ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: With the intention to ameliorate the clinical condition of patients with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI), a program that combines three cell therapies and an appropriate neurorehabilitation program were used to recreate and enhance the natural conditions of SCI repair. METHODS: Vascularization recovery is approached by selective artery infusion of BMMNCs (bone marrow mononuclear cells) to the disrupted area. Eighteen days later, with the aim to restore the specific inflammatory activity, an i.v. infusion of spinal cord specific ETCs (effector T cells) is carried out. With the intention of supplying cellular components for the process of repair, an infusion of autologous neural stem cells (NSCs) through selective feeding artery infusion is carried out, followed by an appropriate neurorehabilitation program. RESULTS: A total of eight ASIA (American Spinal Injury Association) A patients (five with jeopardized brachial plexus and three without) received the treatment. No severe adverse events was observed in any of the receptor patients: five patients evolved from ASIA A to ASIA D and regained the ability to stand up and, with varying effectiveness, to walk; two patients remained in the same condition, but exhibited motor and sensitive improvements; and one patient could not be evaluated. CONCLUSIONS: These reports suggest that the biological characteristics of acute SCI may be recreated in a comprehensive, safe and effective manner.
Subject(s)
Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy/methods , Spinal Cord Injuries/therapy , Chronic Disease , Female , Humans , Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods , Recovery of Function , Spinal Cord Injuries/pathology , Spinal Cord Injuries/surgery , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
A southern giant petrel (Macronectes giganteus) was found dead at Potter Peninsula, King George Island, South Shetland, Antarctica. The adult male was discovered approximately 48 hr after death. Macroscopic and microscopic lesions were compatible with avian cholera and the bacterium Pasteurella multocida subsp. gallicida, serotype A1 was isolated from lung, heart, liver, pericardial sac, and air sacs. In addition, Escherichia coli was isolated from pericardial sac and air sacs. This is the first known report of avian cholera in a southern giant petrel in Antarctica.
Subject(s)
Bird Diseases/diagnosis , Pasteurella Infections/veterinary , Pasteurella multocida/isolation & purification , Animals , Animals, Wild , Antarctic Regions , Bird Diseases/pathology , Birds , Escherichia coli/isolation & purification , Escherichia coli Infections/complications , Escherichia coli Infections/diagnosis , Escherichia coli Infections/veterinary , Fatal Outcome , Male , Pasteurella Infections/diagnosis , Pasteurella Infections/pathology , Pasteurella multocida/classificationABSTRACT
The energy requirements of Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) chicks were analysed with respect to body mass (W, 0.145-3.35 kg, n = 36) and various forms of activity (lying, standing, minor activity, locomotion, walking on a treadmill). Direct respirometry was used to measure O2 consumption (VO2, l.h-1) and CO2 production. Heart rate (HR, bpm) was recorded from the ECG obtained by both externally attached electrodes and implantable HR-transmitters. The parameters measured were not affected by hand-rearing of the chicks or by implanting transmitters. HR measured in the laboratory and in the field were comparable. Oxygen uptake ranged from VO2 = 1.50.W0.921 in lying chicks to VO2 = 2.25.W1.024 at maximal activity, RQ = 0.76. Metabolic rate in small wild chicks (0.14-0.38 kg) was not affected by time of day, nor was their feeding frequency in the colony (Dec 20-21). Regressions of HR on VO2 were highly significant (p less than 0.0001) in transmitter implanted chicks (n = 4), and two relationships are proposed for the pooled data, one for minor activities (VO2 = -7.23 + 1.82.W + 0.03 HR), and one for walking (VO2 = -11.89 + 1.117.W + 0.058.HR). Oxygen consumption, mass of the chick (2-3 kg), and duration of walking (T, s) were related as VO2 = -0.746 + 1.87.W + 0.076.T, whereas mass-specific O2 consumption was related to walking speed (S, m.s-1) as VO2.W-1 = 1.60 + 7.39.S.
