Case Report: Incidental Finding of COVID-19 Infection after Positron Emission Tomography/CT Imaging in a Patient with a Diagnosis of Histoplasmosis and Recurring Fever.

This is a case report of a 37-year-old woman evaluated with 18F-fludeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission computed tomography/CT with recurrent fever after treatment with itraconazole for 6 weeks for histoplasmosis. The examination demonstrated a decrease in the dimensions of the pulmonary opacities previously identified in the left lower lobe and attributed to histoplasmosis. In addition to these pulmonary opacities, increased FDG uptake was also observed in lymph nodes present in the cervical region, mediastinum, left lung hilum, and hepatic hilum. Notably, other pulmonary opacities with ground-glass pattern that were not present in the previous computed tomography were detected in the right lower lobe, with mild 18F-FDG uptake. Nasal swab performed shortly after the examination was positive for COVID-19. In this case, the 18F-FDG positron emission computed tomography/CT study demonstrated findings consistent with active COVID-19 infection coexisting with inflammatory changes associated with histoplasmosis infection.

Intravenous Human Umbilical Cord-Derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Administration in Models of Moderate and Severe Intracerebral Hemorrhage.

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is as a life-threatening condition that can occur in young adults, often causing long-term disability. Recent preclinical data suggest mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC)-based therapies as promising options to minimize brain damage after ICH. However, therapeutic evidence and mechanistic insights are still limited, particularly when compared with other disorders such as ischemic stroke. Herein, we employed a model of collagenase-induced ICH in young adult rats to investigate the potential therapeutic effects of an intravenous injection of human umbilical cord Wharton's jelly-derived MSCs (hUC-MSCs). Two doses of collagenase were used to cause moderate or severe hemorrhages. Magnetic resonance imaging showed that animals treated with hUC-MSCs after moderate ICH had smaller residual hematoma volumes than vehicle-treated rats, whereas the cell therapy failed to decrease the hematoma volume in animals with a severe ICH. Functional assessments (rotarod and elevated body swing tests) were performed for up to 21 days after ICH. Enduring neurological impairments were seen only in animals subjected to severe ICH, but the cell therapy did not induce statistically significant improvements in the functional recovery. The biodistribution of Technetium-99m-labeled hUC-MSCs was also evaluated, showing that most cells were found in organs such as the spleen and lungs 24 h after transplantation. Nevertheless, it was possible to detect a weak signal in the brain, which was higher in the ipsilateral hemisphere of rats subjected to a severe ICH. These data indicate that hUC-MSCs have moderately beneficial effects in cases of less severe brain hemorrhages in rats by decreasing the residual hematoma volume, and that optimization of the therapy is still necessary.