Search Results (6)

The intravenous low-dose dexamethasone suppression test (IV-LDDST) is considered the most accurate method for diagnosing Cushing’s syndrome (CS) in dogs, but its intravenous administration and repeated hospital sampling are stressful and time-consuming for both dogs and owners. This study evaluated an oral LDDST (O-LDDST) as a minimally invasive alternative. The approach is based on the urinary corticoid-to-creatinine ratio (uCC) measured in urine samples collected at home at baseline (B-uCC) and 8 h after administering a low oral dose of dexamethasone (0.01 mg/kg; 8h-uCC). A total of 168 client-owned dogs were prospectively recruited: 42 healthy dogs (HD), 40 dogs with disease mimicking CS (DMCS), and 86 dogs with confirmed CS. An ROC curve analysis showed that dogs with CS had significantly higher B-uCC and 8h-uCC and a lower suppression percentage (%S) compared with HD and DMCS (all p < 0.0001). Optimal cut-offs were B-uCC > 14.2 × 10⁻⁶, 8h-uCC > 6.7 × 10⁻⁶, and %S < 48.6%, yielding sensitivity/specificity of 82.9%/83.3%, 95.3%/92.6%, and 86.0%/85.3%, respectively. O-LDDST was preferred by 85.9% of owners, although it did not distinguish pituitary- from adrenal-dependent CS. The O-LDDST proved to be a reliable, accurate, and minimally invasive diagnostic option for CS in dogs, with 8h-uCC providing the highest accuracy. Full article

This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the survival rate of hybrid dental implants in different patient profiles and clinical conditions. A total of 1215 patients’ files were analyzed from patients with at least one hybrid dental implant inserted at ILAPEO College (Curitiba, Brazil) from 2018 to 2024. The data collection was performed from 2021 to 2024. Parameters related to patients, implants, and surgical characteristics were collected. Descriptive summary statistics were estimated for all parameters. The associations between the dependent variables “implant survival” and patient, procedure, and implant characteristics were assessed by the Cox proportional hazards model. A total of 4783 hybrid dental implants (Helix, GM, Neodent) were placed in 1215 patients with a mean age of 57.17 ± 12.09 years. The most frequent patients’ medical conditions were diabetes, hypertension, thyroid dysfunction, use of steroids (corticoids), psychological limitations, and bruxism and clenching. Patients were followed for a mean period of 29.54 ± 18.95 months. Immediate loading was applied in 2302 (48.13%) implants and conventional loading in 1735 (36.27%). One hundred and fifty-one implants were lost due to a lack of osseointegration, resulting in an implant survival rate of 95.4% (CI: 94.4%; 96.6%). Adverse events were reported in 389 (8.13%) implants. Uncontrolled hypertension, hypertension without information on control, absence of final abutment, replacement implant, and adverse event occurrence were associated with implant loss. Treatment using a hybrid macrogeometry dental implant is an option for total or partial edentulous patients with compromised health and different clinical conditions. Full article

Idiopathic recurrent pericarditis (IRP) can be the hallmark of an autoinflammatory syndrome with recurrent attacks of chest pain and symptom-free intervals following an acute episode. The recurrence rate may be 35% in the pediatric population, frequently with less severe manifestations than at the first episode. Pericarditis can be the sole clinical manifestation or may be part of a systemic autoinflammatory disease (SAID), especially in the case of a recurrence. Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF), Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor-Associated Periodic Syndrome (TRAPS), Mevalonate-Kinase Deficiency (MKD), nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain 2 (NOD2)-associated autoinflammatory syndrome, and others are closely related to IRP based on similar clinical manifestations and treatment responses to anti-interleukin 1 (IL-1) agents, such as anakinra, and should therefore be excluded in patients with IRP. A newly described SAID, an autosomal dominant disorder known as NLRP12-AID (nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat-containing receptor 12-related autoinflammatory disease) is caused by heterozygous mutations in the NLRP12 gene and most commonly affects children. Fewer than 40 pediatric patients with NLRP12-AID have been described in the medical literature, with none presenting with RP. We report a case of relapsing pericarditis responsive to anti-IL-1 therapy in a male adolescent who carried a missense mutation in the NLRP12 gene potentially causative of the excessive activation of inflammatory pathways. This is a unique case in the medical literature that associates recurrent pericarditis in an adolescent presumed to be related to the missense mutation in the NLRP12 gene. The role of the NLRP12 inflammasome in generating and maintaining recurrent pericardial inflammation should be considered. Full article

(1) Background: A retrospective clinical study was conducted to compare the effectiveness of different pharmacological and non-pharmacological regimens for treating sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL). (2) Methods: Adult patients (n = 130) diagnosed with sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) and hospitalized between 2015 and 2020 were enrolled in this study. Depending on the treatment regimen applied, patients were divided into five groups. Inclusion criteria were as follows: (i) hearing loss of sudden onset; (ii) hearing loss of at least 30 dB at three consecutive frequencies; (iii) unilateral hearing loss; (iv) age above 18 years. Exclusion criteria were as follows: (i) no follow-up audiogram; (ii) bilateral hearing loss; (iii) recognized alternative diagnosis such as tumor, disorder of inner ear fluids, infection or inflammation, autoimmune disease, malformation, hematological disease, dialysis-dependent renal failure, postdural puncture syndrome, gene-related syndrome, mitochondrial disease; and (iv) age below 18 years. (3) Results: Complete recovery was found in 14% of patients (18/130) and marked improvement was found in 6% (8/130), giving an overall success rate of 20%. The best results were obtained in the second group (i.e., patients given intratympanic glucocorticoid + prolonged orally administered glucocorticoid) where the success rate was 28%. In general, the older the patient, the smaller the improvement in hearing, a correlation that was statistically significant. (4) Conclusions: In treating SSNHL, the highest rate of hearing recovery—28%—was in the group of patients given intratympanic corticoid plus prolonged treatment with orally administered glucocorticoid. Full article

The first-line treatment of osteoarthritis is based on anti-inflammatory drugs, the most currently used being nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, selective cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) inhibitors and corticoids. Most of them present cytotoxicity and low bioavailability in physiological conditions, making necessary the administration of high drug concentrations causing several side effects. The goal of this work was to encapsulate three hydrophobic anti-inflammatory drugs of different natures (celecoxib, tenoxicam and dexamethasone) into core-shell terpolymer nanoparticles with potential applications in osteoarthritis. Nanoparticles presented hydrodynamic diameters between 110 and 130 nm and almost neutral surface charges (between −1 and −5 mV). Encapsulation efficiencies were highly dependent on the loaded drug and its water solubility, having higher values for celecoxib (39–72%) followed by tenoxicam (20–24%) and dexamethasone (14–26%). Nanoencapsulation reduced celecoxib and dexamethasone cytotoxicity in human articular chondrocytes and murine RAW264.7 macrophages. Moreover, the three loaded systems did not show cytotoxic effects in a wide range of concentrations. Celecoxib and dexamethasone-loaded nanoparticles reduced the release of different inflammatory mediators (NO, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, PGE₂ and IL-10) by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7. Tenoxicam-loaded nanoparticles reduced NO and PGE₂ production, although an overexpression of IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-10 was observed. Finally, all nanoparticles proved to be biocompatible in a subcutaneous injection model in rats. These findings suggest that these loaded nanoparticles could be suitable candidates for the treatment of inflammatory processes associated with osteoarthritis due to their demonstrated in vitro activity as regulators of inflammatory mediator production. Full article

Aboveground species richness patterns of vascular plants, aphyllophoroid macrofungi, bryophytes and lichens were compared along an altitudinal gradient (80–310 m a.s.l.) on the Slantsevaya mountain at the eastern macroslope of the Polar Urals (Russia). Five altitudinal levels were included in the study: (1) Northern boreal forest with larch-spruce in the Sob’ river valley habitats; (2–3) two levels of closed, northern boreal, larch-dominated forests on the slopes; (4) crook-stemmed forest; (5) tundra habitats above the timberline. Vascular plant or bryophyte species richness was not affected by altitudinal levels, but lichen species richness significantly increased from the river valley to the tundra. For aphyllophoroid macrofungi, species richness was highest at intermediate and low altitudes, and poorest in the tundra. These results indicate a positive ecotone effect on aphyllophoroid fungal species richness. The species richness of aphyllophoroid fungi as a whole was neither correlated to mortmass stocks, nor to species richness of vascular plants, but individual ecological or morphological groups depended on these parameters. Poroid fungal species richness was positively correlated to tree age, wood biomass and crown density, and therefore peaked in the middle of the slope and at the foot of the mountain. In contrast, clavarioid fungal species richness was negatively related to woody bio- and mortmass, and therefore peaked in the tundra. This altitudinal level was characterized by high biomass proportions of lichens and mosses, and by high litter mortmass. The proportion of corticoid fungi increased with altitude, reaching its maximum at the timberline. Results from the different methods used in this work were concordant, and showed significant patterns. Tundra communities differ significantly from the forest communities, as is also confirmed by nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) analyses based on the spectrum of morphological and ecological groups of aphyllophoroid fungi. Full article