Achalasia Revealed by Respiratory Failure and Hemodynamic Instability.

Achalasia is a rare condition that most often presents with progressive dysphagia to solids and liquids. We report a case of achalasia presenting with acute respiratory failure and hemodynamic instability requiring both ventilator and vasopressor support because of extrinsic compression of the airway and left atrium by a dilated and fluid-filled esophagus. This is the first case reported of achalasia, causing both left atrial compression and airway compression.

Military Sexual Trauma and Obesity Among Women Veterans.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the experience of military sexual trauma (MST) that may contribute to PTSD, and obesity are three issues that complicate care for our population of new veterans. Our aim was to analyze the association of MST and diagnosed PTSD with obesity among female veterans. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Women 20-103 years old using the Veterans Health Administration (VA) in fiscal year 2014 (October 2013-September 2014) with diagnosis and body-mass data were identified in administrative databases (213,985 of 404,183 women). MST was defined by use of an MST clinic or positive MST screen, PTSD by International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) diagnosis code (309.81), and weight categories from body-mass index. RESULTS: The unadjusted chi-square of MST by obesity showed a modest association: 52% MST-affected versus 46% non-MST women were obese. MST status was associated with PTSD (50% MST vs. 15% non-MST women). A multivariable model of obesity adjusting for clinical and demographic covariates estimated a 9% increased risk of obesity from MST (adjusted risk ratio [RR] = 1.09). Younger age, African American race, and chronic disease such as hypertension and dyslipidemia correlated with obesity. Adding PTSD to the model did not affect the association with MST: RR (MST) = 1.09, RR (PTSD) = 1.00 (not significant). CONCLUSIONS: This study showed association of MST with obesity in female veterans, independent of PTSD. Weight-gain in patients with trauma may add psychological or medical risk to the burden of disease shouldered by female veterans with MST. Primary care clinicians may need to consider integrating mental health into care of patients with suspected history of trauma especially sexual trauma.

Bile Acid Signaling Is Involved in the Neurological Decline in a Murine Model of Acute Liver Failure.

Hepatic encephalopathy is a serious neurological complication of liver failure. Serum bile acids are elevated after liver damage and may disrupt the blood-brain barrier and enter the brain. Our aim was to assess the role of serum bile acids in the neurological complications after acute liver failure. C57Bl/6 or cytochrome p450 7A1 knockout (Cyp7A1(-/-)) mice were fed a control, cholestyramine-containing, or bile acid-containing diet before azoxymethane (AOM)-induced acute liver failure. In parallel, mice were given an intracerebroventricular infusion of farnesoid X receptor (FXR) Vivo-morpholino before AOM injection. Liver damage, neurological decline, and molecular analyses of bile acid signaling were performed. Total bile acid levels were increased in the cortex of AOM-treated mice. Reducing serum bile acids via cholestyramine feeding or using Cyp7A1(-/-) mice reduced bile acid levels and delayed AOM-induced neurological decline, whereas cholic acid or deoxycholic acid feeding worsened AOM-induced neurological decline. The expression of bile acid signaling machinery apical sodium-dependent bile acid transporter, FXR, and small heterodimer partner increased in the frontal cortex, and blocking FXR signaling delayed AOM-induced neurological decline. In conclusion, circulating bile acids may play a pathological role during hepatic encephalopathy, although precisely how they dysregulate normal brain function is unknown. Strategies to minimize serum bile acid concentrations may reduce the severity of neurological complications associated with liver failure.

Biomolecular signatures of diabetic wound healing by structural mass spectrometry.

Wound fluid is a complex biological sample containing byproducts associated with the wound repair process. Contemporary techniques, such as immunoblotting and enzyme immunoassays, require extensive sample manipulation and do not permit the simultaneous analysis of multiple classes of biomolecular species. Structural mass spectrometry, implemented as ion mobility-mass spectrometry (IM-MS), comprises two sequential, gas-phase dispersion techniques well suited for the study of complex biological samples because of its ability to separate and simultaneously analyze multiple classes of biomolecules. As a model of diabetic wound healing, poly(vinyl alcohol) sponges were inserted subcutaneously into nondiabetic (control) and streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats to elicit a granulation tissue response and to collect acute wound fluid. Sponges were harvested at days 2 or 5 to capture different stages of the early wound-healing process. Utilizing IM-MS, statistical analysis, and targeted ultraperformance liquid chromatography analysis, biomolecular signatures of diabetic wound healing have been identified. The protein S100-A8 was highly enriched in the wound fluids collected from day 2 diabetic rats. Lysophosphatidylcholine (20:4) and cholic acid also contributed significantly to the differences between diabetic and control groups. This report provides a generalized workflow for wound fluid analysis demonstrated with a diabetic rat model.