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Introduction: The management of posttraumatic cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) rhinorrhoea remains a clinical challenge. Cerebrospinal fistula is a dural defect responsible for possible CSF leakage into the contiguous air-filled cavities located at the skull base. The risk of central nervous system infection in these conditions is severe and can be life threatening. Consequently, a specific CSF biomarker might be used in case of difficult diagnosis of CSF rhinorrhoea. CSF Tau protein is a neuronal protein, commonly assessed for diagnosis of Alzheimer Disease (AD). The aim of this study was to determine whether the Tau protein could be a relevant marker of CSF leakage., Materials and Methods: Tau protein measurement was performed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 13 patients with CSF leakage (CSF rhinorrhoea group), and 8 patients with spontaneous aqueous rhinorrhoea (non-CSF leakage group). The serum concentration of Tau protein was measured by ELISA in both CSF rhinorrhoea group and non-CSF leakage group., Results: In patients with CSF leakage, CSF Tau protein median concentration was 479 ng/L (197 - 2325 ng/L). On the other hand, the Tau protein concentration was below the lower limit of quantification (LLoQ) (< 87 ng/L) in non-CSF leakage group. Serum Tau protein concentration by ELISA was also below LLoQ (< 87 ng/L) for all subjects., Conclusion: ELISA measurement of Tau protein in rhinorrhoea fluid may be a reliable and relevant marker for detecting the presence of CSF in the nasal discharge and sign the existence of a CSF leakage., Competing Interests: Potential conflict of interest: None declared.

Objective: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a progressive, fatal disease with average survival of less than 3 years if left untreated. It is most common in patients infected with HIV. Although the pathogenesis in this population is not fully understood, it is thought that HIV infection, through the immune response and release of different inflammatory mediators such as endothelin-1, may contribute directly to endothelial damage. Our objective was to quantify endothelin-1 levels in HIV-infected patients and determine whether or not there is an association between this marker and PAH., Design: A case-control study in patients attending an infectious diseases clinic., Methods: The sample was composed of 79 patients divided into three groups: 23 HIV patients with PAH (HIV+/PAH+), 45 HIV patients without PAH (HIV+/PAH-) and a control group of 11 healthy individuals. The ratio between the HIV+/PAH- and HIV+/PAH+ groups was 2 : 1. Patients were matched by age, sex, risk group and viral load; the control group by age and sex. All patients had blood taken for endothelin-1 plasma quantification., Results: We found lower endothelin-1 levels in the controls than in the HIV+/PAH- group [0.71 pg/ml (interquartile range, IQR 0.54-0.94) vs. 1.13 pg/ml (IQR 0.87-1.38); P = 0.005] and the HIV+/PAH+ cohort [1.16 pg/ml (IQR 0.86-2.37); P = 0.003]. Patients with severe PAH had higher endothelin-1 levels [2.94 pg/ml (IQR 1.81-6.33)] than patients with mild and moderate PAH., Conclusion: Plasma endothelin-1 levels are higher in HIV patients with PAH than in the HIV-noninfected population and levels increase with the severity of the PAH.

A correction is presented to the article "Can individual fatty acids be used as functional biomarkers of dairy fat consumption in relation to cardiometabolic health?"