Magnetic refrigeration material operating at a full temperature range required for hydrogen liquefaction.

Magnetic refrigeration (MR) is a key technique for hydrogen liquefaction. Although the MR has ideally higher performance than the conventional gas compression technique around the hydrogen liquefaction temperature, the lack of MR materials with high magnetic entropy change in a wide temperature range required for the hydrogen liquefaction is a bottle-neck for practical applications of MR cooling systems. Here, we show a series of materials with a giant magnetocaloric effect (MCE) in magnetic entropy change (-∆Sm > 0.2 J cm-3K-1) in the Er(Ho)Co2-based compounds, suitable for operation in the full temperature range required for hydrogen liquefaction (20-77 K). We also demonstrate that the giant MCE becomes reversible, enabling sustainable use of the MR materials, by eliminating the magneto-structural phase transition that leads to deterioration of the MCE. This discovery can lead to the application of Er(Ho)Co2-based alloys for the hydrogen liquefaction using MR cooling technology for the future green fuel society.

Evaluation of bone texture imaging parameters on panoramic radiographs of patients with Sheehan's syndrome: a STROBE-compliant case-control study.

Sheehan's syndrome (SHS) is a rare condition related to the risk of osteoporosis and evaluation of bone texture imaging features on panoramic radiographs would be suitable for this condition, which was the aim of the present study. Fractal dimension, lacunarity, and trabecular morphologic aspects were significantly altered in these patients. INTRODUCTION: SHS is an important public health problem particularly in developing countries. It is characterized as postpartum hypopituitarism secondary to obstetric complications-related ischemic pituitary necrosis that shows significant systemic metabolic repercussions. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate bone texture parameters in digital panoramic radiographs of patients with SHS. METHODS: A case-control study was conducted with 30 SHS patients from an Endocrinology and Diabetology Service of reference in Brazil, and 30 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. A custom computer program measured fractal dimension, lacunarity, and some morphologic features in the following mandibular regions of interest (50 × 50 pixels): below the mental foramen (F1), between the first and second molars (M1), and at the center of the mandibular ramus (R1). RESULTS: The fractal analysis showed a statistically significant difference between the studied groups in all regions of interest. The fractal dimension in F1 (p = 0.016), M1 (p = 0.043), and R1 (p = 0.028) was significantly lower in SHS group, as well as lacunarity in R1 (p = 0.008). Additionally, several morphologic features were statistically significant in the SHS group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Therefore, individuals with SHS showed altered imaging texture parameters on panoramic radiographs, which reflect a smaller spatial organization of the bone trabeculae and, possibly, a state of reduced mineral bone density.

OnabotulinumtoxinA en el tratamiento de la odontalgia atípica: descripción de un caso clínico / OnabotulinumtoxinA in the treatment of atypical odontalgia: description of a clinical case

La odontalgia atípica (OA) se define como un dolor dental continuo en uno o varios dientes, en ocasiones precedido por procedimientos dentales, y que tras un examen completo no se detecta patología dental. Se presupone un origen neuropático cuya respuesta a tratamientos locales y sistémicos es insatisfactoria. Presentamos el caso clínico de una paciente de 50 años con OA tras extracción dental, que presentó una reducción significativa del dolor después del tratamiento local con OnabotulinumtoxinA (OnabotA) en el área sintomática. La respuesta a la administración de OnabotA en esta paciente concuerda con las observadas previamente en series reducidas de casos, por lo que podría ser una alternativa terapéutica en este tipo de dolores de difícil control

Atypical odontalgia (AO) is defined as a continuous dental pain in the area of one or several teeth, sometimes preceded by dental procedures in the absence of signs of dental pathology after complete examination. It is thought to have a neuropathic origin in which the response to local and systemic treatment is insufficient. We present the case of a 50-year-old patient with AO after dental extraction, who presented a significant reduction in pain after local treatment with OnabotulinumtoxinA (OnabotA) in the symptomatic area. The response to the administration of OnabotA in this patient is in line with what had previously been observed in small series of cases, so it could be a therapeutic alternative in this type of pain that is difficult to control

Next generation sequencing in bleeding disorders: two novel variants in the F5 gene (Valencia-1 and Valencia-2) associated with mild factor V deficiency.

Inherited bleeding coagulation disorders (IBCDs) have a powerful diagnostic tool in next generation sequencing (NGS) that not only offers confirmation of diagnosis but also aids in genetic counselling, prenatal diagnosis and helps to predict the clinical course and follow-up of a disease. In our group, targeted-NGS using a Custom SureSelect QXT Panel (Agilent Technologies, Inc., Santa Clara, CA, USA) was designed to screen for causal variants in 40 genes related with the coagulation cascade. In this work, we used NGS for screening all the coding and intronic boundary regions of F5 gene in two patients affected by factor V (FV) deficiency (parahemophilia). Two new mutations were found: c.4745A>G (p.Tyr1582Cys, NM_000130.4) and c.1999_2002dupAATT (p.Ser668ter; NM_000130.4), both located in exon 13 of the F5 gene. We designated them Valencia-1 and Valencia-2 respectively. Valencia-1 could provoke loss of the fifth cupredoxin domain of the FV, and would be responsible for its defective activity. Valencia-2 prematurely stops the translation of mRNA, resulting in a truncated FV protein which lacks completely the B domain and the light chain. NGS has permitted to describe an increasing number of FV deficiency-causing mutations and a better understanding of FV's structure and function. The description of deficiency-causing mutations will continue to increase our knowledge of the functional residues of FV, as well as those which are involved in the correct folding of the protein. In this sense, NGS is a useful tool for studying IBCDs, as permits studying the whole coagulation cascade at once and gives a global view of the patient's genetic background.

Fractura vertebral transversal metastásica por cáncerde pulmón / Metastatic transverse vertebral fracture due to lung cancer

No disponible

[OnabotulinumtoxinA in the treatment of atypical odontalgia: description of a clinical case]. / OnabotulinumtoxinA en el tratamiento de la odontalgia atípica: descripción de un caso clínico.

Atypical odontalgia (AO) is defined as a continuous dental pain in the area of one or several teeth, sometimes preceded by dental procedures in the absence of signs of dental pathology after complete examination. It is thought to have a neuropathic origin in which the response to local and systemic treatment is insufficient. We present the case of a 50-year-old patient with AO after dental extraction, who presented a significant reduction in pain after local treatment with OnabotulinumtoxinA (OnabotA) in the symptomatic area. The response to the administration of OnabotA in this patient is in line with what had previously been observed in small series of cases, so it could be a therapeutic alternative in this type of pain that is difficult to control.

Patch similarity in ultrasound images with hypothesis testing and stochastic distances.

Patch-based techniques have been largely applied to process ultrasound (US) images, with applications in various fields as denoising, segmentation, and registration. An important aspect of the performance of these techniques is how to measure the similarity between patches. While it is usual to base the similarity on the Euclidean distance when processing images corrupted by additive Gaussian noise, finding measures suitable for the multiplicative nature of the speckle in US images is still an open research. In this work, we propose new stochastic distances based on the statistical characteristics of speckle in US. Additionally, we derive statistical measures to compose hypothesis tests that allow a quantitative decision on the patch similarity of US images. Good results with experiments in denoising, segmentation and selecting similar patches confirm the potential of the proposed measures.

Bayesian pharmacokinetic-guided prophylaxis with recombinant factor VIII in severe or moderate haemophilia A.

INTRODUCTION: Personalised pharmacokinetics (PK) using Bayesian analysis with limited sampling is assumed to help to optimise prophylaxis in haemophilia A (HA) patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Our prospective, observational study analysed the influence of PK parameters on clinical variables (bleeding rates, joint status, adherence, and consumption) using myPKFiT® in a cohort of twenty-one severe and moderate HA patients on prophylaxis with recombinant FVIII (Advate®) in two periods of one year, the first before PK-based tailoring and the second after PK-guided prophylaxis. Intra-individual and inter-individual coefficients of variation (CV) of half-life (t1/2) were calculated. RESULTS: A total of 73 PK estimations were performed in both periods, resulting in 17.2% inter-individual CV in mean t1/2, and 4.9% intra-individual CV. Before PK-based tailoring a significant association between joint bleeds and t1/2 was found (P = 0.010), especially in patients with short t1/2. This finding was reproduced (P = 0.013) after withdrawal of two patients with bleeding phenotype related to their advanced arthropathy but normal t1/2 and trough levels. Patients with joint bleeds weighed less (P = 0.039) and required higher doses (P = 0.032) than patients with zero joint bleeds. These associations were not observed in the second period after the adoption of PK-guided prophylaxis. There were no differences between the two periods, although a tendency to fewer spontaneous bleeds was suggested after PK-based tailoring. CONCLUSIONS: PK-guided prophylaxis facilitates an adequate level of bleeding control in patients with HA, maintaining clinical variables and patient convenience in an integrative manner, without increasing FVIII consumption.

Geodesic Distances in Probabilistic Spaces for Patch-Based Ultrasound Image Processing.

Many recent ultrasound image processing methods are based on patch comparison, such as filtering and segmentation. Identifying similar patches in noise-corrupted images is a key factor for the performance of these methods. While the Euclidean distance is ideal to handle the patch comparison under additive Gaussian noise, finding good measures to compare patches corrupted by multiplicative noise is still an open research. In this paper, we deduce several new geodesic distances, arising from parametric probabilistic spaces, and suggest them as similarity measures to process RF and log-compressed ultrasound images in patch-based methods. We provide practical examples using these measures in the fields of ultrasound image filtering and segmentation, with results that confirm the potential of the technique.

Phase 3 study of recombinant von Willebrand factor in patients with severe von Willebrand disease who are undergoing elective surgery.

Essentials Recombinant von Willebrand factor (rVWF) is effective in von Willebrand disease (VWD). A phase 3 study of rVWF, with/without recombinant factor VIII (rFVIII) before surgery in VWD. Overall rVWF's efficacy was rated excellent/good; rVWF was administered alone in most patients. rVWF was well-tolerated and hemostasis was achieved in patients with severe VWD undergoing surgery. SUMMARY: Background Recombinant von Willebrand factor (rVWF) has demonstrated efficacy for on-demand treatment of bleeding in severe von Willebrand disease (VWD), warranting evaluation in the surgical setting. Objectives This study (NCT02283268) evaluated the hemostatic efficacy/safety profile of rVWF, with/without recombinant factor VIII (rFVIII), in patients with severe VWD undergoing surgery. Patients/Methods Patients received rVWF 40-60 IU kg-1 , VWF ristocetin cofactor activity was measured 12-24 h before surgery. If endogenous FVIII activity (FVIII:C) target levels were achieved 3 h before surgery, rVWF was administered alone 1 h before surgery; rVWF was co-administered with rFVIII if target endogenous FVIII levels were not achieved. rVWF was infused postoperatively to maintain target trough levels. Overall and intraoperative hemostatic efficacy, the pharmacodynamics of rVWF administration and the incidence of adverse events (AEs) were assessed. Results All patients treated with rVWF for major (n = 10), minor (n = 4) and oral (n = 1) surgery had overall and intraoperative hemostatic efficacy ratings of excellent (73.3% and 86.7%) or good (26.7% and 13.3%). Most rVWF infusions (89.4%) were administered alone, resulting in hemostatically effective levels of endogenous FVIII within 6 h, which were sustained for 72-96 h; 70% (n = 7/10) of major surgeries were performed without rFVIII co-administration. Six patients reported 12 treatment-emergent AEs. Two patients each had one serious AE: diverticulitis (not treatment related) and deep vein thrombosis (sponsor-assessed as possibly treatment related). No severe allergic reactions or inhibitory antibodies were reported. Conclusions These data support the efficacy and safety profile of rVWF in patients with severe VWD undergoing elective surgery.

Hepatitis C ¿cuándo tratar? / Hepatitis C: when to treat?

Chronic hepatitis C virus infection is a disease of low endemicity in Chile, but with high personal and health costs due to its associated complications. A radical change during the last decades in the treatment of this disease has been the appearance of direct action antivirals that changed the history of the disease, reducing the progression to liver cirrhosis, complications, need for liver transplantation or death. This review describes the general indications for the treatment of hepatitis C virus infection, contraindications and the different special scenarios.

La infección crónica por virus hepatitis C es una enfermedad de baja endemicidad en Chile, pero que ocasiona altos costos personales y sanitarios por sus complicaciones asociadas. Un cambio radical durante las últimas décadas en el tratamiento de esta enfermedad ha sido la aparición de los antivirales de acción directa que han cambiado la historia de la enfermedad, reduciendo la progresión a cirrosis hepática, complicaciones, necesidad de trasplante hepático o muerte. En esta revisión se describirán las indicaciones generales de tratamiento de la infección por virus hepatitis C, contraindicaciones y los diferentes escenarios especiales presentes en la práctica clínica.

Quantitative analysis of backscattered electron (BSE) contrast using low voltage scanning electron microscopy (LVSEM) and its application to Al0.22Ga0.78N/GaN layers.

A novel method to quantify and predict the material contrast using Backscattered Electron (BSE) imaging in Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) is presented while using low primary electron beam energies (Ep). In this study, the parameters for BSE imaging in Low Voltage Scanning Electron Microscopy (LVSEM) are optimized for the layer system Al0.22Ga0.78N/GaN, which is typically used in High Electron Mobility Transistors (HEMTs). The layers are imaged at high resolution and the compounds are identified based on the quantitative BSE material contrast between Al0.22Ga0.78N and GaN. The quantification process described in this study is based on an analytical description that predicts the material contrast using a function that correlates the effective backscattering coefficient (η) with the atomic number Z.

Dental status, salivary flow, and sociodemographic aspects in Sheehan Syndrome patients.

BACKGROUND: Sheehan's syndrome (SS) is one of the leading causes of hypopituitarism in developing countries. It occurs after postpartum necrosis of the pituitary gland, and it is considered a significant public health problem. This paper, apparently unpublished, aimed to perform an analysis on oral aspects in patients with SS. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed with 23 women diagnosed with SS at the Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes (Walter Cantidio University Hospital, Fortaleza, Brazil). RESULTS: Data on sociodemographic, dental and salivary flow aspects were collected through a clinical approach and a panoramic radiograph request. The mean age was 64 ± 11.5 years old, with the sample consisting mainly of married women (56.5%), socioeconomic class C2 or D / E (78.2%) and years of education up to 8 years (69.5%). The presence of horizontal bone loss (p<0.001) and bilateral pneumatization of the maxillary sinus (p=0.015) were significant data. The mean number of absent teeth considering all subjects was 23.17±9.7, being statistically significant (p<0.001). In relation to age, the mean number of missing teeth was higher in individuals over 65 years old (p=0.048). Reduced salivary flow was observed in 78.3% of the patients. In a bivariate analysis, considering the outcome variables missing teeth and reduced salivary flow, it was observed that economic class (p<0.001), family income (0.037) and maxillary sinus pneumatization (0.032) were statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: In brief, patients with SS showed severe teeth loss, reduced salivary flow, and low educational status. This study addressed important aspects regarding oral findings in SS and highlighted the importance of researches in oral medicine.

Incorporation of photobiomodulation therapy into a therapeutic exercise program for knee osteoarthritis: A placebo-controlled, randomized, clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical effects of incorporation of phototherapy in a therapeutic exercise program for individuals with knee osteoarthritis (OA) when compared to a group that received exercise alone and to a group that received exercise + placebo phototherapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a randomized, blinded and placebo-controlled trial. Thus, sixty male and female individuals aged 40-80 years with knee pain in the previous 6 months participated of the study, with diagnosis of unilateral knee OA based on the criteria established by the American College of Rheumatology and radiographic confirmation and Grades 2 or 3 of the Kellgren-Lawrence Classification. The individuals were equally divided in the groups exercise alone, exercise + active phototherapy (nine-diode cluster device: one 905 nm super-pulsed diode laser, four 875 nm LED and four 640 nm LED; energy per quadrant: 7.85 J; total energy: 23.55 J per session), or exercise + placebo phototherapy. Treatments were performed twice a week for 5 consecutive weeks. Patients were evaluated before and after the sessions of treatment. The outcome measures were: Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS), Numerical Rating Pain Scale (NRPS), pressure pain threshold (PPT) in two points of knee, muscle strength, and the Functional Reach Test (FRT). RESULTS: Exercise + active phototherapy was significantly more effective than exercise alone (mean difference [MD] = 2.75, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 3.17 to 2.32) and exercise + placebo phototherapy (MD = 2.38, 95% CI = 2.79 to 1.96) only with regard to the NRPS, considering minimal clinically important difference. No clinical significant results were found for function, the pressure pain threshold, muscle strength or balance. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of phototherapy and an exercise program is effective at reducing pain intensity among individuals with knee osteoarthritis than exercise alone or exercise + placebo phototherapy in a short-term protocol. Lasers Surg. Med. 50:819-828, 2018. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Surface-Induced Near-Field Scaling in the Knudsen Layer of a Rarefied Gas.

We report on experiments performed within the Knudsen boundary layer of a low-pressure gas. The noninvasive probe we use is a suspended nanoelectromechanical string, which interacts with ^{4}He gas at cryogenic temperatures. When the pressure P is decreased, a reduction of the damping force below molecular friction ∝P had been first reported in Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 136101 (2014)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.113.136101 and never reproduced since. We demonstrate that this effect is independent of geometry, but dependent on temperature. Within the framework of kinetic theory, this reduction is interpreted as a rarefaction phenomenon, carried through the boundary layer by a deviation from the usual Maxwell-Boltzmann equilibrium distribution induced by surface scattering. Adsorbed atoms are shown to play a key role in the process, which explains why room temperature data fail to reproduce it.

Stromal Growth Differentiation Factor 15 and Its Association with Ovarian Cancer.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) is induced by pro-inflammatory cytokines. Higher levels of GDF-15 have been associated with malignancy. The aim of the study was to evaluate both tissue and serum levels of GDF-15 in ovarian neoplasms. METHODS: A cohort study evaluated 31 patients with benign ovarian tumors and 34 patients with ovarian cancer were evaluated in 2 years. The inclusion criterion was histopathological diagnosis of ovarian epithelial neoplasia. Exclusion criteria were secondary malignant ovarian neoplasia and preoperative treatment. Serum and tissue levels of GDF-15 were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunohistochemistry, respectively. Chi-square test and unpaired t test were performed. RESULTS: Serum levels were higher in the patients with malignant neoplasms than in the patients with benign tumors, yet the difference was not statistically significant. GDF-15 immunostaining was significantly more frequent in the stroma of the malignant tumors than in the stroma of the benign tumors (p = 0.0034). CONCLUSION: GDF-15 staining is elevated in the stroma of ovarian cancer, demonstrating that it may be a potential diagnostic and therapeutic target.

Acanthamoeba in the eye, can the parasite hide even more? Latest developments on the disease.

Acanthamoeba spp. is a free living protozoan in the environment, but can cause serious diseases. Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK), a severe and painful eye infection, must be treated as soon as possible to prevent ulceration of the cornea, loss of visual acuity, and eventually blindness or enucleation. Although the disease affects principally contact lens (CLs) wearers, it is recognized nowadays as a cause of keratitis also in non-CLs wearers. Although the number of infections caused by these amoebae is low, AK is an emerging disease presenting an extended number of cases each year worldwide mostly due to the increasing use of CLs, but also to better diagnostic methods and awareness. There are two principal causes that lead to severe outcomes: misdiagnosis or late diagnosis of the causal agent, and lack of a fully effective therapy due to the existence of a highly resistant cyst stage of Acanthamoeba. Recent studies have reported different genotypes that have not been previously associated with this disease. In addition, Acanthamoeba can act as a reservoir for phylogenetically diverse microorganisms. In this regard, recently giant viruses called Pandoravirus have been found within genotypes producing keratitis. What potential risk this poses is not yet known. This review focuses on an overview of the present status and future prospects of this re-emerging pathology, including features of the parasite, epidemiology, clinical aspects, diagnosis, and treatment.

Adsorption of CO and NO molecules onto pentagonal clusters of aluminum: a DFT study.

DFT calculations were carried out in order to determine the electronic and structural properties of pentagonal Al n (I h and D 5d symmetries), Al n -CO, and Al n -NO clusters, where n = 7, 13, 19, 43, or 55 atoms. As n was increased, the bare clusters were found to exhibit a transition in electronic behavior (from semiconductor to conductor) at n = 43 atoms. Clusters with a bound CO or NO molecule also showed this behavior, although their HOMO-LUMO energy gaps were smaller than those for the corresponding bare clusters. As the size of the Al n -CO or Al n -NO cluster increased, the presence of extra p electrons improved the capacity of the cluster to adsorb a CO or NO molecule and resulted in an increase in the electronic charge directed from the aluminum atom at the adsorption site to the adsorbed species (CO or NO), thus strengthening the Al-CO or Al-NO bond. Furthermore, the Al n CO and Al n NO clusters with n = 43 and 55 exhibited chemisorption, as did the Al13-NO cluster; the other clusters presented physisorption, based on their adsorption energies. The tendency to adsorb either CO or NO increased with the size of the aluminum cluster. Graphical Abstract Adsorption of CO and NO molecules onto pentagonal clusters of aluminum: a DFT study.

Caracterización del deseo sexual en mujeres climatéricas de un centro de salud rural / Characterization of sexual desire in climacteric women in a rural health center

OBJETIVO GENERAL: Caracterizar el deseo sexual en mujeres climatéricas de un centro de salud rural. METODOLOGÍA: Estudio no exploratorio descriptivo - transversal, que comprende mujeres entre 45 a 64 años que se controlan en un CESFAM Rural, 2016. La muestra fue de 146 mujeres que contestaron una encuesta auto aplicada, entre ellos el test del deseo sexual inhibido de M&J. Los datos fueron analizados con el software estadístico SPSS versión 22.0. RESULTADOS: Se encuestó a un total de 146 mujeres climatéricas, con un promedio de edad de 51.8 años, de ellas un 64.4% había tenido su menopausia. De las encuestadas sólo un 19,9% presentó inhibición del deseo sexual. La inhibición del deseo sexual se presentó con mayor frecuencia en mujeres que llevaban en promedio 29,3 años con sus parejas, aquellas que presentaban morbilidad crónica, y aquellas que reconocieron tener síntomas somáticos, psicológicos y urogenitales asociados a la menopausia. CONCLUSIÓN: En la evaluación del deseo sexual se debe considerar que existen varios factores que en él influyen y también una gran gama de instrumentos que pretenden medirlo. La mayoría de las usuarias climatéricas rurales (65,1%) no presentan inhibición del deseo sexual. Existen factores que pueden fomentar y causar una inhibición del deseo sexual, mientras otros pueden ayudar a evitar su aparición. Es fundamental conocer y manejar estos factores, con la finalidad de ayudar a la mujer climatérica a tener una mejor calidad de vida.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the sexual desire in climacteric women of a rural health center. METHODOLOGY: Descriptive - transversal non - exploratory study, comprising women between 45 and 64 years old who are controlled at a Rural CESFAM, 2016. The sample was 146 women who answered a self - administered survey, including the M & J inhibited sex drive test. The data were analyzed with the statistical software SPSS version 22.0. RESULTS: A total of 146 climacteric women were surveyed, with a mean age of 51.8 years, of which 64.4% had had their menopause. Of the respondents, only 19.9% showed inhibition of sexual desire. Inhibition of sexual desire occurred more frequently in women who had on average 29.3 years with their partners, those with chronic morbidity, and those who recognized having somatic, psychological and urogenital symptoms associated with menopause. CONCLUSION: In the evaluation of sexual desire, it should be considered that there are several factors that influence it and also a wide range of instruments that aim to measure it. Most rural climateric users (65.1%) do not present inhibition of sexual desire. There are factors that can encourage and cause inhibition of sexual desire, while others can help prevent it from appearing. It is essential to know and manage these factors, in order to help climacteric women to have a better quality of life.

Ultrasound Image Despeckling Using Stochastic Distance-Based BM3D.

Ultrasound image despeckling is an important research field, since it can improve the interpretability of one of the main categories of medical imaging. Many techniques have been tried over the years for ultrasound despeckling, and more recently, a great deal of attention has been focused on patch-based methods, such as non-local means and block-matching collaborative filtering (BM3D). A common idea in these recent methods is the measure of distance between patches, originally proposed as the Euclidean distance, for filtering additive white Gaussian noise. In this paper, we derive new stochastic distances for the Fisher-Tippett distribution, based on well-known statistical divergences, and use them as patch distance measures in a modified version of the BM3D algorithm for despeckling log-compressed ultrasound images. State-of-the-art results in filtering simulated, synthetic, and real ultrasound images confirm the potential of the proposed approach.