Search

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is an acquired autoimmune clinical disorder characterized by persistently raised levels of anti-phospholipid antibodies and clinical feature of hypercoagulability (recurrent vascular thrombosis and pregnancy morbidities). Primary APS is idiopathic in nature though secondary APS is associated with other connective tissue diseases like SLE. Here, we present an instance of primary APS with recurrent cerebral venous sinus thrombosis in a youthful unmarried female who clinically presented with generalized epilepsy. Level of anti-cardiolipin (aCL) and anti-beta 2 GP1 antibodies were found elevated on two occasions 12 weeks apart. The patient was treated with anticoagulation therapy along with anti-epileptic therapy and she responded well to the therapy. This case report highlights that clinicians should always suspect APS in female patients who had history of seizures and ischemic or thrombotic lesions on brain imaging, irrespective of presence of pregnancy comorbidities. more...

BACKGROUND: Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) is defined as an individuals perception of sustained cognitive decline compared to their normal state while still performing within boundaries for normal functioning. Demographic, psychosocial and medical factors have been linked to age-related cognitive decline, and Alzheimers dementia (AD). However, their relation to risk for SCD remains unclear. This study aims to identify demographic factors, psychosocial and cardiovascular health associated with SCD within the Brain Health Registry (BHR) online cohort. METHODS: Participants aged 55+ (N=27,596) in the BHR self-reported SCD measured using the Everyday Cognition Scale (ECog) and medical conditions, depressive symptoms, body mass index, quality of sleep, health, family history of AD, years of education, race, ethnicity and gender. Multivariable linear regression was used to examine whether SCD was associated with demographic, psychosocial, and medical conditions. RESULTS: We found that advanced age, depressive symptoms, poorer sleep quality and poorer quality of health were positively associated with more self-reported SCD in all models. No race or ethnicity differences were found in association with SCD. Males who reported alcohol and tobacco use or underweight BMI had higher ECog scores compared with females. CONCLUSION: In addition to well-established risk factors for cognitive decline, such as age, our study consistently and robustly identified a strong association between psychosocial factors and self-reported cognitive decline in an online cohort. These findings provide further evidence that psychosocial health plays a pivotal role in comprehending the risk of SCD and early-stage cognitive ageing. Our findings emphasise the significance of psychosocial factors within the broader context of cardiovascular and demographic risk factors. more...

Author(s): L. Pasquina-Lemonche [sup.1] [sup.2] [sup.3] , J. Burns [sup.1] [sup.2] , R. D. Turner [sup.1] [sup.4] [sup.5] , S. Kumar [sup.1] [sup.2] [sup.6] , R. Tank [sup.1] [sup.2] , [...], The primary structural component of the bacterial cell wall is peptidoglycan, which is essential for viability and the synthesis of which is the target for crucial antibiotics.sup.1,2. Peptidoglycan is a single macromolecule made of glycan chains crosslinked by peptide side branches that surrounds the cell, acting as a constraint to internal turgor.sup.1,3. In Gram-positive bacteria, peptidoglycan is tens of nanometres thick, generally portrayed as a homogeneous structure that provides mechanical strength.sup.4-6. Here we applied atomic force microscopy.sup.7-12 to interrogate the morphologically distinct Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis species, using live cells and purified peptidoglycan. The mature surface of live cells is characterized by a landscape of large (up to 60 nm in diameter), deep (up to 23 nm) pores constituting a disordered gel of peptidoglycan. The inner peptidoglycan surface, consisting of more nascent material, is much denser, with glycan strand spacing typically less than 7 nm. The inner surface architecture is location dependent; the cylinder of B. subtilis has dense circumferential orientation, while in S. aureus and division septa for both species, peptidoglycan is dense but randomly oriented. Revealing the molecular architecture of the cell envelope frames our understanding of its mechanical properties and role as the environmental interface.sup.13,14, providing information complementary to traditional structural biology approaches. Using high-resolution atomic force microscopy of live cells, the authors present an updated view of the cell walls of both Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis. more...