Endothelial Progenitor Cells May Be Related to Major Amputation after Angioplasty in Patients with Critical Limb Ischemia.

BACKGROUND: Critical limb ischemia represents an advanced stage of peripheral arterial disease. Angioplasty improves blood flow to the limb; however, some patients progress irreversibly to lower limb amputation. Few studies have explored the predictive potential of biomarkers during postangioplasty outcomes. AIM: To evaluate the behavior of endothelial progenitor cells in patients with critical limb ischemia, in relation to their postangioplasty outcome. METHODS: Twenty patients with critical limb ischemia, candidates for angioplasty, were enrolled. Flow-mediated dilation, as well as endothelial progenitor cells (subpopulations CD45+/CD34+/CD133+/CD184+ and CD45+/CD/34+/KDR[VEGFR-2]+ estimated by flow cytometry) from blood flow close to vascular damage, were evaluated before and after angioplasty. Association with lower limb amputation during a 30-day follow-up was analyzed. RESULTS: Endothelial progenitor cells were related with flow-mediated dilation. A higher number of baseline EPCs CD45+CD34+KDR+, as well as an impaired reactivity of endothelial progenitor cells CD45+CD34+CD133+CD184+ after angioplasty, were observed in cases further undergoing major limb amputation, with a significant discrimination ability and risk (0.75, specificity 0.83 and RR 4.5 p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Endothelial progenitor cells were related with endothelial dysfunction, whereas a higher baseline number of the subpopulation CD45+CD34+KDR+, as well as an impaired reactivity of subpopulation CD45+CD34+CD133+CD184+ after angioplasty, showed a predictive ability for major limb amputation in patients with critical limb ischemia.

Diagnostic Performance of AST Scale in Mexican Male Population for Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome.

Alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) represents an adverse consequence of chronic alcohol use that may lead to serious complications. Therefore, AWS requires timely attention based on its early recognition, where easy-to-apply diagnostic tools are desirable. Our aim was to characterize the performance of a short-scale AST (Anxiety, Sweats, Tremors) in patients from public general hospitals. We conducted a cross-sectional study of patients attended at the Emergency Department diagnosed with AWS. Three scales were applied: CIWA-Ar (Clinical Institute Retirement Assessment Scale-Revised), GMAWS (Glasgow Modified Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome) and AST. Cronbach's alpha and Cohen's kappa tests were used for reliability and concordance. Factorial analysis and diagnostic performance including ROC curve were carried out. Sixty-eight males with a mean age of 41.2 years old, with high school education and robust alcohol consumption, were included. Mean scores for CIWA-Ar, GMWAS and AST were 17.4 ± 11.2, 3.9 ± 2.3 and 3.8 ± 2.6, respectively, without significant differences. The AST scale showed an acceptable reliability and concordance (0.852 and 0.439; p < 0.0001) compared with CIWA-Ar and GMAWS. AST component analysis evidenced tremor (77.5% variance), sweat (12.1% variance) and anxiety (10.4% variance). Diagnostic performance of the AST scale was similar to the GMAWS scale, evidencing a sensitivity of 84%, specificity of 83.3% and Area Under the Curve (AUC) of 0.837 to discriminate severe AWS, according to CIWA-Ar. The performance of the AST scale to evaluate AWS is comparable with the commonly used CIWA-Ar and GMAWS scales. AST further represents an easy-to-apply instrument.

The Gut Microbiota Composition of the Moth Brithys crini Reflects Insect Metamorphosis.

Lepidoptera is a highly diverse insect order with major importance in agriculture as many species are considered pests. The role of the gut microbiota in insect physiology is still poorly understood, despite the research undertaken in recent years. Furthermore, Lepidoptera are holometabolous insects and few studies have addressed the influence of the changes taking place on the gut microbiome composition and diversity during metamorphosis, especially in monophagous species. The V3-V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene was sequenced to investigate the microbiota composition and diversity of the monophagous moth Brithys crini during three different life stages: egg, larvae (midgut and hindgut), and adult (gut). Our results showed that the microbiota composition of B. crini was stage specific, indicating that the developmental stage is a main factor affecting the gut microbiome in composition and potential functions. Moreover, the diversity of the gut microbiome reflected the developmental process, since a drop in diversity occurred between the larval and the adult phase, when the intestine is completely renewed. In spite of the changes in the gut microbiota during metamorphosis, 29 genera were conserved throughout the three developmental stages, mainly belonging to the Proteobacteria phylum, which define the core microbiome of B. crini. These genera seem to contribute to host physiology by participating in food digestion, nutrition, and detoxification mechanisms.

Rifampicin treatment of Blattella germanica evidences a fecal transmission route of their gut microbiota.

Eukaryotes have established symbiotic relationship with microorganisms, which enables them to accomplish functions that they cannot perform alone. In the German cockroach, Blattella germanica, the obligate endosymbiont Blattabacterium coexists with a rich gut microbiota. The transmission of Blattabacterium is vertical, but little is known about how the gut microbiota colonizes newborn individuals. In this study, we treated B. germanica populations with rifampicin, a broad-spectrum antibiotic, during two generations and analyzed gut bacterial composition and the Blattabacterium load in control and rifampicin-treated populations. Rifampicin exerted a drastic effect on gut microbiota composition, which recovered in the second generation in the case where the antibiotic was not added to the diet. Furthermore, we observed that bacterial species present in the diet, and particularly in the feces, contribute significantly to establishing the gut microbiota. Finally, the Blattabacterium population remained unaffected by the antibiotic treatment of adults during the first generation but was strongly reduced in the second generation, suggesting that this intracellular symbiont is sensitive to rifampicin only during the infection of the mature oocytes, when it is in an extracellular stage.