Search results for "Signs"
showing 10 items of 314 documents
Niemann-Pick type C2 protein supplementation in experimental non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
2017
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Hepatic cholesterol deposition drives inflammation and fibrosis in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). The Niemann-Pick type C2 (NPC2) protein plays an important role in regulating intracellular cholesterol trafficking and homeostasis. We hypothesized that intravenous NPC2 supplementation reduces cholesterol accumulation, hepatic inflammation and fibrogenesis in a nutritional NASH rat model.METHODS: Rats were fed a high-fat, high-cholesterol (HFHC) diet for four weeks resulting in moderately severe NASH. Animals were treated with intravenous NPC2 or placebo twice weekly for either the last two weeks or the entire four weeks. End-points were liver/body- and spleen/body…
Indomethacin blocks the increased conditioned rewarding effects of cocaine induced by repeated social defeat
2018
It is well established that repeated social defeat stress can induce negative long-term consequences such as increased anxiety-like behavior and enhances the reinforcing effect of psychostimulants in rodents. In the current study, we evaluated how the immune system may play a role in these long-term effects of stress. A total of 148 OF1 mice were divided into different experimental groups according to stress condition (exploration or social defeat) and pre-treatment (saline, 5 or 10 mg/kg of the anti-inflammatory indomethacin) before each social defeat or exploration episode. Three weeks after the last social defeat, anxiety was evaluated using an elevated plus maze paradigm. After this tes…
Direct identification of microorganisms from thioglycolate broth by MALDI-TOF MS.
2017
We developed an easy MALDI-TOF MS-based assay to identify microorganisms directly from thioglycolate broth. A total of 101 positive thioglycolate broths inoculated with 15 different kinds of samples were evaluated. In 91 samples (90.1%), direct MALDI-TOF MS identifications were the same as those obtained after conventional laboratory procedures including subcultures. In 10 samples misidentified by direct processing, yeasts or mixed cultures grew in the thioglycolate subcultures, or high cellular debris hampered a correct analysis. This rapid method can provide a fast, clinically- relevant species-level identification without disturbing the daily workflow in clinical microbiology laboratorie…
The morphogenetically active polymer, inorganic polyphosphate complexed with GdCl 3 , as an inducer of hydroxyapatite formation in vitro
2015
Inorganic polyphosphate (polyP) is a physiological polymer composed of tens to hundreds of phosphate units linked together via phosphoanhydride bonds. Here we compared the biological activity of polyP (chain length of 40 phosphate units), complexed with Gd(3+) (polyP·Gd), with the one caused by polyP (as calcium salt) and by GdCl3 alone, regarding their potencies to induce hydroxyapatite (HA) formation in SaOS-2 cells in vitro. The three compounds, GdCl3, polyP and polyP·Gd were found to be non-toxic at concentrations up to at least 30μM. Selecting a low, 5μM, concentration it was found that polyP·Gd significantly induced HA formation, as determined by Alizarin Red S staining and by quantit…
Mechanical ventilation alters the development of staphylococcus aureus pneumonia in rabbit
2016
Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is common during mechanical ventilation (MV). Beside obvious deleterious effects on muco-ciliary clearance, MV could adversely shift the host immune response towards a pro-inflammatory pattern through toll-like receptor (TLRs) up-regulation. We tested this hypothesis in a rabbit model of Staphylococcus aureus VAP. Pneumonia was caused by airway challenge with S. aureus, in either spontaneously breathing (SB) or MV rabbits (n = 13 and 17, respectively). Pneumonia assessment regarding pulmonary and systemic bacterial burden, as well as inflammatory response was done 8 and 24 hours after S. aureus challenge. In addition, ex vivo stimulations of whole blood…
Linezolid and atorvastatin impact on pneumonia caused by Staphyloccocus aureus in rabbits with or without mechanical ventilation
2017
International audience; Pneumonia may involve methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), with elevated rates of antibiotics failure. The present study aimed to assess the effect of statins given prior to pneumonia development. Spontaneously breathing (SB) or mechanically ventilated (MV) rabbits with pneumonia received atorvastatin alone, linezolid (LNZ) alone, or a combination of both (n = 5 in each group). Spontaneously breathing and MV untreated infected animals (n = 11 in each group), as well as uninfected animals (n = 5 in each group) were used as controls. Microbiological features and inflammation were evaluated. Data are presented as medians (interquartile range). Linezolid a…
Oral administration of Bifidobacterium bifidum G9-1 alleviates rotavirus gastroenteritis through regulation of intestinal homeostasis by inducing muc…
2017
Human rotavirus (RV) infection is a leading cause of dehydrating diarrhea in infants and young children worldwide. Since therapeutic approaches to RV gastroenteritis are limited to alleviation of dehydration with oral rehydration solutions, more direct approaches to palliate symptoms of RV gastroenteritis are required. Treatments with probiotics have been increasingly recognized as alternative safe and low cost treatments for moderate infectious diarrhea. In this study, Bifidobacterium bifidum G9-1 (BBG9-1), which has been used as an intestinal drug for several decades, was shown to have a remarkable protective effect against RV gastroenteritis in a suckling mice model. As well as prophylac…
CNS-Targeting Therapies for Lysosomal Storage Diseases: Current Advances and Challenges.
2020
During the past decades, several therapeutic approaches have been developed and made rapidly available for many patients afflicted with lysosomal storage disorders (LSDs), inborn organelle disorders with broad clinical manifestations secondary to the progressive accumulation of undegraded macromolecules within lysosomes. These conditions are individually rare, but, collectively, their incidence ranges from 1 in 2,315 to 7,700 live-births. Most LSDs are manifested by neurological symptoms or signs, including developmental delay, seizures, acroparesthesia, motor weakness, and extrapyramidal signs. The chronic and later-onset clinical forms are at one end of the continuum spectrum and are char…
Ferritin and C-reactive protein are predictive biomarkers of mortality and macrophage activation syndrome in adult onset Still's disease. Analysis of…
2020
ObjectiveTo assess the predictive role of ferritin and C-reactive protein (CRP) on occurrence of macrophage activation syndrome (MAS) and mortality in patients with adult onset Still's disease (AOSD), a rare and severe disease, included in the multicentre Gruppo Italiano di Ricerca in Reumatologia Clinica e Sperimentale (GIRRCS) cohort.MethodsThe predictive role, at the time of diagnosis, of serum levels of ferritin and CRP on occurrence of MAS and mortality, was evaluated by logistic regression analyses and receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves were built to identify patients at high risk of MAS and mortality, respectively.ResultsIn assessed 147 patients with AOSD, levels of ferri…
Functional test measures as risk indicators for low back pain among fixed-wing military pilots.
2015
Purpose The purpose of this study was to find out the risk value of functional fitness test (FFT) results for low back pain (LBP) among fixed-wing military pilots. Methods A total of 104 male military pilots were recruited for this study. The study was conducted with a self-administered questionnaire and FFT. The functional tests were performed in the beginning of study (baseline). The questionnaire was carried out at the baseline and 5 years later. Results The isometric low back endurance test result was associated with physical activity-related LBP experienced 5 years later. Demographic information was not associated with LBP. The prevalence of overall LBP was 71% and the flight-related L…