Optimum threshold of the 4Kscore for biopsy in men with negative or indeterminate multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging.

Objective: The study aims to identify the optimal 4Kscore thresholds to determine the need for a prostate biopsy when multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (mpMRI) is negative or indeterminate. Materials and methods: We analysed retrospective data from men in eight different institutions who underwent an mpMRI, 4Kscore and prostate biopsy for evaluation of prostate cancer. We selected men with a negative (PIRADS ≤2) or indeterminate (PIRADS 3) mpMRI. 4Kscore values were categorized into ranges of 1-7, 8-19, 20-32 and greater than 32. We evaluated the proportion of men with grade group 2 or higher (GG2+) cancer in groups defined by PIRADS and 4Kscore. We also evaluated the number of biopsies avoided and GG2+ cancer missed in each group reported depend on 4Kscore cutoff points. Results: Among 1111 men who had an mpMRI, 4Kscore and biopsy, 625 of them had PIRADS ≤3 on mpMRI: 374 negative (PIRADS ≤2) and 251 indeterminate (PIRADS 3). In men with a negative mpMRI, we found a 4Kscore cut-point of 33 resulted in an increased risk of GG2+ cancer on biopsy. In patients with an equivocal lesion on mpMRI, men with a 4Kscore cutoff ≥8 had a greater risk of GG2+ cancer on biopsy. Decision curve analysis supported the proposed cut-points in each mpMRI group. Conclusions: In men with negative and indeterminate mpMRI, we found the best 4Kscore threshold to determine the need for biopsy to be 33 and 8 respectively. Future prospective studies in independent populations are needed to confirm these findings.

Long-term survival, growth, and reproduction of Acropora palmata sexual recruits outplanted onto Mexican Caribbean reefs.

Acropora palmata is a foundational yet endangered Caribbean reef-building coral species. The lack of recovery after a disease outbreak and low recruitment has led to widespread use of fragmentation to restore populations. Another option is the production of sexual recruits (settlers) via assisted reproduction to improve the genetic diversity of depleted populations; however, the viability of this approach has not been tested over the long term. In 2011 and 2012, A. palmata larvae were cultured, settled, and the sexual recruits raised in an ex-situ nursery. Survival and growth were monitored over time. In 2014, these two F1 cohorts were moved to an in-situ nursery and after one year, a subset (29 colonies) was outplanted onto Cuevones Reef in the Mexican Caribbean. Growth and survival of these colonies were monitored periodically and compared to colonies that remained in the in-situ nursery. In 2019, samples were collected and analyzed for fertility and fecundity. 53% of the colonies were gravid and fecundity was 5.61 ± 1.91 oocytes and 3.04 ± 0.26 spermaries per polyp. A further 14 colonies from these two cohorts were outplanted in 2020 onto Picudas Reef and monitored during the subsequent spawning seasons. Two years after outplanting onto Picudas Reef, all colonies were alive and spawning of three of these colonies was recorded in 2022 in synchrony with the wild population. Gametes were collected from two colonies and crossed, with 15% fertilization success. Spermatozoa from wild colonies were then added and fertilization success increased to 95%. The resultant larvae followed normal development and symbiont uptake was visible within two weeks. The F2 generation was settled, maintained in an ex-situ nursery, and monitored for survival and growth. Both F1 and F2 generations followed a Type III survival curve with high initial mortality while in the ex-situ nursery and low later-stage mortality. The growth rates of these colonies increased three-fold after outplanting when compared to their growth rates in the ex-situ and in-situ nurseries. All colonies survived while in the in-situ nursery and for an additional nine years after outplanting onto Cuevones Reef. Overall, our results show that colonies produced by assisted breeding, once outplanted, may contribute to the genetic diversity and establishment of self-sustaining sexually-reproducing populations, which is an overarching goal of coral restoration programs.

Coral affected by stony coral tissue loss disease can produce viable offspring.

Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) has caused high mortality of at least 25 coral species across the Caribbean, with Pseudodiploria strigosa being the second most affected species in the Mexican Caribbean. The resulting decreased abundance and colony density reduces the fertilization potential of SCTLD-susceptible species. Therefore, larval-based restoration could be of great benefit, though precautionary concerns about disease transmission may foster reluctance to implement this approach with SCTLD-susceptible species. We evaluated the performance of offspring obtained by crossing gametes of a healthy P. strigosa colony (100% apparently healthy tissue) with that of a colony affected by SCTLD (>50% tissue loss) and compared these with prior crosses between healthy parents. Fertilization and settlement were as high as prior crosses among healthy parents, and post-settlement survivorship over a year in outdoor tanks was 7.8%. After thirteen months, the diseased-parent recruits were outplanted to a degraded reef. Their survivorship was ∼44% and their growth rate was 0.365 mm ± 1.29 SD per month. This study shows that even diseased parent colonies can be effective in assisted sexual reproduction for the restoration of species affected by SCTLD.

Programs Promoting Virtual Social Connections and Friendships for Youth with Disabilities: A Scoping Review.

AIMS: This scoping review explores what is known about programs that support youth with physical and developmental disabilities to create virtual social connections as a means toward friendships. METHODS: Peer-reviewed studies were searched in six electronic databases: CINAHL, EMBASE, ERIC, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Scopus. Two reviewers screened articles that described programs in which participants, ages 8-20, interacted with others online, and reported outcomes related to virtual social connections and friendships in their personal social networks. Data extraction involved program characteristics (e.g., duration, group members, online platform) plus qualitative description outlining access and participation experiences. RESULTS: After screening 12,605 articles, 9 were determined eligible. Programs followed two approaches: (1) training youth to use the internet and technology to access virtual spaces independently; and (2) designing virtual opportunities and activities that encourage youth interaction and collaboration. Each approach was grounded in the principles of fostering privacy and independence (i.e., socializing with peers without relying on caregivers), safety and self-expression (i.e., communicating authentically), plus confidence and capability (i.e., trying new skills). CONCLUSIONS: This scoping review provides guidance on enhancing access and participation of youth with disabilities in virtual spaces where they can develop social connections that increase chances for friendships.

Fine-tuning characterization of patients with interstitial pneumonia and an underlying autoimmune disease in real-world practice: We get closer with Nailfold videocapillaroscopy.

Objectives: To assess performance of interstitial pneumonia (IP) with autoimmune features (IPAF) criteria in clinical practice and describe the utility of additional workup in identifying patients with underlying connective tissue diseases (CTD). Methods: We set a retrospective study of our patients with autoimmune IP, who were allocated to CTD-IP, IPAF or undifferentiated autoimmune IP (uAIP) subgroups according to the updated classification criteria. Presence of the process-related variables comprising IPAF defining domains was scrutinized in all patients, and, when available, the results of nailfold videocapillaroscopy (NVC) were recorded. Results: Thirty nine out of 118 patients, accounting for 71% of former undifferentiated cases, fulfilled IPAF criteria. Arthritis and Raynaud's phenomenon were prevalent in this subgroup. While systemic sclerosis-specific autoantibodies were restricted to CTD-IP patients, anti-tRNA synthetase antibodies were also present in IPAF. In contrast, rheumatoid factor, anti-Ro antibodies and ANA nucleolar patterns could be found in all subgroups. Usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) / possible UIP were the most frequently observed radiographic patterns Therefore, the presence of thoracic multicompartimental findings as also performance of open lung biopsies were useful in characterizing as IPAF those UIP cases lacking a clinical domain. Interestingly, we could observe NVC abnormalities in 54% of IPAF and 36% of uAIP tested patients, even though many of them did not report Raynaud's phenomenon. Conclusion: Besides application of IPAF criteria, distribution of IPAF defining variables along with NVC exams help identify more homogeneous phenotypic subgroups of autoimmune IP of potential relevance beyond clinical diagnosis.

Cryptic Oral Microbiota: What Is Its Role as Obstructive Sleep Apnea-Related Periodontal Pathogens?

Periodontitis has been commonly linked to periodontopathogens categorized in Socransky's microbial complexes; however, there is a lack of knowledge regarding "other microorganisms" or "cryptic microorganisms", which are rarely thought of as significant oral pathogens and have been neither previously categorized nor connected to illnesses in the oral cavity. This study hypothesized that these cryptic microorganisms could contribute to the modulation of oral microbiota present in health or disease (periodontitis and/or obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients). For this purpose, the presence and correlation among these cultivable cryptic oral microorganisms were identified, and their possible role in both conditions was determined. Data from oral samples of individuals with or without periodontitis and with or without OSA were obtained from a previous study. Demographic data, clinical oral characteristics, and genera and species of cultivable cryptic oral microorganisms identified by MALDI-TOF were recorded. The data from 75 participants were analyzed to determine the relative frequencies of cultivable cryptic microorganisms' genera and species, and microbial clusters and correlations tests were performed. According to periodontal condition, dental-biofilm-induced gingivitis in reduced periodontium and stage III periodontitis were found to have the highest diversity of cryptic microorganism species. Based on the experimental condition, these findings showed that there are genera related to disease conditions and others related to healthy conditions, with species that could be related to different chronic diseases being highlighted as periodontitis and OSA comorbidities. The cryptic microorganisms within the oral microbiota of patients with periodontitis and OSA are present as potential pathogens, promoting the development of dysbiotic microbiota and the occurrence of chronic diseases, which have been previously proposed to be common risk factors for periodontitis and OSA. Understanding the function of possible pathogens in the oral microbiota will require more research.

Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Psychometric Properties of the Spanish Version of the OPQOL-Brief.

BACKGROUND: Ageing and its consequences on quality of life is one of the main issues to be addressed by public organizations; therefore the development of tools for its evaluation is a priority issue to orientate lines of action. Therefore, the objective of this research is to carry out cross-cultural adaptation and present the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Older People's Quality of Life Questionnaire-Brief (OPQOL-Brief). METHODS: a cross-cultural adaptation was carried out together with a process of translation and back-translation of the scale. The OPQOL-Brief and a sociodemographic questionnaire were administered to 120 older adults aged over 65 from a healthcare setting in the region of Extremadura. RESULTS: the exploratory analysis revealed a factor structure through a matrix of polychoric correlations divided in two intercorrelated factors, consisting of 12 items and with excellent sample adequacy indices (KMO = 0.846'; Bartlett test = 1268.1; p = 0.000). Then, the confirmatory factor analysis established the definitive model with exceptional goodness-of-fit indices (NNFI = 0.99; CFI = 0.99; CMIN/DF = 0.96; Ρ (χ2) = 0.22; RMSEA = 0.037 and RMSR = 0.040). Finally, Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's omega for internal consistency reported good values of 0.830 and 0.851, respectively. CONCLUSION: our findings show that the OPQOL-Brief exhibits a solution with 12 elements and related constructs, providing stable goodness-of-fit indicators as well as good and remarkable consistency ratings.

Cost-Effectiveness of the Comprehensive Interdisciplinary Program-Care in Informal Caregivers of People with Alzheimer's Disease.

People with Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnosis who get informal care remain at home longer, reducing the demand for healthcare resources but increasing the stress of caregiving. Research on the effectiveness of physical training, psychoeducational, cognitive-behavioural, and health education programs in reducing the caregiver load and enhancing health-related quality of life (HRQoL) exist, but none exist about an integrated interdisciplinary program. The goals of this project are (1) to assess the Integral-CARE Interdisciplinary Program (IP) applicability, safety, effects on HRQoL, and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio for AD caregivers; (2) to evaluate the IP applicability and cost-effectiveness to enhance the physical, psychoemotional, cognitive-behavioural dimensions, and the health education status of informal caregivers, and (3) to study the transference of the results to the public and private sectors. A randomized controlled trial will be conducted with an experimental (IP) and a control group (no intervention). The PI will be conducted over nine months using face-to-face sessions (twice a week) and virtual sessions on an online platform (once a week). There will be an initial, interim (every three months), and final assessment. Focus groups with social and health agents will be organized to determine the most important information to convey to the public and private sectors in Extremadura (Spain). Applicability, safety, HRQoL, incremental cost-effectiveness ratio, and HRQoL will be the main outcome measures, while secondary measures will include sociodemographic data; physical, psychoemotional, health education, and cognitive-behavioural domains; program adherence; and patient health status. Data will be examined per procedure and intention to treat. A cost-effectiveness study will also be performed from the viewpoints of private and public healthcare resources.

Psychomotor Skills Activities in the Classroom from an Early Childhood Education Teachers' Perspective.

Psychomotricity is a tool that allows the development of different capacities, skills and corporal abilities of people. Currently, it is included in early childhood education programmes due to its importance in children's development, but, even so, it is not always given the role they deserve. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the perceptions of early childhood education teachers towards the needs and current state of psychomotor skills in the educational context of Extremadura schools and compare the information provided by teachers that work in rural and urban areas. A questionnaire was administered using a tablet and a Google Forms application. The sample consisted of 216 teachers, selected using a non-probability sampling method based on coexistence sampling. The Mann-Whitney U test was applied to determine the relationships between the different items and dimensions according to the location of the school, and Spearman's Rho test was used to find out if there is any relationship between the age of the teachers and their responses in the different dimensions. The results showed that psychomotor skills do not receive the place they deserve, with insufficient material and facilities, inadequate training, few sessions and inappropriate programming, together with the rest of the components of the cycle. Therefore, it can be concluded that it is necessary to include psychomotor skills in the training of teachers and that the centres should be concerned about providing teachers with the necessary material and spaces for their work.

Satisfaction with Physical Activity among Students in the Last Cycle of Primary Education in Extremadura.

Satisfaction with physical activity during Physical Education classes leads to improved health and adherence to future healthy lifestyle habits, in addition, higher levels of physical activity have also been widely associated with higher academic achievement in primary school. To find out how satisfied Extremadura students are with the physical activity they perform, a questionnaire was distributed with different items related to positive and negative feelings they may feel during the practice. The differences between the items of the questionnaire and the total median scores according to sex and center location were analyzed and found to be present in all the items that refer to positive feelings. Additionally, the relationship between age and the mean score obtained through the questionnaire was evaluated, without discovering any significant correlations. The results showed that students are generally satisfied with the physical activity they practice in their classes and that this has benefited their academic performance.

Tsunami of immunotherapy reaches mesothelioma.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is the most common type of malignant mesothelioma. It is a rare tumor linked to asbestos exposure and is associated with a poor prognosis. Until very recently, patients with advanced or unresectable disease had limited treatment options, primarily based on doublet chemotherapy with cisplatin and pemetrexed. In 2020 and 2021, after more than a decade with no major advances or new drugs, two phase III clinical trials published results positioning immunotherapy as a promising option for the first- and second-line treatment of MPM. Immunotherapy has revolutionized the treatment of many cancers and is also showing encouraging results in malignant mesothelioma. Both immune checkpoint inhibition and dual cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 and programmed death-ligand 1 pathway blockade resulted in significantly improved overall survival in randomized phase III trials. In the CheckMate 743 trial, first-line therapy with nivolumab plus ipilimumab outperformed standard chemotherapy, while in the CONFIRM trial, nivolumab outperformed placebo in patients previously treated with chemotherapy. These two trials represent a major milestone in the treatment of MPM and are set to position immunotherapy as a viable alternative for treatment-naïve patients and patients with progressive disease after chemotherapy.

Analysis of the Attitude of Spanish Physical Education Teachers towards Students with Disabilities in Extremadura.

Inclusive education aims to eliminate barriers in the participation and performance of students, considering their diversity. In this sense, there is a regulation that governs the educational response, being different for each region. Therefore, this study aims to know the attitude of Physical Education teachers of different educational stages in Spain toward students with disabilities. A questionnaire was administered to 272 Physical Education teachers from public schools in a region of Spain. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to determine the relationships between items and dimensions according to sex or center location, and Spearman's Rho was used to analyze the relationship between dimensions and years of experience. The main results showed that teachers do not feel prepared in terms of training, resources, and infrastructure, although they consider that the integration of students with disabilities in regular classes is beneficial for them.

Analysis of the Motivation of Students of the Last Cycle of Primary School in the Subject of Physical Education.

Motivation is the impulse that leads people to perform certain actions and persist in them to achieve certain objectives. Motivation is important in all areas of life and has a very important role in academics, where it can be considered essential for learning motor skills and performance. In this study, we intended to evaluate motivation in the Physical Education classroom among students in the last grade of elementary school. For this purpose, a total of 545 students aged between 9 and 13 years were selected to take the CMEF-EP questionnaire through a tablet and by means of the Google Forms application. The different relationships between items and dimensions were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test. A Spearman's test was used to explore the relationship between dimensions and age. The results showed that the predominant motivation in the classroom is intrinsic motivation and that demotivation is practically nonexistent. In addition, it was found that there are differences between the genders in some of the categories and that there are no differences in the location of the study center. Therefore, it can be said that it is essential to generate a motivational climate based on the subject and his or her interests in order to favor intrinsic motivation.

Análisis bibliométrico de la incontinencia urinaria masculina. Una mirada de los últimos 20 años / Bibliometric Analysis of Urinary Incontinence. An Overview of the Last 20 Years

Introducción y Objetivo En las últimas décadas, la incidencia y prevalencia de la incontinencia urinaria han venido en aumento. Existen numerosas publicaciones sobre este tema, se han introducido nuevos dispositivos, y se hanmodificado las líneas demanejo de esta patología. El objetivo de este estudio es realizar un análisis bibliométrico de las publicaciones sobre incontinencia urinaria masculina en las revistas indexadas. Métodos Se realizó un análisis bibliométrico descriptivo de corte retrospectivo de la literatura médica disponible en la base de datos Web of Science (WOS) en relación con incontinencia urinaria masculina entre 2002 y 2020. Por medio de la WOS, se obtuvieron las variables a analizar, y se elaboraron tablas y gráficas en el programa Microsoft Office Excel 2017. Resultados Encontramos un total de 498 publicaciones en 88 revistas. Hubo un crecimiento exponencial de las publicaciones a partir de 2006. Las 3 revistas conmayor porcentaje de publicaciones fueron: J Urol, con 25,2% (125), Neurol Urodyn, con 16,5% (82), European Urology Journal, con 11,1% (55); sólo 5 de las 20 revistas con más publicaciones tuvieron un factor de impacto 3. El país que tuvomayor porcentaje fue Estados Unidos con 21,2% (105), seguido por países europeos. En América Latina, el país con mayor número de publicaciones fue Brasil, con 2,6% (13). No se encontraron estudios colombianos con esta búsqueda específica. Conclusión Este es el primer estudio bibliométrico sobre incontinencia urinaria masculina. Con el tiempo, han aumentado las publicaciones acerca de este tema, y la mayoría está concentrada en revistas de Estados Unidos y Europa. No es predominante la publicación en revistas de alto factor de impacto, y es muy baja la cantidad de publicaciones que aporta Colombia y los demás países latinoamericanos.

Introduction In the last decades, the incidence and prevalence of urinary incontinence have been increasing. There are many publications about this subject, there are new devices, and the treatment of this condition has changed with time. The objective of the present study was to perform a bibliometric analysis of the publications about male urinary incontinence in the indexed journals. Methods We performed a retrospective descriptive bibliometric analysis of the medical literature available on the Web of Science (WOS) database about male urinary incontinence between 2002 and 2020. Through the WOS database, the variables to be analyzed were obtained, and tables and graphs were created using the Microsoft Office Excel 2017. Results We found 498 publications in 88 journals. Since 2006, there has been an exponential growth in publications. The 3 journals with the highest percentage of publications were: J Urol, with 25.1% (125), Neurol Urodyn, with 16.5% (82), European Urology Journal, with 11.4% (57); only 5 of the 20 journals with the highest number of publications had an impact factor ≥ 3. The country with the highest percentage of publications was the United States with 21,2% (105), followed by European countries. In Latin America, the country with the highest number of publications was Brazil, with 2,6% (13). No Colombian studies were found with this specific research. Conclusion The present is the first bibliometric analysis on male urinary incontinence. Over time, publications on this topic have increased, and most of them are concentrated in journals from the United States and Europe. The publication in journals with a high impact factor is not predominant, and the number of publications from Colombia and other Latin American countries is very low.

De novo assembly and functional annotation of blood transcriptome of loggerhead turtle, and in silico characterization of peroxiredoxins and thioredoxins.

The aim of this study was to generate and analyze the atlas of the loggerhead turtle blood transcriptome by RNA-seq, as well as identify and characterize thioredoxin (Tnxs) and peroxiredoxin (Prdxs) antioxidant enzymes of the greatest interest in the control of peroxide levels and other biological functions. The transcriptome of loggerhead turtle was sequenced using the Illumina Hiseq 2000 platform and de novo assembly was performed using the Trinity pipeline. The assembly comprised 515,597 contigs with an N50 of 2,631 bp. Contigs were analyzed with CD-Hit obtaining 374,545 unigenes, of which 165,676 had ORFs encoding putative proteins longer than 100 amino acids. A total of 52,147 (31.5%) of these transcripts had significant homology matches in at least one of the five databases used. From the enrichment of GO terms, 180 proteins with antioxidant activity were identified, among these 28 Prdxs and 50 putative Tnxs. The putative proteins of loggerhead turtles encoded by the genes Prdx1, Prdx3, Prdx5, Prdx6, Txn and Txnip were predicted and characterized in silico. When comparing Prdxs and Txns of loggerhead turtle with homologous human proteins, they showed 18 (9%), 52 (18%) 94 (43%), 36 (16%), 35 (33%) and 74 (19%) amino acid mutations respectively. However, they showed high conservation in active sites and structural motifs (98%), with few specific modifications. Of these, Prdx1, Prdx3, Prdx5, Prdx6, Txn and Txnip presented 0, 25, 18, three, six and two deleterious changes. This study provides a high quality blood transcriptome and functional annotation of loggerhead sea turtles.

Somatic mutations as preoperative predictors of metastases in patients with localized clear cell renal cell carcinoma - An exploratory analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Recurrent genomic alterations in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) have been associated with treatment outcomes; however, current preoperative predictive models do not include known genetic predictors. We aimed to explore the value of common somatic mutations in the preoperative prediction of metastatic disease among patients treated for localized ccRCC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: After obtaining institutional review board approval, data of 254 patients with localized ccRCC treated between 2005 and 2015 who underwent genetic sequencing was collected. The mutation status of VHL, PBRM1, SETD2, BAP1 and KDM5C were evaluated in the nephrectomy tumor specimen, which served as a proxy for biopsy mutation status. The Raj et al. preoperative nomogram was used to predict the 12-year metastatic free probability (MFP). The study outcome was MFP; the relationship between MFP and mutation status was evaluated with Cox-regression models adjusting for the preoperative nomogram variables (age, gender, incidental presentation, lymphadenopathy, necrosis, and size). RESULTS: The study cohort included 188 males (74%) and 66 females (26%) with a median age of 58 years. VHL mutations were present in 152/254 patients (60%), PBRM1 in 91/254 (36%), SETD2 in 32/254 (13%), BAP1 in 19/254 (8%), and KDM5C in 19/254 (8%). Median follow-up for survivors was 8.1 years. Estimated 12-year MFP was 70% (95% CI: 63%-75%). On univariable analysis SETD2 (HR: 3.30), BAP1 (HR: 2.44) and PBRM1 (HR: 1.78) were significantly associated with a higher risk of metastases. After adjusting for known preoperative predictors in the existing nomogram, SETD2 mutations remained associated with a higher rate of metastases after nephrectomy (HR: 2.09, 95% CI: 1.19-3.67, P = 0.011). CONCLUSION: In the current exploratory analysis, SETD2 mutations were significant predictors of MFP among patients treated for localized ccRCC. Our findings support future studies evaluating genetic alterations in preoperative renal biopsy samples as potential predictors of treatment outcome.

Early IGF-1 Gene Therapy Prevented Oxidative Stress and Cognitive Deficits Induced by Traumatic Brain Injury.

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in adults under 40 years old. Once primary injury occurs after TBI, neuroinflammation and oxidative stress (OS) are triggered, contributing to the development of many TBI-induced neurological deficits, and reducing the probability of critical trauma patients´ survival. Regardless the research investment on the development of anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective treatments, most pre-clinical studies have failed to report significant effects, probably because of the limited blood brain barrier permeability of no-steroidal or steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Lately, neurotrophic factors, such as the insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), are considered attractive therapeutic alternatives for diverse neurological pathologies, as they are neuromodulators linked to neuroprotection and anti-inflammatory effects. Considering this background, the aim of the present investigation is to test early IGF-1 gene therapy in both OS markers and cognitive deficits induced by TBI. Male Wistar rats were injected via Cisterna Magna with recombinant adenoviral vectors containing the IGF-1 gene cDNA 15 min post-TBI. Animals were sacrificed after 60 min, 24 h or 7 days to study the advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, to recognize the protein oxidation damage and lipid peroxidation respectively, in the TBI neighboring brain areas. Cognitive deficits were assessed by evaluating working memory 7 days after TBI. The results reported significant increases of AOPP and MDA levels at 60 min, 24 h, and 7 days after TBI in the prefrontal cortex, motor cortex and hippocampus. In addition, at day 7, TBI also reduced working memory performance. Interestingly, AOPP, and MDA levels in the studied brain areas were significantly reduced after IGF-1 gene therapy that in turn prevented cognitive deficits, restoring TBI-animals working memory performance to similar values regarding control. In conclusion, early IGF-1 gene therapy could be considered a novel therapeutic approach to targeting neuroinflammation as well as to preventing some behavioral deficits related to TBI.

Impact of Plant-Based Diet on PSA Level: Data From the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the potential association between plant-based dietary content and PSA levels among men enrolled in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). METHODS: Data on demographics, diet, and PSA levels was acquired from the NHANES database. Plant-based diet index (PDI) and healthful plant-based diet index (hPDI) were calculated using food frequency questionnaires. A higher score on PDI and hPDI indicates higher consumption of plant foods or healthy plant foods, respectively. Multivariable-adjusted logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the association between elevated PSA, clinical variables, demographics, and plant-based diet indices. RESULTS: A total of 1399 men were included in the final cohort. Median age of participants was 54 [46-63] years. Median PSA level was 0.9 [0.6-1.5] ng/dL, and 69 (4.9%) men had a PSA level ≥4 ng/dL. Although there was no association between elevated PSA and PDI, on multivariable analysis patients with higher consumption of healthy plant-based diet (high hPDI scores) had a decreased probability of having an elevated PSA (OR = 0.47, 95% CI: 0.24-0.95; P = .034). CONCLUSION: There is a significant association between increased consumption of a healthy plant-based diet and lower PSA levels. This finding may be incorporated into the shared-decision making process with patients to promote healthier lifestyle choices to reduce the likelihood of prostate biopsy and potential treatment-related morbidity.

Amphetamine Induces Oxidative Stress, Glial Activation and Transient Angiogenesis in Prefrontal Cortex via AT1-R.

Background: Amphetamine (AMPH) alters neurons, glia and microvessels, which affects neurovascular unit coupling, leading to disruption in brain functions such as attention and working memory. Oxidative stress plays a crucial role in these alterations. The angiotensin type I receptors (AT1-R) mediate deleterious effects, such as oxidative/inflammatory responses, endothelial dysfunction, neuronal oxidative damage, alterations that overlap with those observed from AMPH exposure. Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate the AT1-R role in AMPH-induced oxidative stress and glial and vascular alterations in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Furthermore, we aimed to evaluate the involvement of AT1-R in the AMPH-induced short-term memory and working memory deficit. Methods: Male Wistar rats were repeatedly administered with the AT1-R blocker candesartan (CAND) and AMPH. Acute oxidative stress in the PFC was evaluated immediately after the last AMPH administration by determining lipid and protein peroxidation. After 21 off-drug days, long-lasting alterations in the glia, microvessel architecture and to cognitive tasks were evaluated by GFAP, CD11b and von Willebrand immunostaining and by short-term and working memory assessment. Results: AMPH induced acute oxidative stress, long-lasting glial reactivity in the PFC and a working memory deficit that were prevented by AT1-R blockade pretreatment. Moreover, AMPH induces transient angiogenesis in PFC via AT1-R. AMPH did not affect short-term memory. Conclusion: Our results support the protective role of AT1-R blockade in AMPH-induced oxidative stress, transient angiogenesis and long-lasting glial activation, preserving working memory performance.