Vistisenneal9966
Whether severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can be detected in semen and transmitted sexually is a vital question that has, thus far, been inconclusive. Prior studies, with limited numbers, have included men in various stages of infection with most in the recovery phase of the illness. The timing of test results and severity of illness has made recruiting study participants a significant challenge. Our pilot study will examine semen from men with a recent diagnosis of COVID-19 as well as those in the convalescent phase to determine if SARS-CoV-2 can be detected and its relationship, if any, with the severity of the disease.
Eighteen men with a median age of 32 (range, 24-57) who tested positive for COVID-19 by rt-PCR analysis were enrolled and provided a semen sample. The study group demonstrated symptoms of COVID-19 ranging from asymptomatic to moderate and none required hospitalization. Samples were subjected to viral RNA extraction and then processed by real-time RT-PCR using the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, USA) panel of 2019-Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) primers and probes to detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA.
Length of time from diagnosis to providing a specimen ranged from 1 to 28 days (median, 6 days). Fifteen participants were symptomatic and three were asymptomatic, including recovering men, at the time of semen collection. No SARS-CoV-2 was detected in any of the semen samples.
Based on these preliminary results and consistent with prior findings, we suggest SARS-CoV-2 is not present in semen during the acute or convalescent phase of COVID-19.
Based on these preliminary results and consistent with prior findings, we suggest SARS-CoV-2 is not present in semen during the acute or convalescent phase of COVID-19.
To evaluate the impact of COVID-19's lockdown on radiological examinations in emergency services.
Retrospective, multicentre analysis of radiological examinations requested, via our teleradiology network, from 2017 to 2020 during two timeframes (calendar weeks 5-8 and then 12-15). We included CT scans or MRIs performed for strokes, multiple traumas (Body-CT), cranial traumas (CTr) and acute non-traumatic abdominal pain (ANTAP). We evaluated the number and percentages of examinations performed, of those with a pathological conclusion, and of examinations involving the chest.
Our study included 25 centres in 2017, 29 in 2018, 43 in 2019 and 59 in 2020. From 2017 to 2019, the percentages of examinations were constant, which was also true for chest CTs. Each centre's number of examinations, gender distribution and patient ages were unchanged. In 2020, examinations significantly decreased suspected strokes decreased by 36% (1052 vs 675, p < 0.001), Body-CT by 62% (349 vs 134, p < 0.001), CTr by 52% (1853 vs 895, p < 0.001) and for ANTAP, appendicitis decreased by 38% (45 vs 90, not statistically significant (NS)) sigmoiditis by 44% (98 vs 55, NS), and renal colic by 23% (376 vs 288, NS). The number of examinations per centre decreased by 13% (185.5 vs 162.5, p < 0.001), whereas the number of examinations of the "chest" region increased by 170% (1205 vs 3766, p < 0.001).
Teleradiology enabled us to monitor the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic management on emergency activities, showing a global decrease in the population's use of care.
Teleradiology enabled us to monitor the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic management on emergency activities, showing a global decrease in the population's use of care.Sleep apnea disrupts physiologic homeostasis and causes neuronal dysfunction. In addition to signs of mental disorders and cognitive dysfunction, patients with sleep apnea have a higher anxiety rate. Here, we examined the mechanisms underlying this critical health issue. We used a mouse model with sleep-associated chronic intermittent hypoxia (IH) to verify the effects of sleep apnea on neuronal dysfunction. To evaluate how IH alters neuronal function to yield anxiety-like behavior and cognitive dysfunction, we examined synaptic plasticity and neuronal inflammation in related brain areas, including the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), striatum, and hippocampus. Mice subjected to chronic IH for 10 days exhibited significant anxiety-like behaviors in the elevated plus maze test. IH mice spent less travel time in open arms and more travel time in enclosed arms compared to control mice. However, cognitive impairment was minimal in IH mice. Increased glutamate N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor subunits 2B (GluN2B) and phosphorylated-ERK1/2 were seen in the mPFC, striatum, and hippocampus of IH mice, but no significant microglial and astrocyte activation was found in these brain areas. Chronic IH in mice induced compensatory increases in GluN2B to disturb neuronal synaptic plasticity, without neuronal inflammation. The altered synaptic plasticity subsequently led to anxiety-like behavior in mice. Treatment with the NMDA receptor antagonist dextromethorphan attenuated chronic IH-induced anxiety-like behavior and GluN2B expression. Our findings provide mechanistic evidence of how IH may provoke anxiety and support for the importance of early intervention to alleviate anxiety-associated complications in patients with chronic sleep apnea.The COVID-19 pandemic has left scientists and clinicians no choice but a race to find solutions to save lives while controlling the rapid spreading. Messenger RNA (mRNA)-based vaccines have become the front-runners because of their safety profiles, precise and reproducible immune response with more cost-effective and faster production than other types of vaccines. However, the physicochemical properties of naked mRNA necessitate innovative delivery technologies to ferry these 'messengers' to ribosomes inside cells by crossing various barriers and subsequently induce an immune response. Intracellular delivery followed by endosomal escape represents the key strategies for cytoplasmic delivery of mRNA vaccines to the target. This Perspective provides insights into how state-of-the-art nanotechnology helps break the delivery barriers and advance the development of mRNA vaccines. The challenges remaining and future perspectives are outlined.Fluoride had been shown to inhibit collagen-induced in vitro mineralization without affecting demineralization at its lower concentrations (> 1X10-5 and 1X10-4 M. The present studies were designed to investigate the mechanism by which fluoride acts to produce these concentration-dependent effects. The inhibition of mineralization occurring at the lower concentrations of fluoride was found to be due to the inactivation of the specific calcium binding sites of collagen involved in initiating the process of mineralization. Stimulation of mineralization obtained at the higher concentrations of fluoride was found to be due to the activation of the specific phosphate-binding sites of the collagen and the formation of a relatively less soluble and highly stable fluorapatite instead of hydroxyapatite. At its higher concentrations, fluoride was also found to inhibit demineralization by binding to the mineral phase associated with collagen. A model has been presented to explain the mechanisms whereby fluoride may act to produce the above observed effects.Despite the fact that the diagnosis of dementia is mainly based on clinical criteria, the role of neuroimaging is still expanding. Among other imaging techniques, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) plays a core role in assisting with the differentiation between various dementia syndromes and excluding other underlying pathologies that cause dementia, such as brain tumors and subdural hemorrhages. This article gives an overview of the standard MRI protocol and of structural radiological reporting systems in patients who suffer from dementia. Moreover, it presents characteristic MRI features of the most common dementia subtypes.
The efficacy and safety of oral semaglutide, the first oral glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist, were investigated in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) in the Peptide InnOvatioN for Early diabEtes tReatment (PIONEER) programme. The current post-hoc exploratory subgroup analyses evaluated outcomes by background medication and insulin regimen subgroups.
Data from patients in the PIONEER 3-5, 7 and 8 trials receiving once-daily oral semaglutide (14mg/flexibly dosed) or a comparator (placebo, sitagliptin 100mg or liraglutide 1.8mg) were analysed for efficacy (glycated haemoglobin [HbA
] and body weight changes from baseline to planned end of treatment) and safety outcomes. Patients were grouped according to background medication (metformin, sulphonylurea, thiazolidinedione, sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor, insulin, or combinations thereof). Efficacy outcomes were analysed using the trial product estimand (which assumes that patients remained on the trial product without rescue medication use) insulin plus metformin) in PIONEER 8 (p = 0.0408). Changes in HbA
and body weight were generally similar across insulin regimen subgroups, without significant treatment interactions by subgroup, and the total daily insulin dose was decreased for patients receiving oral semaglutide. The incidence of adverse events was generally similar in background medication subgroups.
Oral semaglutide was effective at lowering HbA
and body weight, regardless of background medications, and appears suitable for a broad range of patients with T2D in combination with other glucose-lowering agents.
Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02607865 (PIONEER 3), NCT02863419 (PIONEER 4), NCT02827708 (PIONEER 5), NCT02849080 (PIONEER 7) and NCT03021187 (PIONEER 8).
Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02607865 (PIONEER 3), NCT02863419 (PIONEER 4), NCT02827708 (PIONEER 5), NCT02849080 (PIONEER 7) and NCT03021187 (PIONEER 8).
Although diabetes is associated with hypertension, whether high blood glucose levels promote hypertension remains controversial. In this study we compared the predictive power of fasting plasma glucose (FPG), 2-h postprandial blood glucose (2hPG), and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) for the development of hypertension.
This study was a substudy of the REACTION study, an ongoing longitudinal cohort study investigating the relationship of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes with the risk of cancer in an urban Northern Chinese population in Beijing. see more Logistic regression analysis was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) after adjustment for risk factors for hypertension, including age, sex, body mass index, and triglycerides.
Among the 3437 participants, 497 developed hypertension during the 4-year follow-up. The logistic regression analysis showed that elevated FPG and 2hPG levels (FPG OR 1.529; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.348-1.735; 2hPG OR 1.144; 95% CI 1.100-1.191), but not HbA1c, were independent risk factors for the development of hypertension. In the highest quartile of FPG and 2hPG levels, the multivariable-corrected ORs were 2.115 (95% CI 1.612-2.777) and 2.346 (95% CI 1.787-3.080), respectively, compared with the lowest quartile. The adjusted models showed no significant correlations between quartile HbA1c levels and the development of hypertension.
Higher FPG and 2hPG levels, but not HbA1c levels, are independent risk factors for developing hypertension in an urban Northern Chinese population.
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01206869.
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01206869.
