[The stabilometric and clinical characteristics in patients with the consequences of stroke during the complex rehabilitation]. / Kharakteristika stabilometricheskikh i klinicheskikh pokazatelei u patsientov s posledstviyami insul'ta v protsesse kompleksnoi reabilitatsii.

AIM: To perform the complex stabilometric and clinical assessment of movement disorders in post-stroke patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Sixty-three patients in the late recovery period of stroke underwent the complex rehabilitation in the hospital. RESULTS: Based on the dynamics of statokinesiogram area and shift of the center of pressure, four variants of stabilometric changes with different baseline parameters of patient's motor activity were determined. CONCLUSION: The stabilometric results reflect the stages of the formation of the persistent pathological static/locomotor stereotype and compensatory mechanisms for the low extremity dysfunction.

Aortic thrombus and multiple embolisms during a Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection.

We report the case of a patient who presented with a thrombus of the aortic arch complicated with splenic, renal and peroneal artery embolisms, associated with transient lupus anticoagulant, during a Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection. The outcome was good under antibiotic and anticoagulant treatment. We also review the medical literature on M. pneumoniae-related thromboses.

A new microfluidic device for electric lysis and separation of cells.

This paper demonstrates the potential use of a new microfluidic device embedding thick electrodes for cell lysis and cell separation applications. The system consists of a microfluidic channel featuring conductive walls made of a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) matrix mixed with carbon nanoparticles. Cell lysis was performed electrically by applying square pulses across the channel width, which was monitored by fluorimetry. Lysed and unlysed cells showed different dielectrophoretic behavior under appropriate experimental conditions, which suggests that the developed device is suitable to perform both cell lysis and subsequent sorting of viable and dead cells.

[Are very old patients good candidates for percutaneous coronary intervention? A monocentric retrospective study]. / Les patients très âgés sont-ils de bons candidats à l'angioplastie coronaire? Une étude rétrospective monocentrique.

AIM: To determine the feasibility of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in very old patients. BACKGROUND: The elderly are a growing population with a high prevalence of ischemic heart disease and then subsequent possibility to benefit from coronary interventions. METHOD: We have conducted a retrospective study using our PCI database since January 2000. Population characteristics, clinical presentation, type of lesions, technical procedure, immediate results and in hospital outcome are compare between patients older than 85 and the other. RESULTS: Between January 2008 and March 2009, 3130 patients benefit from coronary angioplasty. Among them, 85 patients were older than 85. There were more female in this group (24.7 vs. 14.3%, P=0.007), but no difference in cardiovascular risk profile. The older was more symptomatic (acute coronary syndrome: 59.52 vs. 44%, P=0.004; silent ischemia: 3.6 vs. 25.7%, P=0.000003). The ejection fraction was worse (EF<55%: 29.4 vs. 14.5%, P=0.0001). The lesion was more complex (B2 and C: 67.2 vs. 57.1% P=0.027) and concern more often the left descending artery (85.9 vs. 57.1%, P=0.000001). The technical success was similar in the two groups (93.28 vs. 94.32%, P=0.34) with similar rate of per procedure complications (2.35 vs. 1.5%, P=0.37). Nevertheless, the in-hospital rate mortality was higher in the older patients (7 vs 1.38%, P=0.0014). CONCLUSION: PCI is safe and safety in very old patients despite significant but acceptable increasing in-hospital mortality due to more severe disease and co morbidities. Further evaluations are necessary in order to edict specific recommendations.

[Cardiac damage due to scorpion envenomation: case involving atrial flutter]. / Envenimation scorpionique avec atteinte cardiaque: à propos d'une observation de flutter atrial.

The purpose of this report is to describe a case of scorpion envenomation observed in northern Chad in a 24-year-old-man with no medical history. The victim rapidly developed supraventricular arrhythmia due to catecholaminergic storm induced by the neurotoxic activity of the venom. Cardiomyopathy that can lead to fatal acute heart failure is a risk after scorpion envenomation. Heart damage is observed in 1% of scorpion envenomation cases and can result from several mechanisms, i.e., adrenergic myocarditis (as in the patient herein), toxic myocarditis or myocardial ischemia. Few articles describing supraventricular arrhythmia following scorpion envenomation have been published. It is paroxystic and regresses spontaneously in case of transient catecholaminergic storm. Occurrence of atrial flutter, even if not associated with heart failure, is an indication of severe scorpion envenomation and requires close patient monitoring and symptomatic treatment using betablocking drugs. The efficacy of specific treatment for scorpion envenomation, i.e., immunotherapy, remains controversial.

Diabetes delaying the diagnosis of RPGN.

The present case describes the unusual association of a crescentic glomerulonephritis (GN), diabetes mellitus and a monoclonal gammopathy. After an unexplained deterioration of renal function, a kidney biopsy was performed. The finding of crescentic glomerulonephritis was unexpected. This case illustrates the usefulness of kidney biopsy in diabetes to exclude concomittant disease.

Altered antioxidant defence in a mouse adriamycin model of glomerulosclerosis.

BACKGROUND: Antioxidant enzyme status changes in experimental models of chronic renal disease with glomerulosclerosis. Most of the studies are performed in rats. We now investigate whether a mouse model with more rapid development of glomerulosclerosis is suitable for the study of radical-associated renal disease. METHODS: Female BALB/c mice are injected intravenously with a single dose of adriamycin (10 mg/kg). The development of glomerular and interstitial injury is evaluated by means of renal function parameters and histology. Renal cortex activities of catalase, Cu/Zn and Mn superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase are measured by enzymatic techniques, and their mRNA levels by Northern blot analysis. RESULTS: The mice develop proteinuria and hypercholesterolaemia; glomerulosclerosis is present 20 days after adriamycin injection. Involvement of reactive oxygen intermediates in the disease process is supported by an increased cortex level of glutathione (1.77+/-0.13 vs 1.31+/-0.12 micromol/g kidney; P = 0.021) and ferric iron deposition in the tubulointerstitial compartment. Glomerulosclerosis and tubulointerstitial lesions are accompanied by decreased cortex activities of catalase (0.19+/-0.01 vs 0.23+/-0.01 U/mg protein; P = 0.024), glutathione peroxidase (0.28+/-0.01 vs 0.32+/-0.01 U/mg protein; P = 0.049) and Mn superoxide dismutase (6.61+/-0.91 vs 9.25+/-0.99 U/mg protein, P = 0.020). We find decreased cortex mRNA levels only for glutathione peroxidase. CONCLUSION: The fast development of glomerulosclerosis combined with an altered antioxidant status makes this mouse adriamycin model a suitable alternative for the slower rat models.

Hydroxyethyl starch does not impair immediate renal function in kidney transplant recipients: a retrospective, multicentre analysis.

BACKGROUND: The effect of hydroxyethyl starch (HES) on early allograft function was examined retrospectively in a cohort of 119 renal transplantations realized by local organ exchange between four cooperating centres. METHODS: After exclusions, 109 transplant procedures were subdivided in three groups according to donor colloid loading: (i) HS-group (Haes steril 6%, mean volume (SD): 979 (946) ml, n = 20); (ii) PS-group [Plasmasteril, mean volume (SD): 769 (411) ml, n = 16]; and (iii) control group (gelatin albumin, n=73). RESULTS: Delayed graft function (DGF), defined as the need for dialysis during the first post-transplant week, occurred in 3/20 (15%) cases in the HS-group, in 5/16 (31%) cases in the PS-group and in 14/73 (19%) cases in the control group (P = 0.450). Uni- and multivariate analysis revealed older donor age (P = 0.001) and kidney preservation with histidine-tryptophan-ketoglutarate (HTK) (P = 0.001) as the only factors associated with a higher incidence of DGF. CONCLUSIONS: Renal function as measured by daily serum creatinine concentration and 24 h urinary output up to 14 days post-transplantation in the HS-group was comparable with that of controls. The higher serum creatinine observed during the first seven post-transplant days in the PS-group could be related to higher donor age and haemodynamic instability, and recipient male preponderance, rather than to HES itself.