second-trimester prostaglandin-induced abortions among human immunodeficiency virus type 1-infected women and compared the fetal vertical transmission rates with those among children born to human immunodeficiency virus-seropositive women. The presence of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 nucleic acid sequences was investigated with two different highly sensitive polymerase chain reaction techniques in tissue samples from the fetal thymus, lung, and brain. RESULTS: No human immunodeficiency virus type 1 deoxyribonucleic acid was detected in any of the samples. CONCLUSION: The absence of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 in all fetuses in our study is compatible with a low rate of maternal-fetal transmission during the second trimester of pregnancy.

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PURPOSE: Our goal was to investigate the safety, effectiveness, and feasibility for the practicing physician of stepwise and low-dose administration of FSH in WHO group II anovulatory infertile women. METHODS: Infertile female patients (n = 234) suffering from WHO group II anovulation, and who failed to became pregnant with clomiphene citrate, were included in a multicenter, prospective, clinical study of treatment with a protocol of chronic low-dose and small incremental rises with urinary purified or highly purified FSH. Follicular development was monitored with ultrasonographic scans. RESULTS: The 234 patients received a total of 534 cycles of treatment, for a mean number of 2.3 treated cycles per patient. hCG was withheld in 65 (12.2%) cyles because of no response and in 28 (5.2%) cycles because of hyperresponse. Of the remaining 441 cycles, 419 (95%) were ovulatory, and in 198 (47.3%) of these cycles a single dominant follicle developed. There were 93 pregnancies (39.7% per patient), for a cycle fecundity rate of 17.4%. Cumulative conception rate after two treated cycles was 33.5%. There were 14 (15%) pairs of twins and 10 (10.8%) spontaneous miscarriages. The prevalence of complications was low with no cases of severe OHSS. Basal LH/FSH ratio was significantly higher in the pregnant group of patients than in nonpregnant women. CONCLUSIONS: Stepwise and chronic low-dose administration of FSH is a safe and effective method for treatment of WHO group II anovulatory infertility, mainly in those patients having high LH/FSH ratios.

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