Effects of hypothermia during propofol anesthesia on learning and memory ability and hippocampal apoptosis in neonatal rats

Abstract

Objective

At present, the harm of hypothermia to the central nervous system has received a great attention from scholars. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of hypothermia on learning and memory abilities and hippocampal apoptosis in neonatal rats and the role of p-ERK and p-CREB in anesthesia.

Methods

In this study, 60 Sprague Dawley newborn rats (age 7-day-old) were randomly divided into 3 groups (n = 20), including Control Group (Group C), Anesthesia Group (Group A), and Anesthesia Hypothermia Group (Group AH). Group C was intraperitoneally injected with 0.1 ml saline, and rectal temperature was maintained in the range of 38–39 °C; Group A was intraperitoneally injected with 25 mg/kg of propofol (0.1 ml), the 1/2 initial dose was added per each period of 20 min, anesthesia was maintained for 2 h, and rectal temperature was kept in the range of 38–39 °C. The anesthesia mode and duration of Group AH were as same as Group A, room temperature was set to 23 °C, which caused body's temperature naturally dropped down. After the anesthesia recovered, each group randomly involved five rats for analyzing by Western blot to detect the expression level of p-ERK and p-CREB, and other five rates were also analyzed by flow cytometry assay to detect hippocampal apoptosis rate. The remaining 10 rats in each group were kept up to 30 days for conducting the Morris water maze test, five rats were tested for detecting the expression level of p-ERK and p-CREB, as well as hippocampal apoptosis rate in each group.

Results

Compared with Group C and Group A, the rectal temperature of Group AH was decreased significantly (P < 0.05); At the age of 7 days, compared with Group C and Group A, apoptosis rate of hippocampal tissue in Group AH was increased (P < 0.05), the expression level of p-ERK and p-CREB proteins in Group AH was significantly reduced (P < 0.05), and there were no significant differences between Group C and Group A. At the age of 36 days, there were no significant differences in the results of behavioral test, apoptotic rates, and expression level of the proteins.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that hypothermia during anesthesia can increase the apoptosis rate in the hippocampus of neonatal rats, whose mechanism may be related to the downward adjustment of p-ERK and p-CREB. However, it has no obvious influence on the long-term learning and memory abilities.

https://ift.tt/2BdXtfs

Roles of inflammation, neurogenic inflammation, and neuroinflammation in pain

Abstract

Inflammation is the body's response to injury and infection, involving a complex biological response of the somatosensory, immune, autonomic, and vascular systems. Inflammatory mediators such as prostaglandin, proinflammatory cytokines, and chemokines induce pain via direct activation of nociceptors, the primary sensory neurons that detect noxious stimuli. Neurogenic inflammation is triggered by nerve activation and results in neuropeptide release and rapid plasma extravasation and edema, contributing to pain conditions such as headache. Neuroinflammation is a localized inflammation in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) and central nervous system (CNS). A characteristic feature of neuroinflammation is the activation of glial cells in dorsal root ganglia, spinal cord, and brain which leads to the production of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines in the PNS and CNS that drives peripheral sensitization and central sensitization. Here, we discuss the distinct roles of inflammation, neurogenic inflammation, and neuroinflammation in the regulation of different types of pain conditions, with a special focus on neuroinflammation in postoperative pain and opioid-induced hyperalgesia.

https://ift.tt/2FtPBLb

Bridging the gap between vaccination with Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) and immunological tolerance: the cases of type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis

Giovanni Ristori | Denise Faustman | Giuseppe Matarese | Silvia Romano | Marco Salvetti

https://ift.tt/2qS6J2I

Progressive annular verrucous erosive plaques on the face

https://ift.tt/2K8G2zF

Voice therapy associated with a decrease in the reflux symptoms index in patients with voice complaints

Objectives/Hypothesis

Patients with muscle tension dysphonia often demonstrate an elevation in Reflux Symptom Index (RSI) and 10‐item Voice Handicap Index (VHI‐10) scores, and may be erroneously diagnosed with laryngopharyngeal reflux disease. In this study we assessed the effects of voice therapy on RSI and VHI‐10 scores in patients with voice complaints not responsive to antireflux medications.

Study Design

Retrospective cohort study.

Methods

A study of patients was conducted at a single tertiary‐care center over 1 year (January 2012–January 2013). Patients were included if they had dysphonia not responsive to proton pump inhibition, did not have neurologic or neoplastic disease, and participated in at least three voice‐therapy sessions in the absence of antireflux therapy. Primary analysis assessed change in RSI scores between the initial and follow‐up visits with a laryngologist.

Results

A total of 18 patients were included (mean age = 49.9 ± 14.5 years, 89% female, 83% with a primary complaint of dysphonia). From initial to follow‐up visit, the median RSI score (18.5 [interquartile range {IQR}, 9.5–22.8] vs. 10.5 [IQR, 4.5–14]; P = .02) and median VHI‐10 score (25.5 [IQR, 11.3–30.0] vs. 13.5 [IQR, 9.5–20.8]; P = .03) significantly decreased. A significant inverse correlation was found between the number of voice therapy sessions/month and change in RSI score (r = −0.4; P = .05).

Conclusions

In this study of patients with muscle tension dysphonia or vocal hyperfunction not responsive to antireflux therapy, RSI and VHI‐10 scores improved following voice therapy. Results suggest that self‐reported symptoms typically attributed to laryngopharyngeal reflux disease may actually be secondary to inefficient voice use patterns or anxiety about dysphonia that are responsive to voice therapy.

Level of Evidence

4 Laryngoscope, 2018

https://ift.tt/2qODmyt

Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma metastasis to the parotid region lymph nodes

Objective

To determine the effect on survival of periauricular region cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (cSCC) metastasizing to parotid region and cervical lymph nodes.

Methods

From May 1995 to October 2013, consecutive patients with cSCC undergoing parotidectomy/neck dissection ≥ 18 years without distant metastasis were included. Demographic, clinical, and pathologic data were analyzed. Uni‐ and multivariate analyses of disease‐specific survival and overall survival were performed. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05.

Results

We evaluated 137 patients. Most patients were Caucasian males with an average age of 71.6 years. The median follow‐up time was 29.4 months.

Thirty‐six percent of patients had pathological evidence of cervical metastasis (N+). Seven percent had metastasis to level I, 21.9% to level II, 14.6% to level III, 8% to level IV, and 9.5% to level V. Thirty‐nine percent of patients had metastasis to parotid region (P+). The average number of positive:total nodes from parotidectomy was 1.9:4.6.

The median overall and disease‐specific survival times were 2.81 and 1.96 years, respectively. Patients with either neck or parotid metastasis (N + or P+) had significantly decreased survival, hazard ratio 2.298 (1.2739, 4.1445), compared to patients without metastasis (N0P0), P < 0.0057.

Conclusion

Patients with periauricular region cSCC metastasizing to parotid and cervical regions lymph nodes have significantly decreased survival compared with patients without cervical and/or parotid metastasis. Metastasis to parotid region should be considered as a distinct head and neck level when staging periauricular cancers. This study provides a basis for further studies to validate these findings.

Level of Evidence

4. Laryngoscope, 2018

https://ift.tt/2FsXyju

Sex bias: Is it pervasive in otolaryngology clinical research?

Objectives/Hypothesis

Recent initiatives highlight substantial sex bias in biomedical research. The objective was to determine whether sex bias is present in otolaryngology and whether sex is appropriately analyzed as an independent variable in otolaryngology clinical research.

Study Design

Literature review.

Methods

We systematically reviewed all 2016 articles in three major otolaryngology journals: The Laryngoscope, JAMA Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, and Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery. Extracted data included study origin, location, subspecialty, number/sex of subjects, ≥50% sex matching (SM_≥50), and sex‐based statistical analysis.

Results

Six hundred of 1,209 articles comprising original clinical research were reviewed including 8,997,345,495 subjects (males: 3,898,559,264 [43.3%]; females: 5,095,592,583 [56.6%]; and unknown: 3,193,648 [0.04%]). There were 533/600 (88.8%) studies that included both sexes, eight (1.3%) included females only, five (0.8%) included males only, and 56 (9.3%) did not document participant sex. Only 280 studies (46.7%) analyzed data by sex, and 330 studies (60.7%) had SM_≥50. Sex‐based statistical analysis and SM_≥50 were similar in domestic and international studies (48.7% vs. 42.8% and 60.9% vs. 62%, respectively). Database studies performed sex‐based statistical analysis more frequently than single and multi‐institutional studies (79.1% vs. 40.4% and 43.4%, P < .00001). Analysis by sex was more frequently performed in head and neck surgery (53.6%) and pediatric otolaryngology (51.3%), whereas SM_≥50 was highest in pediatric otolaryngology (86.8%) and otology (82.4%).

Conclusions

Sex bias exists in the clinical otolaryngology literature, with less than half the studies analyzing sex. Acknowledging the intertwinement of sex with disease pathophysiology and outcomes is important. Eliminating sex bias in research and clinical care should become a major focus for otolaryngologists.

Level of Evidence

NA Laryngoscope, 2018

https://ift.tt/2qSrQlQ